Italy

The Hidden Treasures of Florence

Program No. 18647RJ
See a side of Florence rarely shown to outsiders as you enjoy inside access to the Museo del Duomo, explore palaces and aristocratic mansions and attend lectures at private galleries.

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At a Glance

This is a special opportunity to experience Florence at its absolute best — beyond the throngs of tourists in quiet neighborhoods where artisans and patricians live side by side amid colorful window boxes, cobblestone streets and churches with many hidden stories waiting to be told. View works by Michelangelo, Donatello and the great Renaissance masters.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking up to 3 miles over the course of a day, uneven terrain; standing up to one hour at a time during on-site lectures.
Small Group
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.

What You'll Learn

  • Learn from top historians about lesser-known works of art in galleries and private collections not open to the public.
  • Visit the Scuola del Restauro and discover what it takes to preserve and repair invaluable masterpieces.
  • Enjoy Roman, Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic architecture over cocktails and aperitifs.
Featured Expert
All trip experts
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Mario Carniani
A native of Fiesole, Italy, Mario Carniani graduated with honors from the University of Florence with a focus on foreign languages and literature. After pursuing studies on Elizabethan drama in England, he moved on to teach Italian at the British Institute of Florence and English in Italian State schools. He has conducted courses on Italian literature and history for numerous international institutes based in Florence, including Georgetown University and Dartmouth University.

Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.

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Mario Carniani View biography
A native of Fiesole, Italy, Mario Carniani graduated with honors from the University of Florence with a focus on foreign languages and literature. After pursuing studies on Elizabethan drama in England, he moved on to teach Italian at the British Institute of Florence and English in Italian State schools. He has conducted courses on Italian literature and history for numerous international institutes based in Florence, including Georgetown University and Dartmouth University.
Profile Image of Giovanni Guidetti
Giovanni Guidetti View biography
Giovanni Guidetti is an expert in travel with decades of experience. He specializes in Renaissance and Baroque Florentine art as an art historian with a Master’s in Art History from the University of Florence. Giovanni loves to share the beauty of the Tuscan landscape as a professional leader in Florence, Fiesole, and Prato. Currently, he is the Scientific Director at the Museum of Sacred Art of San Donnino. Giovanni has also led lectures and presentations on Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical artists and monuments.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
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10 days
9 nights
16 meals
8 B 5 L 3 D
DAY
1
In Transit to Program
In Flight
DAY
2
Arrive Florence, Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Florence
D
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Hotel check-in from 03:00 p.m.

Afternoon: After checking-in at the hotel and getting your room, take some time to freshen up and relax as the remaining participants arrive.< br> Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. All activities will be led by the Group Leader unless specified otherwise. Each day will have a minimum walking distance of 2 miles. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions to visit the Brunelleschi Dome. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Before dinner, we’ll enjoy a welcome cocktail together.

Dinner: At a local restaurant.

Evening: We’ll continue getting to know each other, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the full day ahead.

DAY
3
Lecture, Cappelle Medicee
Florence
B,L
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Walking about 2 miles on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We will enjoy a lecture at the hotel given by a local professor focusing on Michelangelo, his genius, and his relationship with the town of Florence. We will walk with our professor through the Central Food Market of San Lorenzo, a unique experience of the senses.

Lunch: At a local restaurant,

Afternoon: We’ll continue our walk to the Cappelle Medicee, an astoundingly beautiful chapel. to see the monumental tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici, realized by Michelangelo. Free Time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Dinner: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
4
Cathedral, Lecture, Museo dell'Opera, Santa Croce, Concert
Florence
B,L
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan.Walking about 1.5 mile on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We will start the day with a walking field trip to the Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore — known simply as the Duomo. The Brunelleschi dome crowning the Cathedral is for sure the most amazing construction of the Renaissance. It is a miracle of architecture, still the largest masonry dome ever built, nearly 150 feet across. We will visit the Museum of the Opera, where our local professor will give an on-site lecture on Gothic and Renaissance art, focusing on the Brunelleschi’s design for the dome, to learn more about Brunelleschi’s amazing achievement.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We’ll walk to Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross). We will enjoy a lecture, given by our local professor on Florence war and flood. This is the richest medieval church in Florence and the largest Franciscan church in the world. This church features frescoes by Giotto, a chapel by Brunelleschi, and the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, Machiavelli, and a cenotaph to Dante Alighieri. It is considered the Italian Pantheon for the toms of so important people buried here. We will transfer by minivan with our Group Leader to the Church of San Francesco Poverino, to attend a private organ concert. After the concert we will walk to the hotel.

Dinner: On your own.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
5
Palazzo Spinelli, Medici Palace, Lecture
Florence
B,L
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan. Walking about 1.5 mile on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We will transfer by minivan to the Palazzo Spinelli for field trip to the Scuola del Restauro, or School of Restoration, where we will learn from expert staff about some techniques and recent developments in the science of conserving and restoring works of art.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We will walk with an expert-led to the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, the first Medici Palace, where Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent lived and artists such as Donatello, Michelangelo, Paolo Uccello, Benozzo Gozzoli and Botticelli worked. The real jewel of the building is the Chapel of the Magi frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli in the fifteenth century. We will enjoy a lecture given by our local professor on art and the works of Benozzo Gozzoli. We will then walk to visit the Church of Santo Spirito to admire Michelangelo's wooden crucifix. We will return to the hotel by minivan

Dinner: On your own.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
6
Uffizi Gallery, Free Time
Florence
B,D
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan. Walking about 1.5 miles on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We’ll travel by minivan to the Uffizi Gallery. We will hear a lecture about the artists who inspired Michelangelo by our local professor. Notable components of the gallery include Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, da Vinci, Botticelli and Titian.

Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like.

Afternoon: We’ll then enjoy some personal independent exploration at the Uffizi Gallery.

Dinner: At the local restaurant.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
7
Museo Horne, Casa Vasari, Free Time
Florence
B,L
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan. Walking about 1 mile on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We’ll travel by minivan to the Museo Horne with our Group Leader and a local professor. Once a private building it was donated by the owner Mr Herbert Percy Horne to the town of Florence. Entering the building is a real surprise, with Giotto, Simone Martini, Masaccio, Filippino Lippi, Domenico Beccafumi and Giambologna just displayed as at home. We will then walk to Casa Vasari and visit the Great Hall decorated by Giorgio Vasari round 1572. Since his death in 1574, The Great Hall has remained untouched by the countless renovation schemes to which the Home has been subjected down the centuries.

Lunch: At a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Free Time.

Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
8
Palazzo Gondi, Palazzo Vecchio
Florence
B,L,D
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan. Walking about 1.5 miles on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: We will walk to Palazzo Gondi, where Marchese Gondi will take us on a field trip of this elegant renaissance palace with definitive architectural, historical and familial explanations. The palazzo was designed for the Gondi family in 1490 by Giuliano da Sangallo, a favorite architect of Lorenzo de Medici. The exterior of the Palazzo displays the classic layered design with each successive story a smoother, more subtle reflection of the one below. The open, central courtyard features a lovely fountain and columns with delicate and varied Corinthian capitals. A monumental staircase with detailed carvings on the steps leads to the upper stories with personal treasures of the Gondi family. A terrace garden on the top floor provides privileged rooftop views of the Duomo and the central city.

Lunch: At Palazzo Gondi, we will be treated to a tasting of regional Tuscan wines from the family’s own vineyards, each specially paired with a light appetizer.

Afternoon: We will walk to Palazzo Vecchio. Still used as the city hall of Florence, the famous Palazzo Vecchio, built in 1299, became Duke Cosimo de’ Medici’s palace and was highly renovated by Giorgio Vasari in the 17th century. Following a specially set itinerary thanks to private admittance, we will allow with our professor and a museum expert through the palace, to peep into rooms where the Grand Duke and his family lived, kept treasures, met spies and showed their power. Francesco I’s ‘Studiolo’, or study room, Eleonora and Bianca Cappello’s room overlooking the huge hall of the palace, and Giorgio Vasari’s amazing construction of Palazzi Vecchio’s wooden ceilings are only a few of the surprises one can experience inside the political heart of Florence. We will return to the hotel by minivan.

Dinner: At a local restaurant. We’ll share some of our favorite experiences from the program with fellow Road Scholars.

Evening: At leisure.

DAY
9
Free Time, Giardino Torrigiani, San Miniato al Monte
Florence
B
Glance Hotel

Activity note: Getting on/off minivan. Walking about 1.5 miles on cobblestone streets.

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Free Time.

Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like.

Afternoon: By minivan, we’ll travel to the Torrigiani Gardens, the largest private garden inside any European city hidden in the heart of Florence. Starting in the 16th century as a famed botanical garden, it was expanded in the 19th century into an English-style romantic park. The gracious Marchese Torrigiani will lead us walk through this enchanting landscape, pointing out the characteristic features of the Roman gardens. By minivan, we’ll travel to San Miniato al Monte to visit the church, and enjoy the view of Florence. We’ll then return to the hotel by minivan.

Dinner: On your own.

Evening: At leisure.Be sure to prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.

DAY
10
Program Concludes
In Flight
B

Activity note: Hotel check-out by 11:00 a.m. See the travel information section regarding transfers.

Breakfast: At the hotel depending on departure time. This concludes our program.

Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on another rewarding program in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!






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