Escorted Tours of Italian Treasures

Italy is surely the most glitzy of all boots, festooned in jewels and finery from top to heel. Escorted tours are the way forward if you are looking to acquaint yourself more thoroughly with this incredible country, and learn all about the history which helped to sculpt it.

Venice’s maze of canals and narrow streets exude an atmosphere of romance and theatre, with hidden secrets of architecture and history around every corner. The tales, tragedies and triumphs described on the guided tour bring the city’s past to life, beginning in St Markís Square where the golden mosaics of the Basillica dazzle in the midday sun. The 117 islands which comprise Venice each have their own hidden treasures to discover.

‘Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene’. The setting for Shakespeare’s most well-loved play is next on the itinerary. The handsome city of Verona is certainly an apt location for the world’s most famous lovers to have met. Roman sites and medieval buildings bask in a terracotta hue, the streets pleasantly tranquil after the buzz of Venice.

Travelling south to Bologna through the Italian countryside is a delight, sumptuous valleys sprawling for miles around. Home to Italy’s richest food (a big claim) Bologna is also one of the most attractive cities in the country, exemplifying the Italian streets of story books: balconies and fountains sprawling outwards from the proud Piazza Maggiore.

Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli and Dante to name but a few. Even if art isn’t usually your thing, Florence, the capital of Tuscany, will knock your socks off. The guided tour makes sure you get the most out of the city, which is the celebrated center of Renaissance art and architecture. Room with a Viewís sensual setting, the city has historically captured the hearts of writers and artists alike whose stories colour the best looking streets Italy has to offer.

The freestanding bell tower of Pisa which has baffled architects throughout the centuries certainly lives up to its reputation as a must see anomaly, its white marble layers like tiers of a wonky wedding cake. Although the leaning tower is certainly the most iconic sight, the city has a host of other beauties to offer, including the Gothic cathedral.

For a slice of Medieval life and revelry, the hill town of Assisi provides. En route to Rome on escorted tours, this walled city sprawls across the slopes of Monte Subasio. Surely the most famous of celebrity monks, this is the home of St Francis, instigator of the nativity manger scene; patron saint of animals; an all-round nice chap.

The tour must end with a bang, and so it does. The Vatican City may be the smallest country in the world, but it is also the best decorated. A guide tells the impressive tales around the Vatican Museums with an awesome sweep through the Sistine Chapel. Rome continues with an included tour of St Peter’s Basilica and a drive through the streets to visit the famous Colosseum.