AREZZO, CITY OF THE SARACEN JOUST. Arrival at Florence airport and meeting and transfer with our tour leader to Arezzo. Welcome cocktail at the historic Caffè dei Costanti, location of the film "Life is beautiful" by Roberto Benigni. Our guide will take you for a walk in the medieval old town following the traces of Giorgio Vasari, painter and architect, friend of Michelangelo. You enter the magical atmosphere of Piazza Grande, among architectural styles ranging from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Every year, in June and September, takes place the Saracen Joust on the trapezoidal inclined plane of the square. Attending the spectacle you get the opportunity to experience exclusive emotions: jousting knights hitting with a spear the Saracen's shield and avoiding its heavy scourge armed with lead and leather balls. You can assist to a historical procession of 300 figures and flag bearers of the various districts and live the medieval festival. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

THE LEGEND OF THE TRUE CROSS AND THE GOLDSMITH ART. Breakfast and visit to the artistic treasures of Arezzo. Our guide leads you to the Basilica of San Francesco to admire "The Legend of the True Cross", Piero della Francesca's masterpiece . You can discover the chromatic richness and the lighting effects of the greatest expressions of the Early Italian Renaissance. Walk through elegant palaces and residences, up to the Pieve, majestic architecture of the Tuscan Romanesque style of 1140 surmounted by an original bell tower, described by the French writer André Suarez as a "great flute with rectangular faces". Lunch in a typical osteria with chianina steak. Afternoon visit to the Roman Amphitheater which, in its elliptical structure, could host up to ten thousand spectators. At the National Archaeological Museum, we find the famous red and black amphorae, collections of Hellenistic goldsmiths and Italic, Roman and Greek coins. Free time for the antique shops of the powerful Ghibelline city, renowned since ancient times for its wealth and industriousness. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

THE COLORS OF VAL TIBERINA, MONTERCHI AND SAN SEPOLCRO. Breakfast and departure for the suggestive Val Tiberina toexplore a naturalistic area far from mass circuits. You can experience the art and gastronomy of this special "middle ground" to get in the atmosphere of lost Italy. Meet authentic people who collect wild herbs, chestnuts and mushrooms on the paths traveled by Michelangelo Buonarroti and Piero della Francesca. Cross sunflower fields, tobacco and maize plantations and reach Monterchi, a small village with a great history. The legend tells that the foundation of the village is linked to Hercules. Here you admire another masterpiece of the great Piero: the Madonna del Parto. Lunch in a restaurant where you to taste local dishes listening to the breath of the Apennines. Among castles, parishes and monasteries you arrive in San Sepolcro. Our guide leads you to discover the artistic and cultural heritage of the ancient village. You enter a 16th century dimension, where every year, on the second Sunday of September, the Palio della Balestra takes place again. The Mannerist style painting of the Deposition, by Rosso Fiorentino, in the Church of San Lorenzo, the wooden sculpture of the Volto Santo from the Carolingian period and an Ascension by Perugino in the Cathedral will enrapture your contemplation. Most of all, the Resurrection by Piero della Francesca. Evening return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

THE SPIRITUALITY OF LA VERNA SANCTUAR AND THE CAMPALDINO BATTLE. Breakfast and departure for the Casentino, a charming land of convents and castles. The excursion leads to the mountain where St. Francis gathered in prayer to receive the stigmata. You walk in a place of mystery, hidden by an ancient forest, where a simple construction of 1348 has become the important basilica that collects numerous objects used by Francis. Excursion reaches Poppi, a village on the green hill of the Arno Valley. Lunch in a typical restaurant and visit to the castle. From its wall you can look at Capaldino's battlefield of Campaldino and described by Dante Alighieri. Ancient manuscripts and frescoes will reveal you secrets of medieval everyday life. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

FROM THE ETRUSCANS OF CORTONA TO THE GOLDEN TREE OF LUCIGNANO. Breakfast and departure for the fertile Val di Chiana. You reach the mythical Cortona passing under the walls of Montecchio Castel which belonged to John Hawkwood, English Captain of Fortune. The prestigious city, founded by the Etruscan, on a panoramic hill, welcomes with its intimate and warm atmosphere. Visiting the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca you can discover rare and precious archaeological finds gathered between the Arno and the Tiber. The Diocesan Museum offers the vision of refined Renaissance paintings: the Crucifixion by Paolo Lorenzetti, the Deposition by Luca Signorelli and the sublime Annunciation by the Cortonese Fra Angelico Signorelli. From this fair and beautiful medieval city, we take you to the historic center of Castiglion Fiorentino, surrounded by a mighty city wall that houses the Vasari lodges. While you get to a typical restaurant for lunch, your gaze will fly over the soft landscape of the valley. Afternoon in Lucignano, a medieval town with an unusual and unique urban layout arranged on an elliptical plan and flanked by buildings dominating the Val di Chiana. Explore the frescoed rooms of the Municipal Museum to find a lunette-shaped table, by the famous Luca Signorelli, representing Saint Francis who receives the stigmata. You will be especially surprised by the Golden Tree, a complex and valuable artwork of an Arezzo goldsmith from 1350. Tasting of wines in a local farm and return to the hotel in the evening for dinner and overnight..

PRADA OUTLET. Breakfast and transfer to the airport. Along the way to Florence, you can make a stop at Prada Outlet where tobuy an elegant leather bag or a simple keychain at affordable prices. Arrival at Florence airport and assistance for boarding.

Italia - 52100 AR / +39.0575 23274 - Mob H24 M + 39 373 8125700/ P.I. 02150630511 © HeritageTravels 2014 info@italianheritagetravel.com - Privacy - Cookies Policy