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We will guide you through an enchanting tour of the most characteristic quarter of Livorno, Venezia Nuova (New Venice), famous for its canals, arching bridges, and ornate merchant palaces. A unique place, rich in history and fascinating anecdotes, built upon the water by Venetian engineers carrying out a Medicean dream.
Constructed over the waters north of Livorno between 1629 an 1700, the quarter was full of rich merchant houses of every foreign nation in cosmopolitan Livorno. These were the same merchants who petitioned the Grand duke to grant them space to construct palaces and warehouses in order to furnish the port, which was already becoming one of the most important in the Mediterranean, with all its provisions.
Protected from the west and east by its two Medicean fortresses, we will visit the sector of the city which became the coffer of the riches of all the world which arrived in Tuscany. It is a unique neighborhood, and was much admired by intelligentsia and aristocrats on their Grand Tours. Today it retains the atmosphere of that era, with its canals, shops and cellars on the water, and an architectural system tailor-made for commerce. Gliding along the canals, we will explore the ancient artisanal traditions of the boatmen, sailors, barrel-makers, and porters who lived, worked, and traded secrets in Little Venice. You’ll become acquainted with its lively and charismatic inhabitants, among whom were smugglers and pirates in the pay of the Grand dukes who rubbed shoulders with the rich merchants and noblemen whose grand palaces often hosted members of the European aristocracy.
We will admire the unusual architecture of an exemplary 18th century merchant palace under the shadow of the majestic octagonal dome of the church of Saint Catherine of Siena, which for three centuries has graced the Livornese skyline. We will conclude our tour at the entrance of the New Fortress of Livorno, an island completely surrounded by the city’s principal moat and canal, the Fosso Reale, and last remnant of the five original bulwarks of this fortified city, the famous pentagon of Bernardo Buontalenti.
Length: approximately 1 hour*
Cost : 120 €
* Indicates the duration of a standard tour, which can be shortened or lengthened according to your wishes and compatibility with the type of excursion.
Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, with its museums, palaces, and churches, stands as one of the most import artistic treasures in existence. For centuries it has been the destination of intellectuals, artists, travelers and adventurers who arrived in Tuscany seeking to take in all the art and history of the Florentines who changed the world.
We will guide you through the discovery of this unique city, exploring such sacred treasures as the Piazza San Giovanni with its ancient Baptistery, Duomo, and Giotto’s bell tower. We’ll continue to the Piazza della Signoria, ancient center of the city’s political life, with the Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia de’Lanzi and the Uffizi Palace, home of the Gallery of the Uffizi, one of the most important museums in the world. The edifice houses artworks of incalculable worth, most of which derive from the private collection of the Medici family.
Inside you will discover works by such artists as Giotto, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Raffaello, Mantegna, Tiziano, Parmigianino, Canaletto, Dürer, Rubens, Rembrant, and many others. We will admire the river Arno from the famous Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in the city. But Firenze has so much more to offer. Remarkable churches, artisan crafts, gustatory pleasures: all these steeped in in the history of its common people and aristocracy, in love and loss and the legends which played out on against the backdrop of this remarkable city, one of Italy’s most stunning open-air museums.
Length: between 1 hour 30 minutes and approximately 6 hours*
Cost: 135 € – 270 €€**
Certain museums require visitors to reserve online at “Firenze Musei” (www.polomuseale.firenze.it). Furthermore, audio guides are necessary for visiting the interior of some monuments.
Please note that the purchase of a Firenze Card (link) will allow you priority access to most Florentine museums without the need for reservations.
We offer many types of tours in Florence. Please contact us to decide which kind of tour is right for you, and to learn more about entrance fees and ticket prices for the various attractions.
**135 € indicates the rate for a tour of a maximum of 3 hours. 230 € is the rate for tours between 3 and 6 hours.
We will accompany you on a voyage of discovery through the history of Pisa, the great maritime republic, with its famous Leaning Tower, Cathedral, Baptistery, Monumental Cemetery, and all the other landmarks and artistic treasures which have made this Tuscan city world famous.
Pisa offers a millennia of historical events and places: the famous Piazza del Duomo commonly known as the Piazza dei Miracoli with its striking marble masterpieces, the Leaning Tower, and many other religious buildings erected between the 11th and 15th centuries which stand in constrast against the vivid green field of the Piazza. These are, in truth, books made of stone, on which one may read the ancient symbols, wonder at ingenious architecture, and explore the lives of the artists, kings, and other legends and histories which influenced centuries of the Piazza’s history.
These structures are, in fact, treasure troves of priceless works of art, containing Roman sarcophagi, medieval sculptures and frescoes, magnificent paintings of the 16th and 17th century. But Pisa offers us many other extraordinary places, such as the Piazza dei Cavalieri, a testimony to the work of Florentine painter and architect Giorgio Vasari in renaissance Pisa.
It was the base of the Order of the Knights of Saint Stephen, and is surrounded by charming palaces and the Order’s church which still houses the remnants of the famous Tower of Muda or Fame, where in 1289 Count Ugolino met his demise and was made tragically famous by Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. But Pisa does not end here. It dazzles with its palaces and remarkable churches along the banks of the winding Arno river, and the variety and quality of its many museums.
Length: between approximately 1 hour to 6 hours*
Cost: 120 € – 230 €
For information about the Leaning Tower and other monuments of the Piazza dei Miracoli: (Click HERE)
*We offer various kinds of tours in Pisa, from an hour-long tour of the Piazza dei Miracoli limited to the Cathedral, to a trip of approximately six hours, including visits to many city landmarks and entrance to diverse attractions. Please contact us to decide which kind of tour is right for you, and to learn more about entrance fees and ticket prices for the various attractions.
**120 € indicates the rate for a tour of maximum 3 hours. 230 € is the rate for tours between 3 and 6 hours.
