The Arts in Tuscany
A Springtime Delight
May 4-11 2006
sponsored by tdf




This 7 day 6 night tour of Tuscany includes the following: round-trip transatlantic airfare,  
Six  nights at centrally-located hotel, welcome and farewell dinners, 1 lunch, performances in Florence (subject to availability), guided sightseeing tours and transportation per itinerary, walking tour in Florence, tour to Lucca, Pisa, Siena  
Chianti vineyard visit, Uffizi and Musee Duomo tours, fully qualified English speaking guide and  airport/hotel group transfers.  



Enjoy the magic of Tuscany in the springtime when the Theatre Development Fund offers a six night program featuring the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the oldest Italian music festival, which attracts international talent.  We have tickets for the opera Salome at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Stroll through medieval Florence and visit the Uffizi Gallery where you’ll have reserved entry.  Visit the delightful Tuscan town of Lucca, birthplace of Puccini, with its perfectly preserved 16th century walls. Enjoy a photo op in Pisa and the rustic charm of the Chianti region.  Spend time in Siena and see the Piazza del Campo, where the historical Palio is held.  
 






1.  Thursday, May 4     
We depart JFK in the evening at 605pm on Alitalia Airlines, nonstop to Milan.  Dinner is served on board.



2.  Friday, May 5     
Upon arrival in Milan we connect to a nonstop flight to Florence.  On arrival at 11:10am our local guide meets us and assists us to our “boutique” hotel, the Hotel River, situated on the Arno River, in the Santa Croce area, just a ten minute walk to the historical center.  This intimate, charming 19th-century "palazzina"  has a  sunny rooftop terrace, with lovely views.  We begin with an orientation walk in the city.  We have a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.  



3.  Saturday, May 6     
We begin our exploration of Florence on a  visit to the Basilica of Santa Croce which contains countless artworks, including Giotto's famous frescoes in the Peruzzi and Bardi chapels. The Basilica is universally famous as the final resting place of several great Italians, including  Galileo, and Michelangelo. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, built by Brunelleschi. We watch the artisans at work at the Scuola del Cuoio (Leather School) of Santa Croce create the very-fine-quality soft-leather merchandise.   We  continue to the historic Duomo area  for a tour of the historic heart of  Florence.  After lunch (on own) we visit the Gallery Academia to see the statue of  David by  Michaelangelo and other treasures.    
 



4.  Sunday, May 7     
We begin the day with a visit to the imposing Moorish-Byzantine synagogue, built in the 1870s.  The sumptuous interior is inspiring with wood and bronze carvings, marble floors, mosaics and long stained glass windows.  We continue to the Uffizi Gallery where we have reserved entry tickets to speed us along. The Uffizi contains one of the most important collections of art of all times, including classical sculpture and paintings on canvas and wood by 13th to 18th century Italian and foreign schools. The afternoon is free.  Tonight we have tickets for a performance of Richard Struass’ opera, Salome,  at the  69th annual Maggio Muisicale Fiorentino. Music has always had a fundamental role in the artistic life of Florence, where, at the end of the sixteenth century, the very first operas were performed.  Today the Internationally acclaimed  Festival is the centre of musical life in Florence.  http://www.maggiofiorentino.com/index_eng.shtml



5.  Monday , May 8     
On an excursion to Lucca you’ll discover a beautiful Tuscan town with its ancient 16th-century ramparts, and some of Italy's finest medieval and Renaissance architecture,.  We visit the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini (in 1858), one of Italy's most famous operatic composers.  Here visitors find memorabilia concerning Puccini's life and works: family furniture, an overcoat, valuable decorations; also autographs of important youthful compositions, a rich collection of letters written and received and a series of moving testimonies to the last moments of the composer’s life are shown. The Turandot opera is evoked by the presence of the Steinway piano on which the opera was composed.  
 
We visit  Villa Garzoni, which has a garden laid out like an amazing theatre, with triumphal fountain displays and great star-shaped basins.   The  garden was an inspiration to the author of the stry Pinnochio.  The Garzoni villa and garden, an   extraordinary examples of 18th century Tuscan taste and culture has recently been restored.  We will stop in Pisa, to see one of the seven wonders of the world, its Leaning Tower.  Lunch included.  



6.  Tuesday, May 9     
Today is at leisure. The afternoon is free. Why not wander the medieval streets in Dante's old neighborhood, sip a cappuccino on Piazza della Signoria and people-watch, bargain at the street market around San Lorenzo, or immerse yourself in the greenery of the Boboli Gardens.  



7.  Wednesday, May 10     
Today we visit Siena, one of the most beautiful cities in Tuscany, surrounded by olive groves and the vineyards of Chianti. Set on three hills, the city is drawn together by winding alleyways and steep steps. The Piazza del Campo stands at its heart, and the Duomo and St Maria della Scala serve as its landmarks. Famed for the "Palio", the annual historic horse-races , it is also home to one of the oldest Universities in Europe, which ensures a vibrant Italian student atmosphere throughout the academic year. Lunch on own.  We return to Florence after we visit a Tuscany vineyard for a wine tasting.  This evening we have a farewell dinner followed by a performance at the Teatro Verdi.  The Orchestra of Tuscany performs  Beethoven’s concerto for violin and orchestra,  op.61 and Beethoven’s Symphony 7.  (subject to availability)



8.  Thursday , May 11     
We depart from our hotel in the morning and travel by motor coach to the airport for our  Alitalia flight to Rome at 11:15, where we connect to our JFK flight which arrives at 5:10pm.





This engaging experience includes:

  • Round-trip transatlantic airfare
  • Six (6) nights at centrally-located hotel
  • Welcome and farewell Dinners (2) with water, ½ carafe of wine, coffee, tea pp,
  • 1 lunch
  • (2) performances in Florence (subject to availability)
  • Guided Sightseeing tours and transportation per itinerary
  • Walking tour in Florence
  • Tour to Lucca, Pisa, Siena
  • Chianti vineyard visit
  • Uffizi and Musee Duomo tours
  • Fully qualified English speaking guide
  • Airport/hotel group transfers
PROGRAM PRICES  
Per person (double occupancy) from New York: call  
Single Supplement: call  
Air Taxes: call