Day 01: Rome Arrival | Welcome to Italy! Upon arrival at Rome airport please proceed through the Passport Control and collect your luggage inside the customs area. Just outside this area meet your driver who will transfer you to your Hotel in Spoleto. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight in Spoleto.
Day 02: Spoleto | After breakfast at the Hotel, meet your driver and guide in the lobby for a morning Private Guided Tour of Spoleto, home to the annual Due Mondi (Two Worlds) arts festival. The walking tour will take you through the medieval streets and will take in the main sights of Spoleto, including the Duomo (cathedral), with its frescoes by Pinturicchio and Fra’ Filippo Lippi and the Ponte delle Torri, Spoleto’s striking 13th-century aqueduct. Lunch and afternoon at leisure. Overnight in Spoleto.
Day 03: Orvieto and Bagnoregio | After breakfast at the Hotel, meet your driver and guide in the lobby for a morning Private Guided Tour of Orvieto and Bagnoregio. Known for its vast countryside, olives, and wine, Orvieto was an important city during the Etruscan era and even the Pope resided there during the 11th-Century. Its narrow streets and ancient houses are delightfully rustic, but the monumental Cathedral boasts a fanciful façade of travertine and basalt, and an impressive interior with frescoes. After a stop for lunch, continue to the hilltop village of Civita Bagnoregio. Founded by the Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago, today the population varies from about 12 people in winter to over 100 in the summer. It perches on a plateau overlooking the River Tiber and its crumbling architecture gives it a lovely aspect. You will explore the Church of Saint Donato, the ivy-clad houses of the narrow streets and the surrounding area, before you are returned to your hotel in Spoleto.
Day 04: Day at Leisure or *Optional Tour: Norcia and Valnerina Valley | Breakfast at the Hotel. Today you will explore the unspoiled Valnerina area of Umbria by visiting its isolated hilltop hamlets and abbeys, including the beautiful San Pietro in Valle (Saint Peter in the Valley). You will also visit the walled town of Norcia, famous throughout Italy for its cured meats, cheeses and truffles. Norcia is also the birthplace of Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order and patron saint of Europe. Late afternoon return to Spoleto. Overnight in Spoleto.
Day 05: Spoleto – Montefalco – Bevagna – Spello – Umbria Countryside | After Breakfast a the Hotel meet your driver at the Hotel Lobby. Today on route to your Perugia Countryside Hotel visit three of the most characteristic Umbrian towns: Montefalco, Spello and Bevagna. The tour starts with Montefalco. known as “the balcony of Umbria” because of the panoramic views it enjoys. After a brief walking tour of the town you will get some free time. We will then visit Bevagna, another prosperous Roman settlement, where Roman aristocrats used to build their villas, which is nowadays a tranquil town whose streets are lined with lovely crafts shops, delicatessens and trattorias. Our last stop is the hilltop town of Spello, a former Roman colony where large parts of the Roman fortifications remain intact. In Spello we will visit the church of Santa Maria Maggiore with its magnificent frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Cappella Baglioni. Late afternoon continue to your Hotel in the Umbria countryside.
Day 06: Perugia – Assisi | Breakfast at the Hotel. Meet your driver at the lobby for a morning Private Tour of Perugia, the capital city of Umbria. We will see the recently restored 13th century Fontana Maggiore, the Palazzo dei Priori which houses the National Gallery of Umbria and the Collegio del Cambio with its frescoes by Perugino and amble along Perugia’s elegant main street, Corso Vannucci. Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon you will head for the city of Assisi known throughout the world as the birthplace of Saint Francis. We will take a guided walking tour of the city and see the many important sights, including the spectacular Basilica of Saint Francis with its frescoes by Giotto. Late afternoon return to your Hotel. Overnight in the Umbria countryside.
Day 07: Citta di Castello – Gubbio | After breakfast at the hotel, meet your driver in the lobby. Today’s journey begins at Città di Castello, one of Umbria’s most visited tourist destinations, a place where ancient and contemporary art forms live side by side in perfect harmony. The tour of the town starts with a visit to Palazzo Vitelli and Palazzo Albizzini. Continue on to enjoy a visit to the Duomo Museum, located next to the cathedral. Last, but not least, there is the Pinacoteca Comunale, which occupies a part of the prestigious Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera and contains important renaissance masterpieces by Raffaello and Ghirlandaio. Lunch at leisure. In the afternoon visit Gubbio, a delightful medieval town, its center brimming with edifices of great historical and architectural importance such as Palazzo dei Consoli, Palazzo Pretorio and Palazzo del Capitolo dei Canonici. Another building worthy of visit is the Palazzo Ducale, now home to an excellent history museum. Late afternoon return to your Hotel. Overnight in the Umbria countryside.
Day 08: Perugia – Florence Airport | After breakfast at the hotel enjoy a Private Transfer from Perugia to Florence Airport.
