Art Pursuits - Secret Gardens of Florence

Art Pursuits Study Tour Programme

Secret Gardens of Florence

13 – 19 May 2008

Day 1	Late morning flight with British Airways from London Gatwick to Pisa. Transfer by private coach to Florence via a brief detour to the Romanesque church of San Miniato al Monte for a first view of the city. Dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 2	Cross the Arno to explore the grandiose Boboli Gardens rising behind the Pitti Palace. After lunch (independent), discover the treasures of the little-known Silver Museum in Palazzo Pitti, before strolling through the romantic Giardino Torrigiani, hidden behind tall walls. Dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 3	All day coach excursion to the environs of Florence: at Villa La Pietra admire the art collection and recently restored garden of Anglo-American historian and aesthete Harold Acton. From there continue to the charming village of Arcetri, where after a Tuscan lunch (included) we will enjoy a splendid view of Florence from the lovely terraces of Giardino Capponi. Return to the city centre and independent dinner.
Day 4	Morning walk to SS. Trinita with frescoes by Ghirlandaio, and to Palazzo Corsini al Prato with its stately garden, laid out in a grand formal manner in the 18th century. Independent lunch. In the afternoon, contemplate some of the greatest masterpieces of the Uffizi Galleries. Independent dinner.
Day 5	Following a visit to the chapel of Palazzo Medici to marvel at Benozzo Gozzoli’s Procession of the Magi, walk through the tranquil friary of S.Marco decorated with Fra Angelico’s deeply spiritual frescoes. Conclude the morning with a study of the unique display of semi-precious stone pictures in the Opificio delle Pietre Dure. Free afternoon and independent dinner.
Day 6	Coach excursion to the Medici villas and gardens of La Petraia and Castello, the latter home to the fantastic Grotto of the Animals. At nearby Sesto Fiorentino, discover the 18th-century garden of Villa Corsi Salviati. After picnic (included) in Parco Demidoff at Pratolino, continue to Villa Gamberaia at Settignano, with its idyllic neo-Renaissance garden. Dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 7	Departure by coach for Fiesole to wander through the gardens of the 15th-century Villa Medici, and of Villa Le Balze, designed in the 1910s by Cecil Pinsent. After an early lunch (independent) transfer to Pisa airport to board your afternoon British Airways flight to Gatwick, scheduled to land at 17:05.