Hidden Libraries of Italy

Overnight flight from the U.S. to Rome.

Arrive this morning. Afternoon walking tour including the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Plazza Navona. Welcome dinner at a local trattoria. (2 Nights)

Morning visit to the Colosseum. Then, enjoy a private visit to San Lorenzo in Miranda (Temple of Antoninus and Faustina), normally closed to the public. Cap off your day with a private after-hours visit to The Angelica, the so called “Golden Library.”

Visit the Sistine Chapel before tourists arrive. Explore the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Square, and St. Peters Basilica. After lunch, take an unforgettable tour of the Vatican Library including the Vatican Secret Archives normally closed to the public.

Board a high-speed Frecciarossa train to Florence. In the afternoon, embark on a private walking tour of the city with your art historian guide. Visit the symbol of the city: the great museum of the Duomo. See the Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, the majestic Dome, the Baptistery with the “Gates of Paradise.” (2 Nights)

Visit the Medicea Laurenziana Library, designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti with its collection of nearly 11,000 manuscripts. Visit the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s peerless “David” and the “Prisoners.”

This morning, visit the amazing Boboli Gardens, which house many sculptures, fountains, and works of art. Then continue to a local winery to taste the excellent Tuscan wines paired with Tuscan specialties. Later, board a high-speed Frecciarossa train to Turin. Enjoy a typical Piedmontese dinner at a local restaurant. (3 Nights)

Meet your art historian on a private walking tour through the arcaded streets and scenic piazzas. Discover the ancient Roman ruins and the Cathedral that houses the Holy Shroud. Visit the Medicea Laurenziana Library Palazzo Madama, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then visit the Egyptian Museum – the second largest in the world after Cairo’s entirely dedicated to the ancient Egyptian culture. Enjoy a special evening at the Circolo dei lettori (the reader’s club) for a dinner at the restaurant of the aristocratic rooms of Palazzo Graneri.

Visit an ancient family-run stamperia (publishing house), publishing some 400 books, ranging from Greek philosophers to the great worldwide classics of literature. Each typeset by hand in original foundry types, letterpress printed and hand-bound, which is unique in the publishing scene. In the afternoon depart on a curator-led visit to the Library of the Academy of Sciences. Founded at the end of the 1700s, it is home to a unique collection of historic works in the sciences and the humanities – including industrial patents and maps.

After breakfast, board a high-speed train to Venice. Meet your local art historian guide and take a private walking tour up to Piazza San Marco, called by Napoleon the “most elegant drawing room in Europe.” Step into the Marciana National Library, also known as the Sansovinian Library, one of the biggest and most important libraries in Italy, located in Saint Mark square, just in front of the Doge’s Palace. The building is richly decorated with paintings from Titian, Veronese, and Tintoretto. The Library preserves one of the most important collections of Greek, Latin, and Oriental manuscripts, and ancient maps. (2 Nights)

Take a guided tour of Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, a perfect example of a renaissance style stately home, one of the most elegant buildings overlooking the Grand Canal. Then, meet one of the members of the Zeno Family, a noble Venetian family, who owns the beautiful Palazzo Zeno. Visit the interiors of the palace, which have been decorated by great artists. In the afternoon, board a private boat to the Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, to visit a monastery founded in the early 1700s where Armenian monks established a printing press and a library which contains 170,000 volumes, with manuscripts (one dating back to the 6th century A.D.). Enjoy farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Private transfer to Venice airport for your return flight.