Great Cities of Italy - Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples – with Pompeii

Fly at c. 8.30am (British Airways) from London Heathrow to Venice. From the airport a motoscafo (water-taxi) takes you across the lagoon. The tour begins with an introductory walk to see Palladio’s great church, S. Giorgio Maggiore, and S. Zaccaria, an Early Renaissance architectural masterpiece which houses an outstanding altarpiece by Bellini. First of three nights in Venice. 

Piazza San Marco is followed by the Doge’s Palace, beautiful in its pink Gothic revetment and containing rich Renaissance interiors. In the afternoon, see S.ta Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the great Franciscan church which houses artworks such as Titian’s Assumption and Canova’s tomb, and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, adorned with a magnificent cycle of dramatic paintings by Tintoretto.

Start with a visit to S.ta Maria della Salute, the splendid Baroque church at the mouth of the Grand Canal, built in thanksgiving for deliverance from the 1630 plague. The Accademia is the major art gallery in Venice, where all the Venetian painters are represented. The afternoon is free before a special after-hours private visit to the Basilica di San Marco, an 11th-century Byzantine church enriched over the centuries with mosaics, sculpture and various precious objects.

Take a morning train to Florence, where the next four nights are spent. In the late afternoon visit the chapel in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, which has exquisite frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. 

See Michelangelo’s David, the ‘Slaves’ in the Accademia, and the Bargello, home to Florence’s finest sculpture collection with works by Donatello, Verrocchio, Michelangelo and others. Walk to the vast Franciscan church of S.ta Croce, abundantly furnished with sculpted tombs, altarpieces and frescoes. The cluster of cathedral buildings occupies the afternoon; the museum, the baptistry with its Byzantine mosaics and Renaissance sculpture, and the polychromatic marble Duomo itself, capped by Brunelleschi’s massive dome.

Follow Michelangelo from his Laurentian Library, whose architectural components would herald the onset of Mannerism, to S. Lorenzo, the Medici family parish church designed by Brunelleschi, in whose burial chapel in the contiguous New Sacristy is Michelangelo’s enigmatic sculptural ensemble. The afternoon is free. 

Avoid the busiest of the daily crowds by heading early to the Uffizi, Italy’s most important art gallery, which has masterpieces by every major Florentine painter as well as international Old Masters. In the afternoon visit the redoubtable Palazzo Pitti, which houses several museums including the Galleria Palatina, outstanding particularly for High Renaissance and Baroque paintings. Dinner is at a private palace. 

Before leaving Florence, see S.ta Maria Novella, the Dominican church with many works of art (Masaccio’s Trinità, Ghirlandaio’s frescoed sanctuary). Take a lunchtime train to Rome, and check into the hotel. There is a late afternoon visit to the delightful Villa La Farnesina, which has frescoes by Raphael in the Loggia of Cupid and Psyche. First of four nights in Rome. 

Today is largely devoted to Ancient Rome, beginning with the Colosseum, largest of all amphitheatres, completed ad 80. The Forum has evocative remains of the key temples and civic buildings at the heart of the Roman Empire. The present appearance of the Capitol, first centre of ancient Rome, was designed by Michelangelo, and the surrounding palazzi are museums with outstanding ancient sculpture and a collection of paintings.

A morning walk includes the Pantheon, the best preserved of Roman monuments (whose span was only twice exceeded in the next 1,750 years) and the lively and wonderfully adorned Piazza Navona, as well as several churches around it. Spend time in the lovely Trastevere neighbourhood, where the church of S.ta Maria in Trastevere is said to be one of the first churches in Rome in which Mass was celebrated, and has impressive 13th-century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini.

Rise early for a private visit to the Vatican to see (in peace) the most precious assemblage of painting in the western world; including Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s frescoes in the adjacent Stanze. Breakfast follows in the Cortile della Pigna, and there some time to visit more of the museum either independently or with the lecturer. In the afternoon, S.ta Maria del Popolo is followed by a pleasant passeggiata through the Pincio Gardens, which have an excellent view across Rome, to the Spanish Steps. 

The Palazzo Barberini is a great palace which became Rome’s National Gallery, with paintings by most of the Italian Old Masters. Take a train to Naples, where the final three nights of the tour are spent. 

A first walk through the teeming old city centre includes the Cappella Sansevero, a masterpiece of Baroque art and craft with multi-coloured marbles and virtuoso sculptures, and S.ta Chiara, an austere Gothic church with a delightful Rococo tile-encrusted cloister. Also among the other treasures seen are the churches of Il Gesù Nuovo and S. Domenico Maggiore. Drive into the hilly suburbs to visit the palace of Capodimonte, originally a giant hunting lodge. Here is located one of Italy’s greatest art galleries, with a magnificent range of art from the Middle Ages onwards.

Since its first exploration during the 18th century, ancient Pompeii has been one of the world’s most famous archaeological excavations, and where fresh discoveries continue to be made. The fascination of the site lies not only in the major public buildings such as the theatre, temples and the forum but also in the numerous domestic dwellings, from cramped apartments to luxurious houses with their mosaic pavements and gaudily frescoed walls. 

The National Archeological Museum is one of the world’s greatest collections of Greek and Roman antiquities. Many items come from the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Fly from Naples to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 5.00pm.