Green Heart of Italy : UMBRIA & LE MARCHE

DAY 1 : ARRIVAL (OVERNIGHT IN LAGO TRASIMENO ) KM 120/250

Arrive at Roma / Florence Airport. After picking up the rental car drive to the hotel in Lago Trasimeno and overnight.

DAY 2 : PERUGIA KM 60

Breakfast at the hotel. This day we suggest you to spend your day in Perugia city of art and history, located in a splendid position between the Tiber Valley and Lake Trasimeno, climb up to the fortress, the heart of the historic center, enclosed by Etruscan and medieval walls.

Suggested itinerary : City tour: the Palazzo dei Priori, now home to the Town Hall and the Umbrian National Gallery, the Fontana Maggiore, symbol of the city and wonderful example of sculpture, executed by the brothers Nicola and Giovanni Pisano in 1280, the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, dating back to the mid-fourteenth century. Visit of the Noble College of Exchange, ancient seat of bankers and money changers, a real treasure chest. The Audience Hall houses a cycle of frescoes by Pietro Perugino, a masterpiece of the artist at the height of his career at the end of the fifteenth century. At the end of the visit time available in the city center. We suggest a stop at one of the historic pastry shops in Perugia to enjoy one of the chocolate specialties or a visit to the Galleria Nazionale Umbra inside the Palazzo dei Priori. In October: possibility to visit the stands of Eurochocolate in Perugia.

Accommodation in hotel. overnight.

DAY 3 : ASSISI KM 98

Breakfast at the hotel. This day we suggest you to spend your day in Assisi.

Suggested itinerary: Drive to Assisi, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because it "preserves a set of masterpieces of the human creative genius". Each stone speaks of its most illustrious citizen, Saint Francis, Patron of Italy. The visit, between art and spirituality, starts from the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli that houses the "Porziuncola", the place where Saint Francis died: remained for a long time in neglect, was restored by Francis himself on his return to Assisi at the end of 1207. Continue to the center where you will admire the Basilica of San Francesco with the tomb of the Saint and the beautiful frescoes of Giotto and his school. Along the alleys you reach the Church of S. Chiara with the relics of the Saint and the wooden crucifix that, according to tradition, spoke to Saint Francis.

Return to hotel and overnight.

DAY 4 : SPELLO & SPOLETO KM 180

Breakfast in the hotel. This day we suggest you to spend your day in Spello and Spoleto.

Suggested itinerary: Breakfast at the hotel. The day is dedicated to visiting some of the most beautiful cities of Umbria. First visit to Spello, an ancient medieval village on the slopes of Mount Subasio, among the most beautiful in Italy. Visit of the Baglioni Chapel inside the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, famous for a cycle of frescoes by Pinturicchio dating back to 1500 and the ceramic floors of Deruta. Continue to Spoleto. Visit the town: the Roman Theatre, the Mauri Palace, the Church of Sant'Ansano and the Arch of Druso. In the afternoon you reach the Marmore Falls, a natural spectacle of incredible charm, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Praised over the centuries for its beauty, it appears as a roaring column of water distributed over three jumps over 165 meters high. Walk along one of the paths of the park.

In the evening return to the hotel, overnight.

DAY 5 : GUBBIO KM 150

Breakfast in the hotel. This day we suggest you to spend your day in Gubbio.

Suggested itinerary: Departure towards Gubbio, one of the oldest towns in Umbria, at the foot of Mount Ingino. Visit the historic center with the Piazza Grande, a real terrace over the city, the Palazzo dei Consoli with its unmistakable crenellated profile, the Cathedral and the Ducal Palace in Renaissance style wanted by Federico da Montefeltro. Possibility of ascent by funicular on Mount Ingino (optional and extra charge) to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, protector of the city.

Return to the hotel and overnight.

Day 6 : URBINO KM 280

Breakfast at the hotel and we suggest you to visit Urbino

Suggested itinerary: departure to Urbino. Visit of the historic center, cradle of the early Italian Renaissance, with entrance to the Duomo and the House of Raffaello (purchased by his father Giovanni Santi humanist, poet and painter at the court of Montefeltro). Here Raffaello was born in 1483, it is a modest residence that includes a small fresco attributed to the young Raffaello: it is the "Madonna di Casa Santi" in the reading. Continue with the visit of the Doge’s Palace, which houses the National Gallery of the Marche where absolute works are exhibited such as the "Portrait of a gentleman" called "la Muta" (Raffaello), the "Flagellation" and the "Madonna di Senigallia" (Piero della Francesca), la “Città ideale” (already attributed to L.Laurana), paintings and sculptures from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century and the Studiolo del Duca, the most intimate environment of the Palace wanted by Federico di Montefeltro, unique masterpiece of wood inlay;

Overnight in hotel .

DAY 7 : JESI - LORETO

Breakfast at the hotel and departure to Jesi We will see the square where Emperor Frederick II of SVEVIA was born We will also see the Cathedral of San Settimio. and the Frederick II Stupor Mundi Museum, the first large multimedia museum dedicated to the figure of the Emperor of Swabia, which narrates the life and deeds of Frederick II through sixteen themed rooms.We will also see the 15th-century Palazzo della Signoria, a masterpiece of Renaissance civil architecture.

Continue to Loreto, a town that houses one of the most important Marian shrines of Christianity, second only to that of Lourdes in the Pyrenees. Visit the Basilica of Loreto, a masterpiece of Renaissance art, designed by Donato Bramante and built entirely in white Istrian stone. Inside there is the Santa Casa, kept in a splendid marble casket, designed by Donato Bramante in 1509 on behalf of Pope Julius II and completed by Andrea Sansovino and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. The bas-reliefs that decorate the precious altar narrate episodes from the life of Mary and are considered a true masterpiece of Renaissance art.

Come back in hotel . Overnight .

DAY 8 : DEPARTURE

Breakfast in the hotel. Check out at 10:00. Drive back to the same airport, release of the car and end of our services.