CULTURAL EXCURSIONS and WALKS in and around FLORENCE All excursions and visits are personally conducted by your private host teacher who will adapt her Language to your current knowledge of Italian.
Monday
Four hours - Excursion around the centre of Florence – an “open-air museum”. Piazza del Duomo with Giotto’s belltower, the Baptistery, the elegant Via Calzaiuoli, Piazza della Signoria and the Palazzo Vecchio, La Loggia dei Lanzi, La Fontana del Nettuno. The Loggia degli Uffizi featuring the statues of Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto, Galileo, Donatello, and others, reaching Ponte Vecchio, the Old Bridge, renowned for its jewellery shops.
Tuesday
Tuesday
Four hours - Outing to the Cascine Park which is situated on the right bank of the river Arno, walk through its busy outdoor market. Then up to Piazzale Michelangelo for a extensive view over the city. Walk up too the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte, described as the finest Romanesque structure in Tuscany.
Wednesday
Four hours - Trip up to Fiesole, the hilltop town 300m above sea level and 6km from Florence. Fiesole was one of the most significant Etruscan cities on the southern slopes of the Apennines. A favourite tourist location for the beauty of its views over the surrounding landscape and its historical and cultural wealth. Fifteen minute uphill walk to the monastery of San Francesco, or to Monte Ceceri from where the “first human flight” was attempted following the studies of Leonardo da Vinci, or a guided visit to the local archaeological museum and to the Roman theatre.
Thursday
Four hours – Walk to the church of Santo Spirito on the left bank of the river Arno, the district of
monuments, gardens, monumental palaces and churches. Craftsmen, goldsmiths, furniture restorers and art galleries make this a unique neighbourhood.
Friday
Four hours - Excursion to the hilltop abbey of Monte Senario where its seven founders lived in great austerity. From here you can get a round-the-clock view of the Tuscan mountains. Or, alternatively, an immersion tour in the Chianti wine area to the town of Greve in Chianti with visits to the local shops and a wine shop.
Walks can be changed according the student and the host teacher
Walks can be changed according the student and the host teacher