Judy

My husband and I are planning virtually our first trip to Italy(we don't count a brief trip more than 35 years ago)and many of you , especially, Paulo, have been very generous with your help. As you will see below, we could still use some advice on what to see in Tuscany(but not wine tours), where to stop on the drive from Lucca to Venice, etc., We like easy logistics (easy to drive in and out of and park). We are interested in history, art, architecture; we like strolling around; we want to see the Jewish Ghettos; we want to eat good seafood and risotto; I want to buy a couple of pieces of gold jewelry if there are any good buys.
Grazie mille e eccolo!

Tues. am: arr. Rome; Scala Reale Orient.Hike
Wed. SC Roma Antica tour
Thurs. SC Vatican Art tour
Fri.Rome
Sat.Rome
A Rome-lover gave us a list of his recommendations, so I thought I would pass it on to whoever may find it useful:
1. Go to St. Peters early am and straight to the Sistine Chapel(many of you have already recommended this).
2. Santa Maria Degli Angeli, Piazza Della Republica, at noon.
3. Piazza Navona at night
4. San Carlo Alla Quatro Fontane(sublime courtyard).
5. Campo Dei Fiori in the morning.
6. Hadrian's Villa
7. Pantheon at 9am and 4:30pm (different light).
8. San Ignazio (look up 1/2 way down the nave).
9.Villa Giulia (concert?) submerged nymphaeum.
10. Villa Borghese -Bernini sculptures.
11. Baths of Caracalla.
12. Sant' Ivo Alla Sapienza (Sat. morning).
Back to our itinerary:
Sun. am. Train to Florence.3 nights in Florence.
Mon. ?
Tues. Uffizi and Accademia.
Wed. Pick up rental car. 2 nights in Castelnuovo Berardenga(north northeast of Siena)
Fri . Arrive Siena after tour buses have left, 2 nights in Siena. Thank you, Paulo, for this strategy, and for your walking tour and comments on Gothic vs. Renaissance.

Sun. Arrive San G. after tour buses have left and either spend the night there and leave for Lucca in the morning, or just spend late afternoon in San G. and drive to Lucca early evening??

Mon. Lucca. There's an Early Music Festival in Lucca, if you're interested.

Tues. Drive almost to Venice. Stop someplace on the way(?)for lunch . Afternoon, see Vicenza? See Brenta.

Wed. am Drive into Venice(Comunale parking, hopefully, per Paulo). 3 nights in Venice.
"La Messa" in the Basilica (thanks again, Paulo). Vivaldi in La Pieta (thanks, Paule).

Sat. Treviso, Asolo. Villa Barado.

Sun. Spend night at Lake Maggiore.

Mon. 2pm flight out of Malpensa.

Che pensate, gentili signori?

wendy

If you plan on going to the Jewish Ghetto in Venice, you need to take a tour to see the 3 synagogues. You cannot go by yourself. The tours ran every 1/2 or hour , so check to see what time the run, and then leave enough time to get there. We took a pivate water taxi to get there, we jsut missed the tour, so we had to wait around a 1/2 or so. We took a public water bus back, so it took a bit longer. You can great some great fairly inexpensive glass mezuzahs there- they were about 1/2 the price of the ones we bought in the synagogue in Rome. Rome was strict schedule to get in. We never did- as the time was not given the time of day we got there. Call first. Any questions, email

Bob

On way to Venice: Little town of Sirminone is located on a peninsula on a lake on the road to Venice. We stopped there for lunch and enjoyed the marina. There is also a castle you can explore at the tip of the peninsula. My spelling of town may be a little off.

Florence: Go to Santa Croce church for burial site of Michaelango and others. In the back of the church (back right corner) is the Leather School. Good quality leather at fair prices. We compared purchases made there with other places on trip and found this a good place to buy leather.

Venice: Max's, near Harry's Bar, is a nice shop for local craft items.

Parking in Venice: Don't believe the hawkers as you drive into the city. Follow signs to Tronchetto. Your hotel may offer a discount coupon. Ask them. Park at far end of garage to be closer to the vaporetto stop. Empty all visable items from car.

Have fun, great area!

Walter

This site might be helpful for Venice www.jewishvenice.org/
Regards, Walter

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Wow Judy--you have done your homework. It looks very sound to me. I agree with the other Bob that Sirmione is the logical stop for lunch enroute to Venice. I would have left more time at Lago Maggiore at the end. You will have a great time. Try to have the risotto con porcini at the La Cisterna Hotel in San Gim. BUON VIAGGIO !

Susan

Hi Judy,
I am always amazed at the folks who have so much good trip information on this forum....you've put together a great itin. I'm sure that someone has mentioned this to you before, but just in case....you should get tix in advance to the Uffizi and the Borghese -- it will save you waiting in line in Florence. You should call and but tix to the Villa B. in advance of your trip...last time I was there I heard people complaining they weren't able to get in on the dates of their choice. (Your hotel in Florence should be able to get your tickets to the Uffizi for you. Have fun!

Paulo

No being in for a wine tour shouldn't exclude the towns in Chianti country. IMO, Meleto, Gaiole, Radda and Castellina are nice enough for visitors that aren't looking for wine A visit to these village out from Castelnuovo Berardenga seems very natural.

Relative to the San G/Lucca issue, I would spend both nights in Lucca, arriving in the late afternoon and departing in the morning after the 2 nights. I wouldn't visit San G. enroute, though. I'd probably visit it out from Castelnuovo Berardenga in the early morning, and then go on to make the Chianti villages tour or vice-versa.

The shortest route from Lucca to Padua is Florence - Bologna - Ferrara. The route through Bologna - Modena and Verona would take almost 1 hour more. I, for one, wouldn't spend one more hour driving just to visit Sirmione ... it hardly pays. In case you define a visit to Vicenza as a must, then the detour to Lake Garda would add 1/2 hour or so. Once you seem interested in Palladio, there would be no time to visit Verona and if you can't visit Verona it doesn't make much sense for me doing any detour. So, my vote goes for the shortest route, through Ferrara. When touring the Brenta canal, you certainly are aiming in visiting a villa. There may be the question of opening times ... The nonstop driving time from Lucca to the Brenta Canal, say Malcontenta, should take at most 3 hours. If you leave Lucca before 9am, there's no point stopping for lunch. Also, I don't know about the current Cá Foscari opening time. If nothing has changed, though, it should be open on Tuesday only till 12pm. To visit it, you should be there at 11am! To make it, you'll probably have to leave Lucca not later than 8am and don't fool around with the driving ... have yout tank full of gas and drive hard directly to Malcontenta. If I'm not wrong, you plan to stay in Mira. After visiting Malcontenta I'd check in the hotel, have lunch, and visit the Villa Widmann (note that once upon a time one had to book in advance). Then I'd be free to go on to Stra and Vicenza (or eventually Padua), without having the car loaded with luggage all day long.

Paulo

Judy

Thanks, everyone, for your information. Wendy,I'll take you up on your offer and thanks.
Susan, did you book your Uffizi and Accademia at weekendafirenze.com? Where do you book the Borghese?
Paulo, no I don't think Vicenza ia a must --when you mention the contortions we may have to do to see the villas, I think we'd rather just take our time driving up this trip and see what happens. I wonder if this part of the trip wouldn't have been better done the other way, i.e., Firenze - Lucca - Siena -Castelnuovo Berardenga - and drive north from there(I'm not whining, just wondering)? Also, I'm glad you mentioned some of the Chianti towns that are worth seeing apart from their wineries. We may visit some of them on the way from Florence to CB. By the way, do you know how long it takes
to drive from San G to Lucca?
One other matter: I assume that leaving luggage in one's car is OK as long as it has a closed (covered) trunk?

Paulo

The nonstop drive from San G. to Lucca should take 1 1/2 hours, maybe a shade less.

You shouldn't reverese the order of your itinerary if your only concern is the driving time to Mira. As a matter of fact, the driving time out from Lucca is lower by almost 1/2 hour.

I only mentioned the Brenta canal Villas because I actually was frustrated in trying to visit both. When I got to Malcontenta, shortly before noon, they told me that the last tour had departed 15 minutes earlier. In Mira, they told me that I should have reserved ahead of time But this was 5 years ago and I don't know what the present situation is. I think it's ok for you to play it by ear, but I would place getting to the Brenta Canal as sson as possible as a priority. From there you may then easily decide if you're going to Vicenza, to Padua instead, or just remain in the Brenta canal area.

If you're interested in Opera and Concerts while in Rome or Florence, you may wish to look at
http://www.promart.it/Date/index.html

Paulo

carol

Hi Judy,

What a wonderful itinerary you've planned. I'd like to recommend a couple of my favorite museums: in Florence, the Bargello, the Museo di San Marco (the Fra Angelico museum--do this first thing in the morning to take advantage of a minimal number of tourists and enjoy the individually-frescoed monk's cells in silence), and the Museo del Duomo which has some extraordinary Donatello sculptures; in Siena, don't miss the Piccolomini Library in the Duomo with its remarkable Pinturicchio frescoes.