On April 27, 2018, the Basilica of San Miniato al Monte will initiate a year of events to celebrate the 1000 year anniversary of its founding. On April 27, 2018 the Archbishop of Florence, Betori, will celebrate with the opening of basilica's Holy Door and then will celebrate Mass. Facade of San Miniato [...]
View of Marcialla's village square and the Church of Santa Maria The news came quietly. The art world was stunned to learn that a fresco in the church of Santa Maria in Marcialla, not far from Florence, had been attributed to none other than Michelangelo. Residents of Marcialla, a tiny village south of [...]
On Easter Sunday, the Medici Grand Duke's Villa Demidoff, near Pratolino, is reopening. The spectacular gardens are among Tuscany's largest. With the estate's well tended woodlands and open fields, and visits to the various buildings within the park, it is a wonderful easy day excursion from Florence. The trip by bus takes about forty-five minutes, [...]
Visitors to Siena now have the unique and very special opportunity to visit one of the most critically important music centers in the world, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Founded in 1932 at the behest of Count Chigi Saracini, the Accademia has become a world renowned center for musician and composer instruction and performance. Since its founding, [...]
Join Road Scholar and Mark Gordon Smith, Instructor in Italian Renaissance Art History, Conversational Italian and Travels Across Italy, in a five day program entitled, "The Beautiful and the Powerful of the Italian Renaissance". The program begins on 22 April 2018 and concludes on 27 April 2018. The program is based on the beautiful campus [...]
Mark Smith, Owner of Private Italy Tours, above Positano on the Amalfi Coast. We wish to extend our deepest gratitude to all of you who have read, or follow, our travel blog about Italy. This week, we surpassed the 200,000 views of our blog. Thank you. We are dedicated to continuing improvement about [...]
In the past few months, increased visitor security screening was initiated at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo, in Florence. As with most of the other museums in the city (Uffizi, Bargello, Museum of the Works of the Duomo and many others), visitors are security checked before entering sites. The result of [...]
On a recent visit with our Annual Art Tour in Tuscany, we stopped in to Bistro Olivieri, a recently opened restaurant in the village of San Gimignano. The establishment's tag line, Cucina Toscana Contemporanea, Contemporary Tuscan Kitchen, is reflected in the varied and fairly priced menu. We all agreed that the exceptional modern Italian interior design was a perfect [...]
Southwestern US Tour Our southwestern United States tour in October of 2018 offers a group size limited to twelve guests the opportunity to explore one of the most hauntingly beautiful areas of the country.
Isola San Giulio View. Church bell tower on the left. Graffiti at Isola San Giulio, Lago Orta Admittedly, unashamedly, Lago Orta in the lake region of Italy is one of my favorite haunts. Isola San Giulio, located in the shadow of Madonna del Sasso high above the lake and just [...]