Pisa and San Miniato Tour with Truffle Hunting

Pisa and San Miniato Tour with Truffle hunting will allow you to discover the most impressive part of Tuscany.

The first stop will be in Pisa that is a small city and the most important sights are concentrated in the famous Piazza dei Miracoli.

The square is the obvious starting point for a visit to Pisa. You can spend an hour exploring the architectural wonders of the piazza, which is one of Italy’s most impressive squares. The leaning tower is a world famous attraction and you will see a lot of people taking pictures of themselves “trying” to push it straight!

The tower started to sink during its construction (12th century) that took about 200 years.

Next to it the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with its Baptistery that is the largest building of the religious complex on this square. Its construction started in 1063 and almost a hundred years later it was consecrated. The cathedral houses the city patron’s relics, Saint Ranieri.

The white marble Baptistery was founded in 1152 and due to its construction on the same unstable soil as the Tower, it is also leaning slightly.

After touring the city, we will head to San Miniato.

San Miniato is a beautiful medieval city. The tour starts in Piazza del Prato del Duomo where you will find the most important buildings. On the top of the square there is the famous Frederick II Tower from where you can enjoy a great panorama over the city and the valley.Another important highlight is the concave colored façade of the Episcopal Seminary in Piazza della Repubblica.

San Miniato is worldwide known for its Truffle Festival every year in November.

That’s is the reason why you will take part in a once-in-a- lifetime experience: truffle hunting.

You will meet a professional truffle hunter with his dog and with them you will start your truffle hunting through the woods.

He will explain to you the different species of truffles and share with you the secrets of the hunting.

The tour will end with a local meal prepared with the truffles you found!

Tour lenght: 6/7 hours

Transportation: minivan with private driver

Pisa piazza Cavalieri — Pisa Piazza Cavalieri

Rome Jewish Ghetto Tour

We will start the Rome Jewish Ghetto Tour crossing an ancient Roman bridge connecting the charming Tiber Island to the left bank where Rome's main Jewish Synagogue is situated; it was completed in 1904 in the area that was once Rome's Jewish Ghetto, the small enclave where the Roman Jews were confined to live from 1555 to 1870.

We will walk through the remaining areas of the former Jewish Ghetto and down the old lanes of first century b.c. Portico d’Ottavia, a Roman library transformed into a church where the Jews were forced to attend mass.

At the end, we’ll stop at the Kosher Bakery to taste the famous Pizza Giudia or if it is the right season we can eat the delicious Jewish artichokes.

Jewish Artichoke — THE FAMOUS JEWISH ARTICHOKES

Cinque Terre Private Boat Tour

Cinque Terre Private Boat tour

Cinque terre is a long, thin coastal strip nestling at the foot of vine-covered mountains. Here pastel-colored houses bask in the Mediterranean sun, while their gardens, flourishing in the mild climate, are a riot of colorful plants.

The Cinque terre are five self-contained villages – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, located on the rocky coastline of the Riviera di Levante. Clinging dramatically to the steep cliffs these villages are linked only by an ancient footpath know as the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Path) which offers spectacular views of the rocky coastlines and terraced vineyards that produce the local dry white Cinque Terre wines. The footpath also provides access to exclusive beaches. The largest, Monterosso, overlooks a wide bay with its own sandy beach. Vernazza has streets linked by steep steps. Corniglia perched at the pinnacle of rocky terraces, seems untouched by the passage of time, as does Manarola, which is linked by the famous Via dell’Amore or Lovers’ Lane to Riomaggiore.

A boat tour is one of the greatest ways to discover this beautiful coastline with its turquoise water. The cinque terre are located in a marine park with many regulations to safeguard its delicate environment, therefore with the private tour you cannot hop on and off in all villages. The only spots where the boat can get near is in Vernazza and Monterosso but this is what makes the private boat tour special: a whole day at sea that will allow you to get closer to nature and to respect the environment even more. It will be a great opportunity for swimming, snorkeling and tasting the local food and wines.

Departure from Monterosso, Lerici and La Spezia.

Snacks and drinks included.

Cinque Terre Lovers' Lane — Cinque terre Lovers’ Lane

Papal Audience Free Tickets

Papal Audience free Tickets

I will be glad to get for you, your family and friends free tickets for Papal audience.

What is Papal audience?

Papal audience also called the General Audience is when the Holy Father addresses the crowd, usually in different languages in Saint Peter’s square

It’s not a mass but the Pope gives a themed speech, followed by prayers, a homily, and some singing.

At the end of the ceremony, the Pope will bless religious articles. If you have arrived in Rome with a rosary or bible or other object that you want blessed, bring it with you.

Or, you can buy these objects in many places in Rome, especially around the Vatican, and certainly inside the many gift shops you will find throughout the Vatican.

The whole audience lasts around 1.5 hours, so it should end by around 11 a.m..

The General Audience is held (nearly) every Wednesday at 9h30 , when the Pope is in Rome.

Most of the time, the Papal Audience is held in Saint Peter’s Square, which can accommodate around 80,000 people.

During the cold winter months, , or if it’s raining hard , then the General Audience will be in Paul VI Audience Hall, which is to the left of Saint Peter’s Basilica. This space can only accommodate around 6000 people.

If the Pope is in Rome, but on summer holiday, there will not be any Papal Audiences at the Vatican. It can be in July or August.

Other chances to see the Pope in Rome

The other opportunity to see the Pope is on a Sunday at 12 noon when he is in Rome.

He will appear from the window of his apartment where he gives a short speech followed by the Angelus and ending with a blessing.

He may also greet the crowds in various languages and the whole event usually lasts around 15-20mins.

He will impart the Apostolic Blessing at the end of the prayer.

You DO NOT need tickets for the Sunday Angelus.

Murano and Burano Tour

We will start our Murano and Burano Tour on a private boat. As you sail through the lagoon, you will have great opportunities to take pictures of the spectacular surroundings.

The first stop will be at Murano, famous for its glass-making industry. The local craftsmen use century-old techniques to create some of the most outstanding designs and works of art.

The museum of glasses is a must for anyone wishing to bone up on the art of glass making in Venice. It has an extraordinary collection of decorated articles and glass produced between the 15th century and the present.

Then we will go to a Furnace for a visit to the work spaces and to watch the fascinating glass blowing by the Glass Masters.

They are the descendants of an unbroken line of artisans that reaches back to the beginning of the craft itself. In 1291, the Venetian Government ordered glass masters to move their furnaces to Murano for fire safety reasons. Since then, they became a kind of second aristocracy there and the glass they made was traded far and wide. They refined the techniques for making all kinds of glass effects and Murano was the only quality glass for centuries.

We will go to take a look at the beautiful Church of Santi Maria e Donato. The richly-decorated interior has a lovely mosaic floor that was laid in 1141, around the same time as the similar floor in Saint Marc Basilica in Venice.

The second stop will be at Burano.

Burano is famous for its brightly colored homes. These homes also attract artists from across the world. Permission must be granted from the government before they can paint a house in a certain color.

Families used to paint their homes in bright colors to designate where their family’s quarters ended and a neighbor’s began, as well as to make their homes more visible from the Sea.

Burano is famous for the lace working art too.

Back in the 16th century, the women of Burano started stitching lace. Each women specialized in a single stitch, and since there are seven stitches in total, each piece would have to be passed from woman to woman to finish. That’s why one handmade lace centerpiece for a tablecloth takes about a month to do!

Fishermen houses — Burano Fishermen Houses

Rome day trip

Here a couple of suggestions. I have put together for those who have a limited time in Rome and want to see as much they can on a guided tour!

Option 1

Vatican museums (Sixtine Chapel), St. Peter's basilica, Colosseum, Forum

Option 2

Trevi Fountain, Colonna Square, Pantheon| Ghetto, Teatro di Marcello, Capitol Square, Forum, Colosseum

Florence Day Trip

One day in Florence? Mission possible!

One should always try to dedicate more than one day to any of the world’s great cities, Florence included. With this premise, if you’ve got to do it, I will help you choose what to see so that you make the most out of your limited time.

We can catch the train in Rome and in 1h20 we will be there!

Starting from St. Maria Novella station we will walk up to the famous Duomo with Brunelleschi’s cupola, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery. Nearby we will visit the Accademia with Michelangelo’s David (reservation in advance).

Strolling down via Roma we will find ourselves in Piazza della Signoria in front of Palazzo Vecchio, the city’s seat of government with an incredible outdoors statues setting. The David out there is a cop.

We will walk then to the end of the Uffizi buildings (no time to visit them) to the Arno and catch a view of the river and the Ponte Vecchio.

On the way back to the station, we will go to via Tornabuoni – the luxury shopping street – and hop into the church of Santa Trinita where you’ll be rewarded by a beautiful fresco by Ghirlandaio. Look carefully at the backgrounds of each scene as you should recognize some of these locations – we’ve seen them together!

It is possible to go to Florence from Rome by train (1hour 20 minutes) in order to spend a day there and come back in the late afternoon.

Downtown Rome Tour

Plenty of surprises!!!!

This walking tour begins at Trevi Fountain. This is known as Rome's "wish fountain", where a small coin dropped into the Trevi's waters assures your return to Rome. We will then then continue along the side streets of Old Rome, the city's historic center. We will pass near Colonna Square where in the middle of the square, you can see a 90 feet high second century a.d. Roman Column dedicated to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (the same emperor you saw in the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe).

Just around the corner a narrow street will lead us to a wonderful church St. Ignatius is well known for its moving ceiling!!!!

We will pass in front of the and we stop inside to marvel at the concrete dome the ancient Romans poured in the 2nd century AD.We will admire the light streaming in through the opening at the center of the dome. Seeing the Pantheon for the first time leaves even modern architects amazed at how it was built by the ancient Romans. In this square, we will have a break for a delicious cappuccino. One block away from Pantheon, we can even visit St. Louis of French church if it is open at the time of our tour. This church houses three wonderful paintings of Matthew’s life by the famous Italian painter Caravaggio.

Our tour will end in piazza Campo de' fiori, with its animated market. The colorful stalls of Campo de' Fiori's fruit and vegetable vendors displaying their bountiful produce will be a feast for your eyes. You may also want to pop into Campo de' Fiori's famous bakery ("forno") to sample, stand-up, a slice of the exquisite thin crust Roman pizza fresh from the oven.

Before the conclusion of the tour, I will show you the off beaten track spot where J. Caesar was killed.

Rome Jewish Catacombs Tour

Rome Jewish Catacombs – Vigna Randanini

Beneath the city streets that travellers walk on each day, dark labyrinths of underground tunnels transport travellers to a time when millions of people were buried underground.

The Jewish catacombs of Rome Vigna Randanini, which date back to the II century AD, were constructed as underground tombs by the Jewish community.

Explore with me this fascinating site, discoverd in 1859 below a private property.

All the tombs are decorated with Jewish faith subjects such as the Ark of the Covenant, the Menorah, the casket with the roll of the Torah, the fruit of the cedar, the sacred knife for circumcision, the pomegranate, the mandrake, the Shofar.

We can combine this tour with the discovery of Rome Jewish Ghetto.

Tour length:1 hour and 30 minutes

Open by appointment

One day in Naples

Naples fortress — CASTEL DELL’OVO (photo by Nunzia Marlino)

One day in Naples

Once arrived at the train station, we will make our way through the unruly traffic, honking horns, locals shouting in thick dialect across alleys lined with wet laundry, shrines to the Madonna with blue neon and plastic flowers set into palazzo walls, churches decorated with carved skulls, women squeezed into their shirts and spike heels, helmetless teenagers on mopeds racing the wrong way down slippery one-way streets – It will be immediately clear that two ancient forces drive this unbelievable chaos of a city: life and death.

Everywhere the smell of coffee – our first stop will be in a Coffee bar to try it and the delicious pastries as sfogliatella, babà, pastiera.

Second stop the old part fo the city called SpaccaNapoli, from the Italian word spaccare to split, after the ancient street slicing down the middle of the old city first settled by the Greeks.

The greeks founded the city in 8th century b.c. and used the underground tufa-rock as building material. That’s the reason why you can visit the underground galleries network used as quarry by Greeks, as an acqueduct by Romans and as an escape way during the Second World War.
During our day trip this will be our third stop!

The old part of the citiy has incredible churches to visit as St. Chiara, San Domenico, The Jesuit Church but is, first of all, the shrine of two great wonders of Naples: Caravaggio’s Seven Acts of Mercy in the Pio Monte della Misericordia surely one of the strangest and most breathtaking paintings in all of art history, a weird chiaroscuro tableau that unites an old man suckling a woman’s breast, a disembodied pair of dirty feet, men in armor struggling in the semidarkness, and high above them a mother and child and two angels, Neapolitan boys really, who cling to each other midfall in a strange and tender embrace.

And the San Severo Chapel – Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that we’ll find Giuseppe Sanmartino’s incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil so realistic that it’s tempting to try to lift it and view Christ underneath. This fourth stop will leave you breathless.

Our fifth stop the Cathedral of Naples (Duomo) with San Gennaro Chapel.
The treasure of San Gennaro is said to rival Britain’s Crown Jewels and those of the Russian tsars in value. It includes a bishop’s mitre encrusted in stones, and a large necklace composed of thousands of gems, donated by many crowned heads of Europe.

Our sixth stop the famous main square Piazza del Plebiscito with the Royal Palace and the great view over the bay and the volcano Vesuvio.

We will end on Castel dell’Ovo that is the oldest standing fortification in Naples.

Caravaggio in PIO MONTE DELLA MISERICORDIA

Photo reference: Baku, Vikashegde via Wikimedia Commons and Nunzia Marlino