A PAIR OF PEARLS

As you disembark your cruise ship in Livorno, meet your private driver and enjoy a full-day excursion to two Tuscan pearls. Your guide will be waiting in Florence ready to accompany you on a memorable trail through the streets of the historic centre and treat you to tales of its founding, vicissitudes and triumphs throughout the ages. Along the way you will admire the most remarkable sites and monuments of the Cradle of the Renaissance and find out why the period’s greatest works of creative genius and artistic mastery took root and flourished on this very spot, turning Florence into such a spectacular jewel.

Your tour begins in Piazza del Duomo, the city’s religious heart, graced by three striking buildings: the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence’s best-known landmark and an astonishing feat of engineering; Giotto’s Bell Tower, a fine example of Gothic architecture; the Baptistery, the city’s oldest religious site where poet Dante Alighieri himself was baptized. As you lap up views of the square, you will discover how architect Filippo Brunelleschi, back in the 15th century, built the largest masonry dome still in existence and hear about the competition for the creation of a bronze door that, according to tradition, marked the beginning of the Renaissance era in 1401.

You will then reach Piazza della Signoria dominated by the towering Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of political power and intrigue for over seven hundred years. Here, in the out-door sculpture gallery of the Loggia dei Lanzi, you will come face to face with Greek heroes Hercules and Perseus, brought vividly to life on the cusp of their triumphs by Giambologna and Benvenuto Cellini.

Your quest for Florentine attractions will also include the superbly decorated exterior of the Church of Orsanmichele; the 14th century Ponte Vecchio, world-famous for its goldsmiths and jewellery shops; the market of San Lorenzo, astir with stalls selling leather goods and clothing. And one last tip… don’t forget to rub the boar’s snout in the Porcellino market for good luck as well as to ensure your return trip to Florence!

After some free time for lunch head for Pisa. With its 3,000 years of history, record-breaking academic and scientific achievements, culinary feats and artistic wonders the city is an obligatory stop on every trip to Tuscany. Your guide will meet you in the city centre and lead you back down the centuries on an exciting discovery journey of this once powerful maritime republic, feared ruler of the Mediterranean Sea and Italian trade routes. You will retrace the history of Pisa, from its Etruscan origins, through its development and growth as a Roman port, to the city’s rise and expansion in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, when many of its striking, much praised monuments were built and the city’s commercial and military might reached an unprecedented pinnacle.

As you wander through the UNESCO-listed Field of Miracles, your attention drawn to the four magnificent buildings, your guide will paint a vivid scene of life in Pisa in medieval times and explain to which gifted artists the city owes this celebrated complex. You will take a peek inside the 11th century Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta to admire the precious mosaic of Saint John the Evangelist by Cimabue and Giovanni Pisano’s skilfully carved pulpit, a true masterpiece of Gothic sculpture. You will also explore the grandiose Baptistery of St. John, the largest in Italy, housing Bigarelli’s splendid baptismal font and Nicola Pisano’s proto-Renaissance pulpit. Another not-to-be missed sight is the Monumental Cemetery, according to tradition built on soil carried back from the Holy Land, famous for the ancient Roman sarcophagi preserved here as well as spectacular 14th century frescoes. The beauty of these sparked Pisa’s fame in the 1700s and led the city to become a must-see destination for Europe’s Grand Tour visitors.

But what draws thousands of enthusiasts to Pisa every year is the 12th century Leaning Tower, the town’s most cherished jewel, one of Italy’s most iconic monuments and an authentic miracle of statics known worldwide for its extraordinary tilt.

Before returning to your cruise ship in Livorno, enjoy a long last look at this remarkable town which has itself become a monument to human genius and creativity.