Florence City Break and Hand Stitching

Our walking tour this morning winds through the historic streets and squares of Florence’s city centre. We'll discover the city’s most iconic landmarks; places that have shaped its rich history over the centuries.

The tour begins in Piazza del Duomo, where we'll admire the exteriors of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, Giotto’s Bell Tower, and Brunelleschi’s famed Dome. From there, the tour leads us into the narrow, atmospheric streets of the "Dante Quarter", a well-preserved part of the city that retains its 13th-century layout.

Continuing along Via dei Calzaiuoli, we’ll find Orsanmichele, a unique granary-turned-church with an exterior adorned with statues of patron saints, crafted by some of the greatest Renaissance artists. The tour then arrives at Piazza della Signoria, the city’s political centre for over 700 years and an open-air gallery of Renaissance sculpture, rich with history and artistic treasures.

Passing through the majestic courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery, our tour concludes at the Ponte Vecchio, Florence’s oldest and most iconic bridge, lined with its famous jewellery shops and offering stunning views of the Arno River.

This afternoon, we transfer by coach to Prato, Tuscany’s second largest city after Florence. Prato’s economy has grown around the textile industry and its district is the largest in Europe, made up of around 7000 fashion companies and accounting for around 2 billion Euros of exports.

Here, we’ll enjoy a guided visit of Prato Textile Museum, Italy's largest centre for the study, conservation and exhibition of historic and contemporary textiles. The museum is located in the converted Campolmi textile mill and documents the production of textiles from pre-Christian times to the present day.

We return to Florence and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Enjoy a full-day hand stitching workshop at the hotel today. Refreshments will be served in the morning and afternoon.

This evening is at leisure.

Our first stop on today’s excursion is Lucca, renowned for its historical silk production. Lucca lies on the Via Francigena, a pilgrimage route running from Canterbury in England to Rome in Italy. Pilgrims who visited the city brought with them raw silk and wool products.

Lucca's silk was known for its quality and elaborate designs, especially the "drappi auroserici" which incorporated gold or silver threads. The town’s 900-year silk-making legacy will be brought alive on our guided silk heritage tour, which will also include a visit to Palazzo Mansi National Museum, located inside one of the most splendid noble residences in the city. Here, members of the Lucca Weaving Association will demonstrate some of the 19th and 20th-century looms that we’ll find in Maria Niemack’s weaving studio, along with a collection of tools and fabric samples.

Maria Niemack is credited with reviving the ancient techniques of weaving, founding an artisan company, Tessiture Rustiche di Lucchesia (Lucca Traditional Weaving) in 1950. Maria brought together looms and various tools recovered in the area in order reproduce fabrics in silk, hemp, linen and wool. When Maria died in 1975, she gifted the contents of her workshop to the museum.

Continue to Pisa for some free time. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the city also contains more than twenty other historic churches and several medieval palaces.

We return to Florence. Join Janet, your Tour Manager and fellow guests for a 3-course dinner at the hotel, including wine, water and coffee.