Città Nascosta (“the Hidden City”) is a cultural association created in 1994 with the purpose of unveiling the hidden treasures of Florence and Tuscany.
We are based in Florence and our team includes 4 people. The association has more than 1000 members for whom we set up a program of about 100 visits a year.
We organize visits, itineraries and also events for foreigners coming to spend some time in Tuscany.
What we can offer you
Our service range includes :
• Guided tours with English speaking art historians of Tuscan art centers (Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Arezzo…)
• Visits of privately owned palaces, villas, gardens, art collections
• Special museum openings to get the pleasure of visiting Italy behind closed doors
• Visits of wine and oil producers, factories, master craftsmen, artists studios
• Hands-on workshops to learn typical Italian techniques such as the art of mosaic, of marbleized paper, of fresco…
• Cooking classes and wine tasting sessions
• Concerts, cocktails, parties in private palaces or villas
• Suggestion, information, assistance about accommodation including house rentals, restaurants and shopping
Why choose us
In letting Città Nascosta organize your vacations in Tuscany, you will benefit of :
• A service perfectly adapted to your needs. Having organized more than a thousand visits over the last 12 years for our association members, we have a unique knowledge of our territory. We have also developed a large network of contacts with the owners of private properties. Thanks to this experience, we can answer your needs by taking into account your specifics and wishes and creating a tailor-made program of activities
• A high quality service. We are used to work with high net worth individuals as well as international corporations or organizations. We pay a lot of attention to the choice of the people who will be accompanying you. We create our programs carefully so that things go as smoothly as possible
• An exclusive set of activities that will make your vacations very special. Nobody else can provide you with such an array of exclusive activities than us.
How it works
• You tell us your specifics (number of people, age, background, first time in Florence…) and your wishes (when you want to do it, time you wish to spend visiting, what you want to see in Florence and outside, if you want to include non-cultural visits such as wine-tasting, workshops, shopping…)
• To help you tell us about what you would like to do, we give you a list of visit ideas (see below). This list does not include the full list of museums, churches, other sites of interest that can be found in any guidebook but tries to present things from a different perspective. These ideas should be looked at as “building blocks” we would use to create a tailor-made program for you. Obviously, this list is far from exhaustive and we are absolutely happy to do more standard tours.
• We design for you a specific program that can length from 1 or 2 hours to a half-day or a full-day.
• We book for you a car or minibus with driver that will come and pick you up at the villa, a top-quality English speaking guide that will accompany you during the tour and all museum entrances, special openings, workshops, restaurants…
Some ideas to help you think about what you would like to do
In Florence
A walk through history : tour the historical centre of Florence with an art historian that will give you an introduction to this fascinating Renaissance city
Discover Florence religious center and climb the Dome : Florence cathedral with its breathtaking dome is one of the city’s symbol. This tour will give you the opportunity to get some insights into the Brunelleschi’s architectural genius and to climb the Dome and have a spectacular view on the city and its surrounding hills. The tour can end with the visit of the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo where are kept most of the cathedral masterpieces (by Arnolfo di Cambio, Ghiberti, Donatello…)
Masterpieces at the Uffizi museum : the Uffizi is one of the most important art museum in the world. Visiting it with an art historian will enable you to focus on its masterpieces (from Giotto to Leonardo, Botticelli, Raffaello…) without being overwhelmed. You can also ask for a museum visit designed along a particular theme: “the image of the Virgin Mary”, “the nude through history”, “women in paintings”…
In the footsteps of Michelangelo : the tour will take you in the footsteps of the Renaissance genius that has left numerous masterpieces in Florence. Discover first his most famous David, symbol of the city, along with some of the unfinished captives at the Academia museum. Continue with the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo, in which Michelangelo designed the Medici tombs, known as Dawn, Dusk, Night and Day Finish with the Laurentian Library, an architectural treasure designed by Michelangelo for the Medici family
The Medici patronage : starts with the visit of palazzo Medici Riccardi , the quintessential Renaissance noble palace and visit its jewel-like chapel, the Cappella dei Magi. Continue with the church of San Lorenzo for which the Medici family had commissioned famous artists such Donatello, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo. Finish with a visit of the Mercato di San Lorenzo, a colourful food market that will remind you that Florence was a city of merchants, like the Medici, that made its fortune
Fashion through the ages : get to discover Italian fashion history at the Costume Gallery that illustrates the evolution of fashion from the !8th century until !930. Continue with the Ferragamo Museum which keeps the shoes designed by Salvatore Ferragamo for famous Hollywood stars including Ingrid Bergman, Sophia Lauren, Audrey Hepburn as well as all his innovative designs
Gelato making : get to know the secrets of gelato making thanks to a hands-on workshop directed by the owner of Florence most famous gelateria
Private palaces : we can make you open the doors of some of the most magnificent and well preserved privately-owned palaces of Florence where you might have the chance to get a tour by the owner himself and being offered a drink of the family wine
Siena
San Gimignano: Surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, the town, famous for its numerous towers, has preserved its medieval appearance more completely than any other town in Tuscany. The Romanesque Collegiata (ticket £. 6.000) consecrated in 1148 was enlarged from 1466 to 1468 by Giuliano da Maiano. The important fresco cycles representing the New and Old Testament episodes that decorate the interior are one of the finest works of Italian Gothic painting. The beautifully preserved Renaissance Cappella di Santa Fina, designed by Giuliano da Maiano, was decorated with bas-relief by Benedetto da Maiano and frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
The Abbey of Monteoliveto Maggiore: Situated in the middle of a cypress wood, the monastery is mainly famous for the magnificent fresco cycle began by Luca Signorelli (1497-98) and completed by Sodoma (1505-08) which decorates the great cloister. The 36 episodes depicted illustrate the Life of St Benedict combining a picturesque and lively narrative style with charming naturalistic detail. In the huge church, restored in the 18C, are beautifull choir-stalls of inlaid wood by Fra Giovanni da Verona (1505).
Sant’Antimo: situated in the surroundings of Montalcino, in a beautifull setting, is the impressive abbey of Sant’Antimo, one of the finest Romanesque religious buildings in Italy. The church, of monumental simplicity, was built of travertine in the 12C. The sculptural decoration of the interior is of exceptionally high quality: the capitals of the nave present a variety of geometrical and leaf motifs typical of the Romanesque style. The most remarkable of them, attributed to the very expressive Master of Cabestany, represents Daniel in the lion’s den.
Montalcino: This charming little walled town, situated at 567 metres in a beautiful position above vines and olive groves, is famed for its red wine, the remarkable Brunello which is one of the choicest Tuscan wines. Worthwhile is a walk through the medieval streets offering picturesque views and a visit to the impressive 14C Sienese fortress. Very interesting is also the Museo Civico e d’Arte Sacra with a fascinating collection of 13C-16C Sienese painting and sculpture which has been beautifully rearranged.
See http://www.cittanascosta.it/home.page
Tags:
association florence
,
città nascosta
,
florence
,
florence culture
,
hidden city
,
holiday in florence
,
vacation florence
,
visit florence
By Admin Apartments Florence (5/3/2010 4:42:05 PM, in Holidays in Florence, read 102 times)
Comments (0) | Write
Comments:
Please write your comment:
