Immerse yourself in the local culture by enjoying a traditional Italian snack carefully chosen by your Tour Director.

Immerse yourself in the charms of old-world Firenze, a red-brick splendor set in the rolling green hills of Tuscany. The birthplace and focal point of the Italian Renaissance, Florence still has the masterpieces to prove it. Brunelleschi’s elegant Duomo (dome) dominates the skyline, and around every corner is an architectural triumph filled with wall after wall of incomparable art. Your local licensed guide will take you to Giotto's Bell Tower and the aptly named Gates of Paradise, the bronze east doors of the Baptistery that spurred the burgeoning Renaissance. The boy guarding the Palazzo Vecchio with his slingshot is just a copy of Michelangelo’s David; the real statue is over at the Accademia. Don’t overlook the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli at the Chiesa di Santa Croce, and definitely don’t overlook Florence’s amazing leather goods. Check them out when you visit one of the area’s famed workshops.

Take part in this Charcoal drawing workshop where you will be introduced to the ancient techniques used in Florence during the Renaissance. Your instructor will accompany you to Piazza Santissima Annunziata or Piazza Signoria where they can work in the open air sketching statues, fountains or the facade of a church or a palace. In case of rain, the entire lesson will take place in the studio where easels and stools will be available for sketching still-lives (jugs, busts, dried flowers, etc.). Students will complete a series of charcoal drawings, under the supervision of the instructor.

With a layout indicative of someone spilling a bucket of ‘Etruscan town’ down a hillside, Cortona is a cultural and artistic center located in the province of Arezzo. In the late 14th century, Fra Angelico lived and worked here, and fellow artists Luca Signorelli (1450–1523) and Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669) were both born within the walls. Many scenes in Under the Tuscan Sun, the film based of the book by Frances Mayes, were shot in Cortona.

Baroque-en hearted? Revive your spirits with a walk past Rome's most beautiful and unusual Baroque fountains. At the foot of the Spanish Steps, elegant cafes once favored by visiting Brits and Americans surround the central fountain. The water pressure here was so low that the artist had to sink the fountain into the ground to get any water going through it, so he went ahead and designed the fountain to look like a sinking ship. There's no shortage of water pressure at the nearby Trevi Fountain, a Baroque extravagance designed by master sculptor Bernini. At the Pantheon, you'll see the largest concrete dome ever constructed. An oculus, or hole, in the dome lets sunlight into the beautiful temple, dedicated to all the gods.

Immerse yourself in the local culture by enjoying a traditional Italian snack carefully chosen by your Tour Director.

The ultimate symbol of Ancient Rome, the Colosseum still dominates the modern city. Tour the amphitheater with your local licensed guide. Built by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72, the structure held almost 50,000 spectators but was so well organized that the entire place could be emptied within 15 minutes. Inside, the spectacles varied from gladiator battles to immense naval contests to wild beast shows, in which thousands of exotic animals like giraffes and ostriches were popped into the stadium through trap doors and left to fight Roman hunters. See the system beneath the floor that operated the trap doors and housed the animals, then continue on to the relative calm of the Forum. Ancient Rome’s commercial, religious and political center, the Forum held markets, temples and the Senate House. Near the Rostra, or speaker’s platform, you can still see game boards scratched into the marble by bored politicians--anyone up for a game of tic tac toe?

Meet a real pizza chef who will explain the manual preparation of the dough, different kind of pizza (thin and thick), spreading methods (by rolling pin, by hand and spreading machine), garnishing (basic fittings: tomato sauce, herbs like oregano or basil, mozzarella cheese). Then, enjoy preparing your own creation with your choice of toppings from an ingredients buffet and cooking style (on plate or on stone). Mangia!

Don a state-of-the-art headset for a space-age tour of St. Peter’s Basilica with a licensed local guide. Outside the church, four rows of columns radiate out like welcoming arms; inside, the church seems enormous enough to embrace the entire world. The dome, partially designed by Michelangelo, rises 452 feet above the ground. Michelangelo’s mark is everywhere here, from the costumes worn by the Swiss Guards to his exquisite “Pietà” sculpture (the only sculpture he ever signed) to the amazing frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. Because he considered himself a sculptor and not a painter, Michelangelo hated working on these paintings, now considered masterpieces.