The Palazzo Medici Riccardi is a short walk from our hotel. Here we will visit the Medici family’s private chapel to see frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, a pupil of Fra Angelico, works that have been called ‘one of the supreme achievements of Renaissance painting’. As we walk across town we will take in Florentine landmarks, including the Loggia dei Lanzi open-air sculpture gallery and the Fountain of Neptune.
At Palazzo Vecchio (the town hall of Florence until it was appropriated by the Medici in the 16th century) we will visit the Salone dei Cinquecento, the apartments, the tiny Chapel of Eleonora of Toledo and the Mannerist studio of Francesco I de’ Medici. Within the vaulted ceiling some secrets of the palace will be revealed by our local guide.
On our way back to the hotel we will stop in at the Pazzi chapel, a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture attributed to Brunelleschi.
In the evening we will enjoy a special group dinner with a menu planned to highlight traditional Florentine cuisine.
Accommodation: 4th night at Hotel Balestri, Florence.
Meals included: breakfast and dinner.
Gallery
