City Sightseeing Tours
Brescia (40 km)
Brescia, also known as the ancient Roman Augusta Brixia, and famous for its “beautiful fountains”, is a flourishing city, an active and dynamic industrial, commercial and artisan centre that rises up at the foot of the Prealps. It has an attractive historic centre, with impressive buildings and cathedrals built between the XI and the XVII centuries. There are still interesting historic testimonials of the Roman times, with the Forum, the Theatre and the Tempio Capitolino temple; then of the Medieval period, with churches, basilicas and monasteries; finally there are the renaissance buildings, with the Loggia, the clock tower building (Palazzo della Torre dell'orologio) and others.
The Roman Civic and the Christian Museums are also of interest, as are the Pinacoteca Art gallery and the Modern Art Gallery. Cultural events include the International Piano Festival and the International Festival of Contemporary Music.
Verona (60 km)
The beautiful city of Verona will fascinate you and it will be a pleasure even to just wander around the picturesque streets of the historic centre, with its buildings and squares that seem to have come right off a film set, like for example the Piazza delle Erbe square.
Do not miss the Arena, the roman amphitheatre which can host up to 22,000 spectators and where, today it is still possible to enjoy one of the world’s most famous and important Lyrical Opera Festivals. The Arena dominates the impressive Piazza Brà square, in the heart of the city, which is framed by cedars, bars and cafés where one can sit and watch the world go by.
Verona is also famous for Juliet’s home: the famous balcony, the one that made us all dream in Shakespeare’s opera “Romeo and Juliet”, is still there, overlooking an internal courtyard. Then there is the extremely characteristic Castelvecchio building and the Ponte Scaligero bridge. Of course there are also art galleries, civic, art and archaeological museums.
Official website Arena di Verona
Mantua (80 km)
This beautiful city will let you breathe an air of history and culture that has always been a feature of Mantua. Of ancient Etruscan and then Roman origins, the city blossomed in the XIV century thanks to the House of Gonzaga, whose reign gave life to a period of splendour, not only through the beautiful buildings and monuments this family left us, but also for the pre-Renaissance atmosphere that the city breathes: patrons and scholars desired some of the most important artists of the time and not only, to be present at the court, for example Mantegna, Pisanello and the Florentine architect Alberti. The entire city, with its buildings, churches, squares and porticoes, is a testimonial of the splendour of the times. An absolute must to see is the Palazzo del Te and its famous “Loggia d’Onore”, and the majestic and enormous Palazzo Ducale, with its 500 halls and galleries and 15 gardens, covering a total of 340 hectares; here it is possible to admire superb works of art by Mantegna, Giulio Romano, Pisanello, and then there is the archaeological collection and the painters’ gallery (Rubens, Tintoretto...).
Bergamo (86 km)
This is the most interesting city in Lombardy, thanks to the monumental heritage of the “Città Alta” (upper city): the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Croce, the Piazza del Duomo square, the Duomo and the Cappella Colleoni chapel (both hosting frescos by Tiepolo), the Basilica, the Palazzo della Ragione and the Piazza Vecchia square; finally there is the Rocca fortress dating back to the XIV century. In the “Città Bassa” (lower city) take time to visit the art gallery and Accademia Carrara fine arts academy, with its truly rich collection of over 1400 works of art by artists of the likes of Tiziano, Mantegna, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Botticelli, Raffaello... This is where the Comedy of the Art originated and where the famous lyrical composer Donizetti was born.
Milan (138 km)
Milan, the economic, industrial and fashion capital of Northern Italy, really never stands still. The city is enormous, but everything that is of interest for tourists is in the centre, with its wide avenues and grey buildings. Start at the Duomo, the largest example of Gothic architecture in Italy, then visit the Palazzo Reale, on the South side of the Piazza del Duomo square. On the other hand, on the Northern side the Galleria joins the Piazza del Duomo square up with the Piazza della Scala square. This is where the world famous Teatro della Scala theatre can be found. Just a short distance away, is the Palazzo di Brera and, then the huge Castello Sforzesco castle and the 50 hectare Parco Sempione park. South of the park is the very famous Santa Maria delle Grazie church and convent, which hosts Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper. There are many museums worth visiting, including the Leonardo Da Vinci Science and Technology Museum.
