Well….odds are pretty strong that unless your name is Raphaello Sanzio or Michelangelo Buonarroti, you won’t ever be this good, but we can guarantee we’ll be able to show you what it takes to do this sort of thing and be able to appreciate the ridiculous level of talent Raphael Sassi has. There’s no better way to do so than to stand in front of the works of the masters themselves and have a modern virtuoso painter and drawer like Raphael pointing out the genius and the technique of the Renaissance masters.
Category Archives: Private Italy Tours
Fun With Wine And Google!
While Doug is off in Italy running tours, we’re home working and having a relaxing family night. While we don’t have the luxury of being in Italy tonight, here’s a fun alternative that just might be the next best thing.
It’s Friday, and thus we are enjoying a late dinner and a bottle of Giribaldi’s Dolcetto d’Alba (Crottino, 2012…an *excellent* buy at $10 at my local fine wine purveyor), which just tastes like…Italy! Tannic, little of the frivolous fruitiness sometimes ascribed to Dolcetto, and perfect with food. On the back of the bottle, I note that it is produced and bottled in Rodello, Italy, a sleepy little village in Piemonte. Using Google, you can actually go see exactly where your grapes are grown. It is a way fun to brainstorm for places to go exploring in Italy AND feel connected to the artisanal nature of wine making in the foothills of the Alps. Looking up Azienda Giribaldi, Rodello, Italia, Google takes me here:
Green hills, curvy hillside roads, and terra cotta roofs, what’s not to like? Needless to say we’re intrigued, and it’s time to click the zoom in button:
Even better. Rows of grapes and plots of farmland can now be made out from what feels like a 20,000ft view. I feel the aura of the place already. Lovely.
Another click or two and our virtual tour of Rodello clearly shows the individual houses near the farm plots and rows and rows in the vineyard. Yes. Time to click for the street view:
And there it is–not overly dramatic, just an understated structure but with vaguely Palladian symmetry about it that certainly looks inviting. That’s where our wine comes from! A small vintner on a hillside in Piemonte labors to produce something in the crowded marketplace that is our wine, and thanks to the distributor’s efforts and the sharp eye and palate of our friends across the street at Sovereignty Wines here in Colorado Springs, we’re able to enjoy it. It’s neat when you think about it for even a moment. Let’s explore further:
And we see minimalist sign inviting us into explore Azienda Giribaldi. Most of the places that are “must see” for first or second Italy visitors are within walking distance of train stations. I’m sensing that a visit to Piemonte to visit local grape-growers is as good a reason as any to rent a car! You can see the shadow of Google’s robot-on-the-car in the lower left. Moving deeper into the vineyard:
Well…that’s certainly not ugly. That’s where my Barbaresco, my Dolcetto, my Gavi are coming from? Yes, let’s go visit, and soon. (Composes email to the Giribaldi folks about a visit this spring–who’s in?).
Spring 2015: who wants to visit Alba and taste the best wines in the world? Taking applications to go on an adventure here.
Piemonte
The king of wine regions, with apologies to you Francophiles. Simply put, nothing beats nebbiolo!
A quick roundup of the highlights via Elaine of CarpeTravel fame that’s definitely worth a read. Come see it with us!
Parting, Such Sweet Sorrow
Always regrettable to leave Venice, but one must remember you’re only feeling that wistful sadness because you’ve had the good fortune to enjoy the wonderment that is La Serenissima. It’s been great to have Leah from Leah Travels experience Venice with us, and we’re looking forward to what she writes about her time there with us and our good friends at the Hotel Giorgione. She got a chance to see Venice off the beaten path, to taste cicchetti at side street winebars, to eat the best seafood meals on the planet at restaurants most tourists miss and most big-bus tour operations haven’t even heard of, and see the REAL Venice as it should be experienced–a time capsule of a bygone era that you can see, touch, taste, and indulge in with your whole being.
We hope to see her again soon, and hope to share the magic with you.
Murano With Leah Travels
Today Doug is conducting a tour of Murano with our friend Leah from www.leahtravels.com. Follow her excellent photography on her Instagram! Tomorrow: Burano and Torcello. Leah has an excellent eye for all things travel related and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with this week in Venice.
Want to travel like Leah? Check out our current special offer!
Deal Alert! Spring 2015 Special (Get It While It Lasts)
We’re offering a great package deal for our Introduction to Italy with Doug Sassi–fun for the experienced traveler who wants to get an artist and art historian’s inputs on “must-see” Italy, and an immersive trip of a lifetime for the first time Italy traveler. For the artistic community, we can include our Drawing From the Masters option–with professional drawing instruction from Raphael Sassi–for a nominal surchage (inquire with group size and dates).
Pricing for this will be based on a departure from PHL, please inquire about departures from other airports as you require.
Arrive in Rome via an overnight flight we’ll book for you. Spend three days and nights in a boutique hotel near the Pantheon, with Doug Sassi’s art and art history expertise guiding you through all of Rome’s captivating attractions, including:
- The Sistine Chapel (Vatican)
- The Rooms of Raphael (Vatican)
- Saint Peter’s Basilica
- Michelangelo’s Pieta and Moses
- Castel Sant’Angelo
- Spanish Steps
- Pantheon
- Piazza Navona
- Campo dei Fiori
- Arch of Constantine
- Trevi Fountain
- Circus Maximus
- The Coliseum
- And many, many more
Day trip to Siena after checking out in the morning and hopping a train from Rome for an excursion to this lovely Tuscan gem where you’ll see it’s famous Piazza del Campo and Duomo, and have a lovely lunch. After more taking in of Siena’s cultural gems, a train to check in at your hotel in Florence (a centrally located boutique hotel just steps from the Brunelleschi’s Duomo), and then walk off dinner and grappa with an evening walking tour to take the monuments of the Renaissance with Doug Sassi. Sleep well, as the next three days will be filled with Doug’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Fiorentine masters’ works. With Doug, you’ll have an unforgettable viewing of the following and unlimited access to his lifetime of knowledge about The Cradle of the Renaissance:
- Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo)
- The David and the Accademia
- The Uffizi
- The Baptistry and its famous doors
- Giotto’s Campanile
- Santa Maria Novella
- Santa Croce
- Palazzo Vecchio
- Ponte Vecchio
- The Leather School
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Piazza della Signoria
- Boboli Gardens and the Palazzo Pitti
- And of course the view from Piazzale Michelangelo (stunning at night and at dusk)
After the fourth night in Florence, you’ll check out for a lovely train ride through the Emiglia Romagna and Veneto country sides to La Serenissima–you’ll arrive in the afternoon in Venice in time for a late lunch of cicchetti at our favorite cicchetti bar near Santi Apostoli and check in at our “home in Venice“. After a quick siesta you’ll take an evening walking tour with Doug along Strada Nuova and then on to a lovely meal (dinner in Venice rarely starts before 730 or 8pm) at a local family run trattoria, and then take in the view from the Rialto at night. You’ll spend three nights in Venice and enjoy Doug’s famous walking tour (when in Italy, his *Italian* friends ask him where to go and what to do in Venice), to include things most tourists and tour groups miss off-the-beaten-path:
- Burano and Mazzorbo
- Torcello’s ancient Basilica
- Piazza San Marco
- San Giorgio Maggiore and the astounding view from her campanile
- the Rialto and the markets nearby
- cicchetti bars
- Dorsoduro
- Squero di San Trovaso (gondola making)
- The Frari
- della Salute
- Murano
- more cicchetti bars (the best seafood you’ll ever eat!)
- a meal at restaurant Tony Bourdain sort of made famous, but where Doug was a regular 20 years before, that will leave you speechless
- a romantic nighttime vaporetto ride
- a wine tasting at a romantic, hard to find bacari that you’ll remember forever
And much, much more. Three nights in Venice with Sassi Italy Tours will prove an unforgettable experience that, on day four, you’ll be sad to see come to an end. But you’ll be back! This we are quite sure of.
This package includes:
- all hotel accommodations in boutique hotels known for comfort, warmth, and welcoming atmosphere that Sassi Italy Tours has vetted and has established relationships with, guaranteeing you’ll enjoy your stay
- airport transfers from Fiumicino to your hotel in Rome and to Venice Marco Polo via Alilaguna
- vaporetto passes in Venice
- taxis and shuttles as required in Rome
- all museum and historical site entry fees
- trains between cities
- unlimited tour guidance from Doug Sassi himself
- AIRFARE! Our fee includes booking your airfare from PHL to Rome and back to PHL from Venice.
All you have to do is show up at the airport for departure and we handle the rest! This package is $4300 per person for departures from December 2014 through February 2015, and $4600 per person for departures in March and April of 2015. Availability is limited (max group size is 6, 8 people for family groups) and airfares are, as always, subject to change which may impact pricing in the future.
I’ve done some price shopping against the big name tour groups that cram you 50 people at a time onto a bus and give you an impersonal experience, and they’re no cheaper. This is a chance to have your own private Italy expert for ten days and nights in an enchanted country! Don’t miss it.
Italian Icons
Tragic
It’s the only word I can think of to describe being in Venice and to have nothing to do but follow around a rather overexposed and tabloid-celebrated actor who decided on La Serenissima for his paparazzi-bait ceremony–but such is the life of a paparazzo I guess.
Fortunately we don’t have anything scheduled there until the week after. But I would imagine the word “circus” is going to prove appropriate.
What To Eat In Venice
When we hear from people went to a particular region and didn’t like the food, we also invariably heard from someone who didn’t partake of the recipes the region in question is known for. Just like you don’t go to Texas for the sushi or Seattle for the southern BBQ, don’t go to Venice looking for an exquisite pizza experience.
Some of the most remarkable flavor experiences you’ll ever have are found in the Veneto. Travel with us, and we’ll direct you to locally owned family run osterie and cicchetterie that will be guaranteed to impress!
Drawing From The Masters This Spring
We’re proud to announce that the Bemis School of Art’s collaboration with Sassi Italy Tours and our Drawing From The Masters program is formally open for registration. The initial departure is this February but fear not, more will follow in the future; some slots are already taken but a few remain and we strongly encourage you to contact Tara Thomas and get your deposit in now. A course description is included at the registration link, and more information can be found here and a FAQ can be found here.
Sassi Italy Tours 