If you have ever dreamed of creating art in Italy, this is the tour for you!

Be inspired by the architecture, landscape, people, food, and history of three of  Italy's magnificent regions, Tuscany, Umbria and Venice.

This itinerary includes 5 hands on arts and crafts classes with expert Italian artisans and free time to explore, sketch, paint or just take it all in.  You do not need to be a professional artist to enjoy this tour. It's all about harnessing Italy's vibrant energy and expressing yourself uniquely in many forms of media. You're encouraged to work on a sketchbook while traveling, which we will share at the end of our trip.

We'll spend 3 nights in Tuscany at an agriturismo with sweeping views of medieval Montepulciano, 2 nights in the center of Renaissance Florence, and 3 nights on the colorful island of Burano, Venice.  

We will pick you up in Florence at the airport or Santa Maria Novella train station depending on your needs. 

We'll head north into the hills of Tuscany and check into Cugusi B&B in the countryside of Montepulciano. This is the Tuscan view you've dreamed of. Get settled and we will have dinner together tonight at an osteria in the center of Montepulciano

Today we will visit a historic cantina in Montepulciano for a tour, wine tasting and lunch. Explore the village on your own, (Cesare's coppersmith workshop is a must!),  before we go back to the b&b for an aperitivo and art session. You'll paint using wine and other organic pigments while enjoying aperitivo snacks from Cugusi's picnic baskets including local wines, cheeses and salumi products. This is the ultimate sip and paint. Dinner tonight at a neighboring farmhouse for Tuscan specialties.

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Today we cross the border into Umbria and go to Orvieto, a village once home to the popes for a hands on ceramic class. 

We'll have an olive oil and balsamic tasting and lunch then free time on your own. Orvieto is also known for it's wood crafts so check the studios out. Back to the b&b to relax before dinner tonight in a nearby village.

As we make our way to Florence, we will stop in Arezzo for a fresco class with an art restoration expert. You'll create your own fresco to take home and we'll visit the studio of artist Silvia Salvadori, who specializes in painting icons using the age old techniques and pigmnets as they did in medieval and ancient times. 

Check into our hotel in Florence, Canta di Scali, then dinner together tonight at a typical charming Florentine trattoria.

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Discover the artisans of the Oltrano area of Florence. Sculptors, painters, jewelers, and more have worked in studios in the area just across the Arno River for centuries. Walk through the Boboli Gardens of the nobile Medici Family to be inspired in creating your own signature scent at an antique perfumeria afterwards. If you would like to add on a Florentine paper marbling class it is available for an additional price. Dinner on your own tonight.

Maybe you've been to Venice, but have you been to the other islands of the lagoon? We will base ourselves on the irradescent island of Burano, the capital of cookies and lace. The town is a maze of cheerfully colored houses and canals and home to some of the best risotto in Venice at Trattoria al Gatto Nero where we will have dinner tonight.

Hop the ferry to Venice proper and spend the full day there. We'll have a making class in a Venetian studio and learn the history behind the art. Stop by an antique print making shop which is still running business the same way they did in the 1500's. The rest of the day is your's to explore in Venice. We'll meet back up in the evening for a progressive cicchetti crawl of Venetian street foods. Think Italian tapas. We'll take the late ferry back to Burano afterwards. VENICE TIP: A favorite neighborhood to check out is Canareggio and it's Ghetto Ebraico, (Jewish Ghetto). It has a more local feel and none of the crowds of the San Marco and Rialto Bridge areas.

Take the morning for yourself. Find a cozy corner of Burano to sketch or paint, or sleep in. Lunch is on your own today. Tonight, cross Ponte Lungo, a wooden footbridge bridge to access the island of Mazzorbo, and find the unique wine resort, Venissa, a vineyard on the water. Venissa's owners have revived the legendary Dorona golden grape of the Dodges, producing a wine once thought to be lost forever. You'll try it tonight with dinner at Osteria Contemporanea on the property.