Venice, Florence, Rome
Our Trip to Italy in 2024: Part 1
As we reached the top of the monastery stairs, we saw Mary and the angel Gabriel, their faces glowing from an inner light…
This was the famous Annunciation by Fra Angelico, a Dominican brother, one of the great talents of Renaissance Italy. We were in San Marco, the artist’s own friary, where he had painted frescos throughout the sacred building. Each monastic cell had its own painting for the resident monks to contemplate. Now a museum, this repository of one artist’s work was a welcome refuge from the crowds in Florence’s other cultural meccas.
Annunciation by Fra Angelico
During my tenure at Untours, I had visited Italy many times starting in the 1980s, mostly in meetings with local partners and inspecting apartments. This trip was my first time in Italy with my wife, Karen, who had last been in the country in 1976. While most of our time on this trip would be spent walking the Way of St. Francis, we made a point of spending some of our days in Venice, Florence, and Rome.
In Venice, often cited as one of the prime examples of overtourism, I was reminded of how possible it is to get off the beaten path and breathe in the smells of canal water, coffee, and panini permeating this most serene city (La Serenissima). We took a tour of the world’s first Jewish Ghetto with its richly decorated hidden synagogues. I finally had a chance to view the collection of Venetian masterpieces at the Accademia and the original gigantic stolen horses of St. Mark’s Cathedral. (They were looted from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.)
Florence, like Venice, is a small city that concentrates its visitors within a square mile or so. Even in mid-October, we were glad to be staying in the relative quiet of Oltrarno outside the most central neighborhood. We revisited the Uffizi and were particularly struck by some early images of St. Francis and the mesmerizing Annunciation by da Vinci. On our last night, we enjoyed a delicious meal at the Osteria dell’Enoteca. I had fresh pasta with rabbit. Karen had ravioli with peppered beef. The white Bolgheri wine from Tuscany’s coast was refined and very drinkable.
Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci
We arrived in Rome at the very end of our trip in mid-November. We stayed just across the Tiber from the center in Trastevere. Staying in central Rome makes the city feel more like a small town than the major metropolis that it is. We spent hours exploring the Forum and Palatine Hill. We used the Rick Steves excellent self-guided tour of the Forum and then, on Palatine Hill, were amazed to find ourselves in the underground rooms of ancient palaces with intact, freshly restored frescos. We enjoyed strolling through the vibrant Trastevere neighborhood, the elegant Piazza Navona, and the bustling Campo de’ Fiori square. I had forgotten how walkable central Rome can be.
We were entranced by the excavated ruins of the Roman Forum. With a little imagination, the heart of the ancient city came back to life.
Additional Resources
- Essential Italy is our exclusive small-group tour of Venice, Florence, and Rome. We’ll show you the best of each city, give you plenty of time to explore on your own, and include some interesting cultural experiences. You’ll travel between cities on Italy’s sleek high-speed trains. Space for our 2026 tour is limited to a maximum of 12 participants.
- A new Fra Angelico exhibition in Florence promises to be a blockbuster event in Italy’s cultural life. The 15th century Renaissance artist was revered by his fellow Dominicans during his lifetime and later by art collectors and the public at large. The exhibition will run from September 26, 2025 through January 25, 2026.
- Rick Steves Italy– We are fans of Rick Steves and his work to make Europe and its culture accessible to North Americans. This book is good if you’ll be seeing a lot of Italy in one trip. His Audio Europe app is free and is also very useful. We recommend buying the paperback version to plan with and the Kindle version to bring along on the trip.
- Rick Steves Venice– These city-specific books on Italy include additional sightseeing options, maps, and walking tours. Buy them if you plan on spending more than a couple of days in the city. The Kindle versions are a great way to keep the weight down.
- City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley is a fascinating look at an Empire you’ve never heard of, but one that shaped much of Europe in surprising ways.
- Rick Steves Florence and Tuscany– These city-specific books on Italy include additional sightseeing options, maps, and walking tours. Buy them if you plan on spending more than a couple of days in the city. The Kindle versions are a great way to keep the weight down.
- Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence by Lauro Martines examines the collision of faith and the excesses of the Renaissance in the figure of a fiery Dominican who launched the original Bonfire of the Vanities.
- Inferno by Dan Brown is a fun read with lots of Venice and Florence scenes. Just don’t take it too seriously!
- Rick Steves Rome– These city-specific books on Italy include additional sightseeing options, maps, and walking tours. Buy them if you plan on spending more than a couple of days in the city. The Kindle versions are a great way to keep the weight down.
- Angels and Demons by Dan Brown is another thriller by Dan Brown, this time set in Rome. You’ll have to see the real Castel Sant’Angelo after reading this imaginative novel.
Taussig Travel makes a small commission for purchases made from some of the above links.