Inspiration: discover the Blog

Italy is one of those destinations that rewards preparation. It holds more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country, more Renaissance masterworks than can be seen in a lifetime, and a coastline that shifts from dramatic limestone cliffs to fine-sand beaches within a few hours' drive.

Fifteen million people visit Venice each year. We take our guests before most of them arrive, into spaces most of them never find, and out by private boat to islands the day-trippers cannot reach before the afternoon light is gone.

In 1786, Goethe crossed the Brenner Pass and spent two years and ten months in Italy. When he returned, he described the journey as the most important experience of his life. The programme we design is the modern equivalent — private, unhurried, guided by genuine expertise and built around the specific encounters that produce transformation rather than merely satisfaction.

The Amalfi Coast is the most visually overwhelming landscape on the Italian peninsula. Pompeii is the most complete record of Roman daily life in existence. Paestum contains Greek temples better preserved than anything in Greece. We design the programme that moves between all three without compromise.

Rome has been overwhelming visitors for three thousand years. The difference between being overwhelmed and being transformed is the quality of the preparation and the access. We provide both.

Florence contains more great art per square metre than any other city on earth. We take our guests there before most other visitors arrive, with the kind of guidance that transforms what you are looking at into what you will carry for the rest of your life.

Eastern Tuscany is quieter than the wine routes to the west and the art cities to the north. Arezzo contains one of the supreme achievements of Italian fresco painting. Cortona is one of the oldest cities on the peninsula. Together, they reward the traveller who has moved beyond the obvious programme.