Page 38 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

In art as in science, Maria del Fiore; www.oper- The Drive » The next 210km,
the School of Bologna aduomo.firenze.it; Piazza del continuing south along the
gave birth to the Car- Duomo; h10am-5pm Mon-Wed A1, travels through some of
racci cousins Ludovico, & Fri, to 4pm Thu, to 4.45pm Sat, Italy’s most lovely scenery.
Agostino and Annibale, 1.30-4.45pm Sun) to Michel- Just southwest of Florence the
who were among the angelo’s and Botticelli’s vineyards of Greve in Chianti
harbour some great farmstays,
founding fathers of Ital- greatest hits, David and while Arezzo is to the east. At
ian baroque and were The Birth of Venus, in the Orvieto exit onto the SS71 and
deeply influenced by the Galleria dell’Accademia skirt Lago di Bolsena for the final
Counter-Reformation. (%055 29 48 83; www. 45km into Viterbo.
See their emotionally firenzemusei.it; Via Ricasoli 60;
charged blockbusters in adult/reduced €8/4, incl tem-
the Pinacoteca Nazion- porary exhibition €12.50/6.25; 7 Viterbo
ale (www.pinacotecabologna. h8.15am-6.50pm Tue-Sun) From Florence the road
beniculturali.it; Via delle Belle and the Galleria degli to Rome crossed the
Arti 56; adult/reduced €4/2; Uffizi (Uffizi Gallery; www. dreaded and pestilential
h9am-1.30pm Tue & Wed, uffizi.beniculturali.it; Piazzale campagna (countryside),
ITALY 1 GRAND TOuR
2-7pm Thu-Sun). degli Uffizi 6; adult/reduced a swampy, mosquito-
€8/4, incl temporary exhibition infested low-lying area.
54 p41 €12.50/6.25; h8.15am- Unlike now, inns en route
The Drive » Bologna sits at 6.50pm Tue-Sun), Florence, were uncomfortable and
the intersection of the A1, A13 according to Unesco, con- hazardous, so travellers
and A14. Navigate west out of tains the highest number hurried through Siena,
the city, across the river Reno, of artistic masterpieces in stocking up on wine for
onto the A1. From here it’s a the world.
straight shot into Florence for Whereas Rome the rough road ahead.
100km, leaving the Po plains They also stopped briefly
behind you and entering the low and Milan have torn in medieval Viterbo for
hills of Emilia-Romagna and the themselves down and a quick douse in the
forested valleys of Tuscany. been rebuilt many times, thermal springs at the
incorporating a multitude Terme dei Papi (%0761 35
of architectural whims,
TRIP HIGHLIGHT 03 90; www.termedeipapi.it;
central Florence looks Strada Bagni 12; pool adult/child
6 Florence much as it did in 1550, €12/8, Sun €18/8; h9am-7pm
From Brunelleschi’s red- with stone towers and Wed-Mon, plus 9pm-1am Sat),
tiled dome atop Florence’s cypress-lined gardens. and a tour of the High Re-
Duomo (Cattedrale di Santa naissance spectacle that
54 p41, p63, p86
is the Villa Lante (%0761
28 80 08; Via Jacopo Barozzi
71; adult/reduced €5/2.50;
TOP TIP: h8.30am-1hr before sunset
JUMP THE QUEUE IN Tue-Sun).
FLORENCE
The Drive » Rejoin the A1
In July, August and other busy periods such as after a 28km drive along the
Easter, long queues are a fact of life at Florence’s key rural SS675. For the next 40km
museums. For a fee of €4 each, tickets to the Uffizi the A1 descends slowly into
and Galleria dell’Accademia (where David lives) can Lazio, criss-crossing the river
be booked in advance. To organise your ticket, go to Tevere and keeping the ridge of
the Apennines to the left as it
www.firenzemusei.it or call Firenze Musei (%055 29 darts through tunnels. At Fiano
48 83; www.firenzemusei.it).

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