S H O R E E XC U R S I O N C O N F I R M AT I O N NCC registered private chauffeur services in Tuscany and Italy Noleggio Con Conducente per la Toscana e l’Italia

LINDA USUI x 3pax SUNDAY 24 JULY 2016 - LIVORNO FOR PISA & FLORENCE (VIATOR BOOKING REF: BR-572107792)

PICKUP & DROP-OFF

0830 pickup from the port of Livorno, Celebrity cruise

ship. Depending on where your ship docks, your driver will either be waiting on the dock as close to your ship as possible. If there are two gangplank exits he will position his vehicle in the centre of both. Or your driver will be waiting after the new passenger terminal that you will have to walk through. He will be holding a sign with your name on it. You will return to your ship in the port of Livorno at 1730.

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ITINERARY

At 0830am your driver will meet you in Livorno for the 40 minute

journey to the one-time powerful maritime city of Pisa to spend some time exploring the city and visiting the stunning Piazza dei Miracoli with its Leaning Tower, Baptistry, Duomo and Campo Santo cemetery. Travel on to Florence where you can either make your way directly into the city centre or we like to take a little detour and approach the city from the vineyards on the outskirts of the Chianti area which offers beautiful views. From here you will reach Piazzale Michelangelo looking out across the River Arno, Ponte Vecchio, Duomo with its wonderful new Museo dell’Opera del Duomo and Giotto’s Tower before making your way into the centre to visit Renaissance sites including the church of Santa Croce with its famous Leather School and tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini, Machiavelli, Piazza della Signoria, the market area of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapels, L'Ospedale degli Innocenti, Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens.

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As requested, we have pre-booked your tickets for the Accademia museum (Michelangelo’s David) at 1215, booking reference 3778252 at a cost of 16,50euro per person. These tickets should be collected and paid for on the day directly from the ticket office 15 minutes prior to entry time.

! Depart Florence at 1600 for return to Livorno by 1730. !

CONTACT Valter Roman Cell: +39 348 4406367, Julia Roman Cell: +39 320 6066859 & Office Tel: +39 0583 051263 Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115

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PISA !

PISA

lies at the junction of two

rivers, the Arno and the Serchio flowing into the Ligurian sea. Archaeological remains from the 5th century BC confirm the existence of this ancient city by the sea – once a great trading and maritime port.

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THE PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI is dominated by four great religious monuments, the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the C a m p o S a n to C e m e t e r y. Construction of the cathedral began in 1063 and the baptistery is the largest in Italy.

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THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA was began in 1174 however when the tower reached its third story, works ceased as it started to sink into the ground and lean. It remained like this for 90 years before work commenced again in 1272 but was halted once more in 1284 when Pisa was defeated in battle. The seventh floor was completed in 1319 with the bell-chamber finally being added in 1372. The top of the tower can be reached by climbing the 294 steps which rise in the form of a spiral on the inner side of the tower walls. ENTRY: 18euro per person for pre-booked tickets

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Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115

FLORENCE FLORENCE

was originally established by

Julius Caesar in 59BC as a settlement for his veteran soldiers – it was named Florentia (Flourishing). The birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, it was enriched in art and architecture by the Medici family (who were bankers to the Pope!) and in particular by Lorenzo the Magnificent who commissioned the great works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. From 1865 to 1870 the city was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (replacing Turin and before Rome).

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THE CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE with its magnificent dome built by Brunelleschi which, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world. Construction of the cathedral began in the 12th century and was not completed until the dome was built in the 15th century – hence a mix of Roman and Gothic architectural styles. The baptistery (with its magnificent bronze doors) and Giotto’s bell tower stand beside the cathedral. CATHEDRAL ENTRY : Free. TO CLIMB THE CUPOLA (463 steps) and/or GIOTTO’s TOWER (414 steps) : 10euro per person MUSEO DELL’OPERA DEL DUOMO is the new Cathedral museum and well worth visiting (it’s quick and easy to get around) with the largest concentration of Florentine monumental sculpture in the world including medieval and Renaissance statues and reliefs in marble, bronze and silver by the leading artists of the era such as Donatello and Michelangelo - this museum will take your breath away. Open each day from 0900-1900 (closed first Tuesday of each month) - 15euro per person allowing entry to all the sites of The Grand Museum of the Cathedral of Florence comprising Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the ruins of Santa Reparata. THE ACCADEMIA was founded in 1561 and housed the first school specialising in the teaching of art and sculpture. The collection of artwork was established in 1784 to serve as examples for the students to follow. Today, it is renowned for Michelangelo’s sculptures which include David, Quattro and Prigioni. Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115

FLORENCE CLOSED: Monday . ENTRY: 16,50euro for pre-booked tickets

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PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA is the site of the original Roman forum. L’OSPEDALE DEGLI INNOCENTI was once a children’s orphanage designed by Brunelleschi and responsible for the care of abandoned children, providing them with the ability to rejoin society. The first infant abandoned was on 5 February 1445, 10 days after the opening. Children were left in a basin which was located at the front portico, however, this was removed in 1660 and replaced by a door with rotating horizontal wheel that brought the baby into the building without the parent being seen. This system was in operation until the hospital closed in 1875. Today it houses a museum of Renaissance art.

THE SANTA CROCE BASILICA is the largest Franciscan church in the world (said to be founded by St Francis himself). Its most notable features are the 16 chapels, many of them decorated with frescos by Giotto and the monumental tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo and Dante. In the cloisters stands a monument to Florence Nightingale, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. Today the former dormitory of the Franciscan Friars houses the Scuola del Cuoio, a

Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115

FLORENCE leather school where visitors can watch as artisans craft purses, wallets, and other leather goods which are sold in the adjacent shop. SAN LORENZO CHURCH is centered in the city’s main market district and contains the Medici Chapel where all the principle members of the Medici family are buried. It claims to be Florence’s oldest church and for 300 years it was the city’s main cathedral.
 OPEN: 1000-1730 each day, holidays & Sunday from 1330-1730 March-October. CLOSED: All Sundays from November-February. ENTRY: 4,50euro for the Basilica and 7,00euro for the Basilica and the Library. THE UFFIZI was the centre of Florence civil life and government for centuries. It was designed by Vasari in 1560 and built by Cosimo I. The collection was started in 1574 when Cosimo’s son, Francesco I transformed the second floor of the Vasarian building into a place ‘to walk in with paintings, sculptures and other precious things”. It now houses one of the world’s most important art collections with 27 Botticelli including “The Birth of Venus” and “Springtime”. A passageway, known as the Vasarian Corridor leads from the Uffizi, crossing over the Ponte Vecchio and on to Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens. CLOSED: Mondays. ENTRY: 16,50euro for pre-booked tickets THE PONTE VECCHIO’S most striking feature is the multitude of shops built upon its edges and held up by stilts – the jewellery shops have operated here since 1592 when the Medici Grand Duke expelled the butchers and their smelly trade in order to make his daily walks in the Vasari Corridor (above the shops) more pleasant! The original bridge was constructed by the Etruscans with the current bridge being built in the 14th century. It is the only bridge in the city to have survived World War II intact and in 1966 when the massive flood wiped out the shops, the bridge itself was strong enough to withstand the roaring waters. PITTI PALACE AND THE BOBOLI GARDENS lie across the Arno and contain much of the Medici family’s private art collection. This grand palace and its gardens were constructed in 1457 for Luca Pitti who was a large Medici opponent however the building grew into an overwhelming project and Pitti was forced to sell it to the Medici in 1549. CLOSED: Monday. ENTRY : 14euro for pre-booked tickets depending on exhibitions

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SYNAGOGUE AND JEWISH MUSEUM was built between 1874 and 1882. It houses a museum on the second floor which presents a summary of the most important events in the history of Florentine Jews. Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115

G E N E R A L I N F O R M AT I O N

! YOUR DRIVER Whilst your driver will give you as much information as possible on historic monuments, local customs and traditions, etc, he is not allowed to leave his vehicle at any time and therefore unable to accompany you by foot in the historical city centres or villages as well as into monuments, museums and churches. The sequence of your tour may alter in order to avoid any congestion.

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LUNCH RECOMMENDATION We do like Cantinetta di Verrazzano, Via dei Tavolini 18/r (+39 055 268590) which offers light lunches - the tagliere are wonderful with a selection of hams and cheeses, crostini and vegetables accompanied by a glass of Chianti. Reservations are advised but this may leave you with a tighter schedule. Or there is the more lively Mercato Centrale (central market) with its upper floor offering an great choice of dining opportunities from panini, pastries and pizza to fish, Chianina beef, pasta and truffles - a great way to sample your way around Tuscany!

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TIPPING Tipping is not mandatory in Italy, however, if you have been happy with your excursion, your driver/guide would usually receive a tip as a token of appreciation. General rule of thumb is between 10-20% based on how you felt about the service you received.

Via T. Bandettini - Traversa XI 90F, San Concordio, Lucca 55100, Tuscany, Italy Tel: +39 0583 051263 - Cell: +39 348 4406367 or +39 320 6066859 www.luccalimo.com - [email protected] - [email protected] Partita IVA 02321600468 – C.F. RMN VTR 68C27 F704O - REA LU-216115