Curated Itinerary

A September Week in Italy: The Grand Tour in Ten Heritage Cities

The old Grand Tour in ten heritage cities, north to south: Venice, Roman Verona and mosaic Ravenna in the north; […]

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The old Grand Tour in ten heritage cities, north to south: Venice, Roman Verona and mosaic Ravenna in the north; Florence, Pisa, Siena and Assisi across Tuscany and Umbria; then Rome, Naples and the cave-city of Matera in the south. Every stop on this route is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the whole loop is timed for Italy’s Giornate Europee del Patrimonio, the European Heritage Days of late September. Each stop links to its full entry in the archive; download the GPX or KML for your own navigator.

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Step by step

1
Venice — Grand Canal

Venice — Grand Canal

Venice's Grand Canal winds for nearly four kilometres past more than 170 historic palaces, crossed by the Rialto Bridge and worked daily by gondolas and vaporetti.

Dwell ~240min

2
Centro Storico di Verona – Virtual Tour 360°

Centro Storico di Verona – Virtual Tour 360°

Verona's old town holds a working Roman amphitheatre, Scaligeri tombs, Sanmicheli's fortifications and Mantegna's altarpiece at San Zeno, all within a UNESCO-listed centre.

Dwell ~120min

6
Siena: Centro Storico

Siena: Centro Storico

Siena's historic centre preserves the medieval republic almost intact, from the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo to Lorenzetti's civic frescoes and the striped marble Duomo.

Dwell ~150min

8
Historic Centre of Rome – Virtual Tour 360°

Historic Centre of Rome – Virtual Tour 360°

The most visited heritage city in the world and the physical foundation of Western civilisation — Rome, the “Eternal City,” contains within a day’s walk the…

Dwell ~300min

9
Napoli: Centro Storico – Virtual Tour 360°

Napoli: Centro Storico – Virtual Tour 360°

Naples's historic centre keeps the Greek street grid of ancient Neapolis intact, its decumani and vicoli lined with churches, cloisters and presepe workshops layered across two and a half millennia.

Dwell ~180min

10
Sassi di Matera

Sassi di Matera

Two cave-cut districts carved into a limestone ravine, continuously inhabited from the Paleolithic to 1952 — one of the oldest living settlements in the…

Dwell ~150min

Download for tour navigation

PDF is the stop list with GPS, to print or keep on the phone. GPX for Garmin / Komoot / OsmAnd. KML for Google Earth and Maps.

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