Best Tours for Art

Well, there are opportunities for art on any of them. In a grossly general statement, I'd say any that include Florence.

BUT the Village Italy tour includes Ravenna which has fabulous mosaics.

I would add that any tour that includes Rome has great art experiences available, although you'd have to plan ahead and book some of the museums and venues yourself.

The Best of Rome tour has plenty of free time to follow your own pursuits.

Oh, and don't forget Venice! The Venice Florence Rome tour should be great for art lovers! I haven't taken that tour, but three nights in each city should give you at least a good overview of the art of Italy.

I have never taken a RS tour, but been to Italy many times.
The country is loaded with art and history.

Must sees are The Vatican Museum and SISTINE CHAPEL. The Sistine Chapel is incredible.

In Florence, do visit The Uffizi and Academia museums.
Also, the Duomo and Baptistery are loaded with beautiful art. Also, check out The Basilica di Santa Croce.

Venice has St. Mark's Basilica, located in Venice, Italy, is a stunning cathedral known for its unique blend of architectural styles, including Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic.

Also see Museo San Marco in Florence.

And I guess it depends on what kind of art you enjoy!

Jane is so correct about Rome, not sure why that didn't jump into my mind. The first time I saw the Michelangelo sculpture of Moses in San Pietro in Vincoli I was stunned. To me the Vatican Museums are hard to handle since they are so crowded but geovagriffith is on target about the Sistine Chapel which is at the end of the route thru the museum. The Borghese with the Bernini sculptures as well as his public sculptures in churches and in piazzas are wonderful.

Are there RS tours you are contemplating? I do think either Best of Italy or Venice, Florence and Rome would give you a wide variety.

I was looking at the Italy tours and the 21 Days of Europe tours. I'm going to be taking the RS tour of Greece soon and it's really gotten my mind on art. I'm also curious about Pompeii but that would have to be an add on after the tour or I could always do a My Way tour.

Arg! You'll get all sorts of answers and none of them will be wrong! It very much depends on what sort of art trips your trigger. It depends as well on your willingness/ability to book some the of the better/more popular venues on your own for your free time, as aside from the 7-day Rome tour, the others generally spend minimal time in some of the art-magnet locations, and don't include some pretty important highlights.

So speaking as an art geek who lost her little art-geek mind in Florence (not on an RS tour), I'll throw this idea out:
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/heart-italy

It doesn't spend nearly enough time, IMHO, in either Rome or Florence BUT you could arrive in Rome some days before the beginning of the tour to sightsee art-rich venues the tour doesn't cover. Those would include the Vatican Museums, Galleria Borghese (which we personally preferred to the overrun Vatican) Galleria Doria Pamphilj and some others, as well as some churches with priceless works (usually free to drool over.) The tour also doesn't cover the interior of the Colosseum.

After stops in some in-between scenic locations, it wraps up in Florence: the cradle of the Italian Renaissance. The tour includes visits to the venerable Uffizi and the Accademia - which is a plus - but that city is positively stuffed with additional showcases for artistic treasures, such as Museo san Marco, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Loggia dei Lanzi, the Bargello, Santa Trinita, Basilica di Santa Croce, San Miniato al Monte, Santa Maria Novella and more. I'd highly recommend staying additional days after the tour ends to slow down and take in some of what the tour can't cover in the mere 1.5 days it devotes to this city, The historic center is reasonably compact and easily explored on foot...or so we thought, anyway.

Both Rome and Florence will be very busy during the spring summer and fall.

I'm going to be taking the RS tour of Greece soon and it's really
gotten my mind on art. I'm also curious about Pompeii....

So in terms of 'art' it sounds like you're most interested in more ancient Greek and Roman ruins/mosaics/sculpture/frescoes?

In art terms I'm interested in everything from ancient art to present day.

Well, I've done both the 21 Day Best of Europe and the Best of Italy, Village Italy and Heart of Italy. 21 Day Best of Europe spends 8 nights in Italy but 2 are in the Cinque Terre which is not known for art BUT I found out on my Best of Italy there is a Van Dyke paintings in the small monastery church in Monterosso al Mare.

I did the 21 Day BOE early on in my tour "career", hahaha. IT was fabulous and possibly ranks up there as my favorite tour. I learned SO much about Europe and we saw a lot of art in Venice, Florence and Rome as well as in Amsterdam and Paris. This was at the time when the tour actually was able to take you in to the Vatican Museum and Saint Peters...now I think you have to arrange those on your own.

IF you take that one, I'd recommend adding at least 1 day on to the beginning and as many days on at the end in Paris. That of course depends on your time and budget! I added the Best of Paris on to the 21 Day tour which was wonderful. The only bad thing about taking the Best of Paris tour after the 21 day tour is that now I can't stay away from Paris.

The Best of Italy tour was very good as well. A lot was repeat for me but there is plenty to do at every stop AND my main reason was that I wanted to see Ötzi the Iceman in Bolzano. That is not an "art" stop but wowser, what a museum. The itinerary has changed a little since I took it so I'd recommend planning for a few extra days in Venice and Rome at the beginning and end.

Village Italy had some art but not as much as other locations. Heart of Italy as mentioned above had some in Rome and Florence and then the beautiful alabaster windows in the church in Volterra.

Which Rick Steve's Italy tours are the best for viewing art?

I would recommend doing a tour on your own. You would see more art and save a bunch of money. With the savings, you could add another week. Assuming you have two weeks, I would recommend something like this:

Venice 3 nights (St. Mark’s Basilica, Accademia, Doge’s Palace, Frari Church, Scuola San Rocco)
Ravenna 2 nights (several great mosaic sights)
Florence 4 nights (see Kate’s post)
Rome 5 nights (see Kate’s post)

Day trips to Siena (Duomo is art filled with who’s who of Italian art, marble floor, Piccolomini Library) and maybe Padua (Scrovegni Chapel) or overnight stays in both if you can add more days.