My friend and I are teachers. We are attempting to acquire a grant on Renaiassance thinking. Any suggestions on where to begin and end our tour would be of great help. One suggestion was to begin in Venice. Where shoud we go from there?
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Elaine: Because your subject is "Renaissance thinking," Florence is a must for your itinerary, because it's closely associated with not only Renaissance art and architecture but also the history of the development of Renaissance thought. Regarding the latter, you may find it interesting to research the founding of the Neoplatonic academy in Florence in the last half of the 15th century under the leadership of the Humanist philosopher Ficino and the patronage of Cosimo de Medici.
Posted by
OP
Houston, TX, US
2 posts
Thank you for your reply. Yeas Florence was one of the cities I certainly intend to spend some time in. The heart of the Italian Renaissance... do you have any suggestions as to where to stay in tis city or any other city such as Rome, Venice, Milan etc.
thanks again
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Elaine: There are a huge number of accommodations in the major Italian cities; in general, hotels in these cities are on the expensive side compared to some other places in Europe.One of the things you can do to narrow down the list of hundreds of potential accommodations is to determine your hotel budget: what's the maximum amount you want to spend per day for accommodations? If you start with dollars, convert to euros by multiplying dollars x ~0.7, thus if your budget is $150/night it will be about €105/night (these are approximations and use today's interbank rate + 2%).Rick Steves has written several books on Italy, including a large number of recommendations of moderate price places to sleep.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32318 posts
Elaine,
As Kent mentioned, Rick's books are an excellent resource for finding accommodations in various price ranges, and also provide lots of information for touring Museums, Galleries and other sites (admission prices, opening & closing hours, etc.).
Given the focus of your trip, beginning in Venice and ending in Rome (using open-jaw flights) would be a good way to structure it. How many other cities you visit will depend on how much time you have and of course your budget. There's so MUCH history in Italy, you'll probably have to be a bit selective in choosing places to visit.
Good luck!