The science of the Renaissance: Italy
7 April 2025 - 6 days - Sold out.
April 2026 - Register at tours@newscientist.com and we will contact when confirmed details including dates and prices are available.
Encounter the great scientific minds and discoveries of the Renaissance, which helped cement Italy's role at the forefront of scientific endeavour – from Brunelleschi and Botticelli to polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei.
Explore Italy's most beautiful cities of Florence, Pisa and Bologna and look at the wondrous collections, buildings and churches that demonstrate the burgeoning knowledge of the Renaissance period. You will be based in Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance and seat of the House of Medici, whose patronage was pivotal to academic and artistic progress.
Accompanied throughout by writer and journalist Juliet Rix, the tour will focus on the astronomical, anatomical, medical and mathematical discoveries, as well as the achievements of Renaissance artists and architects. On the first evening during your visit to the British Institute of Florence, in addition to Juliet, you will be joined by art historian and Florence resident Jeremy Boudreau.
This tour is perfect for art and history enthusiasts, cultural travelers and those seeking an educational and enriching experience. It also appeals to those drawn to the region's iconic architecture, rich heritage, and renowned cuisine.
In partnership with Kirker Holidays.
Guest feedback
"The Museum of Communication in Bologna and the EGO site near Pisa were wonderful. Also, so very privileged to see the frescoes in Brancacci chapel at such close quarters."
"Highlights were the basilica in Bologna, the anatomical theatre. In Florence, the Galileo museum and Maria Novella. Andrew Spira explanation and details were excellent."
DAY 1: ARRIVE IN FLORENCE AND MEET JULIET. EVENING AT BRITISH INSTITUTE OF FLORENCE ACCOMPANIED BY JEREMY BOUDREAU
Arrive in Florence where you will be met by your tour leader Juliet Rix at the four-star Degli Orafi Hotel on the banks of the Arno river, just a few metres from the Uffizi Gallery.
In the evening you will enjoy a welcome drink and an introductory talk at the nearby British Institute of Florence from Jeremy Boudreau who will set the scene with a presentation on the birth of the Florentine Renaissance. Afterwards, dine together at a charming local restaurant.
DAY 2: FLORENCE: DUOMO, BAPTISTRY AND THE PTOLEMAIC PLANETARIUM
You will start today at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum) includes works by Michelangelo, Brunelleschi and the stunning doors, known as the Gates of Paradise. This is followed by other sites within a short walking distance, including the Baptistery with its zodiac floor marble slab and Brunelleschi’s magnificent Duomo itself.
There will be free time for lunch before you visit the Ptolemaic Planetarium in the dome of the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, originally a Medici burial ground.
Conclude the day at the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella where you will see Ignazio Danti’s instruments on the facade, which include an armillary sphere and an astronomical quadrant.
Dinner is taken independently this evening.
DAY 3: BOLOGNA: CATHEDRALS, THEATRES AND THE MUSEO DI SCIENZA E ARTE
Today you will enjoy a full day in Bologna, one of Italy’s most underrated but beautiful cities. After the short drive from Florence, visit the Cathedral of San Petronio, which houses a "hidden-in-plain-sight" solar observatory. Here, you will hear the surprising story of cooperation between religion and science to record the structure and rhythm of the cosmos. There will be an included lunch in one of Bologna’s wonderful restaurants.
Afterward, you will explore the Palazzo Archiginnasio with its beautifully crafted 17th-century anatomical theatre, before finishing at the Museo di Scienza e Arte.
Return to Florence where dinner is taken independently this evening.
DAY 4: FLORENCE: FONDAZIONE SCIENZA, SANTA CROCE AND MUSEO GALILEO
In the morning you will visit the Fondazione Scienza e Tecnica where you will see a rich collection over 50,000 items covering physics, natural history and astronomy. Then you will enjoy the austere Basilica di Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in the world, where illustrious figures such as Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli are buried, before visiting the Museo Galileo, which celebrates the studies of astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, whose work was in some ways centuries ahead of its time.
Dinner is taken independently this evening.
DAY 5: PISA AND THE EUROPEAN GRAVITATIONAL OBSERVATORY
Today, drive to Pisa, an hour from Florence, where you will start at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Piazza dei Miracoli with its cathedral where Galileo is believed to have formulated his theory about the movement of pendulums by watching the swinging of an incense lamp. Next door is the largest baptistery in Italy and the campanile, also known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There will be some free time before you visit the European Gravitational Observatory, which houses the Virgo interferometer, the only one of its kind in Europe, designed to detect gravitational waves. You will return to Florence where a farewell dinner will be served in a local restaurant.
DAY 6: FLORENCE AT LEISURE AND DEPARTURE
On the last day, there is a free morning before transferring to Pisa airport for your return journey.
You are welcome to spend additional time in Florence and our operating partner can help you with additional nights’ accommodation, visits and alternative travel arrangements.
