google-site-verification=t00I5y-efozpbdvESbyxUuwrh5KxZeepGf1pO61XONk
top of page

Lock-in the history of architecture.

ITALY FOR ACHITECTS
July 3–15 2026

Join Dr. Steven Fleming on a chronological study tour of Italy, ran especially for architects. Since it began in 2010, the tour has gotten sharper than 0.1mm Rotring pen with unique tactics to maximise understanding and the completion of a sketchbook you will treasure for life.

Image by Fadi Al Shami

Mission

Experience Italy through the eyes of an architectural historian. From ancient temples at Paestum to the Baroque brilliance of Bernini and Borromini, this is more than a tour—it is an unpacking of meaning and motivation, relevant to your practice today.

Join a small group of architecture lovers, students, and professionals for two unforgettable weeks. We travel by high-speed train and coach, stay in 3- and 4-star hotels, and spend long, sketch-filled days in the presence of the architectural canon.

Image by Brandon Stoll

ITINERARY

JULY 05 – POMPEII > ROME

  • Early risers: Coffee at Gambrinus Café

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Onboard lecture: Pompeii

  • Half-day visit: Pompeii Archaeological Site

  • Lunch at leisure

  • High-speed train to Rome

  • Onboard lecture: Ancient Roman Architectural Forms

  • Visit the Pantheon

  • Evening walking tour: Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc.

  • Hotel in Rome

Italy Study Tour Itinerary (July 3–15)

​

JULY 03 – ROME

  • 6pm welcome dinner and drinks in Rome

  • Check in: Hotel in Rome

​

JULY 04 – ROME > PAESTUM > NAPLES

  • Hotel breakfast

  • High-speed train to Salerno, coach to Paestum

  • Onboard lecture: Greek Architecture

  • Lunch break in Paestum (own expense)

  • Guided sketching visit: Paestum Archaeological Site

  • Sketching tuition as required

  • Coach to Naples

  • Onboard lecture: Roman Civilisation

  • Dinner suggestion: Pizza at Da Michele or Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba

  • Architectural suggestions: Basilica Reale San Francesco di Paolo, Galleria Umberto

  • Hotel in Naples

Marmo

JULY 06 – ROME

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Sketching visit to Baths of Carallaca.

  • Field sketching outside the Colosseum

  • On-coach lecture: Early Christian Period

  • Guided visit: Basilica of San Clemente

  • On-coach lecture: Early Christian Architecture

  • Sketching visit: Mausoleum of St. Costanza

  • Coach stops: Hotel / Roman Forum / Santa Sabina

  • Optional visits: Colosseum or Forum (own expense, last entry 6pm) Baths of Diocletian (Free Enry).

  • Hotel in Rome

​

JULY 07 – BOLOGNA

  • Hotel breakfast

  • High-speed train to Bologna

  • Onboard lecture: The Enlightenment

  • Guided visit: Bologna Anatomical Theatre

  • Afternoon at leisure

  • Hotel in Bologna

JULY 08 – RAVENNA > FLORENCE

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Coach to Ravenna

  • Onboard lecture: Byzantine Architecture

  • Guided sketching visits: San Vitale, Galla Placidia, Apollinare in Classe

  • Coach to Florence

  • Onboard lecture: Medieval Florence

  • Dinner at leisure

  • Hotel in Florence (3 nights)

​​

​​​

​

JULY 09 – PISA > FLORENCE

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Coach to Pisa

  • Lecture: Romanesque Architecture

  • Guided sketching: Pisa Cathedral & Baptistry

  • Optional: Tower climb or Santa Maria della Spina

  • Lunch at leisure

  • Coach to Florence

  • Onboard lecture: Introduction to the Renaissance

  • Optional walk: Piazzale Michelangelo, Caffè Giubbe Rosse

  • Hotel in Florence

JULY 10 – FLORENCE

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Sketching visit: Foundling Hospital

  • Walk: Santa Maria degli Angeli, Duomo, Santa Croce

  • Sketching: Pazzi Chapel, Santo Spirito, Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Rucellai

  • Notable stops: Palazzo Strozzi, Palazzo Medici

  • Hotel in Florence

​

JULY 11 – FLORENCE > VICENZA

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Guided sketching: Medici Chapel, Laurentian Library

  • High Speed Train to Vicenza

  • Lecture: Introduction to Palladio

  • Sketching visit: Palladio’s Basilica

  • Hotel in Vicenza (3 nights)

​

JULY 12 – VICENZA > VILLAS

  • Sketching visit: Teatro Olimpico

  • Lecture: Palladian Villas

  • Visits: Villa Barbaro (frescos by Veronese), Villa Emo, Villa Rotonda

  • Dinner at leisure

  • Hotel in Vicenza

Marmo

JULY 13 – VENICE

  • Hotel breakfast

  • Train to Venice

  • Lecture: Introduction to Venice

  • Guided visit: St. Mark’s Basilica

  • Free afternoon in Venice

  • Return to Vicenza independently (ticket provided)

  • Hotel in Vicenza
     

JULY 14 – ROME

  • Early high-speed train to Rome

  • Lecture: St. Peter’s and the Baroque

  • Visits: Tempietto, St. Peter’s Piazza, optional Vatican visit

  • Metro to hotel

  • Hotel in Rome
     

JULY 15 – ROME (FINAL DAY)

  • Walking sketch tour: Santa Maria della Pace, Bernini’s Four Rivers, Sant’Ivo, Gesù

  • Lunch recommendation: buffet at Esposizioni.

  • Sketching visits: St. Andrew’s by Bernini, St. Charles of the Four Fountains, Palazzo Barberini stairs

  • Farewell dinner in Trastevere

  • Hotel in Rome

€3500 per person
(in double occupancy room)

€ 700,00 single room supplement

WHAT IS INCLUDED:

  • 13 nights in 4-star hotels with breakfast

  • welcome and farewell dinners with drinks

  • full-time service of a professional tour director

  • guided sightseeing tours as per itinerary

  • visits to select monuments and museums as per itinerary

  • trains and bus services as per itinerary

  • audio headsets for the whole tour

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:

  • Airfare

  • Travel insurance (highly recommended)

  • Any meal other than those mentioned above

  • Anything else not mentioned in the program

Cancellation Policy

  • more than 90 days before departure 100% refundable. 

  • Within 90 and 30 days before departure 50% refundable. 

  • Less than 30 days before departure 0% refundable.

 

We suggest to stipulate a insurance policy to cover cancellations due to force majeur events.

bottom of page