Grand Tour of Italy’s Baroque Art & Architectural History

Artists set out their easels atop the cobblestone square of Piazza Navona in the morning light as cafes place tables and chairs along the edges of the square ready for locals and visitors to sit and enjoy the pleasures of the day. The scent of espresso spills out of corner cafes and blends with the sweet aroma of pastries inside local bakeries. Your guide will meet you after breakfast and take you on an engaging half-day tour of the artwork exhibited in the Villa Borghese, a stunning palace connected to an opulent garden often referred to as “Rome’s Central Park.”

The villa includes the art collection of the former Cardinal Scipione Borghese, one of the most enthusiastic art collectors of the 17th century. The opulent decor of the villa matches the stunning frescoes and sculptures that decorate the rooms as marble hallways lead to hidden alcoves that hold antique ornaments. There are 20 separate rooms that feature ornate ceilings painted with remarkable scenes of historical, religious, and mythological intrigue. Your guide will lead you into another gallery with gilded embellishments that wrap around the wainscoting.

Bernini crafted the sculpture to which your eye is drawn, an image of Pluto abducting Persephone. The 17th-century sculpture comes to life with simple detail as you notice the way Pluto’s fingers indent into Persephone’s legs as he lifts her. The position of the two intertwined bodies adds to the immense space taken up by the larger than life figures, while their expressions offer insight into the view of the each of the characters’ world. In true Baroque manner, the sculpture takes the Classic style and embellishes it with greater detail to shape a more captivating piece of art.

Ancient Rome took its inspiration from the civilizations that came before it, including the art, architecture, and philosophy of Greece and Egypt. In the traditions of Rome, the Baroque movement evolved from the Renaissance, using the past to inspire the art, architecture, and culture of the time. After breakfast, your guide will escort you through Rome’s ancient monuments, from the iconic image of the Colosseum to the remains of villas on Palatine Hill. Before you visit the ancient sites of the former Republic and Empire, you will visit the Capitoline Museums, which remain the world’s oldest public museums as they were opened in the 15th century.

Palatine Hill has acted as the seat of government since the beginning of Roman history, with the unique design of the oval-shaped piazza deriving from Michelangelo’s plan in the 16th century. Two of the bordering buildings along the piazza contain the museums, which face each other from opposite sides. The white half-columns of the façade accentuate the peach hues around the windows. You will enter into the pristine halls of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, and the first floor holds the core of the museum’s sculptural collection, along with a courtyard decorated with ancient masonry, including the unforgettable image of a gigantic hand and foot set atop columns. These adornments belonged to the nearly 40-foot tall statue of Constantine that once stood in the Roman Forum. The most notable piece inside the gallery is the Lupa Capitolina, a 5th century BC bronze wolf who later became the symbol of the capital.

Some of the most notable architecture in Rome emanates from the church facades. Elaborate spires and bell towers, columns and porticos help to shape the luster of the Eternal City. Today you will traverse the streets of the city to discover the impressive Baroque Churches and Basilicas that continue to connect the majesty of impeccable detail with humanistic biblical stories. Your guide will lead you across the Ponte Sant’Angelo, a bridge erected in the 2nd century AD. Three of the pillars remain from the original construction that once led to the outskirts of the city to connect the heart of Rome to the Castello Sant’Angelo. Angelic statues crafted by Bernini and his students decorate the bridge railings.

At the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, you will discover a graceful 16th-century church with a travertine facade commissioned by Pope Leo X. The church is the resting place of Francesco Borromini and includes stunning sculptures that adorn the architect’s tomb. Inside the Church of San Ignazio, your guide will point you to a seal that decorates the marble floor. The aroma has hints of frankincense from the morning’s mass, and after you step onto the seal, you will look up. Suddenly, the ceilinged fresco will fully absorb you and take you into the heavens through a three-dimensional illusion. The artist, Andrea Pozzo, painted the ceiling between the 1680s and 1690s, turning a small ceiling into an elaborate vault open to heaven and earth.

In the morning, the sunlight will wash over the details of the statues that adorn the Trevi Fountain. The water spills out beneath the figure of Oceanus and splashes into the waiting pool below. Horses erupt from the water to add symmetric layers to the piece to draw the viewer’s eye. The white stone shimmers with flecks of gold in the passing light. After breakfast, your private transfer will meet you in the hotel lobby and escort you to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for your brief flight to the city of Lecce, in the Puglia region, located in the heel of Italy’s “boot.” The provincial capital has roots in the 3rd century BC with the Messapii people, and is often referred to as the “Florence of the South.”

However, the beauty and history of Lecce go beyond Florence, as Lecce expresses art and architecture associated with the beauty and detail of the Baroque period. Your flight will land at Salento Airport in Brindisi, and your private guide will take you on to Lecce. The weather will be warm with a refreshing breeze, which rustles the surrounding palm trees. You will enter into the historical center of Lecce, an area that glitters with golden yellow limestone. Your walk along the streets of the city will bring angelic figures, human features, elaborate animals, and fanciful architectural embellishments into view, whether on the historical balconies or around the dramatic doorways.

Papier-mâché has a long tradition in Lecce, reaching a peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. Artists discovered new artistic methods to express themselves due to their lack of connection with marble and bronze in the region. After settling into the luxuries of your hotel, you can visit the Museo della Cartapesta. Boutique shops showcase the art form in window displays, and the museum offers detail history of the work, along with preserved pieces. Continue to a small workshop to meet a skilled artisan ready to demonstrate their skills at the craft.

The cherubs and gilded frames of Lecce are unmistakable in the morning light as the warmth of the Mediterranean climate sweeps through the city. Cafes set out umbrellas to shade patrons from the radiant sunlight as the scent of espresso and brioche overtakes the cobblestone streets and lingers in front of the façade of the Cathedral. Today you will have a guided tour of the city to offer you deeper insight into the Baroque structures whose beauty shape the expression of the city both outside and in.

Your private guide will escort you through the streets to the Basilica di Santa Croce and the magnificent Cattedrale dell’Assunzione della Vergine. The foundations were laid in the 12th century, but the structure was rebuilt in the Baroque style in the 17th century, with an added 230-foot tall bell tower. The north entrance has a restrained, elegant design, with the south entrance maintaining an intricate collection of stone carvings. Today will you step beyond the surface of the Baroque facades of Lecce and into the beauty of the dramatic works.

Inside Cattedrale dell’Assunzione della Vergine your guide will point to the remarkably painted wooden ceilings in the nave. The colorful frescoes depict the martyrdom of St. Orontius, along with a representation of the Last Supper. At the edge of Piazza Sant’Oronzo, you will find a 17th-century column that marks the end of Via Appia, the historic Roman road that once connecting the southern port of Brindisi to the Empire. You will wander back behind the square’s southern side to see the remains of a Roman amphitheater, once again fusing the Baroque with images of the artistic period’s inspiration.

In the morning, the breeze rustles the fronds of the palm trees around Lecce as the golden yellow limestone continues to glow in the spreading sunlight. After breakfast, your guide will lead you way from the Baroque lined streets of the city and take you to the beautiful winding alleys and blinding white homes of Martina Franca. Red geraniums grow inside flowerboxes positioned in windowsills as the bright flower petals stand out from the pristine facades. Wrought iron balconies adorn the edges of the piazzas with curlicue formations and lead you back to the narrow lanes that meander through the city. The town was founded in the 10th century by Arab refugees, and flourished in the 14th century under the reign of Philip of Anjou.

The Basilica di San Martino is a Baroque structure erected in the 18th century and the ornamented façade stands more than 120 feet tall to glint with its opulent limestone. A relief of Saint Martin cutting his cloak adorns the façade, along with a group of sculptures set inside a large shell. The interior contains herbaceous aromas that emanate from the marbled metope containing a bass relief of St. Martin. An 18th-century painting depicts Archangel Raphael on the bank of the Tigris River, and the fresco guides your eye to the marble altar with Jesus at the Column, designed by Gennaro Sammartino, brother of Joseph Sammartino, one of the most notable Baroque artists in history.

The detailed symphonies of the cherubs and the saints as they erupt from the church facades of Lecce are captivating in both beauty and preservation. Groups of locals enjoy the social gatherings over communal tables dressed with decorative lamps made from melted glass bottles. The aroma of fresh pasta and creamy olive oils overtakes the lingering scent of morning espresso. As you enjoy one last morning, Lecce fills with rich life set beneath the shade of the Cathedral spires and the sporadic trees that rise out of small piazzas. Your private transfer will meet you in your hotel lobby when you are ready and escort you to the Salento Airport for your flight home.