The Heart of Northern Italy: Verona, Mantua, Brescia and Bergamo

Morning flight from London to Venice. Transfer to Verona by coach for initial visit to the church of San Zeno to admire the richly carved west portal, stunning Romanesque bronze doors and Mantegna's ground-breaking triptych, before continuing to our four-star hotel in the centre of the old town.

Explore Verona on foot, beginning with its Roman roots, manifest in buildings such as the 1st-century Ponte di Pietra and the famous amphitheatre, and continuing to its mediaeval and Renaissance highlights, such as the heroic della Scala funerary monuments in the family's private cemetery, Pisanello's fresco of St George and the Princess in S. Anastasia and a sumptuous altarpiece by Paolo Veronese in S. Giorgio in Braida.

All-day excursion to Brescia whose Roman and Lombard relics are among the best preserved in northern Italy, from the temple of emperor Vespasian and the 3rd-century theatre to the intriguing ensemble of buildings at S. Giulia, home of the Museo della Città and now a UNESCO World Heritage Monument commemorating Lombard civilisation. The museum incorporates mosaic floors of Roman houses and the 8th-century basilica of S. Salvatore with Lombard stuccowork, Carolingian and Renaissance frescoes and Romanesque reliefs.

A second day on foot in Verona will include the Castelvecchio, built for the later rulers of the della Scala family as a princely residence, and now a museum with works by Pisanello, Mantegna and Veronese. Highlights of the multi-layered complex of the cathedral are a wonderful Romanesque baptismal font in the baptistery, richly frescoed church walls and an altarpiece by Titian depicting the Assumption of the Virgin.

All-day coach excursion to ducal Mantua whose handsome monuments are the result of the princely patronage of the Gonzaga family. Encounter the Gonzagas and their treasures in the massive Palazzo Ducale, with Mantegna's spectacularly frescoed Camera degli Sposi, and in their fashionable suburban retreat, Guilio Romano's Palazzo Te. The Christian 'temples' of S. Andrea and S. Sebastiano, designed by Renaissance humanist, author and architect Leon Battista Alberti, are seminal works of Early Renaissance church architecture.

We check out of our hotel and head for Bergamo, an historic city split into two main areas; the upper city and the lower city. San Bartholomew, built in the 18th century in the Baroque style is known for its ornate interior, with beautiful frescoes on the ceiling and walls. We take the cable car up to the mediaeval Città Alta. Surrounded by the 16th-century Venetian Walls, it is dominated by the Rocca di Bergamo fortress and features handsome piazzas house the arcaded Palazzo della Ragione, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore with its gilded interior, and the intricate marble facade of the Cappella Colleoni. Continue to Milan airport for our return flight to London. Return flight to London from Milan.