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NAPLES Classical to contemporary around the Campi Flegrei and the Amalfi Coast

8 days | £4995 per person with flights | 17 - 24 September 2025

NAPLES Classical to contemporary around the Campi Flegrei and the Amalfi Coast

When the grand tourists of the 18^th century, having crossed the Brenner Pass to see melancholy Venice, stately Florence, and the fabled remainders of antiquity in Rome, finally reached the Bay of Naples, it must have seemed like crossing the Alps all over again. In landscape, culture and character, Naples is further from northern Italy than Switzerland, and the Neapolitans know it. Some call it the ‘real’ Italy, others insist that it is not Italy at all/ But everyone can agree that Naples is unique and unforgettable.

Despite the prevailing sense of disorder, Naples feels immediately familiar. The touchstones of the Italian Life that are most recognisable to outsiders, both good and bad, find their fullest expression here. No place is as fixated on food, on football, on la bella figura, as Naples. Nowhere boasts the same mix of ancient ruins, baroque glamour, and extraordinary art and when the silhouette of Vesuvius grows darker as the sun sets behind the bay, few would deny the extraordinary beauty of Naples’ natural surroundings.

This tour is an exploration of two thousand years of Neapolitan history. We will visit the ruins of Cumae and Pompeii, and the classical treasures preserved in the world’s finest archaeological museum. We will escape to the palatial Capodimonte gallery and the calmer but no les lovely towns of Ravello and Amalfi. We will admire the glorious chaos of Spaccanapoli and its hidden artistic gems, and much more besides, including a startlingly modern underground network, evidence that the city’s artistic life, and capacity to surprise, remains as vigorous as ever.

Day to day Itinerary

Day 1

Fly from London to Naples. Coach transfer to the hotel before a welcome drink, with views of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius, followed by an introductory talk. First of five nights in Naples.

Day 2

By coach to visit a number of fascinating and well-preserved ancient ruins in the Campi Flegrei area. In the morning, the acropolis of Cumae, the first Greek colony in mainland Italy, the ruins of Baia including the half-submerged Temple of Mercury, and the nearby Piscina Mirabilis, one of the largest ancient freshwater cisterns. In the afternoon, visit Pozzuoli for its ruined Macellum, or market building, and a view of its Flavian amphitheatre, the third largest in Italy. Continue to the Grotta di Seiano, for a private tour of the 770-metre-long Roman tunnel leading to a remarkable cliffside villa. Return by coach to the hotel.

Day 3

The morning is given over to exploring the ancient Decumanus area of Naples, today called ‘Spaccanapoli’: with 4^th- century Early Christian mosaics, and the Church of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, which contains Caravggio’s celebrated Seven Acts of Mercy. Late afternoon visit to the Archaeological Museum – the world’s greatest collection of sculptures, mosaics, and wall paintings from the Roman Era.

Day 4

A walk in the centre of Naples again to visit the highly unusual Cappella Sansevero and its astonishing Cristo Velato sculpture, followed by a visit to the nearby church and ceramic-tiled cloister of Santa Chiara. Lunch at one of the most famous pizzerias in the city. Afterwards, a coach takes us to the Capodimonte Museum, built as a hunting-lodge for Bourbon princes and today home to one of Italy’s finest art collections, including pictures by Simone Martini, Masaccio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titan, Caravaggio, and Goya.

Day 5

By coach to the Università underground station to view the cutting-edge design of Europe’s most startling and artistic public transport network. A short metro journey takes us to Va Toledo where we will visit the Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano to see what is believed to be Caravaggio’s last work, the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula. Afterwards, we continue on foot through the Galleria Umberto I to the famous Teatro San Carlo opera-house. We see the area of the impressive Angevin Fortress, the Castle Nuovo, the Piazza del Plebescito and finish at the historic Caffè Gambrinus. The afternoon is free to explore the vibrant city at your leisure.

DAY 6

Check out and coach to Pompeii, rightly the most celebrated of Naples’ ancient sights. After lunch, and a tasting of local wines from the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, continue by coach to Ravello for the first of two nights in this historic and beautiful hill-top town.

DAY 7

Visit Ravello’s 11^th-century Duomo, and the peaceful gardens of the Villa Rufolo. After lunch, a short drive down to the coast at Amalfi, to see its 13^th-century cathedral whose Arab influences are unmistakable. As also in the ‘Cloister of Paradise’, a tranquil garden of palms surrounded by slender, white arches.

DAY 8

Walk from the centre of Ravello up to the spectacular Villa Cimbrone for a breath-taking panorama of the Amalfi coast. After an independent lunch, coach to Villa Oplontis, the most magnificent and best-preserved of the ancient Imperial Villas of the Vesuvian area. Continue to Naples airport for our return flight to London.

Hotel Eurostars

The Hotel Eurostars hotel is located on the seafront, with spectacular views of Vesuvius, the Gulf of Naples and the idyllic islands of Ischia and Capri. It is luxuriously decorated with Murano glass lamps, Carrara marble, fabrics and silk upholstery. Rooms are elegant, furnished in a classic style with all modern facilities.

Hotel Rufolo

Hotel Rufolo is a stunning historic house overlooking the famous Villa Rufolo gardens and providing stunning views of the coast. Rooms are furnished with wooden furniture and Vietri ceramic flooring making for a sleek, traditional look and a comfortable stay.

With Flights: £4995

Join Direct: £4845

Single Supp: £800

Deposit: £450

Departure Dates:

17 - 24 September 2025

Duration:

7 nights / 8 days

Your Holiday Includes:

Return flights (Economy class) from London to Naples
Five nights’ bed and breakfast at the Hotel Eurostars in Naples
Two nights’ bed and breakfast at the Hotel Rufolo in Ravello
Private coach transfers and excursions
Four evening meals and two lunches
Guided visits to the sites and monuments listed in the programme
Services of the tour lecturer and a tour manager
Detailed programme and study notes
All entrance fees, taxes, and gratuities for coach drivers and serving staff

Tour Lecturers

Nigel McGilchrist

Living and teaching in the Mediterranean area (Italy, Turkey and Greece) for over forty years, Art Historian Nigel McGilchrist began work with the Italian Ministry of Arts in the field of wall painting conservation. He has taught for universities both in the USA and in Italy, and now lectures independently for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and for a number of other cultural organisations.. He has accompanied over eighty art and architecture tours in both Europe and Asia. With a particular interest in Buddhism and its art, and a family connection with Japan, he has taken groups to Bhutan, India, Cambodia, Thailand and Japan. He is the author of a 20-volume series of books on the art, history and architecture of the Greek Aegean Islands; and his most recently published book on Pythagoras (When the Dog speaks, the Philosopher listens) draws on the deep connections between Greek and Eastern philosophy.

Travel Information

The price does not include extras at the hotels or travel insurance.

Please note that Art Pursuits use hotels of character featuring a variety of rooms & styles.

Stamina

Please note that some of our tours can involve a fair amount of walking, sometimes across uneven ground. Please contact us if you would like more information.