Views of Italy All Budding Artists Must Paint: Tuscany & Umbria

With its breath-taking landscapes, beautiful monuments and stunning light, Italy has inspired artists for thousands of years. Whether sketching or painting, budding artists will find inspiration everywhere. Italian food and wine adds to the enjoyment.

Leave the city crowds and head for Tuscany and Umbria, Italy's greenest regions of rolling hills and valleys and stunning light. Take your time as you paint the landscape of the hill towns, castles and villages. This is the birthplace of Italian Renaissance painting and some of its most famous masters, such as Giotto and Fra Angelico.

Continue to Florence to see Giotto's masterpieces in the Santa Croce church. Paint or sketch this marble-clad church from the piazza outside. Remember to take some time to enjoy the Florentine speciality, a T-bone steak, in the restaurants nearby.

Florence is an easy city to walk around but also crowded. Start early in the morning if you would like to paint the Duomo, Medici Palace and other famous monuments in the centre. One of the most beautiful night-time views of Florence is from the Ponte alle Grazie looking down the Arno river to the Ponte Vecchio, Florence's landmark bridge.

If you are feeling energetic, cross the river to the Oltrarno district and climb the stairs – lots of them – to the Piazzale Michaelangelo. Here you will see a panorama of Florence that embraces Santa Croce, the Duomo, Forte Belvedere, Palazzo Vecchio and the Ponte Vecchio. The hills of Fiesole and Settignano are in the background. There's lots of room here to sit and paint at leisure.

If the rolling greens of Tuscany and Umbria inspires you to come on an art holiday with us, Flavours of Italy offer painting holidays in Tuscany, Sicily, and Umbria. For the best prices on your airfares, visit TravelSupermarket.com for great deals on cheap flights.