Winter Getaways
Italian City Breaks: A Winter Escape to Rome, Milan & Florence
Luxury car rental across three of Italy's most sought-after cities, from winter markets to Chianti and Franciacorta drives
Winter Getaways
Zeus Prestige offers luxury car rental in three of Italy's most sought-after cities for a winter city break, with two cars for each: a Ferrari F8 Tributo and a Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider in Rome, a Ferrari 12Cilindri and a Lamborghini Revuelto in Milan, and a Ferrari SF90 Stradale and a Porsche 718 Spyder RS in Florence.
Rome keeps quieter hours in winter, and a private visit to the Colosseum opens the arena floor and the passages beneath it. After dark, the Ferrari F8 Tributo has the city's travertine canyons to itself, the twin-turbo V8 sitting just behind your shoulders and every downshift thrown back off the old stone half a beat later.
Piazza Navona follows the outline of an ancient Roman stadium, and from early December it fills with stalls piled high with wooden toys, torrone and nativity figures, an antique carousel turning beside them. The market runs until January 6th, when the Befana swoops into the square on her broomstick to hand out sweets. Across the river, the tree in St. Peter's Square stands beside a nativity scene unveiled on Christmas Eve and left up through Epiphany.
Rome's Jewish community is among the oldest in Europe, with a history reaching back more than two thousand years. Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 4th this year and runs through December 12th, and a menorah roughly twenty feet tall is lit each evening in Piazza Barberini, with a smaller one in Piazza Bologna. The old Jewish Ghetto near Campo de' Fiori hosts its own festivities, and the smell of artichokes frying in olive oil drifts down the narrow streets, carciofi alla giudia, the neighbourhood's signature dish.
On New Year's Eve, Roma Capitale stages a free open-air concert in the Circus Maximus, the ancient chariot-racing stadium, and fireworks go up across the city at midnight. The line-up is announced closer to the date.
By spring the roof can come down on the Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider, and a short drive southeast the Alban Hills hold the Castelli Romani, hill towns where Frascati's white wine and slow-roasted porchetta draw Romans out for long Sunday lunches. The road winds past Lake Albano and the papal summer palace at Castel Gandolfo, the naturally aspirated V12 climbing toward its limit out of every bend. Tivoli lies in the other direction, home to Hadrian's Villa and the fountains of Villa d'Este.
On April 21st, Rome celebrates its legendary founding by Romulus in 753 BC, which makes 2027 the city's 2,780th birthday. Costumed parades, historical re-enactments, gladiator shows and fireworks mark the day.
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December in Milan is cold and often grey, with the light gone by half past four, which makes a closed-roof Ferrari the right call. The Ferrari 12Cilindri is named, quite simply, for twelve cylinders, a naturally aspirated V12 sitting ahead of the cockpit, and on wet stone around the Quadrilatero della Moda it sounds like nothing else on the street.
Milan saves its biggest social night for December 7th, the feast of its patron saint and the opening night of the season at La Scala, a theatre that has stood since 1778. Around it, the Oh Bej! Oh Bej! market takes over the grounds of Castello Sforzesco for a few days, typically December 5th to 8th, its name the Milanese cry of delight for "how beautiful." Panettone, Milan's own invention, sits in every pastry window, and the air outside smells of butter and candied orange.
The Lamborghini Revuelto points east. Venice sits roughly three hours from Milan, and its Carnevale runs from January 30th to Mardi Gras on February 9th, opening with a parade of illuminated, costumed boats on the Cannaregio Canal and filling the city with masks and masked balls in the palazzi. Venice itself is closed to cars, but the Lido, the long barrier island across the lagoon, is not. Drive onto the car ferry at Tronchetto, roll off at the Lido, and cross to the city by water taxi. Underneath you, a V12 and three electric motors send power to all four wheels, which makes the damp A4 east an unhurried drive.
About ninety minutes east of the city, Franciacorta is Italy's premier traditional-method sparkling wine region, its vines running between Brescia and the southern shore of Lake Iseo. In January and February the hills sit under fog and the cellars are quiet. Ca' del Bosco, near Erbusco, keeps contemporary art among its barrels, and its top cuvée, Annamaria Clementi, is the bottle to look for, while Bellavista looks out from its hilltop toward the lake. Producers generally ask guests to book ahead. In the other direction, Lake Como makes an equally natural drive.
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Winter light in Florence is low and warm, turning the stone amber by mid-afternoon. The Ferrari SF90 Stradale pulls away from the hotel on electric power with barely a sound, and then the V8 joins in and the whole street knows you have arrived.
Piazza Santa Croce hosts Florence's Weihnachtsmarkt, a German-style Christmas market with more than fifty wooden huts, this year from November 14th to December 20th. Pretzels, Bavarian sausages and mulled wine with a slice of strudel sit in the shadow of the basilica. The city's main Christmas trees are lit on December 8th, starting with the one at the Duomo, and video projections play across Ponte Vecchio and Palazzo Vecchio. On Piazza della Signoria, Rivoire serves Italian hot chocolate the way Florence prefers it, thick and almost pudding-like, made with melted chocolate.
Florence usually celebrates New Year's Eve with free events in several squares, and Piazza della Signoria hosts the midnight countdown and light show.
Private visits to the Duomo's terraces put Brunelleschi's dome within arm's reach, a view the day-ticket crowds rarely get. The Accademia, home to Michelangelo's David, and the Uffizi both offer skip-the-line visits too.
The Chiantigiana, the SR222, runs about seventy kilometres from Florence to Siena through Greve, Panzano and Castellina, an old road that was once the only link between the two cities. Tight curves between Greve and Panzano are where the Porsche 718 Spyder RS comes alive, its 4.0-litre flat-six revving to 9,000 rpm just behind your head. The lightweight roof is happiest stowed on a bright, dry day, and the stretch from Panzano to Castellina is often called the most scenic of all. In winter the vines stand bare and the cypress rows show their shape against the hills. Panzano is home to the butcher Dario Cecchini, a good place to end the day over a Florentine steak.
Viareggio's Carnevale lies well under two hours from Florence on the Tuscan coast, where towering papier-mâché floats parade along three kilometres of seafront, many of them caricaturing politicians and celebrities. The 2027 parades fall on January 30th, February 4th, 7th, 9th, 14th and 20th, with fireworks closing the opening night. On a bright Sunday the Spyder RS gets its roof down for the coast road home.
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Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche lead the way for these three cities, and the fleet carries more for the same trips, including Maserati and Abarth, alongside grand tourers and SUVs from across Europe that suit a wet Milan morning.
Looking for sunshine or snow? Sun & Sea follows the Mediterranean coast through Málaga, Barcelona, Alicante, Lisbon and Naples, and Snow & Spa heads into the Alps through Zurich, Munich, Geneva, St. Moritz and Courchevel.
Two cars suit Rome in winter: a Ferrari F8 Tributo for city nights, and a Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider for the hill roads and the first warm days of spring.
A Ferrari 12Cilindri coupe or a Lamborghini Revuelto suits Milan, both closed-roof cars for a city that is often cold and wet from December to February.
A Ferrari SF90 Stradale suits Florence on cold days, and a Porsche 718 Spyder RS suits the bright, dry ones.
The Christmas market in Rome's Piazza Navona runs from early December to January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany, when the Befana arrives on the square.
A menorah roughly twenty feet tall is lit each evening of Hanukkah in Piazza Barberini, with a smaller one in Piazza Bologna. In 2026, Hanukkah runs from sundown on December 4th to nightfall on December 12th. The Jewish Ghetto near Campo de' Fiori is also the neighbourhood known for carciofi alla giudia, fried artichokes.
Rome celebrates its legendary founding by Romulus in 753 BC on April 21st, with costumed parades, historical re-enactments, gladiator shows and fireworks.
Venice Carnevale 2027 runs from January 30th to Mardi Gras on February 9th, opening with an illuminated water parade on the Cannaregio Canal.
Venice itself is closed to cars, but the Lido, a barrier island across the lagoon, has roads open to them. A car ferry runs to the Lido from Tronchetto, and from the Lido a water taxi crosses to the city.
The Viareggio Carnival parades in 2027 are on January 30th, February 4th, 7th, 9th, 14th and 20th, along the seafront promenade.
Franciacorta is about 80 to 90 kilometres east of Milan, roughly a ninety-minute drive, and is Italy's premier traditional-method sparkling wine region.
The Chiantigiana, or SR222, is about 70 kilometres long and runs from Florence to Siena through Greve in Chianti, Panzano and Castellina.
The fleet includes four Italian marques: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Abarth.
Yes. Alongside the cars above, the fleet includes the Porsche 911 Carrera S, Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover Sport, Audi Q5, and Lamborghini Urus SE.
Zeus Prestige is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the brands, venues, events, or public figures mentioned on this page. All names are referenced for descriptive purposes only.
