Departure from any major U.S. Gateway to Rome.
Arrive in Rome in the morning. After luggage claim and customs clearance, meet your knowledgeable tour escort, who will be with you throughout the whole trip. She will show you the way to the motorcoach and introduce you to your expert driver, who will take you safely through Italy. Transfer to your centrally located hotel. After check-in, you have plenty of time to unpack, relax and recover from the transatlantic flight. You will meet again in the lobby of the hotel later in the afternoon for an overview tour of the Eternal City. The tour will take you past the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum, the Circus Maximus and many more of Rome's impressive sights. Dinner tonight will be served in a local restaurant close to the hotel.
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This morning's tour is dedicated to the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. The tour starts with the Gallery of the Tapestries and the Gallery of Geographical Maps before you arrive at the famous Sistine Chapel with its magnificent fresco of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo. This is followed by a visit to the Basilica of St. Peter with the statue "Pieta" by Michelangelo. Lunch will be served in a local Trattoria before the tour of Rome continues with the Pantheon, the Arch of Constantine, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and Piazza Navona. You'll have some free time in the afternoon to stroll through Rome and discover more of the city on your own. Dinner tonight is on your own. In the evening enjoy a performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" at the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome.
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This morning is at your leisure in Rome. The guide will help you find a church for Sunday services or you may chose to partake in the Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. After lunch on your own, we take you to the outskirts or Rome, to the ancient town of Tivoli. Tivoli, the ancient
Tibur, was already a favorite holiday resort for the Romans as well as a place for the worship of local divinities. It is now the site of the Villa Gregoriana, a fine Cathedral, the renowned Rocca Pia, and, above all, the Villa d'Este, with an Italian garden deservedly famous for its magic atmosphere. The Villa d'Este is known as one of the most splendid country houses of the Renaissance. A former convent, it was chosen by Ippolito d'Este, a governor of Tivoli, as his residence. It is also one of the first villas with gardens designed by Pirro Ligorio. The Italian gardens, with their geometric compartmentalisation, the five hundred fountains, the age and rarity of the trees, is certainly one of the finest gardens to be found both in and outside Italy. Dinner will be served in a restaurant in Tivoli before returning to the hotel in Rome.
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After breakfast we bid farewell to Rome and head to the next destination - Florence. The first stop will be in Assisi. The route to Assisi is dotted with medieval towns such as Spoleto, Trevi, Foligno and Spello. Assisi lies in the medieval region of Umbria, on the green slopes of Mount Subasio. The town, one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Italy, owes its fame to St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order. The guided walk through Assisi includes a visit to the Basilica of San Francesco, the Piazza del Comune and the Temple of Minerva. After lunch on your own and some free time, we continue on to Florence. Check in at the hotel is followed by some free time to relax. After dinner at the hotel attend a performance of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Enjoy a Ballet Evening with "Serenade/L'Apres Midi d'un Faune/Les Noces".
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Breakfast is followed by a guided tour of Florence, conducted by a local expert. See Piazza della Signoria with a replica of the statue of David, Palazzo Vecchio and the Loggie dei Lanci. The tour also features the church of Santa Croce with the tombs of important Italian artists and scientists, the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery with the unique bronze doors designed by Giotto. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant before the tour continues with a visit to the Galleria dell'Arte, housing the famous statue of David. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure to browse the streets of Florence, shop for fine leather goods and gold jewelry, or spend more time in the museums.
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After breakfast we take you to the northwestern part of Tuscany, to Pisa and Luca. A stop will be made in San Miniato to see the monastery and the basilica. In Pisa, you will visit the old town walls which enclose on two sides the Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza del Duomo. Here you find the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the famous Leaning Tower as well as Campo Santo - a harmoniously composed group of unrivaled beautiful buildings. Time on your own in Pisa for lunch. We then continue on to Lucca, the home of composer Giacomo Puccini and the sculptor Matteo Civitali. After the visit to Puccini's birthplace we return to Florence. Dinner will be served at the hotel before you attend the final concert of the Maggio Musicale with the Orchestra and Choir of the Maggio Musicale.
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Day 8 |
Tuscany with Siena & San Gimignano |
After breakfast this morning enjoy some of the loveliest Italian countryside as you travel through the heart of Tuscany. Visit Siena with its profusion of fine architecture, numerous churches, palaces, and the University found in the 13th century. Visit the great Cathedral, begun in 1229, then expanded but never finished, and see also the Libreria Piccolomini with its outstanding frescoes and original music scores. Enjoy lunch in Siena on your own before we take you to an authentic Olive Oil Mill in the Tuscan countryside. See the process of oil production followed by an "oil tasting". You then continue to a wine cellar in the famous Chianti region. Enjoy some Tuscan delicacies while tasting the wines from this area. The last stop will be in San Gimignano, the medieval town, set high up on a hill. Dinner will be served in a local restaurant before returning to Florence for overnight.
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After breakfast we head north to Venice, "the Queen of the Adriatic". After arriving in at the hotel, you have plenty of time to check-in, unpack and for lunch, before meeting with the local guide for a tour of Venice. See the impressive St. Mark's Square with the great Basilica, a masterpiece of Romanesque Byzantine architecture, the interior of which is lined with fine mosaics. You will also see the Campanile, the Palace of the Doges (interior visit), harboring masterpieces of Titian and Tintoretto and of course, the Bridge of Sighs. After breakfast at the hotel you have the choice (see registration form) to either attend the performance of "Il Barbiere di Seviglia" by Giovanni Paisiello or a Concert with Music by Antonio Vivaldi and his contemporaries.
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This morning is at your leisure in Venice. In the afternoon we follow the footsteps of Antonio Vivaldi. This tour will take you to the house in which Vivaldi was born, now a museum, as well as to the "Vivaldi Church". The church is connected with the former Ospedale della Pieta, where Vivaldi worked for 40 years as composer, teacher and conductor. Followed this visit, a private boat will take you to the small island of San Michele (Venice's burial ground) where we will visit Stravinky's and Diaghilev's resting places and the church built in Renaissance style. Upon return to venice, a Gondola Ride will take you to a restaurant where a typical Venetian Dinner will be served.
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Day 11 |
Venice - Cremona - Lake Garda |
After an early breakfast we leave Venice and travel West to the final destination of the tour - Lake Garda. We travel past Padova and Mantova to a small village called "Le Roncole" to visit Giuseppe Verdi's Birthplace. From Le Roncole we continue on to Cremona, famous for the violinmakers who worked here (Niccolo Amati, Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri de Gesu). Cremona is also the birthplace of Claudio Monteverdi. After lunch on your own we take you to the Stradivairus Museum in the Palazzo Affaitati, housing more than 700 examples by the famous violinmaker. After the visit to Cremona we head north to Sirmione, the picturesque town on a long promontory reaching out into Lake Garda. Dinner will be served at the hotel before we depart for Verona to attend the peroframnce of "Aida" at the Arena di Verona.
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Day 12 |
Lake Garda, Verona |
Enjoy a leisurely morning in Sirmione. In the afternoon we take you to Verona for a guided tour of this ancient city. See the famous Balcony of Juliet, Piazza dell'Erbe, Castel Sant'Angelo, Piazza dei Signori, Corso Cavour. You have some free time to do some last minute shopping, stroll around Verona and enjoy the atmosphere of this town so rich in art and architecture. A farewell dinner will be served in a local restaurant at the shores of Lake Garda.
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Early transfer to Milan Airport for the flight back to the U.S.
