16 days incl. air, or 15 days Rome-Rome (ZLGJ)

Itinerary

Day 1

Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

Day 2Arrival in Rome

Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City. At 6 p.m. meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and leave the hotel for a special welcome dinner with wine at one of Rome’s lively restaurants. (D)

Day 3Rome

Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the VATICAN MUSEUMS and SISTINE CHAPEL, world famous for Michelangelo’s ceiling paintings and The Last Judgement. Continue to monumental ST. PETER’S SQUARE and BASILICA. Cross the Tiber and visit the COLOSSEUM and the ROMAN FORUM, where Roman Legions marched in triumph. Then time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (BB)
Day 4Rome–Florence
A smooth drive past the Chianti hills takes you to Florence, capital of Tuscany and home of the Renaissance. Follow your Local Guide to the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS with Michelangelo’s celebrated David and magnificent CATHEDRAL. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUAR. Time afterwards to shop for Florentine leather goods and gold jewelry. (BB,D)

Day 5Florence–Pisa

The morning is dedicated to Pisa, where you can take your pictures of the amazing Leaning Tower before you head across the wooded Apennine Mountains to the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea. Tonight is your chance to sample Venetian fare. (BB)

Day 6Venice

Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT to meet your Local Guide. Highlights of your walking tour are ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. Then enjoy Venice at your own pace or join an optional gondola ride. (BB,D)

Day 7Venice–Ravenna–Assisi

Along the coastline of the Adriatic Sea to Ravenna. Here see the famous mosaics in the 6th-century BASILICA OF ST. APOLLINARIS IN CLASSE. In the afternoon arrive in Assisi and visit the massive 13th-century lower BASILICA OF ST. FRANCIS built above the Saint’s grave. Time afterwards to enjoy the peaceful town at your own pace. (BB,D)

Day 8Assisi–Pompeii

Meet your Local Guide and enter POMPEII, the Roman city both destroyed and preserved by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. See patrician houses, public baths, and commercial districts strikingly recalling day-to-day life when Rome was at the apex of her power. Tonight board your FERRY in Naples for the overnight cruise to Sicily. (BB)

Day 9Palermo

After disembarkation start your sightseeing with a Local Guide. Visit the ornate Piazza Bellini, the CATHEDRAL, and the Arab-Norman PALATINE CHAPEL in the Royal Palace. After lunch drive up to Monreale for a panoramic view of the Conca d’Oro and a visit to the 12th-century NORMAN CATHEDRAL (on Sundays inside guided visit not permitted), famous for its 50,000 square feet of precious Byzantine mosaics. Your first day in Sicily ends with a visit to the typical and picturesque village of Mondello before returning to Palermo. (BB,D)

Day 10Palermo–Agrigento

Along the western coast of Sicily all the way down to the saltbeds, famous since Roman times. Near Marsala, stop to visit a SALT MILL. Then continue to Agrigento, where your Local Guide will take you for a spectacular walk through the VALLEY OF TEMPLES. Even travelers who have visited Athens and Delphi are awed by the gigantic yet graceful Greek structures which miraculously survived 24 centuries of tormented history. (BB,D)

Day 11Agrigento–Taormina Area

This morning focus on the 4th-century ROMAN VILLA OF CASALE near Piazza Armerina. Its colorful and perfectly preserved mosaics depict mythological themes and hunting scenes. Enjoy the scenic beauty and treasures of the island’s heart on your way to the Taormina area. (BB)

Day 12At Leisure in Taormina Area

In the morning you may wish to join the half-day optional excursion to Mount Etna. Afternoon is at leisure to relax or for individual activities. (BB,D)

Day 13Taormina Area–Sorrento

Today board a FERRY and cross the Strait of Messina to land at the toe of the Italian boot in Calabria. Tonight you are in the charming resort of Sorrento, delightfully situated on the Bay of Naples. (BB)

Day 14Sorrento. Excursion to Capri

Speed across the Bay of Naples to the Isle of Capri, an ancient retreat for Roman emperors and renowned ever since that time for its beauty. Sightseeing with a Local Guide includes a visit to VILLA SAN MICHELE in Anacapri. Time to stroll around before returning across the bay to Sorrento. The remainder of the day is at leisure. (BB)

Day 15Sorrento–Montecassino–Rome

Interrupt the journey back to Rome to visit the ABBEY OF MONTECASSINO, rebuilt to medieval plans after near total destruction by Allied bombers. An optional festive dinner at one of Rome’s fine restaurants may be just the way to celebrate the success of your Italian vacation. (BB)

Day 16

Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)