This vacation includes highlight cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice, and also overnights in Lucca and in St. Francis’ Assisi. All major sights have been included, such as St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, and the Colosseum in Rome, Michelangelo’s David in Florence, St. Mark’s, and Doges’ Palace with the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, which you enter by private boat, and St. Francis’ Basilica and St. Clare’s Church in Assisi. However, this vacation offers even more: special welcome and farewell dinners at lively Roman restaurants, a stop in Pisa to marvel at the Leaning Tower, walking tours of Lucca and Siena—famous for the biannual, medieval-style Palio horse race—and stops in picturesque San Gimignano, Verrazzano Castle, where you will join a Chianti wine tasting with dinner, and Verona to see Juliet’s balcony and the arena. A special highlight is the excursion from Lucca to Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll also travel along the picturesque coastline to Ravenna and admire the mosaics in the 6th-century Basilica of St. Apollinaris in Classe, and a stop in Orvieto, which you access by riding a funicular right through its ramparts! Taste local pastries at a traditional pasticceria before returning to Rome.
Itinerary:
Day #1 Arrive in Rome, Italy. Welcome to Rome! At 5 pm, 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 #2 Rome. Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to the fascinating 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. To make the most of your stay, join our optional Roman Highlights excursion, to see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and other sites and squares of medieval Rome made famous in the movie Angels and Demons. (B)
Day #3 Rome–Pisa–Lucca. Head north along the Tyrrhenian coastline through an area where many a town was founded at the very beginning of recorded history by the mysterious, highly civilized Etruscans. Stop in Pisa for lunch and take the traditional picture pushing back the amazing Leaning Tower, 180 feet high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then, continue to medieval Lucca, completely surrounded by the original, medieval wall. An optional dinner to a local agriturismo farm is available. (B)
Day #4 Lucca. Excursion to Cinque Terre. Drive to La Spezia on the Mediterranean coast and [LF] enjoy your excursion (including a BOAT RIDE, weather permitting) to CINQUE TERRE, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name dates back to the 15th century and is derived from five medieval little villages standing on stony spurs along five miles of the rocky coastline: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. From here, a TRAIN RIDE brings you to Rapallo. Back in Lucca, enjoy an orientation walk through the town. (B,D)
Day #5 Lucca–Siena–San Gimignano–Florence. A scenic day in Tuscany. This morning, visit Siena and walk through ancient narrow lanes to beautiful PIAZZA DEL CAMPO, theater of the biannual Palio, Siena’s spectacular medieval-style horse race, Next is hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of Italy’s perfectly preserved medieval towns. In the afternoon, drive along the Chianti Road leading north to Florence. Next is the highlight of the day: stop at [LF] splendid VERRAZZANO CASTLE to hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti. Enjoy a WINE TASTING with an early dinner of local specialties. (B,D)
Day #6 Florence. During your walking tour with a Local Guide, visit the ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS to see Michelangelo’s celebrated David. Admire the magnificent marble cathedral, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze “Gate of Paradise,” and sculpture-studded SIGNORIA SQUARE. Time to explore this fascinating city so beautifully filmed in movies like Room with a View and Tea with Mussolini, and to browse through the shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. To make the most of your stay, join our optional excursions to the magnificent Uffizi Gallery or a dinner outing to try out the culinary delights of a fine Tuscan restaurant. (B)
Day #7 Florence–Verona–Venice Island. Stop in Verona, setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Take pictures of Juliet’s balcony and rub the shining breast on her statue for good luck. Next, admire the Arena, an incredibly well-preserved pink marble Roman amphitheater where gladiators used to fight. Built in the 1st century AD, it is now the magical venue for world-famous opera performances. Arrive in Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Tonight is your chance to join an optional gondola ride and to sample the city’s fine restaurants. (B)
Day #8 Venice Island. Enter in style by PRIVATE BOAT and enjoy morning sightseeing with your Local Guide. Visit ST. MARK’S SQUARE and the Byzantine BASILICA, lavish DOGES’ PALACE and the world famous BRIDGE OF SIGHS. Also watch skilled GLASSBLOWERS fashion their delicate objects in an age-old traditional manner. An optional boat ride to the picturesque island of Burano is available. (B)
Day #9 Venice Island–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. Next is peacefull Assisi. During your walking tour with a Local Guide, visit ST. CLARE’S CHURCH and ST. FRANCIS’ BASILICA, the hub of a religious order devoted to the ideals of humility, forgiveness, simplicity, and love for all God’s creatures. Hear about monastic life and admire the priceless frescoes adorning the walls of the church. (B,D)
Day #10 Assisi–Orvieto–Rome. Following the Tiber Valley, reach Orvieto, perched high atop a volcanic rock. Access, denied to many a would-be conqueror through the ages, is easy for you. Ride a modern FUNICULAR right through the forbidding ramparts. Here, you have a chance to [LF] taste local pastries at a traditional PASTICCERIA. Time to browse through tempting shops in the lanes off Piazza del Duomo, and to visit the fabulous gothic CATHEDRAL with its San Brizio Chapel. In the late afternoon, return to Rome. This evening, a special farewell dinner with wine awaits you at a local restaurant to say, “Arrivederci, Roma!” (B,D)
Day #11 Rome. Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. (B)
Hotels:
ROME Una Hotel Roma (F) or Cicerone (SF)
LUCCA Grand Hotel Guinigi (F)
FLORENCE Grand Hotel Mediterraneo (F)
VENICE ISLAND Carlton on the Grand Canal (F) or Palazzo Selvadego (F)
ASSISI San Francesco or Giotto (F) or Ora Cenacolo (F)
ROME NH Midas (F) or Holiday Inn Rome Aurelia (F)