The Best of Italy

1st Day New York. Depart from New York, J. F. Kennedy Airport in the evening on your overnight jet flight to Italy.

2nd Day Rome. Arrive into Rome, capital city of Italy in the late morning and transfer to your hotel. Relax for the remainder of the day before dinner at a local restaurant.

3rd Day Rome. A morning tour of the traditional city sights includes the Roman and Imperial Forums, the Colosseum, Donatello's statue of Marcus Aurelius on Capitoline Hill, the Arch of Constantine, Circus Maximum, St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Basilica of St. Peter in Chains with Michelangelo's legendary statue of Moses. Return to your hotel and the remainder of the day is at leisure.

4th Day Rome/Florence. After a buffet breakfast at the hotel, board your motorcoach for a drive through lovely scenery of vine clad hills and olive groves to old Siena in the heart of Tuscany. Visit the gothic cathedral. decorated by the Siennese with an octagonal pulpit by Pisano and the "Maesta" by Duccio. Sienna is famous for its fountains including the Fonte Nuova, the Fonte, Branda immortalized by Dante's "Inferno" and the finest of all time, Fonte Gaia by Quercia. Continue north into Florence and your hotel.

5th Day Florence. After a buffet breakfast at your hotel enjoy in depth walking tour of Florentine art and architecture commencing with a visit to the Duomo designed by Arnolfo and Talenti and completed under Giotto who added the famous Campanile. The crowning feature of the Cathedral is the huge ribbed dome by Brunelleschi. Enter the Baptistry with its renowned doors by Pisano and Ghiberti. Stop at the Museo delle Opera del Duomo with many statues and art treasures restored after the 1966 floods. See the Church of St. Lawrence the parish church of the Medicis, then to the Medici Chapels including the New Sacristy with incomparable statues and architecture by Michelangelo. Continue to the Medici Palace in typical renaissance style and then the Monastery of St. Mark and the Spedale degli Innocenti, an architectural landmark representing the first renaissance building in the city. Afternoon at leisure.

6th Day Florence/Venice. Drive north this morning to Verona for a tour of this beautiful city romantically connected with Romeo and Juliet. Stop at the Piazza delle Erbe and see Juliet's balcony, the Pizaa dei Signori, the Old Castle and Bridge of the Scaligers. Continue in the afternoon to the timeless city of Venice and transfer to your hotel.

7th Day Venice. American breakfast at your hotel this morning before a morning walking tour of the city commencing at St. Mark's Square visiting the Golden Basilica of San Marco completed in 1703. Its structure is mingled Byzantine and European from 1063 to 1073 with changes made during the Renaissance and 17th century. See the Doge's Palace rebuilt in 1424 in Venetian gothic style with important frescoes by Tintoretto and Veronese. Walk to the masterpiece of Sansovino~Libreria Vecchia di San Marco and then to the small architectural gem inspired by the Lombard's, the Bridge of Sighs dating from 1600 and St. Moses Church with its curious baroque facade dominated by the statue of the patriarch. Cross the famous Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal to visit St. Mary's Church with works by Titian and a beautiful Madonna by Bellini. Visit the nearby school of San Rocco, built in the l6th century and containing 56 works by Tintoretto, continue to the Galleria delle belle Arti with the largest collection of Venetian paintings from 14th to 18th centuries. After a visit to the Arsenal, guarded by baroque statues and lions of Greek origin, the afternoon is free to explore the city independently.

8th Day Venice/Assisi. After a leisurely morning enjoy a drive in the Appenine Mountains to the medieval town of Gubbio, known as the "City of Silence". It was here that St. Francis tamed the Wolf of Gubbio. A brief drive through beautiful countryside brings you to Assisi and your hotel

9th Day Assisi/Rome. A morning tour of the birthplace of St. Francis. See the old walled town and the Roman Gothic sacred convent of St. Francis completed in 1253. The saint is buried in the lower church which has frescoes by Pisano, Cimabue, and Giotto depicting the life of St. Francis and his followers. Visit the Cathedral of San Rufino, with its fine facade and three rose windows. The afternoon is free to relax and explore this peaceful town independently before driving into Rome in the early evening.

10th Day Rome. After a buffet breakfast at your hotel today is devoted to the Vatican City visiting the Borghese Gardens, the Quarter of the Foreign Academies, St. Peter's Square, a masterpiece of architectural town planning created by Bernini, originator of the baroque style. Doric columns frame the baroque facade of St. Peter's Basilica with the figures of the Redeemer, St. John the Baptist and the Apostles. See St. Peter's Pulpit, a baroque bronze sculpture also by Bernini. Walk through the Candelabra Gallery to the Sistine Chapel exquisitely decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo with "The Creation" in nine panels of matchless power at the summit of the vaulting. Visit the Raphael Rooms where the master achieved his ideals of quiet grace, rich invention and formal beauty. Transfer to the San Callisto Catacombs for a guided tour before returning to your hotel.

11th Day Rome/New York. After breakfast transfer to the airport for your return flight to New York. Arrive into J. F. Kennedy Airport in the late afternoon.