Bell'Italia
Summer 2016
Day 1: Fly overnight to Italy
Day 2: Milan | Venice
– Meet your Tour Director at the airport
– Travel to Venice, the Floating City crisscrossed with romantic bridges, laced with history and boasting some of the world’s finest art and architecture. During your stay you will see gondolas glide down the Grand Canal before stopping in St. Mark’s Square. Look for the golden weathervane, which resembles archangel Gabriel, atop the 323-foot Campanile (Bell Tower). At the pink-and-white Doge’s Palace, see where mighty Venetian dukes once ruled. Stroll over the Bridge of Sighs, which links the palace to a prison. As they crossed the bridge, prisoners supposedly sighed with perfect sadness as they regarded their beautiful city for the last time.
Day 3: Venice
– Take an expertly guided tour of Venice: St. Mark’s Square; Grand Canal
– Visit the Doge’s Palace
– See a glass-blowing demonstration
Day 4: Florence
– Travel to Florence, the birthplace of the Italian language, opera and the Renaissance, and where works of art like Michelangelo’s statue of David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus still reside today. As you stroll through the city, pass by classical statues at the Piazza della Signoria. See the domed cap of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, better known as the Duomo, which dominates the skyline. Opposite the Duomo, look for the bronzed doors of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise at the Baptistry. Walk across the Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval bridge where many of Florence’s famed leather and gold artisans keep shop.
– Take an expertly guided tour of Florence: Piazza della Signoria; Ponte Vecchio; Chiesa di Santa Croce; Gates of Paradise
– Visit the Duomo
Day 5: Florence
– Full day to see more of Florence or Visit Pisa
Day 6: Assisi | Rome
– Travel to Assisi
– Visit the Basilica of St. Francis
– Travel to Rome, a city that integrates its past into the present better than any other. During your stay, explore the world’s most famous arena, the Colosseum, where you can almost hear the stamping feet of the crowds gathered for gladiatorial combat. Nearby, the Roman Forum marks the former heart of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar gave many of his great political speeches there. On your visit to the Vatican City, marvel at Michelangelo’s breathtaking ceiling in the Sistine Chapel and look out for the colorful uniforms of the Swiss Guard, protectors of the Vatican City. Before you say “arrivederci”, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure a return trip to the Eternal City.
Day 7: Rome
– Take an expertly guided tour of Vatican City
– Visit the Sistine Chapel
– Visit St. Peter’s Basilica
– Take an expertly guided tour of Rome – Visit the Colosseum
– Visit the Roman Forum
– Take a self-guided walking tour of Rome
Day 8: Rome
– Full day to see more of Rome or Visit Pompeii
Day 9: Depart for home
Day 2: Milan | Venice
– Meet your Tour Director at the airport
– Travel to Venice, the Floating City crisscrossed with romantic bridges, laced with history and boasting some of the world’s finest art and architecture. During your stay you will see gondolas glide down the Grand Canal before stopping in St. Mark’s Square. Look for the golden weathervane, which resembles archangel Gabriel, atop the 323-foot Campanile (Bell Tower). At the pink-and-white Doge’s Palace, see where mighty Venetian dukes once ruled. Stroll over the Bridge of Sighs, which links the palace to a prison. As they crossed the bridge, prisoners supposedly sighed with perfect sadness as they regarded their beautiful city for the last time.
Day 3: Venice
– Take an expertly guided tour of Venice: St. Mark’s Square; Grand Canal
– Visit the Doge’s Palace
– See a glass-blowing demonstration
Day 4: Florence
– Travel to Florence, the birthplace of the Italian language, opera and the Renaissance, and where works of art like Michelangelo’s statue of David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus still reside today. As you stroll through the city, pass by classical statues at the Piazza della Signoria. See the domed cap of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, better known as the Duomo, which dominates the skyline. Opposite the Duomo, look for the bronzed doors of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise at the Baptistry. Walk across the Ponte Vecchio, a Medieval bridge where many of Florence’s famed leather and gold artisans keep shop.
– Take an expertly guided tour of Florence: Piazza della Signoria; Ponte Vecchio; Chiesa di Santa Croce; Gates of Paradise
– Visit the Duomo
Day 5: Florence
– Full day to see more of Florence or Visit Pisa
Day 6: Assisi | Rome
– Travel to Assisi
– Visit the Basilica of St. Francis
– Travel to Rome, a city that integrates its past into the present better than any other. During your stay, explore the world’s most famous arena, the Colosseum, where you can almost hear the stamping feet of the crowds gathered for gladiatorial combat. Nearby, the Roman Forum marks the former heart of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar gave many of his great political speeches there. On your visit to the Vatican City, marvel at Michelangelo’s breathtaking ceiling in the Sistine Chapel and look out for the colorful uniforms of the Swiss Guard, protectors of the Vatican City. Before you say “arrivederci”, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure a return trip to the Eternal City.
Day 7: Rome
– Take an expertly guided tour of Vatican City
– Visit the Sistine Chapel
– Visit St. Peter’s Basilica
– Take an expertly guided tour of Rome – Visit the Colosseum
– Visit the Roman Forum
– Take a self-guided walking tour of Rome
Day 8: Rome
– Full day to see more of Rome or Visit Pompeii
Day 9: Depart for home