Italian Treasures (11 Days) 

     Board your overnight transatlantic flight.

     Time to rest or start exploring the Eternal City on your own. At 6pm, 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)

     Sightseeing with your Local Guide starts with a visit to The Vatican Musuems and The 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. Time for independent activities and exciting optional excursion possibilities. (BB)

     This morning, 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 to take pictures of its Leaning Tower, 180- feet-high and no less than 12 feet out of the perpendicular. Then continue to Lucca, and enjoy an orientation walk and time to explore this pretty town on your own. (BB,D)

     A scenic day in Tuscany. Morning visit to hilltop San Gimignano, the most picturesque of Italy’s perfectly preserved medieval towns. On to Siena for a leisurely lunchtime break and a walk through ancient narrow lanes to beautiful Piazza del Campo, theater of the biannual Palio, Siena’s spectacular medieval-style horse race. In the afternoon, drive along the Chianti Road leading from Siena due north to Florence. On the way, call at splendid Verrazzano Castle to hear about the fine art of blending four types of grapes to obtain the famous Chianti Classico. Enjoy wine tasting, accompanied by local specialties. (BB,D)

     Follow your Local Guide to the Academy of Fine Arts with Michelangelo’s celebrated "David" and the magnificent cathedral. Admire Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistry’s heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise," and sculpture-studded Signoria Square. Afternoon free for independent sightseeing and browsing through the shops. Leather goods and gold jewelry sold by the ounce are attractive buys. Why not try the culinary delights of a fine Florentine restaurant tonight? (BB)

     Stop in Verona, setting of Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" to see Juliet’s Balcony and the Arena, an incredibly wellpreserved pink marble Roman amphitheater. Built in the 1st century A.D., it is now the magical venue for world famous opera performances. Tonight you are in Venice, a powerful magnet for romantics and art lovers from around the globe. Enter in style by private boat. (BB)

     Morning sightseeing with your Local Guide features 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. Tonight is your chance to sample the city’s fine restaurants. (BB)

     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. From St. Clare’s Church enjoy a pleasant walk with your Local Guide via pretty Piazza del Comune down to 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 view the priceless frescoes adorning the walls of the church. (BB,D)

     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. Time for lunch, browsing through tempting shops in the lanes off Piazza del Duomo, and finding the right angle for a picture of the fabulous gothic façade of Orvieto Cathedral. In the late afternoon return to Rome. Why not join an optional festive dinner at one of Rome’s fine restaurants to bid farewell to the companions of a memorable Italian vacation? (BB)

     Depart Rome. Your homebound flight arrives the same day. (BB)