ITALY & LA DOLCE VITA: ROME AND THE CHARM OF TUSCANY
Rome/Lido di Ostia - Assisi - Perugia - Arezzo - Florence - Pisa - San Gimignano - Siena - Rome
 

1st Day: Departure from the U.S.A.

2nd Day: ROME/Lido di Ostia

Arrival at Fiumicino (Rome airport). Transfer to your hotel in Ostia.
In the afternoon we will enjoy an informative sightseeing tour passing by the major attractions. Dinner and over- night at the hotel. (D)

3rd Day: ASSISI - PERUGIA

After breakfast we continue on to Assisi, famous for the Saint Francis of Assisi.

It was the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi — patron saint of Italy, founder of the Franciscan order, and one of the most popular Catholic saints in history. Assisi's main attraction is the 13th-century Basilica di San Francesco, which contains the sacred relics of Francis and beautiful frescoes of his life. And there are at least seven other churches well worth visiting for their histo- ry, beauty, and connection with Francis or his friend Clare. The town of Assisi, with its Roman ruins, winding medieval streets and sacred shrines, has been a major Catholic pilgrimage destination for centuries and is today one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy. After visiting this sacred town we continue on to Perugia, where we check in and have dinner at the hotel. (B, D)

4th Day: AREZZO

We check out and head on to Arezzo where we visit the historical center right after lunch in a typical restaurant. Some locations were used for the movie “La vita e bella” (Life is beautiful). One of the most important cities of the Etruscan federation, in Roman times it also held a prominent position among the cities of the Italian peninsula, in the middle ages it was one of the first to elect its own government and in the 13th and 14th centu- ries, under the aegis of its warrior bishops, it was a powerful republic led by the Ghibelline faction. For this reason it long opposed the Florentine Guelph faction for supremacy in Tuscany until, a centu- ry after the harsh defeat suffered at the battle of Campaldino (1289) it was annexed with all its exten- sive lands into the Republic of Florence (1384). Over the centuries the land of Arezzo has given birth to illustrious men, most notably G. C. Mecenate, adviser to Augustus and protector of artists.

Dinner will be served at the hotel. (B, L, D) 

5th Day: FIRENZE

After breakfast we are looking forward to arriving at Florence where a guide will show us the main sights of this beautiful town such as the famous Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti (no indoor visit). Dinner and overnight. (B, D)

6th Day: PISA - SAN GIMIGNANO

We check out and continue our journey through Tuscany. Our first stop will be the town of Pisa, well know for the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
It is a unique experience visiting the tower.

Afterwards we are looking forward to traveling along the famous Tuscany hills to San Gimignano. An important town in the Middle Ages due to its position on a trade and pilgrimage route, San Gimignano was full of tall towers built by competitive and quarrelso- me Tuscan families. Warring, the Black Death and the aggression of nearby Florence put a halt to the town's progress, and it remained a memorial to its 11th-13th century prosperity. There were once an incredible 72 towers rising above the town's rooftops. There are fewer towers nowadays, but the fourteen remaining are still impressive in the misty distance.

As this region is so famous for the winery we are enjoying a wine tasting in one of those unique places. Dinner at the hotel. (B, D)

7th Day: SIENA

After breakfast we will drive with our coach to Siena. We will have an informative walking sightseeing tour: Siena’s Cathedral, the Piazza del Campo and several other sights. Sienna is quite rightly extremely popular with tourists but because it is a town and not a village like San Gimignano, for example, it usually does not seem exces- sively crowded. The fine piazza, magnificent cathedral and museums, as well as the twice yearly palio and the interesting folk culture associated with it, make Sienna worth intensive study. Siennese painting and architecture of the Renaissance and later is second in importance only to that of Florence in the history of Italian art. Dinner and Overnight. (B, D)

8th Day: ROME

Our journey ends in Rome where we say goodbye to our travel companions during the farewell dinner. (B, D)

9th Day: Departure to the U.S.A.

Breakfast. Transfer to the airport. 

RATES AND MODIFICATION UPON REQUEST