9-Day Italy Highlights

Call (847) 537-3651 for travel dates and rates.

Day 1—Depart USA

Day 2—Arrival/Rome

Upon arrival at Rome’s international airport, meet your local guide and transfer to central Rome for a half-day guided walking tour throughout the very core of Ancient Rome.

From the magnificent Trajan's Column, jewel of architecture and sculpture made by Apollodorus of Damascus, our guide will show you along the Via dei Fori Imperiali (street of the Imperial Fora), the ruins of the fori that the great emperors built as lasting memory of their power.

You will see the Forum of Trajan, the biggest and most splendid of all, whose markets, true forerunners of the modern commercial centers, offered to the Roman citizen any goods to be found at that time.

On foot you will reach the Capitoline Hill , once political and religious center of the town, which today is the seat of the Municipality. The stairway will lead you to the Piazza del Campidoglio, the magnificent result of a single project by Michelangelo, with a copy of the most famous equestrian statue in the world, the statue of Marcus Aurelius, in the middle. Behind Piazza del Campidoglio you will find a natural terrace providing the best panoramic point over the valley of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill.

Walking through the valley of the Roman Forum the great Rome with its important buildings will revive before your eyes; the Curia, seat of the Roman Senate, the State Archive, the basilicas, palaces of justice, the temple of Vesta, and the House of the Vestals, the virgins in charge of keeping the sacred fire always alive, and all around temples and columns and arches of triumph erected to commemorate gods and men of Roman history.

From the Forum the guide will show you to the place linked to the fabulous origins of Rome: the Palatine. Here Romolus founded the town in the year 753 B.C. and starting with Augustus the great emperors settled here. From the valley of the Roman Forum you will admire the Domus Tiberiana only partially explored and the ruins of the Imperial Palaces. Leaving the Roman Forum you will find the Arch of Constantine, erected to commemorate the victory of the emperor over Maxentius in the 4th century a.d. (Tradition says that before the battle the Emperor saw a brilliant cross  in the sky  and  said the famous words “in hoc signo vinces.”)

The tour ends at the Colosseum everlasting symbol of the greatness of Rome and the stage for the historical fights of the gladiators. Reboard your bus and transfer to hotel for room allocation, dinner and overnight.

Day 3—Vatican/Early Christian Churches

Meet the guide at your hotel and transfer to the Vatican Museum.

Passing through the Court of the Pigna, designed by Bramante in the 16th century, you will enter the Belvedere Palace to reach the heart of the museum, the Belvedere Courtyard. Proceeding with the visit you will quickly pass the secondary galleries to reach the Greek Cross Room where the splendid Sarcophagi of St. Helene and St. Constance are housed.

Walking through the Galleries of the Candelabra, of the Maps and of the Tapestries you will reach the Apostolic Palace, the oldest section of the complex of the Vatican Palaces. Your guide will show you the Apartments of Julius II, splendidly decorated by Raphael and his assistants, and then the Sistine Chapel, where you will admire one of the highest masterpieces of art: the Genesis and the Last Judgement by Michelangelo, that have gained their original splendour after the latest restorations.

Leaving the Sistine Chapel and going down the Royal Stairway, projected by Bernini, the guide will conduct you to the Basilica of St. Peter, the most important temple of Christianity, which gathers inside 2000 years of history and famous works of art such as the Pietà by Michelangelo.

The visit ends at St. Peter’s  Square,  which is embraced by the colonnade, an architectural  masterpiece by Bernini, under the symbolic protection of the "Cuppolone", as the Romans call Michelangelo's dome.

The afternoon is dedicated to the visit of two among the most important Basilicas of Rome: San John di Lateran and the Holy Cross-of Jerusalem. These two churches are symbolic of the importance that Constantine placed on his adopted new faith. The properties for both were donated by Constantine’s family, signifying that importance.

You will visit also the Santa Scala, the Holy Steps, which are reputed to be the steps that Christ went up when he was called for a meeting with Pontius Pilate.  A visit to these steps was recorded as one of the sites that Martin Luther visited when he was called by the Pope to Rome. 

Return to hotel in the late afternoon, for dinner and overnight

Day 4—Paul’s Sites/Fountains and Squares

Leave your hotel soon after breakfast for a half-day guided tour on the most interesting sites linked with the life of the Apostle Paul in Rome.

Catacombs of San Sebastian

Located on the Ancient Appian Way, this is the place where the bodies of Apostle Paul and Apostle Peter where kept during the Christian persecution of Valeriano (253 – 260 a.d.) which gave the first Christians the opportunity to venerate the tombs of the two Apostles. This is the reason why this place is still today called Memoria Apostolorum. To prove this, there are a lot of “grafiti” in Latin and Aramaic in the catacombs and in the Basilica of San Sebastian, as well. The Basilica itself was   built over the catacombs during the “Costantinianum Peace” in the name of the two Apostles.

Abbey of the Three Fountains

 The place of Paul’s martyrdom, where tradition has it those three different springs gushed out at each spot touched when Paul’s head fell down.

St. Paul Outside the Walls

St. Paul Outside the Walls is a Benedictine Abbey, which shares its name, origins and centuries of history, both joyful and sorrowful, with the adjoining basilica

Visit the Basilica where the bones of Paul have recently been found and you will leave Italy with the real spirit of first Christians in your mind and in your Heart.

The rest of the day is at leisure to have the opportunity to discover the Baroque center of Rome on your own. You can see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Relax in a coffee bar or do shopping in the fashion district around via Condotti.

Dinner is at leisure tonight. Taste the typical Roman food in some nice “trattoria” in the city center or in the Medieval area of Rome, Trastevere.

Day 5—Rome/Assisi/Florence

Early morning departure towards north through the Umbrian green hills covered in olive groves and vineyards to reach Assisi in a 2.5 hours drive. Upon arrival, meet your local guide and start an unforgettable walk through the narrow streets of the ancient town which sweeps the flanks of Monte Subasio.

 You will visit the Church of Santa Chiara, the site where St. Francis was born and then on to see the house where he spent the first years of his life. You will then reach the very heart of the town, the Piazza del Comune (Town Hall square), with its Roman and medieval buildings.

Then, near the ancient city walls, you will visit the Basilica of St Francis, which houses the tomb of the Saint. The interiors are decorated with frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Some time at leisure for lunch before transfer by bus to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli to visit the small Portiuncola chapel and the site where St. Francis died in 1226. Reboard your bus and continue towards Florence where you will arrive after 2 hrs. Dinner at hotel and overnight

Day 6—Florence

Your guide will meet you at hotel this morning and stay with you for a full day guided tour of the city.  Discover the cradle of the Renaissance, where one breathes art in the medieval streets, in the craftsmen's workshops, and in the Renaissance Palaces.

Here the memories of the Medici family are united with the splendor of the works of illustrious artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Botticelli.

You will visit the Baptistry of St. John, the religious essence of the city, the Duomo with the Medici Chapel, the Church of St. Lorenzo, Piazza della Signoria, and the Basilica of Santa Croce, a masterpiece of Gothic art and the pantheon of famous Italians such as Michelangelo, Machiavelli…

The tour ends at the Accademia Gallery. Which hosts Michelangelo’s famous David.

The rest of the day is at leisure to explore additional treasures of Florence and shop on your own.

The outdoor Market of San Lorenzo boasts leather products, and the Ponte Vecchio, covered since medieval times with goldsmiths' shops, is a must for Florence's other specialty, gold jewelry.  Dinner and overnight in Florence.

Day 7—Florence/Siena or Pisa/Castelgandolfo

Depart Florence soon after breakfast.

Option 1

Drive through the scenic Tuscan countryside to reach Siena in a 1.5 hours drive.

Famed for the rich red color of its cityscape, Siena is home of the Palio, a horse race dating from medieval times and which takes place each July in Siena's central square!

Enjoy Siena's major treasures, including its fabulous marble gothic cathedral.

Proceed through the cypress groves and vineyards of Chianti country to the highway for the south and reach the village of Castelgandolfo in 3,5 hrs drive. Dinner at your hotel and overnight.

Option 2

Instead of stopping in Siena, you might decide to visit Pisa and the world reknown “Leaning Tower” and other monuments of the Miracles’ Square before proceeding towards Castelgandolfo for dinner and overnight.

Castelgandolfo is a quaint old village built on the lake. Here is the Pope’s summer residenc. You will spend a relaxing evening in a 4-star hotel on the lake with a wonderful view of Rome.

Day 8—Departure or Naples/Pompei/Castelgandolfo

Today is your departure day. Early morning transfer to airport for your flight back home, unless you have decided to extend your journey and spend one extra day in Italy. Depart Castelgandolfo soon after breakfast and take the highway towards south. You will reach Naples in 2 hrs drive.

Orientation tour of this picturesque city sloped down from the hills towards the sea like an amphitheatre. Bounded on one side by Vesuvius and on the other by the Phlegraean fields, the result is a scenario of extraordinary beauty, sung by poets and writers down through the ages: Virgil, Boccaccio, Milton, Shelley, Cervantes, Goethe, Byron, etc.

Orientation tour of the city and free time to taste the best “pizza” and “espresso caffe” of the world.

Continue towards Pompei to have a guided archeological journey through the ancient city. Buried under a layer of ashes and lapilli by a sudden eruption of Vesuvius in 79 a.d., after 1700 years the excavations have brought to light Pompeii, a town whose daily life of the Imperial Age has been crystallized, as under a spell, in its gestures, secrets, in the panic felt by its inhabitants during the last moments.

Return to Castelgandolfo for dinner and overnight

Day 9—Depart USA

Early morning transfer to the airport for your flight back home.

Call (847) 537-3651 for travel dates and rates.