Day 1: Overnight Flight to Rome

1. Day 1: Overnight Flight to Rome Fly overnight to Rome Overnight in Rome

2. Arrive in Rome • You will arrive in Rome, then Transfer Via Bus to Assisi • Overnight in Assisi

3. Assisi • a local guide will show you around the town of Assisi. On your visit to the Basilica of St. Francis, follow the life of one of Italy’s most beloved saints through Giotto’s artful frescoes • Transfer to Florence via coach • Overnight in Florence

4. Florence • Fall under the spell of the powerful Medici family on your guided tour. See Giotto’s Bell Tower and the imposing marble cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo. • Stand before Ghiberti’s legendary Gates of Paradise (so dubbed by Michelangelo), and pass the classical statues of the Piazza dellaSignoria. Here you can see where Michelangelo’s David originally stood. Later, watch local artisans at work at a leather workshop.

5. The Accademia • This simple building, located on Via Ricasoli, houses one of the world’s true masterpieces in Michelangelo’s statue of David. Elsewhere, you can see unfinished works by the great artist along with other Renaissance treasures. • Make sure to visit the ‘workroom’ and learn more of the skills required to bring images out of marble. • Overnight In Florence

6. Florence - Free Time! • Santa Maria del Fiore (Il Duomo)- You can see very beautiful scenery of Toscana from the top of Duomo. You'll lose the sense of time. Check it out! • Accademia Gallery - The statue of "David" by Michaelangelo is the most important piece and the best at the Accademia. The lighting complements the magnificent statue. • San Miniato al Monte - The church was started nearly one thousand years ago and is amazing. The evening service of vespers and the mass that follows are sung in Latin. • Florence American Cemetery & Memorial • Certosa del Galluzzo- Both architecturally and artistically unique, this monastery commissioned in 1342 by NiccolòAcciaioli, viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples, and was originally home to Carthusian monks.

7. Florence - Free Time! • You might take a moment to soak in the cobblestone birthplace of the Renaissance with a cup of Cappuccino in one of the small cafes throughout the city. • Maybe you would prefer to peruse the luxurious shops of the Ponte Vecchio, or take a stroll up through the Boboli Gardens to Forte di Belvedere, where you might chance on a sculpture exhibition as you take in the spectacular panorama of Florence.

8. Guided Tour- Rome • Your guided sightseeing of ancient Rome takes you past the ancient Forum Romanum, once the heart of the Roman Empire. You will also visit the Colosseum, where gladiators once battled for their lives in front of 50,000 spectators. During a guided walk, stroll through the Piazza Venezia and view the Pantheon, the temple to "all the gods." End at the Trevi Fountain, a favorite meeting spot for tourists and locals alike.

9. Free Time- Rome • Take an opportunity to visit the Forum and explore its fascinating history. You might also want to sit on the grassy banks of the Circus Maximus and imagine what it was like to watch chariot races there. • Rome also has some of the most fashionable shops to be found anywhere, a trip along the Via del Corso confirms this. If not, just find a café, order a soda and watch the noise and bustle of this fascinating city go by.

10. Guided Tour- Vatican City • The world’s largest dome is located in the world’s smallest country. See both as you tour St. Peter’s Basilica, erected in Vatican City on the site where the saint was martyred. • Enter the basilica under the watchful eyes of the brightly dressed Swiss Guard. Inside, admire Michelangelo’s Pietà and try to find the artist’s signature (it is the only sculpture he ever signed). Then continue on to the Vatican Museum, where elaborate galleries packed with one artistic masterpiece after another lead you directly to the Sistine Chapel. • Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted some of the world’s finest pictorial images on the Chapel’s ceiling. This was his first attempt at working in fresco, which he did by standing up and craning backwards from a scaffold

11. Optional Guided excursion to the Catacombs • Take an optional excursion to Rome’s outlying catacombs, Christian burial grounds that date from the 2nd through 5th centuries. As you visit these mysterious burial chambers of popes and saints, keep your eyes out for early Christian art. Then journey down the ancient Appian Way, the most celebrated highway of the Roman Republic. • Constructed in 312 B.C., the Appian Way led southward from Rome to Capua, and eventually to Brundisium (now Brindisi). Continue on to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the second largest church in the city of Rome, next to St. Peter’s. • On the basilica’s peripheral walls, hang circular portraits of each pope. There is space for only eight more portraits, and legend says that once the walls fill up the world will end.

12. Transfer to Sorrento via guided sightseeing of Pompeii • Learn how wealthy Romans lived 2,000 years ago on your visit to Pompeii, one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. When neighboring Mt. Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79, volcanic ash completely buried the Roman resort. Now it is fully excavated, and you can see the ruins of villas, ancient temples, and Stabian Baths.

13. Arrive in Sorrento • Experience the unparalleled beauty of Italy’s favorite resort, which overlooks the Bay of Naples. Sorrento was first settled by Spaniards and Greeks, whose influence still remains.

14. Excursion to the Amalfi Coast • Today you’ll travel along the winding cliffside roads of the Amalfi Coast, deemed one of Europe’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. The breathtaking views have been featured in countless movies and have entranced visitors since the earliest times.

15. Guided excursion to Capri • Encounter beautiful views of the Amalfi coastline on an excursion across the Bay of Naples to the captivating and mountainous Isle of Capri. • Travel by funicular to the town of Capri and board a cruise to see the most spectacular views of Capri's coast. You’ll see the Arco Naturale, a majestic stone arch on the eastern cliffs, and the famous Faraglioni, three enormous, pale-ochre limestone colossi that loom out of the sea. • When weather conditions do not permit a cruise, groups will visit Villa San Michele in the town of Anacapri instead.

16. Transfer to Rome • Finally, return to Rome for one last look before your return home.

17. Transfer to the airport for your return flight • Your tour director assists with your transfer to the airport, where you’ll check in for your return flight home.