Land only cost: $2,499 per person based on double-occupancy and 18 paying passengers.  Should the group size be less than 18 paying passengers, the tour cost may be adjusted slightly.
Single Supplement: $550 per person.

• Two nights in Venice
• One night in Sesto
• One night in Lake Garda
• Two nights in Levanto
• Four nights in Sarteano
• Two nights in Rome
• Breakfast daily
• Dinner on September 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 21
• Water, coffee or tea, and ¼ bottle wine per person at meals
• Round-trip porterage at hotels
• Gratuities to drivers, porters, waiters, tour director and site guides (if required)
• Group water taxi transfer from the Venice Airport to the hotel
• Deluxe, air-conditioned motorcoach transportation from September 12 – 22 (coach not required in Venice)
• Two round-trip tickets on the Venice waterbus system
• Viewing of attractions listed in the itinerary
• Travel bag, luggage tags, Italy guide book, and maps.

U.S.A. / Venice
Day 1
September 09

Depart U.S.A. and take overnight flight to Venice. Meals Aloft

Venice
Day 2
September 10

Upon arrival in Venice, following Customs & Immigration, look for your tour director who will be holding a sign with your last name.  The tour director, who will travel with you throughout Italy, will assist in the water taxi transfer to a local hotel.  If at all possible, stay active until mid-evening today so that your body can adjust to the Italy time zone. You can explore the Grand Canal and Piazza San Marco this evening following dinner at the hotel.

The waterbus travels the entire length of the Grand Canal and you will want to be positioned at the rail, camera ready. Be sure to note some of the vaporetti (water bus) stations on the Grand Canal, because you can use the vaporetti system, as your principle means of transportation and the views of Venice from the vaporetti are magnificent.

Walking away from Piazza San Marco (Doge’s Palace is on your left), you will walk up onto a bridge and the Bridge of Sighs is on your left. Walk a couple of blocks further and the Hotel Daniele is on your left. Go inside and see the lobby and common areas, which are magnificent.  Piazza San Marco is perhaps the most famous square in Europe and, when the open-air orchestras begin playing early this evening, you should have coffee or wine at either Florian’s or Quadri and observe the vibrant Venice scene.  Dinner this evening will be at the hotel or a local restaurant.  Meals aloft. D

Venice
Day 3
September 11

This morning take a walking tour of Venice.  View the historical center of the city and its monuments: St. Marks’ Square, the cathedral (Basilica di San Marco), the Doge’s Palace (Palazzo Ducale), Baptistery, Prisons and the Bridge of Sighs.  After lunch on own, we suggest that you walk or take the water bus to Accademia Bridge and visit the Accademia, with a fabulous collection of Venetian paintings spanning 500 years, and possibly the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which features modern art. After departing the museum(s) cross the Accademia Bridge and walk straight ahead to Campo St. Stefano. This is a small square, with interesting shops and restaurants. There is an Internet café on this square if you want to check e-mail, etc. The church Santo Stefano on the east side of the square (right side if the bridge is at your back) has a beautiful and unique interior.  Leaving Campo S. Stefano northbound, continue straight and follow Calle dei Fratti to Campo S. Angelo for more shops, restaurants and more Venetian architecture. From Campo S. Angelo it is ten-minute walk to the Rialto Bridge or you can return to the Accademia Bridge and take the waterbus to Rialto.

 If you walk to Rialto Bridge, there are many turns because buildings and canals often block the streets. When you are forced to turn, return to a northerly course as soon as you can. Keep in mind that many of the corner buildings have signs (about two feet above your head) directing you toward Rialto. You will pass near Corte Teatro, the location of La Fenice, the world famous and recently restored Venetian Opera House. If you are not attending a performance of the symphony or opera, you may want to take a quick tour of the facility, which is magnificent. 

When you reach Rialto, take pictures from the bridge and then explore the shops on the side of the bridge from whence you came. Campo San Bartomoleo is a couple of blocks east of Realto Bridge and you will want to explore the maze of narrow streets, shops and canals in that area.   A short walk northeast of Rilato will take you to Santa Maria dei Miracoli, an exquisite church built during the Renaissance and an extremely popular spot for Venetians weddings. Retrace your steps to Rialto to catch the waterbus.  Enjoy dinner at your leisure this evening.  B

Venice - Sesto
Day 4
September 12

Depart Venice this morning and drive to Sesto.  Check into a local resort and enjoy the day at leisure utilizing the resorts amenities before having dinner at the hotel.  B/D

Sesto / Verona / Lake Garda
Day 4
September 13

Following breakfast drive to Verona, stopping for an arial tramway ride for outstanding mountain views.  Continue to Verona, the second largest city in the Veneto region, which boasts many magnificent Roman ruins, only second to Rome.  View the Roman Theater, San Zeno Maggiore, the bizarre Scaligeri Tombs, and the Duomo, which is fronted by a magnificent Romanesque portal carved by Nicolò.  The interior highlights Titian’s lovely Assumption, and outside there is a Romanesque cloister with visible excavated ruins.  Have lunch on your own before continuing to Lake Garda and a local hotel.  Dinner will be at the hotel or a local restaurant.  B/D

Lake Garda / Levanto
Day 5
September 14

This morning drive to Levanto, located on the Cinque Terre Coast, and a local hotel.  Dinner will be at the hotel or a local restaurant. B/D

Levanto (the Cinque Terre coast)
Day 6
September 15

Spend today exploring the Cinque Terre coast.  Certain areas of the ancient coastal villages of Cinque Terra are reachable only by boat, train or on foot.  Take a cruise along the Cinque Terra coastline and view the beautiful villages including Monterosso al Mar, the largest of the area’s five villages; Vernazza with its steep steps; Corniglia, perched on rocky terraces and seemingly untouched by the passage of time; and Manarola, which is linked by the famous Via dell’Amore, or Lover’s Lane, to Riomaggiore, a 15-minute walk.  B

Levanto / Sarteano (Chianti Wine Festival)
Day 7
September 16

Depart Levanto and drive down the coast to Pisa.  Have a quick picture stop at the Duomo, Baptistry, and Leaning Tower before continuing to the Chianti Wine Festival, where you experience fine wines from the region and the traditions surrounding these yearly gatherings.  Arrive this evening at a local hotel, where you spend the next four nights.  B/D

Sarteano (Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Siena)
Day 8
September 17

Depart early this morning for a full day of sightseeing.  Begin in Montepulciano, a hill town in a region known for its fine, ruby-red wines. The highest of the hill towns in Southern Tuscany, Montepulciano is largely renaissance in character, with much of its most notable architecture having been designed by architects from Florence, a result of the town’s acquisition by the Florentines, around 1511.  Visit Piazza Grande, Palazzo Comunale, and the Duomo, setting for one of the masterpieces of the Sienese School, the Assumption.  Continue to Montalcino, which sits in the heart of vineyards producing Brunello, one of Italy’s finest red wines.  Visit the 14th-century Fortezza with its impressive ramparts, Palazzo del Popolo, Palazzo Cumunale, and the Chanting Monks at San Antimo.  Lunch is at leisure before departing for Siena.

 Once a rival to Florence, Siena is unspoiled and endowed with the grandeur of the age when it was at its peak (1260 – 1348).  Begin in Piazza del Campo, site of the old Roman Forum and the city’s principal marketplace.  View Fonte Gaia, a 19th-century copy of the original fountain carved in 1409 depicting Virtues, Adam and Eve, and the Madonna and Child.  The fountain’s water is still supplied by a 500-year-old aqueduct.  Visit the Duomo, one of Italy’s greatest cathedrals, and view its sculptural masterpieces by Donatello, Michelangelo and Pisano; and Santuario e Casa di Santa Caterina, surrounded by chapels and cloisters featuring the Church of the Crucifixion, and paintings recording the events of St. Catherine’s life.  Continue to walk through the maze of narrow streets and alleys viewing beautiful architecture and learning about this historical city.

 Finally, visit San Gimignano, known as the City with Thirteen Towers.  Noble families built the towers in the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town’s position – on the main pilgrim route from Europe to Rome – brought great prosperity.  Although small, the town is rich in works of art, shops, and restaurants.  Visit Piazza della Cisterna, Palazzo del Popolo, and Museo Civico.  Have dinner on your own in San Gimignano before returning to Sarteano.  B

Sarteano (Florence day trip)
Day 10
September 19

Enjoy a full day in Florence starting with a walking tour of the city.  Tread in the tantalizing footsteps of over 2000 years of history and discovery why Florence became one of the greatest art centers the world has ever seen.  Among the sites you will visit are the Duomo (Santa Maria dei Fiori Cathedral), home to one of the largest Renaissance paintings – The Last Judgment by Vasari and Zucari – and distinguished by Brunelleschi’s unmistakable Dome (the model for all subsequent Renaissance domes); the Baptistery, where you will be spoilt for significant details to view, from Ghiberti’s bronze doors, described by Michelangelo as “fit to be the gates of paradise”, to Giotto’s Tower; Vasari’s Corridor; Ponte Vecchio; Piazza Santacroce; and Piazza dells Signoria.  Have lunch on your own before visiting the Accademia (Academy of Fine Arts) where you will view Michelangelo’s David and other Renaissance masterpieces.  Continue to Galleria degli Uffizi, world famous for its unparalleled collection of Renaissance art and hosting masterpieces by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Botticelli, Uccello, Giotto, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio and others. If time permits, also visit the Vasari Corridor. Running for almost a kilometre from the Pitti Palace, over the Ponte Vecchio to the Uffizi, this corridor was originally built for Francesco I de Medici to connect his palace with his offices at the Uffizi. Aside from the spectacular views afforded from its numerous windows, the corridor contains a collection of over 700 paintings.  Dinner this evening is in Florence before returning to Orvieto.  B/D

Sarteano / Orvieto / Rome
Day 11
September 20

Depart this morning for Orvietto to view the Duomo, one of Italy’s greatest Romanesque-Gothic cathedrals.  With its breathtaking façade, it was inspired by the Miracle of Bolsena in which real blood from a consecrated host supposedly fell on the altar cloth of a church in nearby Bolsena.  Then visit the 13th-centruy church of San Lorenzo in Arari with walls featuring frescoes describing the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, who was grilled to death.  The altar is made from an Etruscan sacrificial slab.  Finish at San Giovenale, a church that is beautifully and almost completely covered in detailed frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries.  Have lunch on your own before departing for Rome, and a local hotel.  After settling in, take a late afternoon walking tour of the city including the following sites:

• The Colosseum -  the symbol of Rome’s eternity and the location at which Gladiators did battle and where Christians were eaten by lions. (The tour does not enter the Colosseum, however you may return after the tour to view the inside on your own.)
• Roman Forum -  popularly referred to as the “ruins”, but the stones still give testimony to the roots of     Western Civilization. 
• Capitoline Hill - the spiritual center of ancient Rome and today the seat of Rome’s civil government, but it is the mind of the mMichelangelo that continues to dominate the experience of this space.
• Trevi Fountain – with water flowing since 19 B.C. and immortalized in literature, film, and song.
• Pantheon -  a temple built in 27 A.D., the best preserved of the ancient buildings and the one which speaks most clearly of the Roman spirit.
• Piazza Navona – built above the stadium that hosted chariot races and the home to modern day cafes that are the social heart of Rome.

The remainder of the day is at leisure for additional sightseeing and shopping.  B

Rome
Day 13
September 21

This morning take a walking tour of the Vatican and visit St. Peter’s Square and Basilica. Here the work of Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini continues to shape the experience of this majestic space. From the welcoming arms of Bernini’s colonnade, to the hush imposed by Bramante’s towering piers over the main altar, finishing with the awe inspired by Michelangelo’s dome, the walk through the square and the basilica is one of the most dramatic journeys in Rome.

 Next visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. This is one of the most important artistic repositories in the world and features the work of Raphael and Michelangelo, both of whom worked at the same time for the strong-willed Pope Julius II. With the cleaning of the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s magnificent vision is more clearly displayed than ever.  There is a dress code when visiting the Vatican, especially the Sistine Chapel.  Please make sure that your shoulders and knees are covered, and gentlemen must wear long pants.

Upon permission from the Vatican the group may have a Scavi Tour to witness the excavations under near St. Peter’s tomb.

The remainder of the day is at leisure before gathering for a festive farewell dinner at a local restaurant.  B/D

Rome/U.S.A.
Day 14
September 22

Depart early this morning for Rome to check in for your flights back to the United States.  B / Meals aloft