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(special Add-on Airfares from all other US gateways)  10 nights at 3-star &
4-star hotels: (or similar)3 nights: Hotel Cicerone or Quirinale, Rome 2 nights: Gran Paradiso, San Giovanni 3 nights: Hotel Giotto, Assisi 2 nights: Hotel Mediteraneo, Florence Breakfast and dinner daily
Transportation by
air-conditioned motor coach Guided tours and admission
fees Hotel taxes and service
charges Papal Audience
(if available)
Flight
bag & portfolio of all travel documents
Lunches, drinks with dinners, Airport tax (approx. $200-$320). Travel Insurance optional at $169.-$219. Tips to your guide & driver ($6 per day). Items of a personal nature.
Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1 - USA - Italy Depart USA for our overnight flights to Rome . Dinner and breakfast are served on board.
Day 2 - Arrive Rome Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy
Day 3 - Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican (time permitting). Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 4 - RomeThis morning we depart for a sightseeing tour with focus on "Christian Rome" Touring we will see many important cultural and monumental sights around Rome. Stop for a visit at three major Basilicas: St Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377. St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar. We will also see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus, Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?" the remains of imperial tombs, Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will also enjoy a visit to the Trevi fountain. Dinner and overnight for your last evening in Rome.
Day 5 -
Rome
- Monte Cassino -
San Giovanni Rotondo St. Benedict in 529. Continue East to Padre Pio's Town. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.
Day 6 - San Giovanni Rotondo- Monte Sant’AngeloAfter celebrating Mass at the tomb of Padre Pio, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. You will see the confessional where Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, and a restful overnight.
Day 7 - San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass. We then continue on to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived. Continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 - Assisi Visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening.
Day 9 - Assisi - Sienna - We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy’s loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy’s finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.
Day 10 - Assisi - Florence
After a brief drive through the beautiful Tuscan countryside, we arrive
in Florence. A paradise for art lovers, Florence drew to itself the
greatest artists of the Renaissance: Dante, Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello and many others. Dinner and
overnight. Day 11 - Florence (afternoon optional tour to Pisa )
After Mass, we will enjoy guided tour of Florence which includes
magnificent Franciscan church of The
Holy Cross or Santa Croce with the beautiful facade, church is
a burial place of nobles, among which is
Michelangelo, Galileo and
Machiavelli. Walking tour
through Piazza Signoria, pass by Palazzo Vecchio,
Uffizi and
Ponte Vecchio. Continue
through Republic Sqare to the Santa
Maria del Fiore 13th century cathedral.
Day 12 - Florence - USA We bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and heart for a long time to come. After breakfast depart from the hotel to Florence Airport for our return flight to the USA.
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