Venezia, Firenze, Roma!

Transcription

1 educational group travel Venice, Florence and Rome. From St. Mark's Square, to the Accademia to the Sistine Chapel. Italy at its best; there's no finer way to spend a week. Basic Inclusions An itinerary prepared for services begin upon arrival at Venice's airport on March 28, days Services of a specially-trained passports courier throughout Accommodations in centrally-located three-star or four-star hotels Rooming on a triple basis Overnights Venice 2 Florence 2 Rome 3 Meals All breakfasts All dinners Transit Summary Water bus airport-lido on Day 1 Round-trip water bus ride to St. Mark's Square on Day 2 One-way water bus on Day 3 Airport departure transfer on Day 8 Enrollment Information To enroll by check: Complete and return the application on page 13 of the Enrollment Guide. Your group leader has one for you. To enroll online by credit card or check: Visit passports.com/enroll and type your Tour ID: CGEIS in the upper-right of the site.

2 Tour Highlights Professionally-guided walking tour of Venice Round-trip water bus ride to St. Mark's Square Headset receiver Visit to a glass workshop Vaporetto single ticket Travel to Florence, via Padua, from Venice One-way water bus ride Visit to St. Anthony's Basilica Professionally-guided walking tour in Florence Services of a specially-trained half-day local guide in Florence Headset receiver for the walking tour Visit to the Accademia Visit to Florence's Duomo Visit to the church of Santa Croce Visit to Leonardo's Leather Workshop Half-day coach excursion to Pisa Visit to Pisa's Duomo Travel to Rome, via Assisi, from Florence Services of a specially-trained half-day local guide in Assisi Headset receiver Visit to the Basilica of St. Francis Visit to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels City sightseeing in Rome One-day public transportation pass in Rome Services of a specially-trained full-day local guide in Rome Half-day headset receiver Combination ticket including entrance to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill and Museum Visit to the Vatican Museums Vatican Museums headset receiver Visit to the Sistine Chapel Visit to St. Peter's Basilica The Piazza Navona Visit to the Pantheon

3 DAY 1: ARRIVAL Relax or start exploring the "Pearl of the Adriatic." Remember Marco Polo, who set out from this magnificent harbor in 1271, at the age of 18, on a fantastic journey to Asia. Meals included: Dinner Overnight: Venice DAY 2: VENICE GUIDED WALKING TOUR After a water bus ride to the greatest square in the West, Piazza San Marco, enjoy a walking tour led by a local guide. You will see the Doges' Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. Head to the Rialto area to visit the nooks and crannies of Old Venice and the Rialto Market. The Erberia, the produce market selling fresh fruits and vegetables, is a riot of colors and, of course, wonderful savors. Nearby is the Pescheria, the fish market, which is at its best early in the morning when its stalls are filled with a variety of freshly-caught fish and seafood (closed Sundays and Mondays). Enjoy a visit to a glass factory, where you will view a glass-blowing demonstration and learn about the art of making the world-renowned Venetian glass. You may want to visit a lace making school where you can see how the renowned Venetian lace is handmade according to ancient techniques. Use your vaporetto ticket to ride along the Grand Canal aboard a water bus: take either the #1 water bus, which makes every stop along the way, or #82, which travels along the same route with fewer stops. You will pass under the Rialto Bridge, which was once the only link between the two sides of the Grand Canal. Completed in 1591, this shop-lined stone bridge is a lively gathering place for visitors and locals alike. Consider visiting the Doges' Palace, built in the 14th century. It reflects Venice's Golden Age as a center of trade and exploration. Visitors marvel at architectural treasures such as its Golden Staircase, decorated with gold leaf, the Giants' Staircase, all marble, the Compass Room and, above all, the Chamber of the Great Council, which is one of the largest rooms in Europe. Its lavish decoration includes priceless paintings, in particular Tintoretto's Paradise, the world's largest painting on canvas. Then, you may want to visit St. Mark's Basilica, which dates back to the 11th century and houses precious treasures behind its elaborate façade. If the weather is favorable, you may want to arrange a gondola ride along the canals, past stately palaces. A unique Venetian experience, as extravagant and as unforgettable as the city itself. Overnight: Venice DAY 3: PADUA, FLORENCE Say arrivederci to Venice and travel to the city of Padua, seat of a famous university founded in 1222, where Galileo taught. Enjoy a visit to the huge Basilica di Sant'Antonio, visited as a place of pilgrimage by people from all over the world. Continue your journey up and over the rolling hills of Tuscany, to Firenze, the "Jewel of the Renaissance." This evening, stroll along the River Arno, or over it, using the shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence. This medieval bridge (built in 1345) is especially attractive at sunset, when it reflects the warm Italian light. Overnight: Florence DAY 4: Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore DAY 4: FLORENCE CITY SIGHTSEEING, EXCURSION TO PISA On a city tour in Florence, you'll get acquainted with the Medici family and the art of politics. A local guide, well-educated and specially-trained on the history and culture of Florence, will accompany your group. Accademia A visit is included to the Accademia, where you'll admire the best known of all Florentine treasures, Michelangelo's David. Duomo (nave) Visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which is better known as the

4 You will visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, built on the outskirts of town over the site where St. Francis spent most of his life. It encloses the Porziuncola Chapel, where he prayed and received visions, and the Transitus Chapel, built over the cell in which the beloved saint died in A ride down the autostrada brings you to the "Eternal City." Plan a visit to the Trevi Fountain, one of Rome's most celebrated sights, which was the terminus of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct. The Trevi is at its best at night, when the fountain is illuminated. Throw a coin into the spray to ensure your return to this wonderful city! Duomo. It is one of the largest cathedrals in the Christian world, yet it was consecrated back in Marvel at its sumptuous exterior marble decoration and at the works of art it houses. Santa Croce Visit the church of Santa Croce, the final resting place of luminaries such as Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo. The church is filled with treasures and houses the Pazzi Chapel, a masterpiece by Brunelleschi noted for its original conception and skillful proportions. Leonardo's Leather Workshop You will visit the Leonardo Leather Workshop, where a craftsman will demonstrate steps used in the manufacture of worldrenowned Florentine leather goods. Excursion to Pisa An excursion takes you to Pisa, the city whose navy once dominated the Western Mediterranean, before the Arno River silted up. Just north of the city center discover the Campo dei Miracoli and its trio of remarkable Moorish-style religious buildings. The most famous of the three is the Leaning Tower, now tilting nearly 13 feet from its vertical axis. Hear about the various solutions proposed to counteract the sinking of its foundation. DAY 4: The Leaning Tower of Pisa While in Pisa, you'll visit the sumptuous Duomo (known for its horizontal marble stripes). Free time in Florence The remainder of the day is free to plan as you wish. You may want to check out Florence's leather and jewelry shops, or the boutiques where you can acquire beautiful reproductions of Florentine artwork at reasonable prices. Overnight: Florence DAY 5: ASSISI, ROME Travel to Assisi, where flowers overflow the window boxes which adorn the pink stone buildings typical of the town. A half-day local guide, well-educated and specially-trained on the history and culture of Assisi, will accompany your group. Enjoy a visit to the Basilica of St. Francis, built on the Hill of Paradise and restored to its past splendor following the 1997 earthquake. It consists of two superimposed churches resting on a series of arches: the Lower Basilica, built over the crypt which contains the tomb of St. Francis, and the Upper Basilica, decorated with frescoes by 13th-century masters Giotto and Cimabue. DAY 6: ROME CITY SIGHTSEEING, OPTIONAL DINNER WITH MUSIC Set out on a sightseeing tour of Rome. Local Guide A full-day local guide, well-educated and specially-trained on the history and culture of Rome, will accompany your group. Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Today you will visit some of the best known monuments of Ancient Rome, including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Once the heart of a vast empire, the Forum was filled with extravagant buildings and crowded with people from all over the known world. Your combination ticket also allows entrance to the archaeological site on the Palatine Hill. Should time allow, you may want to make your way up the hill to visit the site and its museum. This was the oldest residential area in Ancient Rome. Vatican Museums Discover outstanding masterpieces collected for the Vatican Museums since the early 1500s. You will see exceptional statues from antiquity, such as Laocoön and His Sons and the Apollo Belvedere, and stunning Renaissance paintings, notably in the Raphael Rooms, where the best-known of the frescoes is The School of Athens. Marvel at Michelangelo's Last Judgment and brightly-colored ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. A visit is included to St. Peter's Basilica, which houses priceless works of art, in particular Michelangelo's Pietà and Bernini's Dove of the Holy Spirit. Piazza Navona Stroll through the plaza known as Piazza Navona. Built on the site of

5 Domitian's stadium and lined with grand buildings and trendy cafes, this oblong square is adorned with statues and fountains, notably Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers. Visit the "Temple to All the Gods," which is one of the better-preserved and most harmonious monuments of antiquity. Optional Dinner with music Tonight, enjoy dinner while local singers and musicians entertain you with O Sole Mio, Volare and other favorite Italian songs. Optional: Dinner with music DAY 7: ROME, OPTIONAL EXCURSION TO POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM, OPTIONAL GLADIATOR SCHOOL Enjoy some free time to explore today or consider the following optional excursion. Optional Excursion to Pompeii and Herculaneum Embark on a journey that will take you first to Pompeii for a guided tour of its ruins. See how well-todo Romans lived 2,000 years ago, until Mt. Vesuvius spoke, at once destroying this city and preserving it for all time. Continue with a guided tour of Herculaneum, for which AD 79 also turned out to be a bad year. Smaller than Pompeii, it nevertheless had 5,000 inhabitants when it was destroyed. This carefully laid out city with three main streets and five districts contained both the extravagant houses of wealthy Romans and the tenement buildings occupied by laborers and slaves. Local Guide A full-day local guide, welleducated and specially-trained on the history and culture of Pompeii and Herculaneum, will accompany your group. Optional Gladiator School The Scuola Gladiatori, also known as the The Gladiator School of Rome, is located along the Via Appia Antica. It offers a two-hour, hands-on gladiator training session. Practice the skills of gladiators who, in ancient times, drew the cheers and jeers of countless spectators in the Colosseum. Remember the gladiator emperor Commodus as you measure yourself against your comrades! DAY 8: DEPARTURE Most good things must come to an end. Your suitcase full of memorabilia and of photos ready to be processed, you're eager to share your discoveries with family and friends. Meals included: Breakfast DAY 6: Roman Forum