ITINERARY:

Day 1: Departure for Rome, Italy, from USA.

Day 2 – USA / ROME
Arrival at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Meet and greet with local English speaking assistant. Board on private motorcoach and transfer to Hotel Smeraldo, 3-star hotel in Rome, near Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Farnese and Piazza Navona. Check-in and overnight. Afternoon orientation walk in the city with sights; dinner together at Campo de Fiori.

Day 3 – ROME
Breakfast at hotel. Private full day tour of Rome, partially by private coach and partially on foot, with local English speaking guide, including Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, Coliseum and Roman Forum, San Pietro in Vincoli with Michelangelo’s “Moses”). Overnight at hotel in Rome.

Day 4 – ROME
Breakfast at hotel. Morning half day walking tour of Rome, with local English speaking guide, including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and Pantheon, early afternoon visit of Musei Capitolini, major collection of Roman antiquities. Rest of afternoon and evening at leisure. Options for visits to additional sight in Trastevere or central Rome. Overnight at hotel in Rome.

Day 5 – ORVIETO
Breakfast at hotel in Rome. Day Trip to Orvieto. Cathedral with Lucca Signorelli chapel, Piazza, Etruscan museum and artefacts. Return and overnight at hotel in Rome.

Day 6 – ROME / FLORENCE
Breakfast at hotel. Morning transfer from the hotel to Termini Station/Rome, by private coach + 2nd class train tickets by ES train Rome/Florence including seats reservations + private transfer from Florence Santa Maria Novella Station to Hotel Machiavelli, luggage transferred by assistants. Orientation walk, visit to Bargello Museum, claim the cathedral dome (Bruneleschi) or campanile tower (Giotto) for a look at Florence. Optional visit to Santa Maria Novella. Check-in and overnight.

Day 7 – FLORENCE
Breakfast at hotel. Full day walking tour of Florence with local English speaking guide, including reservations and entrance fees to Academy of Fine Arts and the Uffizi Gallery, medieval house, Ponte Vecchio. Optional visit to Museo Medici-Ricardi with frescoes and 3-d simulation of Benozzo Gozzoli. Overnight at hotel. Leather market next block!

Day 8 – PISA
Breakfast at hotel. Day trip to Pisa with visit of the tower, baptistery, and cathedral. Mid-afternoon return to Florence. Rest of afternoon at leisure. Overnight at hotel in Florence.

Day 9 – SIENA
Breakfast at hotel in Florence. Full day Trip to Siena: the Cathedral, lunch, the City Tower, the City Museum and Pinacotheca, the Sienese collection of Gothic art. A couple of hours to stroll, sight-see, shop and try the local delicatessen, panforte. Early evening return and overnight at hotel in Florence.

Day 10 – FLORENCE / VENICE
Breakfast at hotel. Morning transfer from the hotel to Florence Station, by private coach with driver only + 2nd class train tickets ES train Florence/Venice + Transfer from Venice Santa Lucia Station to Hotel Messner, by private boat with English speaking assistant. Check-in and overnight at Hotel Messner, 2-star hotel in Venice. Quick lunch at a bar, visit to the Academia Museum, the best collection of Venetian paintings.

Day 11 – VENICE
Breakfast at hotel. Morning half day walking tour of Venice, with local English speaking guide, Doge’s Palace, San Marco cathedral, Museo Correr with local art from antiquity to early modern time, round-trip transfer hotel/St. Mark’s/hotel by private motorlaunch. “Art in situ” walk with instructor visiting Chesa dei Frari and other medieval and Renaissance churches and San Rocco’s company headquarters decorated by Tintoretto. Overnight at hotel in Venice.

Day 12 – VENICE
Breakfast at hotel. Day at leisure. A good option for art lovers is Ca’Rezzonico for baroque and rococo art. A 10 min trip on the vaporetto will get you to the island of San Giogio Maggiore with breathtaking view of Venice’s main sights. Options for visits to selected artefacts, trip to Murano, the glass-making island of Venice; long strip of glass shops, glass museum and a fine 12th century Byzantine style basilica on the side. Grand Canal and the gondolas are yours for a trip. Overnight at hotel in Venice.

Day 13 – VENICE / ROME
Breakfast at hotel. Morning transfer from the hotel to Venice Station, by private boat with local English speaking assistant, 2nd class train tickets ES train Venice/Rome + transfer from Termini Station to Hotel Smeraldo, by private coach with driver only. Arrival around 3 PM: a chance for a last sightseeing in Rome. Check-in and overnight at hotel Smeraldo.

Day 14 – ROME / USA
Breakfast at hotel. Transfer from the hotel to Rome Fiumicino Airport, by private motorcoach. Departure for USA.