Group Coordinator: Tom Dwyer from Seven Seas Voyages   Tel: 781-910-3311

[email protected] 800-206-TOUR (8687)   mon - fri 9am - 5pm EST   YOUR TRIP INCLUDES: † Round-trip air from Boston † Airport Taxes and Fuel Surcharges † Accommodations for 10 nights in Italy as follows   ~ 3 nights: May 12-15, Villa Diodoro, Taormina   ~ 1 night: May 15-16, Inside cabin on Ferry Palermo/Naples   ~ 3 nights: May 16-19, Hotel Majestic Palace, Parco del Sole, Sorrento   ~ 2 nights: May 19-21, Savoia Regency, San Giovanni Rotondo   ~ 1 night: May 21-22, Residenza Madre Pie, Rome † Tour Escort Throughout † Breakfast Daily (except on Ferry, May 16th) † 8 Dinners: Taormina (3), Sorrento (3) San Giovanni Rotondo(2) † Wine and Mineral Water with dinners included (1/4 wine & 1/2 mineral water) † Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach † Assistance of a professional local guides:    Half Day in Taormina, Agrigento, Pompeii and Full Day in Palermo † Admissions: Greek Theatre Taormina, Archeology Park Syracuse, Temples    Agrigento, Palatine Chapel, Monreale Cathedral & Ruins in Pompeii † Headsets for included sightseeing † City Tax in Taormina, Sorrento, and Rome † Luggage Handling (1 peice per person) † Flight bag & portfolio of all travel documents Optional: Travel Insurance (www.206tours.com/insurance), Extended Cancellation Protection Plan @ $299 (www.206tours.com/cancellationprotection) Not Included: Lunches, Tips to your guide & driver, Items of personal nature.

Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:

Day 1: Mon, May 11 – Depart for Italy
Depart from Boston Airport on your overnight flights to Italy. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board.

Day 2: Tue, May 12 – Catania -Taormina
You’ll be greeted upon arrival by your tour escort who will be with you throughout your pilgrimage. We will transfer to Taormina for an evening walking tour of this charming city centre: the Greek/Roman amphitheatre, with its spectacular views. Tonight we will enjoy welcome dinner and overnight in Taormina.

Day 3: Wed, May 13 - Taormina – Mount Etna – Syracuse - Taormina
Following breakfast at our hotel we will transfer to Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. After exploring the area around the fiery volcano’s peak we will visit the Sylvester Craters and enjoy unforgettable views as we drive through the fertile slopes and villages that sit on ancient volcanic eruptions. From here we will continue to Syracuse. The district of Neapolis, (meaning the ‘new town’), is one of the most evocative quarters claiming the theatre, the Ear of Dionysius and the Latomia del Paradiso within its boundaries. On the eastern side lies Tyche, named by a temple that was dedicated to the Goddess of Fortune (from the Greek Tyche – fortune or luck). The island of Ortigia, the most ancient area of settlement, is linked to the mainland by the Ponte Nuovo, a natural extension of one of the main thoroughfares of Syracuse. Afterward, we will then return to Taormina for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Thu, May 14 – Taormina – Agrigento - Taormina
After breakfast at our hotel we’ll depart Taormina and travel to Agrigento. Overlooking Sicily's southern coast, Agrigento was founded as Akragas around 582 BC by a group of colonists who themselves were the immediate descendants of Greeks from Rhodes and Crete and may have descended from that civilization. Akragas was christened Agrigento in 1927 and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples we will see are the ruins of numerous temples but also necropoli, houses, streets and much that one would expect to find in an ancient city. There is a small amphitheatre, as well as several auditoria, and a fine archaeological museum. Part of the Temple of Hera (Juno), built around 450 BC, is still intact. Its style has been compared to that of the temples at Paestum, near Salerno. Return to Taormina for dinner & overnight.

Day 5: Fri, May 15 – Taormina - Palermo – Monreale – Overnight Ferry to Naples
Following breakfast we will depart for Palermo . Upon arrival you will meet your local guide and visit Monreale and Palermo. Monreale is situated on a slope of Mount Caputo about three hundred meters above sea level, and offers lovely views of the surrounding valley. We will see the magnificent Cathedral of Monreale and it’s mosaics, bronze work, marble and stone. It has the largest concentration of Norman, Arab and Byzantine art in one place. Attached to the Cathedral, the Benedictine cloister courtyard consists of 228 columns, some inlaid with Byzantine-style mosaics. Later, we will visit Palermo, a city full of character: Quattro Canti – a splendid example of Spanish Baroque architecture, the Palace of the Normans and its superb Palatine Chapel. Later this evening, we will board the overnight ferry to Naples.

Day 6: Sat, May 16 – Naples and Pompeii
Upon arrival at Naples Pier we will travel by motor coach and enjoy a panoramic tour of this fascinating city. Continue to Pompeii where we will meet our local guide for a visit of the excavations of Pompeii, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy, is hundreds of thousands of years old and has erupted more than 50 times. Its most famous eruption took place in the year 79 A.D., when the volcano buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii under a thick carpet of volcanic ash. The dust “poured across the land” like a flood, one witness wrote, and shrouded the city in “a darkness…like the black of closed and unlighted rooms.” Two thousand people died, and the city was abandoned for almost as many years. When a group of explorers rediscovered the site in 1748, they were surprised to find that–underneath a thick layer of dust and debris–Pompeii was mostly intact. The buildings, artefacts and skeletons left behind in the buried city have taught us a great deal about everyday life in the ancient world. There will be time for lunch on your own before we continue along the “Sorrentine” coastal road to Sorrento. Sorrento is considered a significant area of the Sorrentine Peninsula, overlooking the Bay of Naples, with sight of Naples, Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri. Dinner and overnight in Sorrento.

Day 7: Sun, May 17 - Amalfi and Ravello
Today your guide will take you on a breathtaking drive along the Amalfi Coast, one of the most beautiful roads in the world. Each winding turn reveals a dazzling and unforgettable view of the coastline and sea. The villas are perched into the rocky coastline and seem to hang from the heavens. Stop in Amalfi, one of the four “Republiche Marinare” of Italy. Celebrate Mass at St. Andrew. See the Amalfi Dome, dedicated to St. Andrew, located at the end of steep stairs. This afternoon there is time at your leisure. Along the pedestrian streets of this quaint town there are various bars and cafes to taste the original limoncello (maybe there will also be the possibility to visit a true limoncello factory!). Continue to Ravello, which is nestled 1,110 feet above the sea. Visit Villa Rufolo, which gave the musician Richard Wagner the inspiration to create his most famous works. Return to Sorrento for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Mon, May 18 – Sorrento Free day
After breakfast in the hotel, enjoy a free day for rest, relaxation, exploration or go on our optional trip to the Isle of Capri by high speed vessel. Dinner and overnight in Sorrento.

Day 9: Tue, May 19 – Sorrento – Monte Sant’ Angelo – San Giovanni Rotondo
Following breakfast we will depart for Monte Sant’Angelo where we will visit the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. 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 in 490 . The sanctuary has been a popular place of pilgrimage for many centuries: St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bridget of Sweden, St. Gerard Majella, St. William of Vercelli and six popes have made the pilgrimage here to ask for St. Michael's protection. After visit we will continue to St. Padre Pio’s town, San Giovanni Rotondo, our base for the following two nights. Dinner & overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.

Day 10:Wed, May 20 – San Giovanni Rotondo
After breakfast in hotel , we will tour the sanctuary and see the old Church and the crucifix from which St. Padre Pio received the stigmata in 1918. We will also see the confessional where St. Padre Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. In the afternoon free time for personal reflection. Dinner & overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.

Day 11: Thu, May 21 – San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano – Rome
We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano, a small, medieval town, nestled between San Giovanni Rotondo and Loreto. We will visit the Church of the Eucharistic Miracle, (at the time called the Church of St. Legontian and St. Domitian) located in the center of the town and celebrate Mass. The Miracle of Lanciano dates back to the eighth century when a monk who had doubts about the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, found when he said the words of consecration at Mass, that the bread and wine changed into flesh and blood. The elements can still be seen today. The flesh, which is the same size as the large host used in the Latin Church, is fibrous and light brown in color and becomes rose-colored when lighted from the back. The blood consists of five coagulated globules and has an earthy color resembling the yellow of ochre. After free time for lunch we will continue to Rome for overnight.

Day 12: Fri, May 22 – Rome Airport – USA
This morning we will go to Vatican City for the morning Mass at St Peter’s crypt (confirmation is pending). After breakfast and free time in St Peter’s square we depart for Rome Airport for our return flight home. We fondly say, Arrivederci Italia! Or Post Stay in Rome

Options:   Single Supplement / Solo Traveler $799 Business Class Trans-Atlantic Upgrade (one-way) - pending availability $1,750 Business Class Trans-Atlantic Upgrade (round trip) - pending availability $3,500 First Class available upon request Children's discounts for children under 12 upon request              *All Upgrades & Options will be available to you after you press the Book Now button above*

Additional Information & Travel Tips:  Italy
 
Any Questions? To register or for more information, please contact: Tom Dwyer Seven Seas Voyages, PO Box 212, Melvin Village, NH 03850. Tel: 781-910-3311 Toll-Free: 877-659-3101 email: [email protected]

for more information, contact Liz: 800-206-TOUR (8687) or [email protected]

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POST STAY IN ROME

May 22 - 24, 2015

$719 per person

† 2 nights: May 22 - 24: Residenza Madre Pie (or similar)
† Breakfast and dinner daily
† Wine and Mineral Water with dinners (1/4 wine & 1/2 water)
† Escorted full-day tour of Rome to include the Vatican Museum, the Basilica of

   St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Catacombs
† One free day to experience Rome on your own
† Transfer to the airport on departure day

Day 12: Fri, May 22 – Rome (Vatican Museums – Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls – Catacombs)
Following breakfast, we will depart to celebrate Mass in 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. Following Mass, we will visit the Vatican Museums, containing a group of the 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. The tour ends as we make our way back into St. Peter’s Basilica. Pope Francis visited the tomb of St. Peter, following his elevation, for a visit of devotion that lasted 45 minutes. He is the first Pontiff to visit the necropolis since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago. We will also visit the tomb of St. John Paul II located at the Vatican. There will be free time for lunch, and then we will continue on to visit St Paul. Outside the Walls. Continue our tour via the Appian Way -- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Celilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will conclude our day and wonderful stay in Rome with dinner at a local restaurant in Rome.

Day 13: Sat, May 23 – Rome Free day

After breakfast enjoy a free day for rest, relaxation, exploration or optional tour of choice offered. We will meet together for dinner in local restaurant

Day 14: Sun, May 24 – Rome Airport – USA
This morning after breakfast we depart for Rome Airport for our return flight home. We fondly say, Arrivederci Italia!

Taormina, Italy

Sorrento, Italy

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