Fantasia Italiana

A Taste of North & South

• Escorted Tour •

10 Days / 9 Nights Departs from Rome Ends in Rome

• $3,850.00 – August 18, 2017 Departure – For 2 people (Tourist Category, 3 star hotels)
• $770.00 – 20% deposit required to hold tour
• $3,080.00 – Remainder due 45 days before departure

Day 1: Rome

Benvenuti a roma! After you touch down at the airport, enjoy a private transfer to your hotel. Check in and then enjoy the city at your leisure before spending your first night in Italy.

Day 2: Rome/ Assisi/Siena/Florence

Departing at 7:15 by a deluxe coach, you will arrive in Assisi, where you can explore this tiny town, surrounded by walls built in the middle ages, at your own leisure. Make time to visit the basilica of St. Francis, where you will see masterpieces by Giotto and Ciambue, and to have lunch (not included). Board the bus for Siena, a medieval town surrounded by ancient walls that is known for the Palio, an annual summertime horse race around the shell-shaped town square, Piazza del Campo. Next, you will continue on to Florence, where you will check in to your hotel before enjoying dinner and a well earned night of rest.

Day 3: Florence (PISA OPTIONAL)

After breakfast, you will spend the day venturing around beautiful Florence, the “cradle of renaissance, where, with the help of Michelangelo, italian art reached its pinnacle. Based on etruscan-roman origins, the city flourished in the middle ages as a free “comune” and was further refined by the renaissance. You will be fascinated by its numerous monuments, churches, and buildings, as Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly referred to as the Duomo. On your visit, you will be amazed by its magnificent dome built by Filippo Brunelleschi. Cross a small piazza to see the campanile tower (partly designed by Giotto) and the baptistery, with its bronze doors that Michelangelo dubbed the “gates of paradise.” In the heart of the city, you will see Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo della Signoria (also known as Palazzo Vecchio), and the basilica of Santa Croce. Lunch in a typical Tuscany restaurant in Santa Croce square. Spend the afternoon strolling the cobblestone streets of Florence on your own or take a short trip to Pisa (optional), one of the four main historical marine republics of Italy. There, you will tour the square of miracles, which houses the Duomo, the leaning tower, and the baptistery. Overnight stay.

Day 4: Florence/Bologna/Padua/Venice

Depart for Bologna after breakfast in Florence. There, you will wander through the city’s 38 kilometers worth of elegant arcades (or porticos), for which Bologna is famous. From Piazza Malpighi, we will walk to Piazza del Nettuno and Piazza Maggiore (Neptune square and Major square) in the heart of the city, where you will find Neptune fountain; King Renzo Palace; Podestà Palace; and the basilica of San Petronio, one of the biggest in the world. In the afternoon, continue toward Padova, with its original Sant’Antonio basilica. Later, you will arrive in Venice, world-renowned for its classic gondola boats and its elegant, refined art. Check in to your hotel and enjoy your first Venetian dinner and overnight stay.

Day 5: Venice

Hit the water after breakfast as you board a private water bus to enjoy St. Mark’s square, interior visit of the splendid cathedral, the Dogi palace, a symbol of the glory and authority of Venice as it housed the seat of the government and the court of justice. Nearby you will see the legendary bridge of sight. Spend the afternoon roaming along Venice’s canals at your leisure and then return to the hotel for dinner and relaxation.

Day 6: Venice/Region of Chianti - Montepulciano/Tuscany/Rome

Once you eat breakfast, depart from Piazzale Roma to Tuscany, known for its romantic churches and castles and its infamous wines. You will proceed to val di chiana with a stop in Montepulciano, a medieval town rich with history and art. Known for its “nobile” wine, which can be purchased in wine houses in town, Montepulciano is also the host of an annual jazz and wine festival every July. Spend the afternoon getting to know Montepulciano at your own pace free wine tasting in many shops and free time for shopping. That evening, you will check in to your new hotel in Rome.

Day 7: Rome

After breakfast, tour the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St Peter's Basilica with our exclusive skip the line access! Your guide will lead you into the museums where you’ll visit one of the most important art collections of the world. Walk along the beautiful Galleries of Tapestries and Geographical Maps before admiring Raphael’s Rooms and, then, the amazing Sistine Chapel. After this incredible masterpiece, you will be taken by a privileged door to St. Peters’s Basilica: the biggest church in the world! Later, enjoy free time for lunch in a local panini shop, then meet your English-Speaking driver for a panoramic tour of Rome, including the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Colosseum.

Day 8: Rome/ Naples/ Pompeii/ Sorrento

After breakfast at your hotel, a coach bus will depart at 7:00am, taking the highway “of the sun” through the regions of Lazio and Campania, where you will see a picturesque view of the abbey of Montecassino. Upon arriving in Naples, you will go on a short panoramic walking tour, seeing sites such as the Mergellina neighborhood, castel dell’ovo, Plebiscito square, the Royal palace, Maschio Angioino, and the port. Have lunch in a restaurant en route to Pompeii and then visit the excavations of the famous roman city, destroyed by the eruption of mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Leaving Pompeii, you will drive along the Sorrentine coast, arriving in Sorrento for dinner and an overnight in your new hotel.

Day 9: Sorrento/ Capri/ Rome

Breakfast at the hotel and free time to discover Sorrento or, if you want, you may opt for a visit to the island of Capri (not included) or take an Amalfi coast excursion (not included). In the afternoon, at around 04.00 pm, departure back to Rome. Overnight stay. (Attention: during the Low Season the itinerary doesn't include the visit to Capri)

Day 10: Rome

Enjoy one final breakfast before meeting our driver for private transfer to the airport.

Tour Includes:

• Roundtrip airport transfers
• 9 nights first class hotel accommodations with daily breakfast
• Transportation by De-Luxe motor coach
• Multilingual tour escort
• 4 dinners, 3 lunches
• Panoramic Visits as per itinerary (Attention: during the Low Season the itinerary doesn't include the visit to Capri - Day 9)
• Vatican Museums skype the line entrance fee
• Porterage Service

Tour operated in English and Spanish from Nov-Mar. English Only from Apr-Oct.

Hotels 4 star (1st class category)

• Rome: Bettoja Hotel or similar
• Florence: Hotel Mediterraneo or similar
• Venice: Hotel Carlton Grand Canal

Hotels Tourist Category (3 star hotels)

• Rome: Hotel Santa Costanza – Rome Garden
• Florence: Hotel Mediterraneo or similar
• Venice: Hotel Delfino (located in Mestre)
• Hotels can be substituted with others based on availability.

OPTIONAL TOURS TO BE PURCHASED LOCALLY

SUNDAY - Florentine museum – Academy Gallery – guided tour - Lasting time 1h45m - €30 pp

A chance to see the art of Michelangelo: The Four Slaves or Prisoners, St. Matthew, The Pietà from Palestrina example of unfinished work and the famous David . Basically a statuary museum displaying some precious pieces of Renaissance Art.

SUNDAY - Pisa - Lasting time 5 hours - €40 pp

Guided tour to the magnificent Miracle Square with its remarkable Leaning Tower (exterior), the Baptistry (interior), the Cathedral (interior) built in memory of S. John Ranieri patron saint of the city, and an impressive example of pisan-romanic art decorated all over with white marble from Massa Carrara.

MONDAY - Venice by night - lasting time 2h30 – with your tour guide - €20 pp

Focused on St. Mark Sq. with its stunning monuments and elegant bars with orquestra podium

TUESDAY - Venice – Gondola ride – Lasting time 35min - €35 pp

A typical way of tasting the city by riding along its canals with friends and two Venetian musicians singing and playing the accordion. Each gondola is for six people. The tour ends at the departure point.

** PRICES** (subject to change during the course of the season)

Information

• All optional tours are required a minimum number of participants.
• Prices shown above are per person and include: transportation, entrance fee and local guide at the Pisa and Academy Gallery Museum.
• For any other optional tour you may wish please contact with your tour director
• Booking and payment by your tour escort (no credit cards)
• Reduction for children under 12 years old.

NOTES

• ANCIENT ROME TOUR TO BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE FROM THE USA
• ANCIENT ROME (COLOSSEUM AND ROMAN FORUM) $75 per person
• PICK UP AND DROP OFF AT HOTEL AVAILABLE
• THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT REQUIRES IN CERTAIN CITIES A TOURIST TAX TO BE PAID LOCALLY, THIS TAX VARY FROM EURO 3 TO EURO 5 PER PERSON PER DAY AND HAS TO BE PAID LOCALLY AT THE HOTEL