Tailor-made Italy - Itineraries for groups

Tailor made

Italy Itineraries for groups

gialpitravel.com

Tailor made

Italy Itineraries for groups

A bespoke travel experience with an Italian heart, for those who love travelling together.

Each client is different and every journey is a unique experience.

You will discover a tailor made Italy with us!

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Surprising experiences We have been designing and delivering itineraries in Italy for more than 20 years with the same attention to detail, ensuring high quality and tailoring experiences to our customers’ needs.

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A team of professionals passionately select the best services available in each destination, wisely and creatively designing the most evocative and fascinating itineraries, never forgetting our customers’ needs. Our business departments are able to offer promptness, flexibility, experience, efficiency and support while organizing your tours in Italy, allowing you to give your customers an unforgettable experience.

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ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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Gialpi’s Italy Assisi

Calabria

Caserta

Campania

Florence

Cilento

Lecce

Corsica

Loreto

Amalfi Coast

Mantua

Gargano

Padua

Elba Island

Palermo

Isole Tremiti

Pompeii

Italian lakes

Rome

Lazio

Venice

Lombardy Piedmont Apulia Sardinia Sicily Toscana Umbria Valle d’Aosta Veneto

Index

ABOUT ART AND HISTORY 16 17 18 19 20 21

Venice of Light and Colour Mantua, Ferrara, Ravenna Florence and the House of Medici Bernini, Borromini and Caravaggio’s Rome Palermo in the colour of Renato Guttuso Lecce, Baroque’s triumph

ABOUT CULTURE AND TASTE 24 25 26 27 28 29 30-31

Piedmont, Sweets and Great Wines Veneto and Lombardia, Art, Wine and Traditions Tuscany, where simplicity becomes art Lazio, the delicacies of Roman Castles Campania, not only pizza Apulia, not only trulli Sicily, Almonds, Pistachios and Chocolate

ABOUT CULTURE AND FAITH 34 35 36 37 38 39

Padua and its Saint Loreto and Manoppello Assisi and its Saint Rome, Papal Audience Gargano and Saint Pio Pompeii, the Virgin of the Rosary

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY 42 43 44-45 46 47 48-49 50 51 52 53 54-55

Sardinia, the Southern Coast Sardinia, the Northern Coast Corsica and Sardinia Sicily, the Western Coast Sicily, the Eastern Coast Sicily, the best of Aeolian Islands Campania Cilento Coast Campania Ischia Island Apulia, Salento Apulia, Gargano Calabria, the Southern coastline

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70-71 72 73 74 75 76 77

Piedmont and the Aosta Valley Veneto Italian lakes Tuscany and Elba island Umbria and Tuscany Umbria Lazio: Rome Lazio, Tuscia Lazio, Ciociaria Lazio and Campania Campania: Naples, Amalfi Coast, Caserta Campania, Cilento Campania, Sea and Islands Campania and Sicily Apulia: Bari, Lecce, Tremiti Islands Apulia and Campania Calabria Sardinia Sicily

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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Venice of Light and Colour

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Mantua, Ferrara, Ravenna

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Florence and the House of Medici

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Bernini, Borromini and Caravaggio’s Rome

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Palermo in the colour of Renato Guttuso

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Lecce, Baroque’s triumph

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ART andHISTORY about

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Venice is form, matter, water, air, fire, light and colour. Venetian art has its origins in the landmarks of space and time.

Especially in the way that Renaissance era artists of the region had the ability to capture the light that changes, transmigrates and affects matter which is generally neutral and opaque through the manipulation of materials such as oil, resin and colours to recreate the harmonic, magic and lively effect of natural light.

Veneto

Venice of Light and Colour Tour 4 days /3 nights

Torcello Burano Murano Venice

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1st Day: Tour start, Venice Group arrives in Venice. We will transfer to the hotel and visit the city in the afternoon. Our itinerary takes us through the main sights such as St. Mark’s Square and the Basilica. We will make a stop in one fo the most famous and oldest coffee shops of the city, the Caffè Florian.

We will continue towards the Sospiri Bridge, the Antiche Prigioni and the Riva degli Schiavoni. Our walk continues to the La Fenice Theatre, the Grand Canal and the fruits and fish markets.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Venice, Galleria dell’Accademia Museum Breakfast at the hotel. We will spend the morning at the Galleria dell’Accademia Museum. This museum houses the richest collection of paintings of the region from the fourteenth-century Byzantine and Gothic art to the artists of the Renaissance era such Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Veronese, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Tiepolo and Canaletto. Lunch.

In the afternoon we will visit the Basilica of Frari. Three precious masterpieces occupy pride of place among all paintings housed in this basilica.

Tiziano gave an enternal light to the presbytery by arranging the great altarpiece of the Assumption which was defined by Canova “the most beau-

tiful painting of the world”. Tiziano also painted between 1519 and 1526 the Madonna di Ca’ Pesaro. The third masterpiece is located in the sacristy of the basilica. In the very beautiful wooden frame inlaid by Jacopo da Faenza, the enchanting triptych by Giovanni Bellini catches your eye.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Venice, islands, blown glass and laces Breakfast at the hotel and depart from St. Mark’s Square for Murano, Burano and Torcello islands.

We will board a motor boat and will visit Murano island which is famous for the antique manifacturing of blown glass. We will continue for Burano, an island characterized by contrasts of light and colour. It is a fishing island and famous for the manifacturing of laces. Finally we will visit Torcello island with the ancient Cathedral of Santa Fosca, the famous Attila’s Throne and the remains of the Venetian ancient past. We will return to Venice. Lunch. Free time in the afternoon.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Venice, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT ART AND HISTORY

Ferrara was one of the Renaissance era capitals and was a urban project of Estensi family who ruled here for centuries and gave to the city the look it still keeps today. It has a unique urban design which harmoniously combines Middle Age and Renaissance era styles and which gives to this city the title of first modern city in Europe.

Ravenna and the art of Mosaics are unseparable. Visiting this city is like living a thousand year old history from the Roman era through the Renaissance until the nineteenth century when the city was discovered by famous visitors such as Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Sigmund Freud and Gustav Klimt.

Lombardy -Emilia Romagna

Mantua is a small and well designed city.

It is a treasure chest of precious artworks left by world famous artists. Mantegna, Pisanello, Giulio Romano, Leon Battista Alberti are some of the artists who gave to the city its undisputed cultural dignity.

1st Day: Tour start, Mantua Group arrives in Mantua. Our tour starts in Piazza Sordello, the political and administrative centre of the city and the first populated area of Mantua.

The Ducal Palace, the offical palace of Gonzaga family, the Duomo, the Bonacolsi Palace, the Castiglione Palace and the House of Rigoletto, bound to Verdi’s work, are located in this area.

We will leave the historic centre and will proceed to the Renaissance era part of the city with its Piazza Broletto, Podestà Palace, the statue of Virgil, Piazza Erbe with the majestic Palazzo della Ragione, the Clock Tower and the Romanesque Rotonda of St. Lawrence commissioned by Matilde of Canossa. At the end of our tour we will visit the Renaissance era Basilica of St. Andrew, built on a project of Leon Battista Alberti and which houses the relics of the very precious Blood of Christ.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Mantua, Te Palace, Ferrara Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit the Te Palace, a magnificent masterpiece of Giulio Romano, located on an old island on the Mincio River as commissioned by Federico II Gonzaga. The purpose of the building is clearly described on an inscription housed in Psiche’s room: it is a palace for spare time, amusement and laziness of the prince who used to rest here. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Ferrara. Accomodation in hotel and free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Ferrara Breakfast at the hotel and Ferrara city tour.

We will visit the inner parts of the Estense Castle, a majestic symbol of the city with its red terracotta bricks, the elegant balustrades and the massive towers placed at the four corners of the castle still today overlooking the whole city, a great permanent symbol of the greatness and magnificence of the House of Este. We will visit the Cathedral and discover the typical medieval streets such as Via San Romano, Via delle Volte and Via Mazzini, which were in the past the Jewish Ghetto.

Lunch. After lunch we will visit the Renaissance era city side with its Addizione Erculea, the Quadrivio di Palazzo Diamanti, Piazza Ariostea and the walls.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Ferrara, Codigoro, Ravenna Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Codigoro for a visit to the Pomposa Abbey. This Abbey dates back to the VI – VII century when the Benedictines established themselves on Insula Pomposia, a wooded island surrounded by the river and protected by the sea. After the year 1000 the most splendid era started and it became a prosperous monastic centre dedicated to a life of work and prayer whose fortune was bound to Abbot St. Guido. Lunch. We will depart for Ravenna. Accomodation in hotel and free time.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Ravenna, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and Ravenna city tour, starting from Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and its famous cylindrical bell tower to the Baptistery of Neon with its octagonal shape, and continuing with the Arian Baptistery. Our tour continues with a visit to the Church of St. Francis and Dante’s grave. Lunch. In afternoon we will visit the Mausoleum of Theoderic, a monumental tomb built with Istria’s stone blocks and a symbol of barbaric and imperial power, and the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare in Classe, just outside the city. We will depart at the end of our tour.

Mantua, Ferrara, Ravenna

Tour 5 days /4 nights

Mantua

Ferrara Ravenna

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Florence’s history is bound to the House of Medici who were ‘black Guelphs’, rich and powerful traders and bankers. Cosimo the Old, Piero, Giovanni, Giuliano and Lorenzo the Magnificent started a true “signoria” which was a political template and an example for culture. The family produced Popes and warriors, fostered art, culture and science and made Florence the capital of a rich, powerful and respected state.

Tuscany

Florence and the House of Medici Tour 4 days/3 nights

1st Day: Tour start, Florence Group arrives in Florence and transfers to hotel.

The tour will start with a first visit to the city, from Piazza Duomo with the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery of St. John and Giotto’s Campanile. It will continue with the splendid Orsanmichele, Piazza della Repubblica and Ponte Vecchio. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Florence, the House of Medici Breakfast at the hotel. The group will spend the day discovering the wonders of the great House of Medici. The tour starts with a visit to Palazzo dè Medici and Complesso Laurenziano with its Library, the Church of St. Lawrence and the Principi Chapel. The tour continues to Mercato Vecchio and Loggia del Mercato Nuovo. In Piazza della Loggia and in Palazzo Vecchio the signs of the transition of political power to the Medici family is visible.

Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to the Uffizi Gallery and the Vasari Corridor which connects to the gallery to Palazzo Pitti.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Florence, House of Medici’s villas Breakfast at the hotel. The tour starts with a visit to the suburban villas which house the story of the

Florence

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family. Villa Pietraia is one of the most fascinating Medici villas because of its location and the excellence of its pictorial decorations. Villa di Poggio a Caiano was commissioned by Lorenzo the Magnificent and was built at the foot of Mount Albano and was designed by Giuliano da Sangallo. It sits in a beautiful position inside a vast rural property situated among Florence, Prato and Pistoia. Lunch. Depart for Florence and free time for individual tours.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Florence, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT ART AND HISTORY

Lazio

An unusual itinerary to experience the great city of Rome through the eyes of the most interesting artists who made this capital one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Bernini and Borromini were two artistic geniuses, two architects, the two best Baroque masters and had two very different personalities. Caravaggio is a universally known painter, one of the fathers of Baroque painting. His works combine the analysis of the human physical and emotional condition and a dramatic usage of light.

1st Day: Tour start, Rome Group arrives in Rome, transfers to hotel and in the evening meets the guide for a first city tour. We will visit Trastevere which is one of the Romans’ most loved neighbourhoods, the most cited in cinema and which still keeps its charm thanks to its small alleys paved in sampietrini and the several ruins of medieval houses. We will have dinner in a traditional tavern. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Bernini and Borromini’s Rome Breakfast at the hotel. We will meet our guide and visit the artworks of these two artists to better understand the differences and the affinities of their personalities. Our itinerary starts at Barberini Palace where both artists started to work in 1629 and continues at San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane where Borromini expressed his talent by converting a very narrow space into a functional and complete structure complete as requested by the priests. We will then visit the Church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale built by Bernini in which the artist could fully express his fantastic vision. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Piazza Navona with the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, the Fountain of the four rivers and the Pamphilj Palace. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Caravaggio’s Rome Breakfast at the hotel and visit to Caravaggio’s masterpieces, one of the most famous Italian

painters of all time. We can find his works in Rome in the Cerasi Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, in the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi de’ Francesi and in the Cavalletti Chapel inside the Basilica of Sant’Agostino. Lunch. Free time in the afternoon.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Bernini, Borromini and Caravaggio’s Rome

Tour 4 days/3 nights

4th Day: Rome, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Rome

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

In one of his many interviews the painter, Renato Guttuso, from Palermo said: “It takes time to understand simple things because you do not understand them immediately, you understand them during life...simple things are understood through long payments, long deadlines...”.

Guttuso’s art in his Palermo, a simple city but not so easy to understand.

Sicily

Palermo in the colour of Renato Guttuso Tour 4 days /3 nights

Palermo

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1st Day: Tour start, Palermo Group arrives in Palermo, accomodation in hotel and meet with the guide in the evening for a panoramic visit by bus and a walk in the historic city centre around Politeama Theatre and its squares, Piazza Casteluovo and Piazza Ruggero Settimo.

Dinner at a restaurant. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Palermo, Monreale Breakfast at the hotel and tour of Palermo, the city with the biggest historic centre in Italy. The group will visit the city travelling its sacred axis from East to West walking along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, stopping at Piazza Marina and proceeding to the seat of inquisition, Quattro Canti, Piazza Pretoria with its Fontana Toscana, the Martorana Norman Complex, the Cathedral with the royal and imperial tombs and its treasure. The tour continues to the Royal Palace with its magnificent Porta Nuova and ends in the Palatine Chapel. The group will depart for Monreale, a must-see destination for its Norman Cathedral housing the world biggest Byzantine collection of gold mosaics. We will have dinner in a typical restaurant in the neighbourhood

Sferracavallo with its small harbour which is the favourite destination for local people to enjoy tasty fish dishes. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Palermo, Bagheria, Museo Guttuso Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Bagheria, a small city close to Palermo which has very old origins, its name comes from the arabic “Bab al Gerib” which means “Wind door”. The golden period of this city started in relatively modern times thanks to its fortunate relationship with the Branciforte family, which were Butera’s princes and chose to live here. Soon after the aristocracy from Palermo decided to establish here as well. This explains the presence of eighteenth-century villas in this area.

We will visit Villa Palagonia, Palazzo Butera, Villa Valguarnera and Palazzo Cutò. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Villa Cattolica which houses Renato Guttuso museum and where his remains rest as he was buried, according to his wish, in a place from where you could see the sea. We will return to Palermo and transfer to Mondello for dinner and for a romantic walk on the promenade. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

4th Day: Palermo, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT ART AND HISTORY

Apulia

Lightness, light and nobility are the adjectives which best suit this “Lady of Baroque”. The soft stone of its palaces together with the extraordinary light are just few of the enchanting motives which gently touch the soul of those who visit this city.

1st Day: Tour start, Lecce Group arrives in Lecce. Accomodation in hotel and free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Lecce Breakfast at the hotel and a tour of Lecce’s historic centre. Lecce is the main city of the Salentine Peninsula. Its Baroque buildings give this city an unmistakably noble and pretty look. The group will visit the main monuments such as the Church of the Holy Cross, the Celestines’Convent, the Adorno Palace, Saint Orontius Square, the Church of the Rosary and the Church of St. Blaise. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to the city walls’ monuments.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Lecce, Galatina Breakfast at the hotel. The group will visit the Sigismondo Castromediano Museum, the oldest Apulian museum which is rich in relics from all over Salento and houses the most complete collection of red-figure Attican vases, Messapian pottery, vases and finally statues from the imperial age from the amphitheatre. The museum als houses an important collection of paintings exhibited in the medieval and Baroque rooms.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Galatina, a small town not far from Lecce which has an extraordinarily interesting historic centre for its churches and elegant palaces. The most famous monuments are the Romanesque Basilica di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria which has three magnificent portals cut in Lecce’s stone and the Chiesa Madre dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Lecce, Nardò Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Nardò with its massive and refined architecture in the city centre such as Acquaviva Castle and Palazzo di Città which was rebuilt in the Rococò style after the earthquake in 1743. The Baroque churches of San Domenico, Santa Chiara and Sant’Antonio, the Norman Cathedral dedicated to the Assumption and the very beautiful Piazza Salandra are also very important sights. Lunch. The group will return to Lecce in the afternoon and have free time.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Lecce, Baroque’s triumph

Tour 5 days /4 nights

5th Day: Lecce, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Lecce

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Piedmont, Sweets and Great Wines

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Veneto and Lombardia, Art, Wine and Traditions

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Tuscany, where simplicity becomes art

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Lazio, the delicacies of Roman Castles

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Campania, not only pizza

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Apulia, not only trulli

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Sicily, Almonds, Pistachios and Chocolate

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CULTURE andTASTE

about

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Piedmont, Sweets and Great Wines Tour 5 days/4 nights

Venaria Reale Turin

Castiglione Falletto Alba Roddino La Morra Novello

Piemontese cuisine has two souls: the farmers’ soul which used intelligence more than ingredients and resources giving birth to excellent dishes and the nobles’ soul of the court of the House of Savoy.

Also proximity to France influenced this region’s cuisine. In Piedmont starters of cured meats are very important and Piemontese people have an undisputed experience and talent in their production.

The Cacciatorini, lard, brine dried meat eaten with beans, other legumes or simply with bread are among the most used starters. Another essential ingredient in Turin’s cuisine is cooked meat and game: the famous Beef braised in Barolo Wine is traditionally marinated for 8 days before being cooked. The wild game is generally prepared in civet, in other words it is cooked in red wine. Let’s not forget among the meat dishes the variety of boiled beef, veal and pork served with red and green bagnet and grapes mustard. Among the boiled meats cotechino and pig’s head should not be forgotten. Other very famous inventions in Turin’s cuisine are Grissini, Biove and Biovette. The patisserie in Turin is also very developed thanks to its French neighbours. It was pre-eminient in the preparation of chocolate which was served only as a drink before the invention in Turin. The most famous of Turin’s desserts are cocoa sweets, Baci di Dama, Amaretti, Gianduiotti, liqueur pralines and of course Savoiardi.

1st Day: Tour start, Turin Group arrives in Turin and transfers to hotel. In the evening we will meet our guide and take a walk in the city centre. Turin is a surprising city and in the evening is particularly fascinating and magical with its monuments and well-lit squares which make the city centre a true jewel to enjoy. We will take a walk through the streets and central squares, Piazza Castello, Via Roma, Piazza San Carlo, Via Po’, Piazza Vittorio Veneto and Duomo of St. John the Baptist. We will enjoy our dinner in a selected restaurant where we will taste some of the most traditional dishes of the local cuisine and great wines. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Turin, Langhe Tour Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Langhe which is a hilly area rich in vineyards and great wines surrounded by medieval castles. We will arrive in Alba, “the capital city of Langhe” and will visit the historic centre with the Cathdral of St. Lawrence and the Medieval Towers along Via Vittorio Emanuele II, Via Cavour and in Piazza Risorgimento. Our tour will continue with a visit to Grinzane Cavour and its castle, one of the best known symbols of Langhe housing the Regional Winehouse in the basements. We will then visit the La Morra. We will have lunch in Langa del Barolo, taste local dishes and great wines. After lunch the tour will continue with a visit to Novello, Roddino and Castiglione Falletto. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Turin Breakfast at the hotel. We will spend the entire day visiting Turin and discovering the masterpieces of architects who worked here between 1600 and 1700. We will go from the Royal Palace to Madama Palace, we will visit the Church of St. Lawrence and the Sindone Chapel, and we will end our tour in Piazza San Carlo and Piazza Carignano visiting all the splendid monuments which

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make Turin the undisputed capital of Baroque.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will continue our tour.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Turin, Venaria Reale Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Venaria Reale. We will visit the Royal Palace whose enchanting seventeenth-century areas such as Diana’s room, the elegant Grand Gallery and the solemnity of the Chapel of St. Umberto are some of the most interesting sights of our tour. We will walk for almost 2000 m. between the noble floor and the basement. Lunch. We will return to Turin and have some free time for individual visits.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Turin, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND TASTE

Verona’s cuisine became over time an authentic art and today we can taste it in a variety of delicious dishes. The soup with Pearà suace, gnocchi, pasta with beans, which is a flavoursome and coarse dish invented by the poor, are typical Verona’s dishes. Horse meat stew, Tastasal risotto and Amarone risotto, Valeggio’s tortellini also known as “love’s knots” and obviously Polenta are other typical dishes of the area.

The typical Christmas Pandoro, short crust pastry, Sfogliatine, Crostoli and Frittole are the best desserts. There are also great DOC wines such as the red Bardolino, the white Custoza, the red Valpolicella, the white Soave and the Durello dei Monti Lessini.

Mantova’s cuisine is deeply connected to the ancient farmers’ traditions and excels in first courses and desserts which are the best examples of the Mantova people’s way of eating. Second courses are less in number but not in taste and are usually made with pork or freshwater fish. The famous tortelli with pumpkin is a sweet and sour dish like most of Mantova’s recipes. Other local first courses are Mantova’s Agnoli, Bigoli with sardines, Caponsei and the many varieties of risotto such as Pilota, Puntel, Saltarei and Pes Gat. Meat courses are generally accompanied with Mantova’s mustard, a unique sauce in the area beyond the Alps.

Cotechino, pike with sauce, Gonzaghesca chicken and donkey meat stew are other typical second courses. Mantova has also many desserts often of old origin such as Anello di Monaco, Helvetia pie and the famous “Sbrisolona” tart one of the symbols of the local cuisine. The red sparkling Lambrusco is without any doubt the best among Mantova’s wines.

1st Day: Departure, Verona Group arrives in Verona and transfers to hotel.

We will meet our guide in the evening and will take a walk in the city centre through the historic centre’s streets from Piazza Bra to Piazza Erbe, among the elegant Romanesque churches, Gothic styled houses and palaces of the Renaissance era. We will have dinner in a selected restaurant and taste some of traditional Verona’s dishes. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Verona and Valpolicella Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Valpolicella which is a region located between Verona and Lake Garda whose territory is made of beautiful

landscapes, sweet hills growing into mountains when heading North, valleys and small typical towns, splendid villas, medieval churches and evocative contradas which make of this area a tourist destination with its own identity. We will visit the St. Florian’s and St. George’s medieval churches. We will stop in one of the several local wine bars to taste some wines and we will have our lunch in an agritourisme to taste the simple and tasty dishes of Verona’s traditional cuisine. We will return to Verona and have free time.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Verona Breakfast at the hotel and Verona city tour. We will have a panoramic bus tour passing by the Porte Veneziane and the Austrian fortresses, the wonderful Church of St.Zeno, Castelvecchio, the Arco dei Gavi, the Porta Borsari, the Church of Santa Maria in Organo and the Church of St. Fermo. We will go up to Torricelle to enjoy the breathtaking view. Lunch. In the afternoon we will take a walk in the historic centre and visit the houses of Romeo and Juliet, the Arche Scaligere, a Gothic masterpiece, the Piazza dei Signori, and Piazza delle Erbe and of course the famous Verona Arena. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Verona, Mantova Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Mantova. Our tour starts in the heart of the city at Piazza Sordello. St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Magna Domus, the Captain Palace and the Ducal Palace are the main sights in this area. A big vault separates Piazza Sordello from the historic and commercial centre of Mantova. We will visit also Piazza Broletto with the Dolphins Fountain and the Arco dell’Arengario.

The heart of Mantova beats in Piazza delle Erbe, an exclusive square which together with Piazza Sordello summerizes this city’s history which is visible in the stones of different eras. The Rotonda di S. Lorenzo and the majestic Palazzo della Ragione are beautiful sights, but the real jewel of this square is the Basilica of St. Andrew which houses the Sacred Vases. We will have lunch in a selected restaurant tasting dishes of the typical cuisine and great wines. We will return to the hotel in Verona. Dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Verona, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Veneto and Lombardia, Art, Wine and Traditions Tour 5 days/4 nights

Valpolicella Mantua

Verona

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Tuscany, where simplicity becomes art Tour 5 days /4 nights

Lucca Florence Pisa Radda in Chianti San Gimignano Greve in Chianti Siena

Meat, olive oil, legumes and old grains, Maremma’s wild game, coastal fish and great wines are the ingredients of internationally renowned Tuscan cuisine.

It starts with Fiorentina, an awesome steak of Chianina beef, an ancient animal fed with fodder whose meat is savory and juicy. The heavy ribe-eye steak is grilled and dressed with row olive oil.

Many Tuscan dishes owe their success to the precious dressing with virgin olive oil which is tasty and genuine and adds taste even to a simple bread slice, the famous bruschetta, one of the simplest and most appetizing starters. The most famous variety of Tuscan legumes are Cannellino beans and the famous pale sulphur like coloured Zolfino beans cooked in a flask or in savory smokey soups. The coastal fish used to prepare the Caciucco, a typical dish from Livorno, and the Maremma’s wild boar stew complete our culinary picture.

The rich Tuscan flavoured recipes belong to the Italian gastronomy’s cuisine such as Chianti’s or Arezzo’s chicken liver crostini or black cauliflower crostini, tomatoes pap, Ribollita soup, Garfagnana spelt soup, roasted pork loin or deep-fried chicken in batter. Desserts are full of surprises: Cantucci, Prato’s biscuits, Pistoia’s chestnut cake and Zuccotto, a world famous dessert, the first semifreddo in history “born in a pickelhelm”.

1st Day: Tour start, Florence Group arrives in Florence and transfers to hotel. We will meet our guide in the evening and take a walk in the city centre. In a magical evening atmosphere we will have a pleasant and panoramic tour in the old universe of Florence’s small markets to understand their life through daily work places like Piazza della Repubblica, the Church of Orsanmichele, the New Market, the Medieval Neighbourhood, Piazza della Signoria, the Ponte Vecchio, Via dè Tornabuoni, Rucellai Palace and Strozzi Palace.

We will have dinner in a selected restaurant to taste some traditional local dishes and great wines.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Florence, San Gimignano, Siena and Chianti Breakfast at the hotel and depart for San Gimignano, a small fortified town which is famous for its architecture and for its beautiful medieval towers. Saffron and Vernaccia wine are typical local products. We will take a walk in the historic centre and at the end of our tour we will visit the Chianti area. Chianti offers to its visitors unique landscapes with charateristic sweet and green hills, vast vineyards and olive groves, small towns, typical churches and stony farmhouses. We will visit towns like Radda in Chianti and Greve in Chianti.

We will have lunch in a restaurant and taste traditional local dishes and then transfer to Siena.

We will visit the most important sights such as the Basilica of St. Dominic, we will continue along Via Francigena and arrive in Monte dei Paschi, Piazza Tolomei and the Cathedral of the Assumption, where Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, Nicola and Giovanni Pisano left some of their magnificent artworks. We will end our tour in Piazza del Campo. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Florence, Pisa, Lucca Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Pisa. G. D’Annunzio was so fascinated by the beauty of

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the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the monumental Graveyard and the Bell Tower that he named Pisa’ s Piazza Duomo as the “lawn of the miracles”. We will enter the Baptistery of St. John which is an extraordinary example of “religious maths” and unmatched architectural majesty. We will take a walk in the city centre. We will then depart for Lucca. We will have lunch in a restaurant discovering Lucca’s typical dishes and in the afternoon we will visit the city. We will take a walk in the historic centre and visit the Cathedral of St. Martin, the Basilica of St. Frediano, Piazza San Michele and Piazza Anfiteatro. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Florence, Pisa, Lucca Breakfast at the hotel and Florence city tour among its museums, palaces and churches housing one of the most important artistic treasures in the world. The most known artistic and cultural sights are the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, the Baptistery, the Uffizi Gallery, the Bargello, the Gallery of the Academy and the Church of Santa Maria Novella and of the Holy Cross, true art galleries. We will take a walk along the romantic Arno River to Ponte Vecchio and move to Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy an incredible view of the city. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Florence, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND TASTE

Lazio, the delicacies of Roman Castles Italian food, with its variety of ingredients and flavours, has a language of its own.

Lazio’s recipes with their simple and commonly found ingredients make a strong statement. Fettuccine alla Carbonara, Bucatini all’Amatriciana, Roman Abbacchio, giudea artichokes, salad of chicory with anchovy dressing, stuffed courgettes and fried pumpkin batter are only few examples of the relationship between Rome and its countryside. Other than strong pecorino cheese and wine from the Roman hills, in Lazio’s cuisine the “quinto quarto” is also common. It is the less noble part of bovine meat such as tail, tripe, kidney, spleen and brain. From these poor meats were born the best examples of local cuisine like “coda alla vaccinara”, Roman tripe, a variety of fried brain, sweetbreads and artichokes and finally Rigatoni with Pajata.

1st Day: Tour start, Rome Group arrives in Rome and transfers to hotel.

In the evening we will meet the guide for a first city tour. We will visit Trastevere which is one of the Romans’ most loved neighbourhoods and the most cited in cinema. It is the stage for a generous cuisine which has old traditions in its world of taverns. Trastevere still keeps its charm thanks to its small alleys paved in sampietrini and the several ruins of medieval houses. We will have dinner in a traditional tavern. Return to the hotel in the evening and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Roman Castles Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Roman Castles, a true treasure chest of culinary delights, holiday destination of the nobles since the imperial era and still today the favourite place of Romans on very hot summer days. We will visit Frascati dominated by the sixteenth-century Villa Aldobrandini whose facade and Italian steps stand out against the whole town. We will continue for Grotta Ferrata to visit the Greek Abbey of St. Nilo.

We will have lunch in a typical fraschetta in Ariccia with the typical Castle menu based on porchetta, sausages and courses accompanied by the Castles’ wines. In the afternoon the group will visit Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence on Lake Albano. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay 3rd Day: Rome, Tivoli Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Tivoli and Villa d’Este. This villa is a great example of an Italian garden with an impressive ensemble of fountains, ponds, caves, water and music features. The group will have lunch in a restaurant to sample the local delicacies. We will return to Rome in the afternoon and have some free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rome Breakfast at the hotel and Rome city tour. Evidence of ancient Rome is clearly visible in different parts of the city. We will visit the Imperial Fora, the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine which will tell us the story of this extraordinary city. We will then continue to Piazza Venezia. Lunch. In the afternoon we will walk through the monumental Roman squares from Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Navona to the Pantheon.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Rome, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Tour 5 days /4 nights

Rome

Tivoli Roman Castles

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Campania, not only pizza Tour 5 days/4 nights

Naples Vesuvius Pompeii Conca dei Marini

Positano Praiano Amalfi

Campania’s cuisine is famous and reproduced all over the world: pizza, spaghetti and rum babà are a small but meaningful taste of Campania’s cuisine.

The secret of its success lies in the quality and in the combination of the ingredients.

Campania is the kingdom of tomatoes, especially the San Marzano type, secret weapon for the best sauces, and the land of buffalo mozzarella. Pasta is a true masterpiece and it excels in Gragnano, famous for its pasta factories. The citrus fruits of Amalfi Coast, the fragrant local vegetables such as friarielli (a sort of turnip tops), Neapolitan aubergines and friggitelli peppers are other ingredients to make delicious first courses. Leavened pasta and scented desserts maybe accompanied by a couple of bottles of Greco di Tufo or Fiano d’Avellino. You may start with fried pizzas or small stuffed calzones, try a delicious sartù or some simple parmigiana, taste the Ischia’s rabbit or the Luciana octopus, end with Neapolitan zeppole, caprese chocolate pie or the famous babà which arrived to Naples after the Unification of Italy and quickly became the symbolic dessert of the city.

1st Day: Tour start, Naples Group arrives in Naples and transfers to hotel. In the evening we will meet a guide and take a walk in the city centre. We will visit Chiaia, one of the most beautiful and elegant areas of the city. Our walk starts from Cafe’ Gambrinus and continues through Piazza del Plebiscito and Salita Sant’Anna di Palazzo where we will find the very famous Antica Pizzeria Brandi, the native house of Pizza Margherita. We will continue along Via Chiaia where we will get the best view of the majestic structure of Chiaia’s Bridge, the picturesque steps of Vicoletto Sant’Arpino and Piazza Santa Caterina. The group will dine in a pizzeria where we will taste the authentic Neapolitan pizza, one of the products which make Italy famous all around the world.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Vesuvius, Pompeii Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Mount Vesuvius excursion. The volcano is a sight of unsual beauty dominating the view of the Bay of Naples but is also a place of particular natural interest declared a “World biosphere reserve” by UNESCO. The tour is guided by natural and environmental experts. The volcano’s slopes have fertile soil for the farming of DOC grapes from which the famous Vesuvius’ Lacrima Christi is produced. Our lunch will be a good chance to taste the local cuisine and sample this famous wine. In the afternoon we will depart for a Pompeii tour.

This city’s story is bound to the nearby volcano’s history. 2000 years ago this Roman city was surprised by one of the most devastating eruptions ever experienced in Italy. The city was rediscovered thanks to an impressive excavation campaign which was started towards the end of the 1700s.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Amalfi Coast Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the “divine” Coast. We will have a walk through the beauties of the world’s most fascinating coast where colours seem to be unchanged over time and where there is no other season except for Spring with its yellow, orange and green of the citrus trees and Mediterranean vineyards. The group will have lunch in an agritourisme where we will taste mozzarella, oils,

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caciotta, caciocavallo, bruschette, cured meats and other typical products of the Sorrento Peninsula. In the afternoon we will pass by Positano, Praiano and Conca dei Marini arriving in Amalfi and we will visit the famous Maritime Republic with its majestic Duomo of St. Andrew. Free time.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Naples Breakfast at the hotel. The whole day will be spent visiting the city. The tour starts from the Posillipo hill with its view over Naples’ Bay and will continue along Via Caracciolo, Partenope and Santa Lucia arriving to Piazza del Plebiscito. We will have typical snacks for lunch in a restaurant. We will take a walk through the historic centre named “Spaccanapoli” and visit the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, the Chiostro di Santa Chiara and the majestic structure of Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore. We will make a stop to enjoy the magnificent and unique masterpieces housed in the enigmatic Sansevero Chapel. We will pass through the university area and arrive to the famous and typical neighbourhood of San Gregorio Armeno with its unique workshops, famous for their nativity scenes’ production. We will stop at a historic Neapolitan pastry shop to taste great Neapolitan sfogliatelle and coffee.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Naples, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND TASTE

Simple dishes and traditional flavours are the main peculiarities of Apulia’s cuisine. The main ingredient is oil produced from hundred year old olive trees which flavours every recipe and which is often strengthened by spicy chilli pepper. First among the excellent products used in Apulia’s cuisine is pasta, the famous orecchiette with rapinis, and bread with the fragrant Altamura’s loafs, taralli and frisedde, a sort of cracker bread dressed with oil and tomatoes which have for centuries been the main meal for Apulia’s farmers. Other unmissable ingredients are burrata, mozzarella filled with very fresh cream, caciocavallo and cacioricotta which are the most superb of Apulia’s cheeses. Fava beans, lampascioni, a sort of small wild onions, mussels and octupus complete our daily shopping to be used in the best recipes of Apulia’s cuisine, from Tiella di riso (a pan of rice) to mussels with mashed fava beans, from cozze arraganate, baked gratin mussels, to ciceri and tria, homemade macaroni dressed with chickpeas and tomato sauce, an ancient dish which represents an authentic triumph of Apulia’s cuisine.

1st Day: Tour start, Bari Group arrives in Bari and transfers to hotel. In the evening we will meet our guide and take a walk in the city centre from Murat neighbourhood with its very beautiful promenade and Piazza del Ferrarese facing the old harbour to the Southern borders of Old Bari. Piazza Mercantile, Corso Cavour and Via Sparano are also very typical and evocative, especially in the evening hours. We will have dinner in a selected restaurant to discover the flavours of this city’s cuisine. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Grottaglie, Martina Franca Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Grottaglie where we will visit the massive Castello Episcopio. Around the castle there is the picturesque pottery neighbourhood called Camenn’ri – Camini where people arrange urns and jars according to a tradition dating back to the XVI century.

The Chiesa Madre of Romanesque origins, the sixteenth-century Clarisse Monastery, the Baroque Monastery of St. Francis of Paola and the splendid Chiesa del Carmine are the main sights of the area. We will have lunch in a typical manor farm and we will taste some of the most intere-

sting typical dishes. In the afternoon we will depart for Martina Franca which is a typical Apulian town located on the Eastern hills of Murgia and whose civil and sacred architecture is a triumph of Baroque art. Main examples of this art are the Arco di S. Stefano and the Collegiata di San Martino. Return to the hotel in Bari, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Alberobello Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Alberobello, a picturesque rural town famous for its trulli which form the charateristic architectural motif of this town. We will visit the monumental area completely covered by these charateristic houses located all along steep and winding alleys. The tour in Alberobello starts from the “Aia Picola” neighbourhood in the heart of the town and continues along the small typical streets and ends in the “Monti” neighbourhood. During our pleasant walk we will visit the St. Anthony Church the only church n the world in the shape of a trullo. We will make a stop to sample local desserts and rosoli on the terrace of a trullo. Lunch.

In the afternoon we will visit some manor farms.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Bari Breakfast at the hotel and Bari tour, the second most important city in South Italy. We will take a walk through the historic centre and visit the famous Basilica of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of the city. We will then see from the outside the Cathedral and the Norman-Swabian Castle. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit a bakery situated inside a sixteenth-century church where we will taste the typical Barian focaccia and then we will take a walk along an alley where tens of housewives make outdoor homemade orecchiette. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Apulia, not only Trulli Tour 5 days/4 nights

5th day: Bari, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Bari Alberobello

Martina Franca Grottaglie

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Sicily, Almonds, Pistachioes and Chocolate Tour 5 days /4 nights

Etna

Taormina

Catania

Ragusa

Siracusa Modica

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Sicilian cuisine is a triumph of Mediterranean flavours and colours.

Beautifully scented oranges and lemons, tomatoes ripened under Pachino’s sun, purple aubergines and crisp courgettes, little silver anchovys, precious red tuna and rose-coloured swordfish, savoury cheese such as Caciocavallo and Ragusano, appetizing Pantelleria cappers and very green Bronte pistachioes are the excellent ingredients of the great traditional recipes.

If you are approaching Sicilian cuisine for the first time, you should not miss a few dishes such as chickpea flour bread, fried rise balls, caponata, swordfish rolls, Norma pasta, aubergine parmigiana, the surprising Trapani cous cous which shows that cous cous can have an Italian slant. Suggesting desserts is challenging: Cannoli, Cassata Siciliana, iced coffee mousse are only the beginning of a long and tasty path in the patisserie’s paradise.

1st Day: Tour start, Catania Group arrives in Catania and transfers to hotel. In the evening we will meet the guide and take a walk in the city centre. Catania’s historic centre around Via Mancini, Piazza Università and Piazza Bellini offers a lot of chances for an evening visit to the extraordinary beautiful monuments such as the Cathedral, the fish market, the Baroque Via Crociferi or the elegant Via Etnea. We will have dinner in a typical restaurant to approach the extraordinary local cuisine. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Etna, Taormina Breakfast at the hotel and depart for an excursion to Mount Etna. This excursion will take us up to 1800 m. passing by cultivated feuds and wooded area reaching the crater. We will make a stop at Zafferana Etnea, city of the honey and a necessary transit to be able to reach the Eastern side of the Etna. On the volcano’s slopes, especially in the Bronte area, pistachio plants grow and are called the green gold of the Etna which is used to prepare delicious desserts such as “pistacchiata” or “fastucata”. Our lunch at the restaurant will give us the chance to taste some typical dishes of the Etna cuisine. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit of Taormina with its Greek Theatre which was built in a scenic position, the Villa Comunale and Piazza IX Aprile, known as the exclusive square in

Taormina from where you may enjoy a wonderful view. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Siracusa, Ortigia Island Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Siracusa, one of the most important Greek cities in the Mediterranean area. In the morning we will visit the Archaelogical Park. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the city centre. Along the splendid promenade we will arrive at the mythical Fonte di Aretusa on Ortigia island, while passing through the old city’s alleys we will arrive to Piazza Duomo where we will enjoy the view of the historic buildings, the splendid Duomo and a small church which houses the oldest painting by Caravaggio.

During the visit we will stop at a Siracusa pastry shop to taste the cuccìa, wheat with soft ricotta cream, candied pumpkin, vanilla and orange honey, the cotognata which is quince marmalade, almond pastries and cubbaita, a soft nougat with honey, sesame seeds and minced almonds.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Modica, Ragusa Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Modica. This unique jewel of a town is so picturesque and fascinating, reminiscent of the golden age of the Baroque. A stony little village with alleys and small streets, old workshops, small houses and rich palaces. We will taste the delicious Modica chocolate and the“mpanatigghi”, short crust pastries stuffed with baked beef sirloin, minced and mixed with melted chocolate, minced almonds, sugar, eggs and cloves. Lunch. The group will depart for Ragusa, a small city whose historic centre called Ragusa Ibla offers a truly extraordinary glimpse of Sicily.

We will take a walk along the typical small streets and arrive at Piazza Duomo with its San Giorgio gate and the very beautiful Iblei gardens. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Catania, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND TASTE

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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Padua and its Saint

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Loreto and Manoppello

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Assisi and its Saint

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Rome, Papal Audience

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Gargano and Saint Pio

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Pompeii, the Virgin of the Rosary

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CULTURE andFAITH

about

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Veneto

Padua and its Saint Tour 4 days/3 nights

Padua Treviso

“Ancestral disputes between families were fixed, prisoners were given freedom and many of those who had gained money illegally returned it, sometimes publically, leaving their titles and money at the feet of St. Anthony, so that he could return it to the legitimate owner. Prostitutes were liberated from the vile market and thieves were hold back from taking others’ possessions”.

From an old biography of Saint Antonio 1st Day: Tour start, Padua Group arrives in Padua and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Padua, the Basilica of the Saint Breakfast at the hotel and guided tour to the Basilica of the Saint, an extraordinary treasure chest of faith and art. The tour includes the visit to the chapels’ frescoes of Altichiero and Giusto de’ Menabuoi, Donatello’s bronze casts, Scuola di Sant’Antonio housing frescoes by young Tiziano and the Baroque scenic designs by sculptor Filippo Parodi. There is the possibility of attending the church service at the end of the visit. Lunch. The group will have a Padua city tour in the afternoon visiting Scrovegni Chapel, the Cathedral, the Baptistery and Mantegna’s masterpieces in the Church of the Eremitani. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Padua, Treviso Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a Treviso city tour among the peculiar canals in which the quiet river Sile runs among porticos, antique monuments and wonderful houses embellished with frescoes. Treviso is one of the typical walled cities of the region. Lunch. We will depart for Padua in the afternoon. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

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4th Day: Padua, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND FAITH

Marche - Abruzzo

Loreto and Manoppello An unusual itinerary between Marche and Abruzzo, between Loreto and Manoppello, two spiritually intense places. In Loreto the Virgin Mary welcomes us into her house to make us re-experience the grace of Jesus, reconcile to God with the sacrament of penance and re-discover the value of prayer, work and love. In Manoppello we will be in Jesus’ presence in front of the famous image of the Holy Face.

lievers. Lunch during the tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Tour 4 days/3 nights

4th Day: Manoppello, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Loreto

San Benedetto del Tronto

1st Day: Tour start, Loreto Group arrives in Loreto and visits the Basilica della Santa Casa. According to tradition these relics were brought to Italy after the fall of the Crusader states in the Holy Land. The shrine is centuries old and still is one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the Catholic world. The tour comprises a visit of Loreto Basilica and grounds and to the 22 halls of Museo dell’Antico Tesoro della Santa Casa.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Loreto, San Benedetto del Tronto, Manoppello Breakfast at the hotel and attendance at the church services in the morning. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour will depart for Manoppello. We will stop during the transit for a panoramic visit of San Benedetto del Tronto and have free time for a walk by the sea. Arrival in the evening. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: the Holy Face in Manoppello and the Eucharistic Miracle Church in Lanciano Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Manoppello, famous for the Holy Face Sanctuary. The church houses an image on cloth of the face of Christ which was given to the friars in 1639 by Donato Antonio De Fabritiis di Manoppello. The group will depart for Lanciano, a cradle of art thanks to its several monuments such as the Eucharistic Miracle Church. In the VIII century a consecrated holy bread changed into blood and it is held today in a monstrance contemplated by thousands of be-

Manoppello

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Umbria

Assisi and its Saint Tour 4 days/3 nights Sansepolcro

Assisi

Spoleto Greccio

“O Most High, all-powerful, good Lord God, to you belong praise, glory, honour and all blessing.

Be praised, my Lord, for all your creation and especially for our Brother Sun, who brings us the day and the light; he is strong and shines magnificently. O Lord, we think of you when we look at him.

Be praised, my Lord, for Sister Moon, and for the stars which you have set shining and lovely in the heavens...Praise and bless our Lord, give thanks to Him and serve Him in all humility”.

From “Praise of God’s Creation” 1st Day: Tour start, Assisi Group arrives in Assisi and transfers to hotel.

We will meet our guide and start our city tour with the Basilica of St. Clare, St. Rufino and finally the Basilica of St. Francis. We will have the chance to attend the church service. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Assisi, Santa Maria degli Angeli, San Gregorio We will attend the Holy Mass in the morning at the Basilica of St. Francis, have breakfast and free time for individual visits. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Saint Mary of the Angels) which houses the Porziuncola Chapel and the Chapel of the Transito. We will then depart for San Gregorio of Assisi. This town most probably owes its name to St. Gregory, a priest native of Spoleto who became a martyr under Diocleziano. We will visit the Castle which retains much of its original structure and which dates back to 1300, even though it was fortified in1479.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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3rd Day: Assisi, Greccio, Spoleto Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Greccio, where St. Francis reproduced the first Nativity scene in 1223 with real people. We will visit the Sanctuary.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Spoleto, which still holds its unchanged medieval look. It was first a prosperous Longobardic Dukedom and became afterwards an important centre of the Papal State. The majestic Tower Bridge, the Duomo with its rich furnishings and mosaics on the facade and the Romanesque Church of St. Eufemia are the most interesting sights of this town. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Assisi, Sansepolcro, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Sansepolcro and Eremo di Montecasale, one of the favourite places of St. Francis who often lived here. Many miracles happened in this place and are described in his florilegium. The last stay of St. Francis dates back to the end of September 1224 after his return from Verna where he received the stigmata. We will visit the place with the guardian friar. Lunch and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND FAITH

Lazio

They went to the end of the world to make him change the Church and he started from the first minutes of his papacy when he chose the name of the poor from Assisi: Francis. Two years later and the phrase “the wind has changed” is not only a title for effect; Jeorge Bergoglio from Buenos Aires is truly changing the Church with words and deeds.

1st Day: Tour start, Rome Group arrives in Rome and transfers to hotel. In the afternoon a guide will lead a first city tour from the Catacombs of St. Callixtus to St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, where the Apostle to the Gentiles is buried. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Rome Breakfast at the hotel and panoramic tour of Imperial Rome with its Campidoglio, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Colosseum and Arch of Constantine. We will visit the St. Peter Church in Vincoli housing the Moses sculpture by Michelangelo. Lunch. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Rome, Vatican Breakfast at the hotel. The group will have a tour at the Vatican Museums housing the Sistine Chapel and will visit the Basilica of Saint Peter and the Vatican Grotto which houses the Papal tombs. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore and Basilica of Saint Praxedes housing the medieval mosaics in the Saint Zeno Chapel. The tour ends with a pleasant walk through the splendid Popolo and Navona squares, the latter is the most spectacular Baroque square of the capital. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rome Breakfast at the hotel and Papal Audience in the morning. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will tour Saint John’s Lateran Basilica, the Holy Stairs and in closing the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of the seven churches of Rome that pilgrims had to visit on foot within one day, built around the palaces of queen Helena, mother of Constantine,

and which houses the relics of the True Cross. Finally we will stop at Quirinale and Trevi Fountain, one of the best Baroque examples in Rome.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Rome, Papal Audience Tour 5 days/4 nights

5th Day: Rome, Departure Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will visit the Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati with its strict medieval appearance and Trinità dei Monti from where we will have a panoramic view of the city.

Lunch and departure.

Vatican Rome

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Puglia

Gargano and Saint Pio Tour 4 days/3 nights

Vieste San Giovanni Rotondo

Monte S.Angelo

Pietrelcina

“Until now we have done nothing, or at least very little; sunrises and sunsets followed one another as years went by and we did not wonder how we spent them; if anything had to be repaired, added, removed from our behaviour.”

From St. Pio’s Meditations 1st Day: Tour start, San Giovanni Rotondo Group arrives on Gargano and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: San Giovanni Rotondo The group will attend the church service and have breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will visit Santa Maria delle Grazie convent where St. Padre Pio lived and died. The tour continues with a visit to the Wax Museum reproducing some scenes from the life and work of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. The selected scenes are shown in a specific sequence of the most important events of the Saint’s life.

Lunch. We will have free time to attend church services. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: San Giovanni Rotondo, Monte Sant’Angelo, Vieste Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Monte Sant’Angelo for a visit to the Sanctuary of Saint Michael. The shrine was built between the end of the V and the beginning of the VI centuries. It is dedicated to the memory of three apparitions followed after many centuries by a fourth one.

The tour continues with the panoramic visit of Vieste, a coastal village with typical white small houses perched on a rock facing the sea. The Cathedral with its beautiful portal and inner colonnade and the Castle, an imposing medieval construction commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia, are the most interesting sights. The group will have a tour in the historic centre.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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4th Day: San Giovanni Rotondo, Pietrelcina, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Pietrelcina, a town near Benevento, where Francesco Forgione, better known as Padre Pio, was born in 1887.

His native house and the museum are a must for a better understanding of the Saint’s life and work. It is almost an emotional experience which explains his unconditional love for God. Lunch and departure.

ABOUT CULTURE AND FAITH

Praying using the rosary has ancient origins and was spread by Dominicans in the XIII century. It was called the Gospel of the poors as you could pray and meditate the Christian misteries without necessarily reading a text. Our Lady of the Rosary is venerated in Pompeii, it is an adoration of universal dimension as all men need God’s mercy asking for it through Our Lady Mother of Mercy.

1st Day: Tour start, Castellammare di Stabia Group arrives in Castellammare di Stabia and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Castellammare di Stabia, Pompeii – Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary Breakfast and visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary which houses, on the high altar, the painting of Our Lady of the Rosary with Child Jesus.

The painting has a frame in golden bronze and is sorrounded by the fifteen misteries of the Rosary, a work of Vincenzo Paliotti, and it is now deeply venerated. The group will have the possibility of attending the church services. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues at the archaeological ruins of Pompeii whose story is bound to the nearby volcano’s history. 2000 years ago this Roman city was surprised by one of the most devastating eruptions ever experienced in Italy.

The city was rediscovered thanks to an impressive excavation campaign which was started towards the end of the 1700s. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Castellammare di Stabia, Naples Breakfast at the hotel and Naples guided tour.

This city’s 2500 year old history is represented and explained through many exceptionally valuable artistic and architectural examples. The panoramic tour of Posillipo hill will offer a wonderful view over the Gulf and the walk along Caracciolo, Partenope and Santa Lucia streets leads to the main square Piazza del Plebiscito. Lunch. In the afternoon our tour will guide you through the historic centre area named “Spaccanapoli” starting from

Piazza del Gesù up to San Gregorio Armeno with a stop at the Gesù Nuovo Church, at the Chiostro di Santa Chiara and at the San Severo Chapel. We will take a walk through the traditional workshops well-known for reproducing the Nativity scene.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Castellammare di Stabia, Caserta, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and Royal Palace of Caserta tour. Commissioned by Charles VII of Naples, the Royal Palace is Luigi Vanvitelli’s masterpiece.

He designed and built a large structure on a rectangular plan with identical facades, one of them facing Piazza delle Armi and the other one facing the huge garden. The palace has four courts, 1200 rooms, 34 staircases and 1970 windows and is sorrounded by a wonderful garden. The group will depart after the visit.

Campania

Pompeii, the Virgin of the Rosary Tour 4 days/3 nights

Caserta Naples

Pompeii Castellammare di Stabia

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Sardinia, the Southern Coast

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Sardinia, the Northern Coast

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Corsica and Sardinia Sicily, the Western Coast

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Sicily, the Eastern Coast

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Sicily, the best of Aeolian Islands

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Campania Cilento Coast

Page 50

Campania Ischia Island

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Apulia, Salento

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Apulia, Gargano

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Calabria, the Southern coastline

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Page 44-45

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SEA andDISCOVERY about

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Sardinia, the Southern Coast Tour 11 days/10 nights

Tharros Arborea

Barumini

Iglesias Sant’Antioco

Cagliari Pula

The most authentic Sardinia, from Arbatax to Cardeddu, from Muravera to Villasimius to Capo Carbonara. A continuous charm, from the granite coasts of Arbatax to the quiet beaches in the South, long and wide shores of golden sand and transparent waters, an easily accessible sea sorrounded by a blooming Mediterranean scrub which adds a sea smell to the scent of myrtle, cisto and laurel sumac. Sardinia, so close so beautiful.

3rd Day: Cagliari, Barumini, Tharros, Arborea Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Nuraghe centre of Barumini. The area houses an impressive range of nuraghe built at different times and a wide huts’ village which grew around it over the centuries. The tour continues with a visit to Tharros, an archaeological site located on the isthmus of Capo San Marco which has a splendid view over Oristano’s Bay. Founded by the Phoenicians in the VIII century B.C. it was a prosperous centre of traffic and trade. Group arrives in Arborea.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

1st Day: Tour start, Cagliari Group arrives in Cagliari and transfers to hotel.

We will tour the city in the afternoon. The itinerary focuses on the high area of the old city.

Especially the Castello neighbourhood holding the most important medieval examples from an architectural and historic-artistic point of view. Still today a large part of the Pisan-era fortifications strongly define the appearance of the citadel which is one of the most interesting and finest neighbourhoods of the city. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Arborea Breakfast at the hotel, free time. Transfer to selected hotel accomodation in reserved rooms.

Dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Cagliari, Iglesias, Sant’Antioco, Pula Breakfast and depart for Iglesias for a visit to the extraordinary geomineral area of Sulcis Iglesias. Iglesias is famous for its mining activity.

Its mines are today a site recognised by UNESCO for its archaeological and industrial heritage.

The tour starts with a visit to the Cathedral from the XII century and the interesting Museum of Mining Art and continues with the visit to the Masua mine which opens over the amazing view of Porto Flavia and the beautiful cliffs of Pan di Zucchero. We will have lunch during the tour. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to the island of Sant’Antioco. We will have a panoramic tour of the island with a stop at Tophet, the Phoenician-Punic necropolis, the ”lost children limbo”, and at the Ethnographic Museum “Su Magasinu de su Binu” where we are shown the phases of Bisso sea silk’s manufacturing.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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From the 4th to the 10th Day Gialpi Travel’s selection of seaside holiday resorts is really large and has something for everybody.

From Arborea to Arbatax, from Muravera to Marina di Cardedu, from Orosei to Villasimius. A very high quality range of offers and a selection of resorts differing by location, price and type of services.

You will be welcomed by our personnel’s kindness and helpfulness in all our hotels and resorts. The impeccable cuisine and entertainment services, the accessibility to the sea and the beaches will make your stay in Sardinia unforgettable.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

A paradise island, from Alghero to Olbia you will see the most famous beaches of the island, the charm of Alghero with its shallow and sandy coast suddenly raising and meeting the Capo Caccia promontory.

We will visit the cozy Platamona coastline, Santa Teresa and the granite, wild and very beautiful Gallura shores. The Sardinia sea is close at hand, from its intense shades of light blue and emerald green, the intimate small bays or the amazing sandy coastal zone. Sardinia, so close so beautiful.

4th Day: Alghero Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Alghero historic centre. The tour starts from Torre di Porta Terra, the antique city’s entrance and continues along the walls’ perimeter. The group will visit Alghero Cathedral, Church of St. Francis and its cloister and Church of St. Michael. We will take a walk around Piazza Civica, the elite centre of the city where you may find houses of the historic Alghero families and the narrow alleys of the Jewish district dating back to later years of the XV century. Lunch. Free time. The group will transfer to the selected hotel and settle in reserved rooms.

Dinner and overnight stay.

1st Day: Tour start, Olbia, Santa Teresa di Gallura Group arrives in Olbia and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Gialpi Travel’s selection of seaside holiday resorts is really large and has something for everybody. From Alghero to Arborea, from Platamona to Santa Teresa di Gallura and to San Teodoro, from Orosei to Arbatax. A very high quality range of offers and a selection of resorts differing by location, price and type of services. You will be welcomed by our personnel’s kindness and helpfulness in all our hotels and resorts. The impeccable cuisine and entertainment services, the accessibility to the sea and the beaches will make your stay in Sardinia unforgettable.

2nd Day: La Maddalena, Costa Smeralda Breakfast at the hotel and depart for La Maddalena, a well-known archipelago between the Gallura coast and the Strait of Bonifacio.

We will have a panoramic bus tour and arrive on Caprera island, last house of Giuseppe Garibaldi.

The tour continues with a visit to the Museum.

Lunch. In the afternoon the group will transfer to Costa Smeralda with its high-society Porto Cervo, a town created by Prince Aga Khan in the 60’s.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Castelsardo, Alghero Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Castelsardo, an evocative medieval town perched on a volcanic promontory. The city centre’s small alleys are full of workshops and artisanal ateliers which made this town the capital of Sardinian craftsmanship.

We will visit the Museo dell’Intreccio in a military fortress from the XII century built by the Doria family and used as strategic base camp by the Genoese defensive system of the island. Lunch. We will depart for Alghero, an amazing fortified small city. Alghero’s history and appearance are hidden in the cabblestone pavements in the historic centre, in the buildings’ facades, in windows and portals. A Catalan history held within hundreds of years old walls.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Sardinia, the Northern Coast Tour 11 days/10 nights Porto Cervo La Maddalena Castelsardo Alghero

Olbia

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Neighbouring but different twin islands sharing the same palette of colours and intense scents, swept by the mistral wind which makes their sea unique and very beautiful. Dream beaches, lonely bays and long strips of white sand. Two populations sharing one of the world’s most beautiful coastlines, the language and culture and the wild spirit of their people.

Corsica and Sardinia Tour 11 days/10 nights Calvi

Bastia

Porto Ajaccio Bonifacio Santa Teresa di Gallura

1st Day: Tour start, Bastia Group arrives in Bastia, transfers to hotel and sets out to discover the city in the afternoon. Bastia is one of the most beautiful cities in Corsica. Its center and citadel are evocative of the city’s Italian origins. The tour goes through Piazza Saint Nicolas and Giardino Romieu which gives access to the citadel, and continues with the visit of generously adorned churches and chapels. Bastia is home to many religious rarities such as a silver carved Assumption by a XVII century artist from Siena and the Black Christ host in the Sainte Croix church which was found in the waters off the city among four wonderful lights. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Bastia, Calvi, Porto Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Saint Florent, a picturesque seaside town. The Genoese citadel, the Cathedral and the small working harbour are the most interesting sights. The tour continues to Calvì passing through the evocative “Desert des Agriates”, a wild and less visited area; the road offers uncontaminated views for 35 km: a vast waste and desert mountains. Lunch and city tour.

A walk through the citadel is a must. The citadel is elevated on a rocky promontory overlooking the sea and has walls the colour of ochre: inside is a sprawl of fascinating alleys and archways, outdoor coffee shops, antique historical buildings such as Palais des Eveques de Sagone and the wonderful Cathedrale Saint Jean Battista with its amazing decorated dome. The group will then depart for Porto, an enchanting seaside town with a distinctive coastline thanks to its reddish granite rocks.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Porto, Ajaccio, Bonifacio Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the “Calanche” region, world famous thanks to the red rocks overhanging the sea. The group will transit through

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the historical small towns of Cargese and Sagone and arrive in Ajaccio. Lunch. The tour starts with a visit to Napoleon’s native house and the typical “old town” with its Imperial Chapel and Cathedral of our Lady of Mercy. The tour continues to Propriano and Sartene Gulf, the most “Corsican” town of the island. The group arrives then in Bonifacio.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Bonifacio, Santa Teresa di Gallura Breakfast at the hotel and city tour. Bonifacio is divided into two areas, the seaside neighbourhood at the end of the fiord and the old town perched on the cliff. The citadel is the most typical spot and among its steep alleys we will come across the small Saint Roch chapel, the Place du Marché and the Place de la Manichella, two great panoramic viewpoints over the Strait of Bonifacio. The oldest building is the Eglise Sainte Marie Majeure, but the Escalier du Roi d’Aragon is also interesting with its 187 steps leading 60 m. to the sea. Lunch and free time. The group will board a ferry boat for Sardinia. Upon arrival we will transfer to the selected hotel and settle in reserved rooms. Dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Gialpi Travel’s selection of seaside holiday resorts is really large and has something for everybody. Alghero, Platamona, Santa Teresa di Gallura, San Teodoro, Orosei, Arbatax, Muravera, Marina di Cardedu, Villasimius, Arborea. A very high quality range of offers and a selection of resorts differing by location, price and type of services. You will be welcomed by our personnel’s kindness and helpfulness in all our hotels and resorts. The impeccable cuisine and entertainment services, the accessibility to the sea and the beaches will make your stay in Sardinia unforgettable.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Sicily, the Western Coast Tour 11 days/10 nights

Erice Trapani Marsala

Palermo Monreale

Segesta

Selinute Agrigento

Sicily is a treasure chest of art and beauty.

The Western coast between Palermo and Marsala is a complex area, sunny and generous with enchanting beaches and shining white salt pans, the perfection of its Greek temples and the arabesque atmosphere of Trapani. Live Sicily.

1st Day: Tour start, Palermo Group arrives in Palermo and transfers to hotel.

The group will discover the city in the afternoon.

A thousand years of history and different dominations has left Palermo with an enormous and varied artistic and monumental heritage.

The tour will start with a visit to Palatine Chapel which has three naves and is situated inside an architectural complex which includes the Palace of the Normans, Norman Cathedral and the mosaics of the Greek orthodox Martorana Church.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Monreale, Segesta, Erice, Trapani Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Monreale, a must-see place for its Norman Cathedral housing the world biggest byzantine collection of gold mosaics. The tour continues with a visit to Segesta, an extraordinary and evocative archaeological site for its position and the beauty of the main monuments: the Theatre and the Temple.

Lunch. The tour will move to Erice, an enchanting medieval town which lies at the top of San Giuliano Mountain overlooking the coast and the white salt pans. We will take a short walk in the historic centre and will continue to Trapani. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Trapani, salt pans, Marsala, Selinute, Agrigento Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will have a Trapani city tour and visit its salt pans. Trapani is sickle shaped and is divided into two: the old city which spreads on a shallow pensinsula and the modern part of the city spread on a plateau dominated by Mount Erice. Just outside the city the view is dominated by kilometres of white salt pans which create a very beautiful sight; reflecting pools are interrupted by thin land strips

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and form an irregular and multicoloured grid. At times you may see the shape of a windmill which is reminiscent of the time when windmills were one of the main work tools used to pump water and mill the salt. Lunch. The tour continues in the afternoon to Selinute, an ancient Greek city surrounded by the magnificent landscape of the most extended archaeological park of the Mediterranean area. The group will depart for Agrigento.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Agrigento Breakfast at the hotel. We will have a tour of the Valley of the Temples in the morning; this is one of the main archaeological sites of the Mediterranean area, surrounded by a rural landscape of rare beauty hosting hundred year old olive and almond trees. Lunch and free time. The group will transfer to selected hotel and settle in reserved rooms.

Dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day CefalĂš, Rocella, Altavilla, Marsala, are a few of the western Sicilian seaside destinations where Gialpi Travel has selected hotels and resorts offering the best sea, cuisine and relaxation. We have chosen venues with a high level of comfort, great attention to cuisine and entertainment services, with easy access to the sea and which are conveniently located for excursions or interesting tours.

Gialpi’s Sicily, an unforgettable holiday.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

Catania, Siracusa and Ragusa are places where beauty and art are a constant.

Catania’s creativity can be merged to Ragusa’s Baroque. Modica and Noto’s delicacies combined together with the archaeological wonders of Siracusa. Live Sicily.

1st Day: Tour start, Catania Group arrives in Catania, transfers to hotel and discovers the city in the afternoon. It is a metropolis facing the Ionian Sea and dominated by Mount Etna. It retains the charm of its past but it has been also able to renew itself over recent years driving the whole of Sicily from a creative point of view. The artistic heart of the city is the big Piazza del Duomo with Sant’Agata Cathedral and the famous Elephant Fountain; we will take a walk along Via Etnea and other streets around the university, the true historic heart of the city. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Ragusa, Donnafugata Castle Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Ragusa.

We will meet our guide and have a city tour. The historic centre called Ibla offers a truly extraordinary glimpse of Sicily. We will take a walk along the typical small streets and arrive at Piazza Duomo with its San Giorgio gate and the very beautiful Iblei gardens. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Donnafugata Castle, a late nineteenth century sumptuous noble house which is famous for being the film set of several cinema productions. We will then return to Ragusa. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Modica, Noto, Siracusa Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Modica.

This unique jewel of a town is so picturesque and fascinating, reminiscent of the golden age of the Baroque, a stony little village with alleys and small streets, old workshops, small houses and rich palaces. We will taste the delicious Modica chocolate and the“mpanatigghi”, traditional local pastries. Lunch. We will continue our tour in Noto, the capital of Sicilian Baroque and called “the stony garden” for its local rose-coloured stone used to build churches and houses. San Nicolò’s Cathedral and Ducezio Palace are the most

interesting sights. We will then depart for Siracusa.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Siracusa Breakfast at the hotel and Siracusa city tour, one of the most important Greek cities in the Mediterranean area. We will visit the Archaeological Park in the morning. We will stop for lunch and then continue to the city centre. Along the splendid promenade we will arrive at the mythical Fonte Aretusa on Ortigia Island; through the city’s alleys we will arrive in Piazza Duomo where we will enjoy the view of the historic buildings, the splendid Duomo and a small church which houses the oldest painting by Caravaggio. Transfer to selected hotel accomodation in reserved rooms. Dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th day Siracusa, Tindari, Marina di Modica, Ispica, Marina di Ragusa are only few of the destinations on the Eastern coast of Sicily where Gialpi Travel have selected hotels and resorts offering the best sea, cuisine and relaxation. We have chosen venues which offer a high level of comfort, great attention to cuisine and entertainment services, easy access to the sea and which are conveniently located for excursions and other visits. Gialpi’s Sicily, an unforgettable holiday.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Sicily, the Eastern Coast Tour 11 days/10 nights

Catania

Siracusa Ragusa Modica

Noto

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

Islands shaped by fire and wind, Aeolus’ kingdom. They are rough and wild, sometimes a bit exclusive while keeping their authenticity. Lipari, Salina, Vulcano, Alicudi, Filicudi, Panarea, Stromboli. The shining black of the volcanic beaches and the glossy white of the pumice shores, woods and Mediterranean flora, traditions and great cuisine. Discover Aeolian Islands.

1st Day: Tour start, Vulcano or Lipari Group arrives in Sicily and moves to Milazzo to depart for Vulcano or Lipari island. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Salina Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a boat tour.

After sailing along the coast of Lipari island and making a stop during the tour for an amazing swim in front of Cave di Pomice, we will arrive in Salina. The boat will dock at S. Marina di Salina and we will have a tour of the small and pretty town. The sailing tour continues along the island’s coast and we will make a stop for another swim in front of Baia di Pollara. We will dock at Lingua and have lunch tasting “pane cunzato” and water ice. After sailing along Lipari Western coast, the group will return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Vulcano Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Vulcano on a boat tour. The island is immediately recognisable by the pungent sulphur smell in the air coming from

the craters or openings in the ground emitting high temperature vapuors, sulphur and carbon dioxide.

During our sailing tour we will cross Vulcanello, Valle dei Mostri, Spiagge Nere, Grotta del Cavallo, Piscina di Venere until we arrive in Gelso where we will make a time for a swim. We will return to the hotel for a lunch break. We will have free time in the afternoon. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Filicudi, Alicudi Breakfast at the hotel and depart on a boat tour for Filicudi and Alicudi, islands rich in vegetation and Mediterranean scrub. We will first stop at Alicudi, an island out of time with few inhabitants and fun donkeys which are the only vehicles climbing over the typical molten rock steps. We will have free time for a walk around the typical town. The group will then depart for Alicudi, named the “remote island” for its distance from time and the ordinary world. It has a very beautiful landscape rich in Mediterrean scrub overlooked by red rocks smoothed by time. The tour continues with the circumnavigation of the island along the sea stack “La Canna”, a black blade embedded in the blue sea, and goes until Grotta del Bue Marino where we will stop for a swim. Return to the hotel in Vulcano or Lipari via sea, dinner and overnight stay.

Sicily, the best of Aeolian Islands

5th Day: Free time Breakfast at the hotel and free time to enjoy the sea and sun of the Aeolian islands. Half board service.

6th Day: Panarea, Stromboli Breakfast at the hotel and free time in the morning.

Lunch. In the afternoon the group will depart for Panarea, the smallest among the Aeolian islands but unique for its charm and beauty. An exclusive spot which is at the same time free and sophisticated, Panarea is a special island indeed. We will have a boat ride around Baia di Calayunco and stop for a swim. The boat will dock at Panarea. Free time for shopping and island tour. Afterwards we will continue sailing along the small opposite archipelago and arrive in Stromboli. The tour continues with the circumnavigation of the island and we will stop at the Stromboli Scari harbour until sunset.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Lipari, free time Breakfast at the hotel and free time to enjoy the island’s beaches or to visit the biggest and most populated island among the “seven sisters”. The small city spreads at the feet of the imposing Rocca del Castello, the ancient Greek acropolis and along the inlets to the North and South of Marina corta and Marina lunga. Lipari is surprising for its variety of landscapes thanks to the territory’s geological complexity. The Castle, the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew with its neo-Baroque styled bell tower, the Norman abbey’s cloister and the Archaeological Aeolian Museum, which houses sets from Neolithic age onwords, are the most interesting sights.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Lipari or Vulcano, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Tour 8 days/7 nights Stromboli

Panarea Alicudi

Salina Filicudi

Lipari Vulcano

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Campania, Cilento Coast Tour 11 days/10 nights

100 km stretch of coastline, rural and unspoilt landscape, hundreds of years old olive trees and Mediterranean scrub, golden beaches and society life. Discover Cilento.

1st Day: Tour start, Cilento Group arrives in Cilento and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Cilento Paestum

Grotte di Pertosa

Agropoli

Padula

Palinuro

Sapri

2nd Day: Paestum, Agropoli Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Paestum, the ancient Poseidonia of Magna Greacia. The tour starts in the archaeological site of the city.

Its urban structure is based on two main axes perpendicular to each other. It twists and turns in long and narrow blocks occupying two platforms close to the sea. The well preserved defensive walls form a double curtain with towers and transits and opens into four doors at the main arterial roads. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit Agropoli, a gateway to the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park which has an interesting historic centre accessed by a 17th Century monumental gate. It is a triumph of alleys, rocky little houses and steep steps overlooking the blue sea. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Palinuro, Sapri – boat ride Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Palinuro.

On a “gozzo”, a typical fishing boat, the group will visit the 5 marine caves: the Grotta Azzurra, the Grotta del Sangue, the Grotta dei Monaci, the Grotta d’Argento and the Grotta Sulfurea. The Cilento coast is a true natural paradise. The marine beauties and the clear waters of Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park are a UNESCO world heritage site and have been regularly awarded a “Blue Flag”

by Legambiente. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will move to Sapri and will visit the historic centre, the parish church and the several archaeological sites which still today are examples of the historical and economical importance of the town.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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4th Day: Pertosa Caves, Padula Charterhouse Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Pertosa Caves, the most important ones in Southern Italy and the only ones cut through by an undergorund river, the Tanagro, whose flow has been deviated for the production of hydroelectric power. Therefore the entrance to the caves is flooded and the access is only possible on small boats carefully piloted by qualified guides of the Comitee Pro Grotte dell’Angelo. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit San Lorenzo di Padula Charterhouse. It is the biggest Charterhouse in Italy and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Cilento coast with its gold sandy beaches and accessible and clear sea waters is a beautiful choice for a wonderful seaside holiday. The hotels and holiday resorts selected by our agency add to the beauty of the Cilento nature the taste of a great cuisine, the rooms’ cleaniness and comforts, the courtesy of the personnel and the company of pleasing and attentive entertainment staff.

Gialpi’s Cilento is an experience of a lifetime.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

Ischia is a gem in the Gulf of Naples. Its volcanic nature makes the island one of the most interesting destinations for thermal spa tourism and creates conditions encouraging the development of a florid vegetation of vast pinewoods, vineyards and fertile hills. Naturally gifted with a beautiful sea, this island is the perfect destination for a relaxing holiday.

1st Day: Tour start, Naples Group arrives in Naples and transfers to hotel. Free time for a city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Naples Breakfast at the hotel and Naples guided tour.

This city’s 2500 year old history is represented and explained through many exceptionally valuable artistic and architectural examples. The panoramic tour of Posillipo hill will offer a wonderful view over the Gulf and the walk along Caracciolo, Partenope and Santa Lucia streets leads to the main square Piazza del Plebiscito. Lunch. In the afternoon our tour will guide you through the historic centre area named “Spaccanapoli” starting from Piazza del Gesù up to San Gregorio Armeno with a stop at the Gesù Nuovo Church, at the Chiostro di Santa Chiara and at the San Severo Chapel. We will take a walk through the traditional workshops well-known for reproducing the Nativity scene.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

bound to the nearby volcano’s history. 2000 years ago this Roman city was surprised by one of the most devastating eruptions ever experienced in Italy. The city was rediscovered thanks to an impressive excavation campaign which was started towards the end of the 1700s. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Naples, Amalfi Coast Breakfast at the hotel and day trip to the Amalfi Coast, unparalleled and praised by artists from all over the world. We will make a stop at the Positano belvedere. We will take a walk through Amalfi, the most ancient Italian Maritime Republic. It lies at the mounth of a small ravine, its houses are arranged in tiers on the hillside facing the sea. Blooming and orange scented gardens appear among the white facades of old buildings and the splendid Duomo’s cupola stands over everything with its very colourful majolicas. We will visit Ravello. Lunch. We will then depart for Naples and have some free time in the afternoon. The group will board the ferry boat to Ischia. Hotel transfer, dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Hotel options in the heart of Ischia Island.

Gialpi Travel selected among the best value for money hotels. Cuisine, room comforts and hotels’ locations are great. A vacation in Ischia with Gialpi, the value of the experience.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Campania, Ischia Island Tour 11 days/10 nights

3rd Day: Naples, Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a Mount Vesuvius excursion. The volcano is a sight of unsual beauty dominating the view of the Bay of Naples but is also a place of particular natural interest declared a “World biosphere reserve”

by UNESCO. The tour is guided by natural and environmental experts. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for a Pompeii tour. This city’s story is

Naples Ischia

Pompeii

Mount Vesuvius Ravello Amalfi Positano

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

1st Day: Tour start, Bari Group arrives in Bari and transfers to hotel. Free time for a city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Otranto, San Cataldo, Marina di Ugento, Monopoli and Torre Canne are among the most famous destinations along the Apulia coast.

Gialpi Travel proposes selected hotels and holiday resorts to meet all needs enabling guests to spend a pleasant and relaxing holiday. All facilities have easy access to the sea and offer great cuisine, comfortable rooms, kind personnel and pleasing and attentive entertainment staff. Gialpi’s Salento, an unforgettable holiday.

3rd Day: Matera, Castellana Caves Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Matera. The group will visit “Sassi “, the old part of the city, a neighbourhood made of caves escavated in karst cuts creating a surreal atmosphere. It feels like jumping into the past when exploring rocky churches, old workshops and some dwellings with period furnishings. Lunch. The tour continues with a visit to the Castellana Caves, an incredibly beautiful karst scenery very rich in calcite concretions. The tour ends at the “world’s most beautiful cave” as described by the International Speleological Congress in 1957. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Tour 11 days/10 nights

Bari

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unmistakably elegant look to the city. The group will visit the Church of the Holy Cross and Saint Orontius Square. Lunch. Travelling along the Salento coastline we will arrive to Otranto, the “Door to the East”, a Byzantine town built around its Castle and Cathedral. City tour. Transfer to selected hotel accomodation in reserved rooms.

Dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Bari, Alberobello Breakfast at the hotel and Bari tour. The Basilica of Saint Nicholas and the Norman-Swabian Castle design the profile of Old Bari which is not only rich in history but is also a vibrant and modern destination.

Lunch. Depart for Alberobello in the afternoon. We will have a tour among 1500 trulli, the famous conical huts forming the urban cluster most visited by tourists from all over the world. These unique trulli are a milestone in rural architecture as despite the fact they appear to be simple stack of stones, they are in fact the most ingenious rural building that human beings have ever thought of. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Apulia, Salento

Matera Castellana Grotte

Salento and the spledour of an Eastern scented land with its stony towns, amazing villas, fortified manors, the Baroque and a taste for simple things expressed in its cuisine of essential ingredients enriched with spices. Surrounded by clear blue sea Salento is impossible to forget.

Alberobello Lecce Otranto

4th Day: Lecce, Otranto Breakfast at the hotel and Lecce tour. Salento’s biggest municipality is a lovely and beautiful city, a centre for trade and famous for the amazing Baroque buildings which give a noble and

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

Apulia, Gargano Visit Vieste’s clear sandy coastline, its impressive sea stacks, the indented coastline of Peschici, a small town overlooking the sea, Rodi Farganico’s long beaches surrounded by the citrus groves’ fresh colour.

Sprituality, art and wonderful nature. Gargano, a treasure chest of beauty.

1st Day: Tour start, Bari, Vieste Group arrives in Bari and transfers to hotel in Vieste. Free time for an individual city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Tremiti Islands Breaksfast at the hotel. Depart from Vieste for the splendid and unspoilt Tremiti Islands. Tremiti’s marine park, one of the most beautiful natural habitats in the Mediterranean Sea, is a natural reserve embracing the coast area around San Domino, San Nicola, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa islands. The group will visit San Nicola island with its fortified complex, the Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare and San Domino, the biggest and most fertile island. Lunch. Free time. Return to Vieste in the late afternoon, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Monte S. Angelo, San Giovanni Rotondo, Peschici Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Monte Sant’Angelo, a village perched at 800 m. housing the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel. The tour continues with a visit to San Giovanni Rotondo. Lunch. The group will visit Padre Pio’s shrines.

The Church was commissioned by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and was designed by architect Renzo Piano with the aim of comfortably accomodating the thousands of pilgrims arriving every year to worship the Saint of Pietrelcina. The tour continues with a visit to Peschici, a nice town partly sorrounded by city walls, with its typical homes, moorish architectures and medieval Castle.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Trani, Castel del Monte, Alberobello Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Trani. This small town is a treasure chest of several historical, artistic, religious and cultural beauties. The group will visit the splendid Cathedral located near the sea, one of the best examples of Apulia’s architecture in Romanesque style. Lunch. The tour continues with a visit to Castel Del Monte and its octagonal design which combines severity of shapes with mysterious symbols. Transfer to selected hotel accomodation in reserved rooms. Dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Trani, Castel del Monte, Alberobello Rodi Garganico, Peschici, Vieste, are only few of the locations where Gialpi Travel offers the chance of spending a wonderful holiday by the seaside with the options of hotels, tourist resorts and club hotels all with great cuisine, a friendly welcome, enjoyable entertainment service and the chance to practice some sport. Our Gargano, an unforgettable holiday.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Tour 11 days/10 nights Tremiti Islands Monte S. Angelo

Vieste

Peschici San Giovanni Rotondo Trani Bari

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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ABOUT SEA AND DISCOVERY

Calabria has been generously appointed with its breathtaking natural views, enchanting historical centers, places of culture and art along the coast where the shallow beaches with their fine gold sand alternate with rocky promontories which gently erode towards the sea or fall precipitously over the clear waters forming little and colorful marine caves. Discover Calabria.

1st Day: Tour start, Cosenza Group arrives in Cosenza and transfers to hotel.

Free time for an individual city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Cosenza, Paola Breakfast at the hotel and tour of the Cosenza historic centre. The city has ancient origins and is sorrounded by seven hills. The tour starts with a walk along Corso Telesio to the XI century Cathedral consecrated to Our Lady of the Pillar. The city tour continues with the discovery of other buildings embellishing the old town such as the National Library, the abbeys of St. Gaetano and St. Domenico and Arnone Palace housing the National Gallery.

The group will visit the MAB in the modern part of the city which hosts precious art sculptures by famous artists such as De Chirico, Dalì and Manzù.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Paola for a visit to the Church and Monastery of Sain Francis of Paola, Calabria’s patron saint’s spiritual centre and a delightful town overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Cosenza, Morano, Altomonte Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Morano Calabro, named, together with Altomonte, as one of the most beautiful towns in Italy by the “I Borghi più belli d’Italia“ association which selects the most interesting towns in Italy for art and culture.

The grace of Morano can be seen in the delicate combination of art and natural beauties: stony arches, towers, buttresses and houses attached to each other marrying the majesty of the sorrounding mountains creating a unique landscape.

We will tour the old town. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will transfer to Altomonte, a small town perched on the mountain full of alleys and steps around the Our Lady of Consolation Church, the ultimate example of the Gothic-Angevin art in Calabria. The tour continues through the old town and at the Museo della Civiltà Contadina. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rossano, Sibari Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Rossano.

The group will tour the old town with its rich Byzantine examples and visit the Museo Diocesano which safeguards the famous Codex Purpureus, a VI century Book of Gospels written in Greek. We will make a stop at the museum “Amarelli”, an old licorice company. The group will transfer to Sibari.

Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to the Archaeological Park of Sibarys which is located on the Ionian coast and is the area where the great “polis” of Sibari rose, grew, expanded and finally declined. After the decline of the Greek city, in different ages and partly overlying its ruins, at first the hellenic town of Thurii and afterwards the Roman town of Copia were founded here. This exceptional stratification makes Sibari one of the most extensive and important sites of the Mediterranean region. Transfer to the selected hotel accomodation in reserved rooms. Dinner and overnight stay.

From the 4th to the 10th Day Sibari, Corigliano, Praia a Mare, Isola di Caporizzuto, Sant’Andrea dello Ionio, Pizzo Calabro, white sandy beaches alternate with rocky promontories falling precipitously into the sea. Gialpi Travel selected wonderful hotels and holiday resorts to meet all needs enabling guests to spend a seaside vacation with great cuisine, fun and relax. Gialpi’s Calabria, a taste for excellence.

11th Day: Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Calabria, the Southern coastline Tour 11 days/10 nights

Altomonte Morano Paola

Sibari Rossano Cosenza

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Piedmont and the Aosta Valley

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Veneto

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Italian lakes

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Tuscany and Elba island

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Umbria and Tuscany

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Umbria

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Lazio: Rome

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Lazio, Tuscia

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Lazio, Ciociaria

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Lazio and Campania

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Campania: Naples, Amalfi Coast, Caserta

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Campania, Cilento

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Campania, Sea and Islands

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Campania and Sicily

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Apulia: Bari, Lecce, Tremiti Islands

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Apulia and Campania

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Calabria

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Sardinia

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Sicily

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ITALY and ITS REGIONS

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Piedmont and the Aosta Valley Tour 6 days/5 nights

Piedmont. From the elegant Turin with its eighteenth-century palaces, the Po River bank and its famous museums to the romantic atmosphere of Langhe with its castles and towers.

The Aosta Valley. From the Roman Aosta to the medieval Fenis and Issogne castles to Bard, a massive bastion which lends this region a unique perspective.

1st Day: Tour start, Turin Group arrives in Turin and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Aosta

Venaria Reale Turin Alba

2nd Day: Turin Breakfast at the hotel and Turin city tour which is a forever changing city. Today it shows its most modern look through the Savoy’s residences, the porticos, the museums and the art galleries. We will visit the most interesting sights such as the Cathedral of St. John, the Roman Vestiges, the Palatine Towers, the ruins of the Roman Theatre, the Royal Church of St. Lawrence, the outside of the Royal Palace, Madama Palace and the Royal Theatre. We will also visit the Gallery of Industria Subalpina and Carignano and San Carlo squares. Lunch. We will visit the Egyptian Museum, second only to the Museum in Cairo.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Turin, Langhe Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Langhe. We will have a panoramic view of the splendid Langhe of Barolo and Tartufo. We will arrive in Alba and will visit the military fortress with its very particular “keep” structure from where you can enjoy a wonderful view. Our tour continues with a visit to the Castle of Grinzane Cavour with its massive and perfectly conserved medieval structure where Camillo Benso count of Cavour used to live. The cellars of the castle host the Regional Winehouse where it is possible to taste and buy wines and other typical products. Lunch. We will then depart for Alba, the “capital city of Langhe”, travelling along the ancient Roman roads like “Alba Pompeia” with its towers, medieval palaces and majestic churches such as the Cathedral of St. Lawrence.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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4th Day: Turin, Venaria, Aosta Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Venaria Reale. We will visit the Royal Palace whose enchanting seventeenth-century areas such as Diana’s room, the elegant Grand Gallery and the solemnity of the Chapel of St. Umberto are some of the most interesting sights of our tour. We will walk for almost 2000 m. between the noble floor and the basement. Lunch. We will depart for Aosta at the end of our visit. Upon arrival we will meet our guide for a city tour. Founded by the Romans, this city still conserves its original vestiges like the unique Arch of Augustus, the Porta Praetoria and the walls. The Cathedral and the Collegiata di Sant’Orso are medieval masterpieces housing important artworks.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Aosta, the Castles, Turin Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a visit to the region’s castles. We will first visit the Castle of Fenis, a medieval gem surrounded by green fields which combines both the looks of a defensive fortress and noble residence. We will continue with the Castles of Issogne and Verres. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the Forte Bard which was a fortified complex dating backto the dark Ages and which is today the “fortress of culture”. This impressive and fascinating structure was renewed in 1996 and houses today the “Museum of the Alps”, museum of the Western Alps, the “Prisons”, an itinerary dedicated to the military site, and various rooms used for exhibits of ancient, modern and contemporary art and photography and a parade ground which stages several cultural events. We will depart for Turin.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Turin, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

From Verona to Vicenza, from Padua to Venice, a collection of magnificent cities of art passing by sweet hills generously offering their great wines. Veneto, a wonderful region.

1st Day: Tour start, Verona Group arrives in Verona and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Verona, Padua Breakfast at the hotel and Verona city tour. The historic centre remained splendidly intact over the centuries with its churches, squares and museums. The tour starts at the Arena, an ancient Roman theatre now housing prestigious opera performances, and continues to Piazza delle Erbe, surrounded by buildings and antique houses, some of which are still adorned with frescoes and marble pillars. The tour continues with the “House of Juliet”, a Gothic building once allegedly owned by the Capulet family with the famous balcony in the inner court, and ends at the elegant Piazza dei Signori which looks like an open air “living room”. We will have lunch during the visit.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Verona, Vicenza, Padua Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Vicenza. It is universally known as Palladio’s city, the great architect who left to this city most of his amazing masterpieces. Our visit will start with the Olimpic Theatre considered the spiritual heritage of the architect who died in 1580 soon after finishing the project. We will then visit the Basilica Palladiana with its massive superstructure made of a double series of loggias and the Chiericati Palace, an innovative project in Palladio’s vision, which is both a city building and a suburban villa. Since 1855 it has housed the Civic Museum of Vicenza.

Lunch. Free time. We will then depart for Padua.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Padua, Treviso, Padua Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Treviso with its characteristic canals through the quiet river Sile runs among porticos, antique monuments and wonderful houses embellished with frescoes. Treviso with its gracious historic centre is one of the typical walled cities of the region. Lunch.

We will return to Padua and we will visit this city known to the world as the city of St. Antonio.

Many artists left their heritage here. In fact the city houses the fourteenth century Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, Giusto de’ Menabuoi’s frescoes which embellish the walls of the Duomo and Baptistery, Donatello’s and Tiziano’s

pieces of art in the Basilica of the Saint, Mantegna’s paintings in the Ovetari agli Eremitani Chapel. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Padua, Brenta’s boat tour, Chioggia Breakfast at the hotel and Riviera del Brenta’s boat tour along the path of the ancient Burchielli. We will board from Padua heading to Venice.

During our boat tour we will see coastal towns, small villages, swing bridges and several villas such as the superb Villa Giovanelli in Noventa Padovana, one of the most beautiful of Veneto’s villas from late sixteenth-century, Villa Pisani in Stra, Villa Widmann and Villa Foscari also known as “la Malcontenta”. We will have lunch during our tour. At the end of our boat tour we will disembark and depart for Chioggia. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Chioggia, Venice, Verona Breakfast at the hotel and Venice city tour. It is a magical and wonderful place, unique and elegant with its thousand facets and enchanting glimpses.

It is an historic city which has been the crossroads of cultures and trade. We will take a walk in the city centre to discover the most charateristic places: St. Mark Square, the Basilica with its Tower Bell, the Doge’s Palace which was the seat of government of Serenissima, the Sospiri Bridge, the Piombi, the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal which divides the city into two and the Giudecca Canal which separates the historic centre from Giudecca Island. We will have lunch during the visit. At the end of our tour we will depart for Verona.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Veneto Tour 7 days/6 nights

7th Day: Verona, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Treviso Vicenza Verona

Venezia Chioggia Padua

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

The major Italian lakes with relaxing atmosphere, elegance and breathtaking views. We will experience sights of authentic paradise as described by some of the most representative writers of the Italian literature: Gabriele D’Annunzio and Alessandro Manzoni.

1st Day: Tour start, Verona Group arrives in Verona and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Italian lakes Tour 6 days/5 nights Verbania Lake Como Lake Maggiore Stresa Lake Iseo Lake Garda Verona

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2nd Day: Verona, Lake Garda Breakfast at the hotel and Verona city tour. The historic centre remained splendidly intact over the centuries with its churches, squares and museums. The tour starts at the Arena, an ancient Roman theatre now housing prestigious opera performances, and continues to Piazza delle Erbe, surrounded by buildings and antique houses, some of which are still adorned with frescoes and marble pillars. The tour goes on with the “House of Juliet”, a Gothic building once allegedly owned by the Capulet family with the famous balcony in the inner court, and ends at the elegant Piazza dei Signori which looks like an open air “living room”. The group will transfer to Lake Garda, in the Peschiera area.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Lake Garda, Salò, Sirmione, Peschiera, Lake Iseo Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Lake Garda. The group will visit the Gardone Riviera and Vittoriale degli Italiani, a complex with streets, squares, gardens and water flows built between 1921 and 1938. It was commissioned by Gabriele d’Annunzio as a memorial to the “inimitable life” of the poet-soldier and of Italians’ feats during WWI. The tour continues to Salò and we will take a walk in the historic centre. Lunch. In the afternoon we will transfer to Sirmione. Built on a narrow and long land strip, it rises on the Lombard shore of Garda Lake and is rightfully holder of the title “Gem of the Garda”. Afterwards we will transfer to Iseo or surroundings. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Lake Iseo, Lake Como, Lake Maggiore Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a panoramic tour of Lake Iseo. Set in a precious crown of mountains and hills with its Montisola, it can be considered a valuable gem among the Italian lakes. We will have a panoramic tour and then transfer to Lake Como. Lunch. In the afternoon we will tour Manzoni’s venues by taking a pleasant walk through the places traditionally acknowledged as the Betrothed scenery. We will visit Villa Manzoni, a neoclassical building where the writer spent his younger years and then transfer to Vercurago to see the castle ruins once allegedly owned by the Unnamed. In the evening we will have a tour in Tremezzo with its Villa Carlotta and then transfer to Lake Maggiore. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Lake Maggiore, Borromee Islands, Stresa Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Borromee Islands. The group will transfer via the lake to Bella Island, with its beautiful Baroque palace and Italian garden arranged on ten terraces facing the lake.

The tour continues with a visit to Isola dei Pescatori with its medieval charm. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues to Isola Madre, known worldwide for its fine botanic collections. At the end of the visit the group will depart for Stresa and have free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Verbania, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

A magical balance between nature and art: Florence, Pisa and Siena with their artistic and cultural collections and Elba Island with its extraordinary nature. Tuscany and its islands are a true treasure chest of beauty.

1st Day: Tour start, Pisa, Montecatini Group arrives in Pisa. It is known all around the world for its Tower, an extraordinary monument which adds charm to Piazza del Duomo, and has a very old history which was at its height during the time of the Maritime Republics. We will meet our guide and we will visit the city. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Montecatini. Free time.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Montecatini, Florence, Montecatini Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Florence.

This city has an exceptional artistic heritage which is the symbol of its very old culture. Its history was marked with celebrated names: Cimabue and Giotto, fathers of the Italian painting, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, pioneers of the Renaissance era and Leonardo and Michelangelo, two universal geniuses. We will visit the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Dome by Brunelleschi, the Campanile by Giotto, Piazza della Repubblica and Ponte Vecchio. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the outside of the Basilica of the Holy Cross and Piazzale Michelangelo, the most famous view point of the city. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Montecatini, Volterra, Siena Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Volterra.

History constantly left this city with very important artistic and monumental examples, from the Etruscan era until the nineteenth century, which can been seen simply walking through the historic centre along the medieval walls from Porta all’Arco to the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Roman Theatre with the neighbouring thermal baths and Piazza dei Priori. Lunch. We will depart for Siena, a city with a lust for live, and where every stone has remained unchanged over the

centuries. We will take a city tour. Return to the hotel in Montecatini, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Montecatini, Lucca, Livorno, Elba island Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Lucca. This city is Tuscany’s jewel. We will take a walk along the sixteenth-century walls which are today a city park and we will proceed to the historic centre with its Guinigi Tower, the Clock Tower, the Cathedral of St. Martin and the Church of St. Michael. Our walk continues along Via Fillungo, the main avenue, to Piazza Anfiteatro, the true gem of the city where in the past the ancient Roman forum was located. The square is accessed by four entryways placed at the ancient entries. Lunch.

We will depart for Livorno and board a ferry boat for Portoferraio. We will arrive on Elba Island. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Elba Island Breakfast at the hotel and departure for a panoramic visit of Elba Island. It is located 10 km from the coast and is the biggest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third biggest island in Italy.

The terrain is quite varied and the highest peak is 1018 m. It has many examples of Mediterranean flora and offers unforgettable views. We will depart from Portoferraio for the Western part of the island towards Marciana Marina, Marciana Alta, Pomonte and Fettovaia. We will stop at Marina di Campo, located in the Southern part of the island, and will then move to Lacona and Porto Azzurro.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will return to Portoferraio. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Elba Island, Livorno, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, boarding from Portoferraio to Livorno and departure.

Tuscany and Elba Island Tour 6 days/5 nights

Montecatini Lucca Pisa Livorno

Elba Island

Volterra

Florence Siena

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Umbria and Tuscany Two of the most beautiful Italian regions with their magical balance between nature and art. From Pisa to Florence, from Perugia to Assisi, we will fill our eyes and hearts with grace.

Tour 6 days/5 nights

Montecatini Pisa

Florence

Volterra Siena

Perugia Deruta Todi

Assisi

1st Day: Tour start, Pisa, Montecatini Group arrives in Pisa. It is known all around the world for its Tower, an extraordinary monument which adds charm to Piazza del Duomo, and has a very old history which was at its height during the time of the Maritime Republics. We will meet our guide and we will visit the city. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Montecatini. Free time.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Montecatini, Florence Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Florence. This city has an exceptional artistic heritage which is the symbol of its very old culture. Its history was marked with celebrated names: Cimabue and Giotto, fathers of the Italian painting, Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, pioneers of the Renaissance era and Leonardo and Michelangelo, two universal geniuses. We will visit the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Dome by Brunelleschi, the Campanile by Giotto, Piazza della Repubblica and Ponte Vecchio. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the outside of the Basilica of the Holy Cross and Piazzale Michelangelo, the most famous view point of the city. Return to the hotel in Montecatini, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Montecatini, Volterra, Siena, Perugia Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Volterra.

History constantly left this city with very important artistic and monumental examples, from the Etruscan era until the nineteenth century, which can been seen simply walking through the historic centre along the medieval walls from Porta all’Arco to the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Roman Theatre with the neighbouring thermal baths and Piazza dei Priori. Lunch. We will depart for Siena, a city with a lust for life, and where every stone has remained unchanged over the centuries. Siena’s people were able to keep their

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traditions alive and this is best demonstrated by the famous Palio occuring passionately and enthusiastically every year. We will visit the city and at the end of our visit we will depart for Perugia.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Assisi, Perugia Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Assisi, the native city of St. Francis and St. Clare. It houses a great historic and artistic heritage. We will visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and its mistic Porziuncola Chapel, the Basilica of St. Francis embellished with Giottos’ frescoes, the Basilica of St. Clare and the Oratorio dei Pellegrini with its frescoes of Umbrian school. Lunch.

We will return to Perugia and visit the city which has an old university and is rich in art and history, whose main example is the Fontana Maggiore. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Todi, Deruta Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit some of the nicest Umbrian towns: Spello, still surrounded

by Roman walls; Bevagna, with its bastions interrupted by medieval gates; Montefalco, where the main roads head towards the great circular lay-out in Piazza dei Cavalieri. Lunch. We will depart for Todi, which is a walled town housing many treasures. We will make a short stop in Deruta, a town famous for its ceramics. Return to the hotel in Perugia, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Perugia, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

It is Italy’s green heart. A wonderful region full of green hills and ancient towns. It is also a very important spiritual centre for Christianity. Misteriously fascinating Umbria: where nature becomes art.

1st Day: Tour start, Perugia Group arrives in Perugia. We will meet our guide and visit the city. Perugia has a lively university town and its old origins are visible in the structure of its historic centre surrounded by Etruscan walls.

The main monument is the Fontana Maggiore by Giovanni and Nicola Pisano. Palazzo dei Priori is a superb medieval example. It houses the National Gallery of Umbrian art. We will visit Collegio del Cambio and Collegio della Mercanzia, which were both seats of the two most important trade activities of XV century. In Piazza IV Novembre we will see the Fontana Maggiore and the massive Cathedral of St. Lawrence with its cloister and its capitolare museum, while in Piazza Matteotti, housing the original city market, we will see the Old University Palace and the People’s Capitain Palace.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Assisi, Gubbio Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Assisi. This rose-coloured stone city sits on the slopes of Mount Subasio and is the main centre of Umbrian spirituality. The great stories of St. Francis and St. Clare combine with the work of the most famous medieval painters. We will visit the Basilica of St. Clare, the sainted founder of the Poor Clares’s order, and we will take a walk in the city centre through Piazza del Comune and the austere and elegant palaces of this medieval town.

We will end our tour at the Basilica of St. Francis.

The double “Papal Basilica” founded by Gregorio IX is an architctural masterpiece, the best example of medieval Italian art. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Gubbio and we will visit Piazza Quaranta Martiri, the Church of St. John, Piazza Grande and the Consoli Palace in the historic centre. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnigt stay.

3rd Day: Spello, Spoleto Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Spello. Compared to Assisi, this town is located at the opposite extremity of Mount Subasio but it has the same rose-coloured look, intimate alleys and unexpected sights. Some of its art treasures are unmissable. The Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore with Pinturicchio’s masterpiece housed in the Beautiful Chapel, the gates of the Roman walls such as Porta

Consolare, Porta Venere and Porta Urbica are the most interesting sights of this town. We will continue our tour in Spoleto. Lunch. We will visit this town whose medieval look is practically intact. We will visit the historic and artistic sites of the region: the Tower Bridge, the Church of St. Peter, the Duomo with its mosaics and the Church of St. Eufemia.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Cascia, Norcia Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Cascia, famous for being the native town of St. Rita. We will visit the Basilica and the Monastery of St. Rita rich in important artistic frescoes and sacred ornaments. Cascia keeps its medieval structure just like all Umbrian towns and houses very interesting sites such as the Church of St. Francis, the Church of St. Antonio Abate, the Collegiata di Santa Maria and Carli Palace. Lunch. We will then depart for Norcia, a nice city with a great medieval and historic heritage. It was known in the past with the name of Nursia, it is the oldest town of the area and its landscape is made of hills and vast lawns which are expecially beautiful in the spring and summer time. The building of Castellina, the Civic Diocesan Museum, the Church of St. Augustin, the Church of St. John and the Church of St. Francis.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Umbria

5th Day: Spoleto, Marmore’s Falls, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Terni. We will visit the Marmore’s Falls. They owe their name to the calcium salts present in the rocks which look like marble. This waterfall is one of the highest in Europe and is divided in three cascades. The force of its water is used by the nearby Galleto hydroelectric plant. We will depart at the end of the tour.

Tour 5 days/4 nights

Gubbio

Perugia

Assisi

Spoleto Terni

Norcia Cascia

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Rome is not only an historic city, Rome is history. The charm of this city can be found in poems praising it, in its suburbs, in its taverns and among its simple and genuine local people. It is a city but also a symbol and a dream.

1st Day: Tour start, Rome Group arrives in Rome and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Lazio: Rome Tour 5 days /4 nights

2nd Day: Rome, Vatican Museums Breakfast at the hotel. The tour starts with a visit to the Vatican Museums with the famous Sistine Chapel. The group will visit the Candelabra Gallery, the Gallery of Maps and Arazzi and finally the Palazzi Apostolici, the oldest part of the museums in which are located the rooms of Giulio II splendidly decorated by Raffaello Sanzio and his pupils. The tour continues with a visit to the most famous of Michelangelo’s masterpieces and St. Peter’s Basilica, spiritual centre of the Catholic Church.

Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit Castel Sant’Angelo, which was first a mausoleum and then a military fortress. It was a dark and terrible prison and became afterwards a splendid house of the Renaissance era thanks to Michelangelo, then again a prison of the Risorgimento era and finally a museum. Castel Sant’Angelo embodies the events of the “Eternal City” in its majestic Roman spaces, in the mighty walls, in the sumptuous frescoed rooms where past and present seem to be one. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Rome Breakfast at the hotel and city tour. The tour starts with a walk from Quirinale discovering the most beautiful Italian squares. We will make a stop at Trevi Fountain, one of the most majestic Roman fountains known for the traditional throwing of the coin. Lunch during the tour. The group will

Rome

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then move to Piazza di Spagna which owes its name to the palace, seat of the first foreign embassy in Rome, and is famous for its Spanish Steps used today for important fashion shows. A short walk from Piazza di Spagna will take us to Piazza della Rotonda where the Pantheon is located.

Our pleasant walk will end in Piazza Navona, the most famous Baroque masterpiece in Rome. In the middle of the square there is the Fountain of the four rivers, designed by master Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rome Breakfast at the hotel and free time. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the “old” Rome; the Jewish Ghetto, the Isola Tiberina, Campo dei Fiori and Trastevere. Pope Paolo IV established one of the oldest and most wonderful ghettos in the world in 1555 with the papal bull “Cum Nimis Absurdum”. Among the neighbourhood’s alleys are located the Church of Santa Maria del Pianto, the ruins of Portico d’Ottavia and the River Tiber near the Isola Tiberina, where Jewish people were relegated to live and where they built a very important part of the Roman tradition. The tour continues with a visit to the nearby neighbourhood Trastevere which retains its charm thanks to its sampietrini paved alleys and several ruins of medieval folk houses. Dinner in a traditional inn. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

5th Day: Rome, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

Lazio: Tuscia Unique views, spurs pierced by water, deep shady valleys, crystal clear lakes, precipitous medieval towns, wines inviting to conviviality and fusion cuisine. Discover Tuscia.

1st Day: Tour start, Caprarola, Tarquinia Group arrives in Caprarola and the tour starts with a visit to Farnese Palace, a splendid example of a mannerist villa. Initially built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as a fortress for the future Pope Paul III, the architect Vignola later changed it into a summerhouse for cardinal Alessandro Farnese.

It is the emblem of the powerful Farnese family, native of the high Lazio. The structure is organized on several floors and the palace has 365 rooms.

The spectacular spiral staircase leads to the piano nobile (noble floor) frescoad by the most prominent arists of the time. The external property includes the Italian Secret Gardens and Monumental Park, with fountains, sculptures, water features and the Casina del Piacere, a place for meditation but also for summer feasts and banquets.

After the tour we will depart for Tarquinia. Accomodation in the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Tarquinia, Cerveteri Breakfast at the hotel and guided tour through the Necropolis of Monterozzi in Tarquinia. It is an archaeological UNESCO world heritage site. It is very famous for its approx. 150 gravestones decorated with frescoes initially illustrating banquets and symposiums and later terrible demons. The tour continues with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum. It is set against the backdrop of Renaissance era Vitelleschi Palace and can be considered one of the most important and richest palaces in Italy with a collection as old as the Bronze Age and from the Roman Empire. Lunch.

In the afternoon the group will depart for Cerveteri to visit the Necropolis of the Banditaccia. The Necropolis covers hundreds of hectars and is the major example of Etruscan necropolis architecture. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Viterbo, Civita di Bagnoregio Breakfast at the hotel and tour of the Viterbo historic centre. The city has the charm of a town fortified by mighty city walls. Our itinerary includes the Renaissance era Priori Palazzo, whose frescoed rooms illustrate mythical and historic events of the city, St. Lawrence Square, with its Cathedral of the same name, the elegant Papal Palace and lastly the picturesque medieval neighbourhood of San Pellegrino. Lunch. The tour continues in the afternoon with a visit to Civita di Bagnoregio, “the city that dies”, an enchanting place whose thousand years old history belies a very particular geomorphological situation. The cliff of Civita has been thinned over the centuries by an incessant erosive action and is today a splendid tuff island floating on a sea of fragile clay gullies.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Bolsena, Montefiascone Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Bolsena.

It is situated along the Via Francigena and has been walked for centuries by millions of pilgrims headed to Rome and it is still today a place of great mysticism. The tour starts at the Collegiata di Santa Cristina and Monaldeschi Castle from where you may enjoy a magnificent view over the lake. In the afternoon the group will visit Montefiascone which raises in a splendid position over Lake Bolsena. The Romanesque-Gothic San Flaviano Church, the Renaissance era Cathedral of St. Margherita with its grand dome, the third largest in Italy, designed by Fontana and the Rocca dei Papi, located on the highest point of the city are the most interesting sights.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Bracciano Lake, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Lake Bracciano and its towns, such as Bracciano with its severe medieval Orsini Castle, and Trevignano and Anguillara, typical small towns on the lake’s shore.

Departure after the visit.

Tour 5 days/4 nights

Tarquinia

Bolsena Montefiascone Viterbo Caprarola Bracciano Cerveteri

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Lazio: Ciociaria Tour 4 days /3 nights

Memories of ancient lands, traditions stretching back hundreds of years, firm and genuine values, art and sacred culture.

Discover Ciociaria.

Fiuggi Anagni

Subiaco Alatri

Casamari

Veroli Ferentino Montecassino

1st Day: Tour start, Subiaco, Fiuggi Group arrives in Subiaco, a small city nestled in greenery in the Simbruini Mountains hosting two extraordinary Benedictine monasteries, the Abbey of St. Scolastica and St. Benedict’s Abbey. Saint Benedict built twelve monasteries in the Subiaco Valley and only St. Scolastica’s Abbey survived earthquakes and the Saracens’attacks. It is considered particularly precious because it houses fine artworks. The tour continues with a visit to St. Benedict’s Abbey set in a rock overlooking the valley below becoming visible to visitors when walking through the Sacred Wood. Walls, vaults and stairs are perfectly integrated into the stone within which they are placed guaranteeing precision and authentic charm to those who approach them. At the end of the visit the group will transfer to Fiuggi.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Anagni, Ferentino, Alatri Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a city tour in Anagni. The ancient Anagnia, the “City of the Popes”, lies on one of Ciociaria’s picturesque hills and is rich in interesting artistic and archaeological sites. We will visit the Romanesque Cathedral and Boniface VIII’s Palace and we will take a walk in the historic centre with its Communal Palace and house Barnekow, a typical example of a medieval house. The tour will continue to Ferentino, a town in Ciociaria which houses the best heritage of all the civilizations that have lived here for thousands of years with its imposing Acropolis and several Roman ruins. Lunch. The tour will continue in the afternoon with Alatri, a very ancient Hernican city with the most monumental “Cyclopean masonry” city walls in Ciociaria.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

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3rd Day: Casamari, Veroli Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a visit to Casamari Abbey, an ancient gothic-cistercian monastery complex. The austerity of its interiors is a clear reflection of the Cistercian mystic monk Bernardo di Chiaravalle’s way of thinking.

The monk preached the architectural simplicity and purity of these abbeys and fought against iconoclasm in favour of a Christ-centred way of thinking. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Veroli, an elegant city with very ancient origins. The tour will include the basements of the Communal palace and the underground gallery. We will visit the Church of Mary of Salome, Veroli’s patron saint, a pious woman, mother of Apostles James and John. The group will visit the Cathedral of St. Andrew housing a precious religious treasure of medieval goldworking. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Montecassino, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Montecassino, the abbey where St. Benedict defined the rule “pray and work”, the basis of Western monasticism. The abbey, with its famous library, has been a guiding light of all Christian Europe over many centuries. It was destroyed four times and has been rebuilt exactly “how it was, where it was” after the bombing during the WWII as an everlasting memory of its glorious past. The group will depart after the visit.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

A journey between Rome and Naples, visiting spiritual places, the most famous art masterpieces, the natural beauties and the extraordinary humanity of the two most beautiful Italian cities.

1st Day: Tour start, Rome Group arrives in Rome and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Rome, Colle del Celio Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo al Celio. According to tradition the basilica is built on the house of the martyrs John and Paul. The group will visit the Domus del Celio where ruins of a residential Roman structure are located under the basilica. The tour continues with San Clemente ed i Santi Quattro Coronati al Celio and its internal chapel of St. Sylvester. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the four papal basilicas which retain an intact paleochristian structure. The visit continues with the Basilica of Saint Praxedes and Saint Pudenziana.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Rome, Vatican Museums Breakfast at the hotel . The tour starts with a visit to the Vatican Museums with the famous Sistine Chapel. The group will visit the Candelabra Gallery, the Gallery of Maps and Arazzi and finally the Palazzi Apostolici, the oldest part of the museums in which are located the rooms of Giulio II splendidly decorated by Raffaello Sanzio and his pupils. The tour continues with a visit to the most famous of Michelangelo’s masterpieces and St. Peter’s Basilica, the most important temple of Christianity.

Lunch. In the afternoon the group wil visit Castel Sant’Angelo, which was first a mausoleum and then a military fortress. It was a dark and terrible prison and became afterwards a splendid house of the Renaissance era thanks to Michelangelo, then again a prison during the Risorgimento and finally a museum. Castel Sant’Angelo embodies the events of the “Eternal City” in its majestic Roman spaces, in the mighty walls, in the sumptuous frescoed rooms where past and present seem to be one. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rome, Sorrento Peninsula Breakfast at the hotel and tour of the capital city’s

squares. We will make a stop at Trevi Fountain, the most majestic Roman fountains. We will take a walk through Piazza di Spagna with its famous steps and Piazza della Rotonda where the Pantheon is located. Our pleasant walk will end in Piazza Navona, the most famous Baroque masterpiece in Rome. In the middle of the square there is the Fountain of the four rivers by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Campania. Accomodation in hotel on the Sorrento Peninsula, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Naples Breakfast at the hotel and Naples city tour. The visit starts from Posillipo hill with its view over the Bay and continues through Via Caracciolo, Partenope and Santa Lucia; the morning visit ends in Piazza del Plebiscito. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit the San Martino Museum and its Belvedere. This museum is a treasure chest of art and houses the Nativity scene by Cuciniello. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Pompeii, Vesuvius Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Pompeii. The group will visit the archaelogical ruins. The tour starts at the Roman Forum, the centre of public and religious life, and continues to Via dell’Abbondanza, the thermal baths and the Lupanare. The group will depart for Mount Vesuvius, one of the few active volcanos in Europe. There are vineyards on the fertile soil of the crater’s slopes. DOC wines are produced here, the most famous is the Lacrima Christi. The group will have lunch and the chance to sample 4 wines: white, red and vintage rose, Aglianico maestro 2007 and Vesuvius’ distilled peach juice. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Caserta, Casertavecchia Breakfast at the hotel. The group will depart for a visit at the Royal Palace of Caserta and its gardens, a wonderful example of Vanvitelli’s art.

Lunch. The tour continues to Casertavecchia, an old medieval town with its Duomo and tower bell, the ruins of the castle and the typical alleys.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Sorrento Peninsula, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Lazio and Campania Tour 8 days/7 nights

Rome

Naples Penisola Sorrentina

Caserta Vesuvius Pompeii

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

An intense beauty tempered by a thousand contradictions; Naples is a feeling, a city spreading passion, fantasy and humanity. Surrounded by natural and artistic masterpieces, everything is right at hand, within sight but nothing is so easy to reach. From Naples to the “divine” Coast, from Mount Vesuvius to Pompeii, to Caserta, see Naples and...

1st Day: Tour start, Naples Group arrives in Naples and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Campania: Naples, Amalfi Coast, Caserta Tour 5 days /4 nights

Caserta Naples Positano

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Vesuvius Pompeii Ravello Amalfi Coast

2nd Day: Naples Breakfast at the hotel and Naples guided tour.

This city’s 2500 year old history is represented and explained through many exceptionally valuable artistic and architectural examples. The panoramic tour of Posillipo hill will offer a wonderful view over the Gulf and the walk along Caracciolo, Partenope and Santa Lucia streets leads to the main square Piazza del Plebiscito. Lunch. In the afternoon our tour will guide you through the historic centre area named “Spaccanapoli” starting from Piazza del Gesù up to San Gregorio Armeno with a stop at the Gesù Nuovo Church, at the Chiostro di Santa Chiara and at the San Severo Chapel. We will take a walk through the traditional workshops well-known for reproducing the Nativity scene.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a Mount Vesuvius excursion. The volcano is a sight of unsual beauty dominating the view of the Bay of Naples but is also a place of particular natural interest declared a “World biosphere reserve” by UNESCO. The tour is guided by natural and environmental experts. Lunch. In the afternoon depart for a Pompeii tour. This city’s story is bound to the nearby volca-

no’s history. 2000 years ago this Roman city was surprised by one of the most devastating eruptions ever experienced in Italy. The city was rediscovered thanks to an impressive excavation campaign which was started towards the end of the 1700s.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Naples, Amalfi Coast Breakfast at the hotel and day trip to the Amalfi Coast, unparalleled and praised by artists from all over the world. Stop at the Positano belvedere.

Walk through Amalfi, the most ancient Italian Maritime Republic. It lies at the mounth of a small ravine, its houses are arranged in tiers on the hillside facing the sea. Blooming and orange scented gardens appear among the white facades of old buildings and the splendid Duomo’s cupola stands over everything with its very colourful majolicas. We will visit Ravello and its Villa Rufolo or Villa Cimbrone.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Naples, Caserta, Departure Breakfast at the hotel and Royal Palace of Caserta tour. Commissioned by Charles VII of Naples, the Royal Palace is Luigi Vanvitelli’s masterpiece.

He designed and built a large structure on a rectangular plan with identical facades, one of them facing Piazza delle Armi and the other one facing the huge garden. The palace has four courts, 1200 rooms, 34 staircases and 1970 windows and is sorrounded by a wonderful garden. The group will depart after the visit.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

Cilento is a region in Campania with olive tree covered hills facing the blue Tyrrhenian Sea which has always been a crossroads of people and traditions. Lively streams flow go through the region which is rich in chestnut and holm oak trees. Its splendid landscape is interrupted by small towns perched on rocks or lying on the sea shore. Discover Cilento.

1st Day: Tour start, Cilento Group arrives in Cilento and transfers to hotel. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Palinuro, Sapri - boat ride Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Palinuro.

On a “gozzo”, a typical fishing boat, the group will visit the 5 marine caves: the Grotta Azzurra, the Grotta del Sangue, the Grotta dei Monaci, the Grotta d’Argento and the Grotta Sulfurea. The Cilento coast is a true natural paradise. The marine beauties and the clear waters of Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park are a UNESCO world heritage site and have been regularly awarded a “Blue Flag” by Legambiente. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will move to Sapri and will visit the historic centre, the parish church and the several archaeological sites which still today are examples of the historical and economical importance of the town.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Paestum, Agropoli Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Paestum, the ancient Poseidonia of Magna Greacia. The tour starts in the archaeological site of the city.

Its urban structure is based on two main axes perpendicular to each other. It twists and turns in long and narrow blocks occupying two platforms close to the sea. The well preserved defensive walls form a double curtain with towers and transits and opens into four doors at the main arterial roads. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit Agropoli, a gateway to the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park which has an interesting historic centre accessed by a 17th Century monumental gate. It is a triumph of alleys, rocky little houses and steep steps overlooking the blue sea.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Velia, Castellabate Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Velia, an ancient Greek colony. The city is divided into three centres: the Southern and Northern neighbourghoods and the citadel. The Pink Door was discovered in 1964 and is the most important discovery in this site. It keeps the only Greek arch of the time conserved in perfect condition. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues in Castellabate, whose historic centre rises 280 m. above sea level and is guarded by five entry doors: Porta Cavalieri, Porta di Mare, Porta di Chiazza, Porta Sant’Eustacchio and Porta de li Bovi. A castle commissioned by St. Costabile in 1123 is located in the old town. The fortress was a place of worship and at the same time a watchtower and defensive bastion against the Saracen pirates’raids. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Pertosa Caves, Padula Charterhouse Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Pertosa Caves, the most important ones in Southern Italy and the only ones cut through by an undergorund river, the Tanagro, whose flow has been deviated for the production of hydroelectric power. Therefore the entrance to the caves is flooded and the access is only possible via small boats carefully piloted by qualified guides of the Comitee Pro Grotte dell’Angelo. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit San Lorenzo di Padula Charterhouse. It is the biggest Charterhouse in Italy and is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Cilento, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Campania, Cilento Tour 6 days /5 nights

Paestum Agropoli Castellabate Velia Palinuro

Pertosa

Cilento

Padula Sapri

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

Campania, Sea and Islands Tour 7 days/6 nights

Campania with its sea and its islands, beauty and historical gems. A journey through Naples, Sorrento, Ischia, Capri and Procida. Southern charm infused with the smell of citrus trees and the gentle sea breeze.

1st Day: Tour start, Sorrento Peninsula Group arrives at Sorrento Peninsula and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Ischia

Procida Sorrento Capri

Amalfi Positano

Salerno

2nd Day: Amalfi Coast – boat ride Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Amalfi Coast. We will depart from Salerno on a motor boat for Positano. Upon arrival we will tour this pretty town. Narrow alleys, little steps, houses with vaulted roofs, terraces, tiny gardens, innumerable small shops displaying colourful clothes, handmade sandals and fabric swimsuits make this small town a dream destination. After our visit we will depart on a mini cruise for Amalfi to enjoy the coastal beauty with its multitude of inlets and caves.

We will enjoy an aperitif in the centre of Amalfi.

Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit the Cathedral and its cloister; after a walk in the historic centre we will board for Salerno. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Baia di Ieranto, Sorrento Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Baia di Ieranto, one of the most beautiful walks of the Marine Reserve Area. Depart on foot for a pleasant and easy walk of around 2 hours to Baia di Ieranto. The visit ends with an enchanting view over Punta Campanella and Capri’s sea stacks. Afterwards we will board a boat for Nerano. Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to Sorrento, an internationally famous seaside village, and a visit to a small limoncello factory where you will have the chance to sample some of this world famous liqueur.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Capri, Anacapri Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Capri. The island has been able to conserve its sense of mythology in its most famous places such as Mari-

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na Grande harbour, La Piazzetta, Certosa di San Giacomo and the belvedere of Tragara from where you can admire the most gorgeous views. A private minibus driver will welcome us upon arrival for a panoramic tour of the island. We will make a stop at Anacapri and have the chance of visiting the Church of St. Michael with its beautiful floor of majolicas and the splendid Villa San Michele

by Axel Munthe. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will be in Capri centre and Giardini d’Augusto, a relaxing place with an amazing view. Free time.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Ischia Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Ischia. The island is a true natural paradise, culturally rich with enchanting monuments and places of interest.

A driver will meet us for a bus tour around the six municipalities of the island. We will stop at the nice town of Sant’Angelo for a pleasant walk around the fishing village. The tour continues to Lacco Ameno and Forio. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will have some free time. Depart for Naples.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Procida Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Procida, the smallest and most typical of the Gulf islands. Arrival and panoramic tour on a typical mini “Ape” taxi. Procida has volcanic origins which are still today recognisable in the traces of old craters located in the typical halfmoon gulfs. It reaches a maximum height of 91 m. therefore it is quite flat however the small villages with their multicoloured houses and the rich vegetation merged with a distinctive Mediterranean architecture, the clear and shining sea and the beautiful coastal rocks create glimpses of rare charm. Lunch.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Sorrento Peninsula, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

A journey full of beauty, Naples and Amalfi Coast, the splendid and exclusive Capri and finally Sicily with its thousand of years old history, Palermo, Monreale and the Valley of the Temples. Art, history and orange scent.

1st Day: Tour start, Naples Group arrives in Naples and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first individual city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Amalfi Coast – boat ride Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Amalfi Coast.

Depart from Salerno on a motor boat for Positano.

Arrival and tour of this pretty town. Narrow alleys, little steps, houses with vaulted roofs, terraces, tiny gardens, innumerable small shops displaying colourful clothes, handmade sandals and fabric swimsuits make this small town a dream destination. Depart on a mini cruise for Amalfi to enjoy the coastal beauty with its multitude of inlets and caves. We will enjoy an aperitif at the centre of Amalfi. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit the Cathedral and its cloister; after a walk in the historic centre we will board for Salerno. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Capri, Anacapri Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Capri. The tour starts with a panoramic trip of the island. We will make a stop at Anacapri and have the chance of visiting the Church of St. Michael with its beautiful floor of majolicas and the splendid Villa San Michele of Axel Munthe. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will be in Capri centre and Giardini d’Augusto, a relaxing place with an amazing view. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Caserta, Palermo Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Royal Palace of Caserta and its gardens, an amazing example of Vanvitelli’s art. Lunch. In the afternoon we will reach Naples’harbour to board for Palermo.

Accomodation in reserved cabins, dinner and overnight stay on board.

5th Day: Palermo The group will disembark and have breakfast in a typical Sicilian pastry shop. The tour starts with a visit of Palermo, one of the most precious cities on the Mediterranean area which is situated

in a very beautiful inlet on the Western coast.

The most evocative monuments are the majestic Cathedral, the Palatine Chapel and the Regional Archaeological Museum. The group will have lunch in a “historic bakery” in the heart of the historic city centre to taste a large variety of delicacies and discover the ancient flavours of the typical Palermo’s cuisine. In the afternoon the tour will continue to Monreale for a visit to the Duomo, a classical example of Normann art with arab, northern, classical and byzantine features.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Erice, Trapani Breakfast and depart for Erice, a small and enchanting medieval town overlooking the plains of Trapani. The tour starts with a visit to the Castle of Venus and continues with a visit at the salt pans of Trapani which spread for kilometres creating a very beautiful sight: reflecting pools are interrupted by thin land strips and form an irregular and multicoloured grid. At times you may see the shape of a windmill which reminds the time when windmills were one of the main work tools used to pump water and mill the salt. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Campania and Sicily

7th Day: Marsala, Selinunte Breakfast at the hotel and tour at the historic city centre of Marsala and its archaeological museum.

During the visit we will stop at a wine-making factory which produces the Marsala liqueur.

Lunch. The tour will continue in the afternoon for Selinute, an ancient Greek city surrounded by a magnificent landscape in the most extended archaeological park of the Mediterranean area. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Agrigento Breakfast at the hotel. We will have a tour at the Valley of the Temples in the morning; one of the main archaeological sites of the Mediterranean area is situated here, surrounded by a rural landscape of rare beauty hosting hundred of years old olive and almond trees. Lunch. The group will depart for Palermo to board for Naples. Accomodation in reserved cabins, dinner and overnight stay on board.

9th Day: Naples, Departure Group arrives in Naples. Departure.

Tour 9 days/8 nights

Caserta Naples Amalfi Capri Erice Trapani Marsala Selinunte

Palermo

Agrigento

Positano

Salerno

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

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ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

From the unspoilt nature of Tremiti Islands to the spirituality of San Giovanni Rotondo. The enchanting Baroque of Lecce’s historic centre and the mysterious symbolism of Castel del Monte. Apulia, a sunny and surprising region.

1st Day: Tour start, Bari, Vieste Group arrives in Bari and transfers to hotel in Vieste. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Tremiti Islands Breakfast at the hotel. The group will depart from Vieste for the splendid and unspoilt Tremiti Islands. Tremiti’s marine park, one of the most beautiful natural habitats in the Mediterranean Sea, is a natural reserve which includes the coastal area around San Domino, San Nicola, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa islands. Our tour will start with a visit of San Nicola island, dominated by the abbey-fortress Santa Maria a Mare and continues with a visit of San Domino island, the most extended and fertile island. Lunch. Free time. Return to the hotel in Vieste in the late afternoon, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Monte S. Angelo, San Giovanni Rotondo, Peschici Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Monte Sant’Angelo, a village perched at 800 m. which houses the Sanctuary of St. Michael the Archangel. The group will then depart for San Giovanni Rotondo. Lunch. We will visit Padre Pio’s shrines.

The Church was commissioned by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and was designed by architect Renzo Piano with the aim of comfortably accomodating the thousands of pilgrims arriving

every year to worship the Saint of Pietrelcina. The tour continues with a visit to Peschici, a nice town partly sorrounded by city walls, with its typical homes, moorish architecture and medieval Castle.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Trani, Castel del Monte, Alberobello Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Trani. This small town is a treasure chest of several historical, artistic, religious and cultural beauties. The group will visit the splendid Cathedral located near the sea, one of the best examples of Apulia’s architecture in Romanesque style. Lunch.

The tour continues with a visit to Castel Del Monte and its octagonal design which combines severity of shape with mysterious symbols.

The group will then arrive in Alberobello. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Lecce, Otranto Breakfast at the hotel and Lecce tour. Salento’s biggest municipality is a lovely and beautiful city, a centre for trade and famous for the amazing Baroque buildings which give a noble and unmistakably elegant look to the city. The group will visit the Church of the Holy Cross and Saint Orontius Square. Lunch. Travelling along the Salento coastline we will arrive to Otranto, the “Door to the East”, a Byzantine town built around its Castle and Cathedral. We will have a city tour.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Alberobello, Bari Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Alberobello.

We will take a tour among 1500 trulli, the famous conical huts forming the urban cluster most visited by tourists from all over the world. These unique trulli are a milestone in rural architecture as despite the fact they appear to be simple stack of stones, they are in fact the most ingenious rural building that human beings have ever thought of. Lunch.

The group will then depart for Bari. The Basilica of Saint Nicholas and the Norman-Swabian Castle design the profile of Old Bari which is not only rich in history but is also a vibrant and modern destination. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Matera, Castellana Caves Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Matera.

The group will visit “Sassi “, the old part of the city, a neighbourhood made of caves escavated in karst cuts creating a surreal atmosphere.

It feels like jumping into the past when exploring rocky churches, old workshops and some dwellings with period furnishings. Lunch. The tour continues with a visit to the Castellana Caves, an incredibly beautiful karst scenery very rich in calcite concretions. The tour ends at the “world’s most beautiful cave” as described by the International Speleological Congress in 1957.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Bari, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Apulia: Bari, Lecce, Tremiti Islands Tour 8 days/7 nights Tremiti Peschici San Giovanni Rotondo

Vieste Monte S.Angelo Trani

Matera

Bari Alberobello Castellana Grotte Lecce Otranto

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

In Apulia we will meet Lecce’s Baroque, the austere perfection of Castel del Monte and Bari with its lively historic centre. In Campania we will see the contradictions of Naples and the splendour of the Sorrento Peninsula. The scent of the citrus trees in the shadow of the Vesuvius.

1st Day: Tour start, Bari Group arrives in Bari and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Alberobello, Castellana Caves Breakfast at the hotel and depart for the Castellana Caves. We will take a walk in the fantastic underground world of the Castellana Caves and experience a thousand year old magic. Lunch. In the afternoon we will move to Alberobello, a picturesque rural town famous for its trulli which form the charateristic architectural motif of this town. We will visit the monumental area completely covered by more than ona thousand trulli all along steep and winding alleys. We will make a stop to taste some desserts and typical rosoli. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Apulia and Campania Tour 8 days /7 nights

Bari Pompeii Sorrento Peninsula

Naples Amalfi Coast Positano

Castellana Grotte

Alberobello Ostuni Martina Franca Lecce Otranto

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3rd Day: Lecce, Otranto Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Lecce, a splendid city of art. Our itinerary starts at Porta Napoli and continues along the evocative Via Palmieri which is full of noble palaces, Piazza Duomo, Saint Orontius Square, the Church of the Holy Cross and ends at the workshop of a paper -mache master. Lunch. The tour continues with Otranto,the old part of the city mostly held within walls dominated by its mighty Castle. The most important monument of the city is the Cathedral and its mosaic pavements are also very interesting.

Another important building is the small St. Peter’s Basilica with its splendid Byzantine frescoes. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Martina Franca, Ostuni Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Martina Franca, a famous Baroque town. Our itinerary starts at Porta di S. Stefano and then continues to Ducal Palace and the Collegiata di S. Martino. Lunch. In the afternoon we will transfer to Ostuni, the “White City”. It is a peaceful and quiet oasis which becomes lively in the evening with its open air bars lining the alleys. The town is located on the top of a hill where we will also find the only building which is not white: the late-Romantic Cathedral. Our tour starts from Porta Nuova and continues along the small streets passing by a panoramic terrace, continuing with S. Giacomo in Compostella, the House of Music, the Monacelle Church, the Cathedral and the Guglia di S. Oronzo. In the afternoon we will depart for Campania. Accomodation in hotel

in Sorrento Peninsula, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Naples Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Naples. We will start from Piazza del Gesù and take a walk through the historic centre named “Spaccanapoli” and will visit the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, the Chiostro di Santa Chiara and the mighty structure of Chiesa di San Domenico Maggiore. We will make a stop to enjoy the vista of the wonderful buildings and the unique masterpieces housed in the enigmatic San Severo Chapel. Passing by the university area we will reach the characteristic neighbourhood of San Gregorio Armeno with its unique workshops, famous for their nativity scenes’ production. Lunch. In the afternoon after have enjoyed this city’s beauties under the sunlight, we will delve into its depths sharing an experience which has been present since the Roman era and which still remains preserved for posterity to this day: “Napoli Sotterranea”.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Amalfi Coast We will meet our guide and depart for Amalfi Coast. We will take a walk through the beauties of the world’s most fascinating coast where colours seem to be unchanged over time and where there is no other season except for the spring with its yellow, orange and green of the citrus trees and Mediterranean vineyards. We will stop at the Positano belvedere to enjoy the beautiful view. We will continue passing by Praiano and Conca dei Marini.

We will arrive in Amalfi and visit the famous Maritime Republic with its majestic Duomo of St. Andrew. Lunch. Free time. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Pompeii Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Pompeii.

We will visit the archaeological ruins of this Roman city sealed for centuries by mud, lapilluses and Vesuvius’ ashes. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Sorrento and visit this very beautiful tourist town which became internationally famous over the years. We will have a local dinner enjoying a show in a typical restaurant. Return to the hotel and overnight stay.

8th Day: Sorrento Peninsula, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

We are in Calabria where medieval towns and blooming nature remind us of its ancient splendour. We will move from the signs of religious fervour to the magnificent natural sights, from the prehistoric, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Norman heritage to the exquisite hospitality of its people.

1st Day: Tour start, Cosenza Group arrive in Cosenza and transfers to hotel.

Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel.

Dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Cosenza, Paola Breakfast at the hotel and visit to the historic centre of Cosenza. This city lies sweetly on seven hills and has very old origins. Our visit starts with a walk along Corso Telesio to the Duomo consecrated to the Virgin of Pilerio whose origins date back to the XI century. We will continue our tour discovering the other buildings which embellish the historic centre: the National Library, the abbeys of San Gaetano and San Domenico and the Arnone Palace housing the National Gallery. We will visit the MAB in the modern part of the city which houses precious art sculptures by famous artists such as De Chirico, Dalì, Manzù. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Paola to visit the Shrine of St. Francis of Paola, Calabria’s patron saint’s spiritual centre and a delightful town overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Cosenza, Morano, Altomonte Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Morano Calabro, named, together with Altomonte, as one of the most beautiful towns in Italy by the “I Borghi più belli d’Italia“ association which selects the most interesting towns in Italy for art and culture.

The grace of Morano can be seen in the delicate combination of art and natural beauties: stony arches, towers, buttresses and houses attached to each other marrying the majesty of the sorrounding mountains creating a unique landscape.

We will tour the old town. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will transfer to Altomonte, a small town perched on the mountain full of alleys and steps around the Our Lady of Consolation Church, the ultimate example of the Gothic-Angevin art in Calabria. The tour continues through the old town and Museo della Civiltà Contadina. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Rossano, Sibari Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Rossano. The group will tour the old town with its rich Byzantine examples and visit the Museo Diocesano which safeguards the famous Codex Purpureus, a VI century Book of Gospels written in Greek. We will make a stop at the museum “Amarelli”, an old licorice company. The group will transfer to Sibari.

Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit to the Archaeological Park of Sibarys which is located on the Ionian coast and is the area where the great “polis” of Sibari rose, grew, expanded and finally declined. After the decline of the Greek city, in different ages and partly overlying its ruins, at first the hellenic town of Thurii and afterwards the Roman town of Copia were founded here. This exceptional stratification makes Sibari one of the most extensive and important sites of the Mediterranean region. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Tropea, Pizzo, Siderno Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Tropea, one of the most evocative and famous destinations in Calabria with its historic centre full of seventheighteenth century urban structures, typical for its narrow streets, fascinating glimpses and unforgettable sea views. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit Pizzo Calabro and stop at Piazza della Repubblica where we will taste the famous “Tartufo di Pizzo” ice-cream while enjoying a view of the severe castle, the famous site of the death of Joachim Murat. The small Church of Madonna di Piedigrotta is an interesting sight as it is built entirely in tuff stone. The group will depart for Siderno.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Gerace, Locri, Stilo Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Gerace, one of the most beautiful and historically rich medieval centres in Calabria and in Italy which houses still today a fortress defined as “Monumental City”. The historic centre is rich in houses and potters’workshops directly escavated from the rock, in churches and old palaces built during the many reigns which ruled in this very ancient part of Calabria. Lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the archaeological area of Locri Epizefiri which is located in the sacred area of Marasà. The tour continues with a visit to the superb Cattolica di Stilo, a small Greek-Byzantine temple built in the X century. The Cattolica was the first and most important parish church of Stilo’s Universitas and remained so until approx. 1600. Today it is a rare and extraordinary example of Byzantine art.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Reggio Calabria, Scilla Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Reggio Calabria. We will visit the National Archaeological Museum which houses the Riace Bronzes. We will then take a walk along the promenade and then visit the Duomo. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Scilla, one of the most beautiful and charateristic maritime medieval towns in Italy located on the Tyrrhenian Sea and we will visit the Aspromonte’s slopes to enjoy a spectacular view over the Strait of Messina and Aeolian Islands. This coastline owes its nickname “Purple Coast” to the colour of the shades covering the crystal clear sea at the sunset . The group will visit Chianalea, a historic fishing village which literally lies on the water and has only one long narrow jasmine scented street which leads to the houses perched on the rocks and is swept by the Tyrrhenian Sea during the winter storms.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Siderno, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Calabria Tour 8 days /7 nights

Sibari Rossano

Altomonte Paola Cosenza

Tropea

Scilla

Pizzo

Stilo Siderno Locri Reggio Calabria Gerace

ITINERARIES FOR GROUPS

The sombre beauty of Gallura, the solemnity of Barbagia and Gennargentu. Old traditions between myth and history.

From Alghero to Cagliari, from Nuoro to Olbia. Sardinia is an island continent, so close and still so different.

1st Day: Tour start, Olbia Group arrives in Olbia and transfers to hotel. Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Santa Teresa di Gallura, Castelsardo, Alghero Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Santa Teresa di Gallura, a small city with very old Nuragic and Roman origins. The city faces the Strait of Bonifacio, one of the most beautiful Mediterranean coasts. We will take a walk through the city centre up to the Spanish Tower of Longonsardo.

We will continue our tour to Castelsardo, a typical small town perched on a promontory overlooking the sea. We will visit the Cathedral of St. Antonio Abate and the fortified castle. Lunch. The tour continues to Alghero where we will meet our guide and visit the city. Alghero’s history is hidden in the cobblestone pavements of its streets, in the facades of its buildings, in windows and gates, a Catalan history contained in its centuries old walls.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Sardinia Tour 8 days /7 nights Santa Teresa di Gallura

La Maddalena Porto Cervo

Stintino

Olbia

Alghero Nuoro Tharros

Fonni

Barumini Cagliari

76 | 77

3rd Day: Alghero, Stintino Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Neptune’s Grotto. It is a natural jewel, one of the most fascinating in the Mediterranean area, a true geologic wonder accessed via sea or through the Cabirol Stair with approx. 660 steps escavated on a side of Capo Caccia promontory.

Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Stintino, a maritime town surrounded by wonderful beaches, the most famous of which is “Pelosa”, a pristine beach facing Asinara Island.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Tharros, Barumini, Cagliari Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Tharros, an archaeological site located in the isthmus of Capo San Marco which has a wonderful view over Oristano’s Bay. Founded by the Phoenicians in the VIII century B.C. it was a prosperous centre of traffic and trade. The tour continues with a visit to the Santa Giusta Cathedral, one of the main Romanesque churches in Sardinia. We will make a short stop to take some pictures and we will continue to the Nuraghe centre of Barumini. The area houses an impressive range of nuraghe built at different times and a village of

wide huts which grew around it over the centuries. Lunch. The group will depart for Cagliari. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Cagliari, Santa Cristina, Fonni Breakfast at the hotel and Cagliari tour. We will visit the National Archaelogical Museum hosting bronze nuraghe statuettes and statues from the Roman era. The tour continues with a visit to the historic centre with its St. Mary Cathedral and Quartiere Castello which is located on high ground surrounded by Pisa walls. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Barbagia. During the journey we will visit the archaeological area of Santa Cristina with its sacred well from the nuraghe era, the oldest and most representative well of the island. We will arrive in Fonni in the evening and have a traditional dinner in a typical restaurant. Accomodation in hotel and overnight stay.

6th Day: Fonni, Orgosolo, Nuoro, Olbia Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Orgosolo which is located in the heart of Barbagia del Supramonte. This small town is known for its murales which are painted on the facades of the houses and on the rocks around the town and have social, artistic and political themes. Lunch.

We will depart for Nuoro in the afternoon and will visit the Etnographic Museum which houses traditional clothing, carnival masks of Barbagia, carpets, bread and desserts. The Grazia Deledda Museum is particularly interesting for literature lovers. Documents and objects which belonged to the writer, who won the Nobel prize in 1926, are kept here still intact. We will transfer to Olbia.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Olbia, La Maddalena, Costa Smeralda Breakfast at the hotel and depart for an excursion to La Maddalena, an archipelago famous for its crystal clear waters located between Gallura’s coasts and the Strait of Bonifacio. We will have a panoramic tour by bus and we will arrive to Caprera Island, the last house of Giuseppe Garibaldi. We will visit the museum and his grave. Lunch. We will depart for Costa Smeralda in the afternoon to visit the exclusive Porto Cervo, founded in the 1960 by Prince Aga Khan. Return to the hotel in Olbia, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Olbia, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

ITALY AND ITS REGIONS

A kaleidoscope of cultures in a magical land with a thousand years old history where successive Greek, Roman, Arab and Norman civilizations left their mark. From Palermo to Monreale, from the Valley of the Temples to Taormina’s views. Art, sea, nature: everything is extraordinary in Sicily.

1st Day: Tour start, Palermo Group arrives in Palermo and transfers to hotel.

Free time for a first city tour. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

2nd Day: Palermo, Monreale Breakfast at the hotel and tour of Palermo and Monreale. Palermo has the biggest historic centre in Italy with a very rich 27 century old history and heritage. The group will visit the city travelling its sacred axis from East to West walking along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, stopping at Piazza Marina and proceeding to the seat of inquisition, Quattro Canti, Piazza Pretoria with its Fontana Toscana, the Martorana Norman Complex, the Cathedral with the royal and imperial tombs and its treasure. The tour continues to the Royal Palace with its magnificent Porta Nuova and ends in the Palatine Chapel. Lunch. The group will depart for Monreale, a must-see destination for its Norman Cathedral housing the world biggest Byzantine collection of gold mosaics. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

3rd Day: Erice, Selinunte, Agrigento Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Erice. This small town is a wonderful summary of art, history and landscape conserving intact its medieval centre, perfectly integrating with the mount morphology and harmoniously merging with the splendind surrounding nature. The tour will continue with a visit to Selinute. Lunch. In the afternoon the group will visit the archaelogical areas paying special attention to the Eastern hill where the three main temples are located.

The group will then depart for Agrigento. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

4th Day: Agrigento, Piazza Armerina, Acireale Breakfast at the hotel and visit to the Valley of the Temples. This is one of the main archaeological sites of the Mediterranean area, surrounded by a rural landscape of rare beauty hosting hundred year old olive and almond trees. Lunch. The tour will continue with a visit to the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, a wonderful country house which owes its charm to the enchanting mosaics which are considered the most beautiful and best conserved of their kind. At the end of the visit we will move to Acireale. Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

5th Day: Siracusa, Catania Breakfast at the hotel and depart for Siracusa.

This city’s 3000 years of history is visible in the innumerable monuments, archaelogical sites and museums. We will visit the Archaelogical Park in which we will admire the Roman Amphitheatre, Hiero’s Ara, the Greek Theatre, the Paradise Latomia, the Cordari Grotto and the Orecchio di Dioniso (“Ear of Dionysius). We will visit Ortigia Island, the historic centre of the city. Lunch. In the afternoon we will depart for Catania and we will visit the city. It is a metropolis facing the Ionian Sea and is dominated by Mount Etna. It has retained the charm of its past but it has been also able to renew itself in recent years years driving the whole Sicily from a creative point of view.

Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

6th Day: Etna, Taormina Breakfast at the hotel and depart for a Mount Etna excursion, the tallest volcano in Europe. The group will climb up to Crateri Silvestri at 1800 m. and will have free time to continue climbing individually on off-road vehicles up to the craters at 3000 m.

Lunch. In the afternoon the tour continues with a visit of Taormina with its Greek Theatre which was built in a scenic position to ensure a natural backdrop to the drama and musical plays, the Villa Comunale, the green lung of the city due to its blooming vegetation made of palms, fat plants and a great quantity of flowers. Finally the tour will end at Piazza IX Aprile known as the exclusive square in Taormina from where you may enjoy a wonderful view. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

7th Day: Cefalù, Palermo Breakfast and depart for Cefalù. We will have a panoramic view of this small town with its little pictureque harbour and the splendid Cathedral, one of the most interesting medieval monuments on the island, an example of the power of the House of Altavilla. Lunch. Depart for Palermo.

Accomodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

8th Day: Palermo, Departure Breakfast at the hotel, free time and departure.

Sicily Tour 8 days /7 nights

Monreale Erice

Palermo

Cefalù Etna

Selinunte

Taormina Acireale Catania

Agrigento Siracusa

BOUTIQUE SPA

BOUTIQUE SPA

BOUTIQUE SPA

BOUTIQUE SPA

BOUTIQUE SPA

BOUTIQUE SPA

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS I. PREMISE: DEFINITION OF PACKAGE TOUR Given that: a) The organiser and the seller of the tour package, to whom the end user is directed, shall own the administrative authorization for their services; b)The consumer is entitled to receive a copy of the sales contract of the tourist package (in accordance with Art. 85 of the “Consumer Code”), which is essential to apply for the Guarantee Fund under Art. 21 of these General Terms and Conditions; The definition of a travel package (Art. 84 “Consumer Code”) is as follows: tourist packages are subject to travel, holidays and “all inclusive” tours, resulting from the combination of at least two of the following elements, sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price, and longer than 24 hours or covering a period of time including at least one night: a)Transportation; b)Accomodation; c)Tourist services not included in transportation and accomodation (omitted) which are significant parts of the “holiday package”.

II. LEGISLATIVE SOURCES The sale of the package, whose object is to provide services in Italy and abroad , will be governed by Law No. 1084 of 27/12/1977 ratifying and implementing the International Convention on Travel Contracts (CTV) signed in Brussels on 23.4.1970 as applicable and by the Consumer Code.

III. RESERVATIONS Room availability and possible options will be granted upon written request and must only be effective upon receipt of written confirmation by Gialpi T.O. IV. PAYMENTS Reservations will be valid only if, upon confirmation of the trip, they are followed by an immediate down payment of 25% of the total amount for the services required. The balance must be received no later than 30 days before the departure date. For reservations confirmed within 30 days prior to departure, payment of the full cost is required in advance. Failure to receive payment of a deposit and/or a balance may constitute the termination clause with regard to the booking of services by GIALPI T.O. V. WAIVERS In case of cancellations to services booked, GIALPI T.O. will apply the penalties listed below, in addition to fees and expenses incurred by the cancellation of services: •20 % of the total cost for cancellations reaching GIALPI T.O. up to 30 days prior to the use of reserved services; •30 % of the total cost for cancellations reaching GIALPI T.O. up to 21 days prior to the use of reserved services; •50 % of the total cost for cancellations reaching GIALPI

T.O. up to 15 days prior to the use of reserved services; •75 % of the total cost for cancellations reaching GIALPI T.O. up to 9 days prior to the use of reserved services; •100 % of the total cost for cancellations reaching GIALPI T.O. up to 8 days prior to the use of reserved services; No refund after such revocations. For groups travelling by airplane, cancellations may change according to the airline’s requests.

VI. VARIATIONS It is recognised that GIALPI T.O. has the right to substitute hotels and/or destinations with others of similar characteristics for operational or other needs which have arisen. In case the Agency refuses Gialpi T.O.’s replacement proposal, the rejection shall be sent in writing within 2 working days after the receipt of the proposal.

Gialpi T.O. shall in this case refund only the payments made.

VII. NTERRUPTION OF STAY In case the customer interrupts the stay, no refund will be paid unless the customer is able to present a clear and specific statement by the hotel management and service providers, to consent to a refund for unused services.

This procedure is required and GIALPI T.O. will reimburse only the amount authorized by the Hotel and its suppliers, less any agency fee.

VIII. COMPLAINTS Any failure in the contract must be contested by the traveller without delay so that GIALPI T.O., or its local representative, may promptly attempt to rectify. Any written complaint must be sent, under penalty of forfeiture, by registered mail no later than 10 working days from the date of return to the place of departure.

IX. BAGGAGE Luggage travels at the risk of the participants, and GIALPI T.O. may, under no circumstances, be held liable for any loss or damage unless specific insurance agreements have been signed [optional] X. CHANGE OR CANCELLATION OF THE HOLIDAY PACKAGE BEFORE DEPARTURE In case the organizer or seller needs to significantly modify one or more elements of the contract before departure, it shall immediately notify the consumer in written form, stating the sort of change and the consequent price variation. If the consumer does not accept the change under clause 1, he/she will have the right to be refunded any monies already paid or to benefit from a replacement offer of a holiday package under clauses 2 and 3 of section 8. The consumer has the above stated rights also in case of cancellation due to the package not attracting the minimum viable number of participants indicated in the Catalogue or in the out of Catalogue Program, or in

the case of an unpredictable event or major majeure affecting the holiday package. In the case of a cancellation not resulting from force majeure, unpredictable events or not having achieved the minimum number of participants, as well as in the case of rejection of the alternative holiday package, the organizer who cancels (section 33 lett. and “Consumer Code”) will refund the consumer double the price he/she paid which the organizer cashed in through the travel agent. The refunded sum will never exceed double the amount which the consumer would be liable on the same date as provided under section 8, clause 4 in case he/she cancels.

XI. TERMINATION BY THE CONSUMER The consumer can terminate the contract without paying any fines in the following cases: · a price increase under section 6. which is above 10%; · a significant change of one or more elements of the contract which can objectively be considered essential in order to use the fully arranged holiday package and in case of refusal of the alternative package’s proposal made by the organizer after the contract’s conclusion and before the departure date. In the above cases the consumer has the right to; -use an alternative holiday package without an additional charge or benefitting from the restitution of the price difference in case the second package is cheaper than the first one; -be refunded only the amount already paid. Such refund shall be made within seven working days from the moment of the fund’s request. The consumer shall notify its decision (of accepting the change or of refusing it) within two working days from the moment he/she received a notification of increase or change. In case of missing clear communication within the above terms, the organizer’s proposal shall be considered accepted. The consumer who terminates the contract before the departure outside of the circumstances listed under the first clause shall pay, independently of the down payment described in section 5/clause 1, the individual cost of the managed procedure and the fine as indicated in the technical section of the Catalogue or out of Catalogue Program or customized journey.

XII. CHANGES AFTER DEPARTURE If, after departure, the organiser is unable to provide for any reason, except for a fact attributable to the consumer, an essential part of the services included in the contract, the organiser will provide alternative solutions, at no extra cost to the customer and, if the services provided are of lower value than those stipulated, repay an amount equal to such difference. If it is not possible to make such arrangements, or the solution offered by the organizer is refused by the consumer for serious and justified reasons, the organizer will provide - at no extra cost - a means of transport equivalent to that original-

SCHEDA TECNICA: Comunicato alla regione Campania in data 02/03/2015. Organizzazione tecnica Gialpi di Irtur S.u.r.l Sede legale: Via Gabriele Speranza 8 - Avellino Sede Operativa: Via dei Mugnai 2, 80053 - Castellammare di Stabia (Napoli).

Opuscolo pubblicitario non in vendita, stampe propagandistiche. Art Direction e disegno grafico: QuestionMark.it Foto: iStock photos.

Gialpi T.O. - Via dei Mugnai 2, 80053 - Castellammare di Stabia (Napoli) - Telefono +39.081.8724372 - Fax +39.081.8726628 - Email: info@gialpitravel.com

ly planned to return to their departure or at any other agreed place, according to the availability of the means and places available and will compensate for the difference between the cost of benefits provided and the services performed up to the time of anticipated return.

XIII. SUBSTITUTE TRAVELER a. A customer may be substituted by another person provided that: the organizer is informed in writing at least 4 working days before the date fixed for the departure, receiving information about the identity of the transferee; b. The substitute meets all the conditions for the use of the service (pursuant to Art. 89 of the Consumer Code) and in particular the requirements for passports, visas, health certificates; c.The transferee must reimburse the operator any extra costs incurred for the replacement to the extent that will be quantified before the transfer. The transferor and the transferee are jointly and severally liable for payment of the balance due and the amounts referred to in subparagraph c) of this article. Further terms and conditions of substitution are indicated in the data sheet.

XIV OBLIGATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS Participants must have their own individual passport or other valid document for all countries to be visited, as well as visas and transit and health certificates that may be required. They must also observe the rules of normal prudence and diligence and to those specifications which are in force in the countries to be visited, to all the information provided by the organizer, as well as regulations and administrative or legislative provisions relating to the package. Participants will be liable for all damages that the organizer may suffer because of their failure to fulfil the above obligations. The consumer must provide the organizer with all documents, information and evidence in their possession relevant to the exercise of the right of subrogation against third parties responsible for the damage and they are responsible to the organizer for injury caused to the right of subrogation. The consumer must also inform the organizer in writing, at the time of booking, special personal requests that may be the subject of specific agreements on the travel arrangements, provided that it is possible to implement such requests.

XV. HOTEL CLASSIFICATION The official classification of hotels is provided in the catalogue or other informative material based on the explicit and formal indications of competent authorities from the country where the service is provided. In absence of official classifications recognized by competent public authorities of member countries of the EU where the service is provided, the organizer reserves the right to provide in the catalogue or brochure a description of the accommodation, such as to permit an

evaluation and subsequent acceptance of the same part by the consumer.

XVI. REGIME OF RESPONSIBILITY The organizer is liable for damages caused to the consumer due to total or partial performance of the contract, whether these are performed by him or by third party service providers, unless he proves that the event was caused by the customer (including initiatives taken by himself during the execution of tourist services) or by circumstances not connected with the provision of services under the contract, by accident, force majeure, or by circumstances that the organizer could not, according to professional diligence, reasonably foresee or solve. The seller, from whom the reservation of the package was procured, is not liable under any circumstances for the obligations arising from travel, but it is responsible for the obligations arising from his role as intermediary and the limits for such responsibility under the material rules in force.

XVII. LIMITS OF COMPENSATION Compensation for personal injury can not in any event exceed the limits set by international conventions which are in effect in Italy and the European Union in relation to the services whose non-fulfilment has determined liability. In any case the compensation limit can not exceed the amount of 50,000 gold Francs Germinal for damage to people, 2,000 gold Francs Germinal for damage to property, 5000 gold Francs Germinal for any other damage (art . 13 No. 2 CTV ).

XVIII. OBLIGATION OF ASSISTANCE The organizer is required to lend such assistance to the consumer as imposed by the criterion of professional diligence exclusively with reference to its obligations required by law or contract. The organizer and the seller are exempt from their responsibilities (Art. 13 and 14 of these General Terms and Conditions) when the failure or improper performance of the contract is attributable to the consumer or is dependent on a third party, to an unforeseeable or unavoidable circumstance, or by a fortuitous event or force majeure.

XIX. CLAIMS AND COMPLAINTS Any failure in the contract must be contested by the consumer without delay so that the organizer, its local representative or the guide may affect immediate remedy. The consumer must - on pain of forfeiture - also make a complaint by sending a registered letter, with return receipt, to the organizer or seller, no later than ten working days from the date of return to the point of departure.

XX. INSURANCE AGAINST COSTS OF CANCELLATION AND RETURN If not expressly included in the price, it is possible and advisable to enter into, when booking at the offices of

the organizer or the seller, special insurance policies against expenses deriving from the cancellation of the package, accidents and luggage. It will also be possible to enter into a service contract covering costs of repatriation in case of accident or illness.

XXI. GUARANTEE FUND The Directorate General for Tourism of the Ministry of Industry established the National Guarantee Fund which consumers may contact (under Art.100 of the Consumer Code), in the event of insolvency or bankruptcy of the seller or organizer, for the protection of the following: a) refund of the price paid; b) repatriation in case of travel abroad.

The fund must also provide immediate economic resources in the event of forced return of tourists from non-EU countries whether or not this circumstance is due to the organizer. The modalities of the Fund are established by the Prime Ministerial Decree of 23/07/99 n. 349 Official Gazette n. 249 of 12/10/1999.

XXII. INSURANCE To ensure the guarantee for the proper fulfilment of obligations to its customers, GIALPI T.O. has stipulated a specific insurance policy N ° K000079164945 with Lloyd Adriatico.

XXIII. JURISDICTION Any complaints and/or disputes will be referred to the Court of Torre Annunziata Sec. Detached in Castellammare di Stabia.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT SALE OF SINGLE SERVICES A) REGULATORY PROVISIONS The contracts for the supply of transport only, accommodation or any other separate tourist service can not be configured as organization of a trip or tourist package, they are governed by the following provisions of the CTV: Art. 1, 3 and 6; Art. 17 to 23; Art. 24 to 31, regarding the provisions other than those relating to the organization contract and other agreements concerning the sale of a single service contract.

B) CONTRACT CONDITIONS These contracts are also subject to the following clauses of the general terms and conditions of sale of packages above: Art. 4/1 second paragraph; Art. 5; Art. 7; Art. 8; Art. 9; Art. 10/1 second paragraph; Art. 11; Art. 15; Art. 17. The application of these clauses does not determine the configuration of the related contracts as a package tour. The terminology of the cited clauses relative to the tourist package contract (organizer, travel etc.) are understood with reference to the corresponding elements of the sale contract of single tourist services (seller, accommodation, etc.).

GROUP TRAVEL SERVICE incoming@gialpitravel.com HEAD OFFICE NAPLES

Phone +39 081 8724372 BRANCH OFFICE ROME

Phone +39 06 6892323 www.gialpitravel.com