DAY 1- UNITED STATES/ ROME, Depart U.S.

DAY 2- ROME
Arrive Rome. Evening walk around Piazza Navona. 3 Nights-Rome

DAY 3 - ROME
Tour of the Vatican Museums, including the Maps Gallery, the Tapestries Gallery, Raphael's Rooms, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Cathedral, and later Imperial Rome and the Colosseum. Welcome dinner. Enjoy a classic Roman meal at one of Rome's most authentic restaurants.

DAY 4- ROME
Tour of the Borghese Galleries. Afternoon free to take in special sites on your own: Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Borromini's St. Ivo.

DAY 5- ROME/ POMPEII/ SORRENTO
Full day excursion by deluxe motor coach and private escort to Pompeii. Enjoy a full day of sightseeing. Today's tour highlights the remarkable remains of temples, villas, public shops and houses and the well preserved Roman Forum. Overnight in Sorrento.

DAY 6- SORRENTO/ORVIETO/SIENA
Morning departure for Siena. On route visit Orvieto, a hill top town in Umbria. See the incomparable Signorelli frescoes. Overnight in Siena.

DAY 7- SIENA/CHIANTI/ FLORENCE Visit the School of Sienese Painting, the Cathedral, Town Hall Palace and the famous Piazza del Campo, Scenic drive into the heart of the beautiful Tuscan Region, known for its vineyards which produce the famous "Chianti" wine will bring us to Gaiole in Chianti to visit the famous Badia a Coltibuono, an 11th century Abbey, which is also a farm, a winery, and the family home of Lorenza dei Medici. Lorenza dei Medici wrote "Italy, The Beautiful Cookbook." The tour will be followed by a wine tasting. We will continue to Florence.

DAY 8- FLORENCE
This morning we will tour the Duomo, the Baptistry with its exquisite golden doors by Ghiberti. We will proceed to the Piazza Signoria; it's numerous statues make it virtually an open air museum. Here we will see the Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia della Signoria, where the Medici's once held office. Afternoon at leisure. You can visit Santa Croce and the nearby Pazzi Chapel on your own.

DAY 9- FLORENCE
Guided tour of the famous Uffizi Museum, mecca for art lovers. The museum contains the history of Italian Renaissance art from its beginnings to the 17th Century, included are works by Paolo Uccello, Fra Angelico, Piero della Francesca, and Botticelli's the "Birth of Venus." After visiting the Uffizi we will tour the Palazzo Davanzati.

DAY 10- FLORENCE
Morning guided tour of the Accademia Museum which houses Michelangelo's original statue of "David" and visit the Medici Chapels to see the Medici Tombs designed by Michelangelo, including the New Sacristy. Afternoon at leisure.

DAY 11- FLORENCE/PADUA/VENICE
On our way to Venice we will stop in Padua to visit the Scrovegni Chapel with its famous Frescoes by Giotto; the historic University and its beautiful Anatomical Theatre; and the magnificient church of Sant'Antonio di Padova. We also stop in Stra to see the grandiose Villa Pisani. Continue along the lovely Brenta River to Malcontenta to visit Palladio's Villa Foscari before we reach Venice this evening.

DAY 12- VENICE
We will visit the imposing Basilica of St. Mark, which contains magnificent Byzantine mosaics, and the Doge's Palace, which was decorated by the most famous of the Venetian artists of the 16th century: Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese. Afternoon at leisure.

DAY 13- VENICE
A day free to explore Venice on your own. Optional tour of modern art at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Farewell dinner of Venetian specialities.

DAY 14- VENICE/LOS ANGELES
Venice-US

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