Focus your visit in Northern Italy. Visit Venice, Ravenna, Bologna, Cremona, Como, Verona and Padova (Padua).

Following is our suggested itinerary, please note that you may extend the number of nights in each city, as well as select the hotel of your choice and choose from different sightseeing tours.

Day 1: USA - Venice
After your overnight transatlantic flight and passing through customs, you will head to the center of Venice according to the type of transfer chosen. Once in the city, you will check into the hotel selected and have the rest of the day free to explore the capital of the region of Venetia. What was one of the most important republics on the Mediterranean is today one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. From all epochs of its long history, the city has conserved buildings of formidable beauty, among them innumerable churches and palaces. Today, many of the city?s palaces remain in private hands, but an important percentage are open to the public as exposition halls and museums. Extensive commerce with the most exotic places towards the end of the Middle Ages sensitized the Venetians to aesthetics little seen and integrated into traditional Western tastes. This aesthetic sensitivity was transformed into the spectacular beauty of this canal-laced city. Gondola rides at sunset and a romantic candlelight dinner in a fine restaurant are, undoubtedly, moments that will dwell forever in the mind of any visitor. Overnight stay.
Day 2: Venice - Ferrara - Ravenna
Breakfast. After picking up your rental car, you will head south for a bit less than an hour, passing over the mighty Po River, to the city of Ferrara, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. Ferrara had a vigorous Jewish community during the 14th and 15th centuries, to which it owes an important part of its present-day splendor. Also, here, in the 16th century, Ludovico Ariosto wrote one of the most important literary works in the Italian language, Orlando Furioso. A stroll about the medieval streets, cathedral and quiet plazas will fully justify a stop at this lovely city. Ravenna, still within the Emilia-Romagna, is only a few miles away. After checking into the hotel selected, you will have the afternoon free to visit the city?s important monuments. If ever a world capital of Byzantine art were to be selected, undoubtedly, Ravenna would be one of the forerunners. Since 404 A.D., when the Emperor Honorio decided to make the city the capital of the, then decadent, Roman Empire, the Byzantines favored the city. The mosaics covering the walls and cupolas of its ecclesiastical monuments have come to represent, with the passing of the centuries, one of the most impressive displays of ancient art in existence. Magic sites such as the San Vitale Basilica, the Galla Placidia Mausoleum, are dressed in mosaics of a living color of shocking modernity despite their being over fifteen hundred years old. Overnight stay.
Day 3: Ravenna - Bologna
Breakfast. In less than an hour and without leaving the region of Emilia-Romagna, you will arrive at Bologna, the most important city of the region. Etruscan and Roman before falling to the barbarians, the city had to wait until the 12th century before recuperating its ancient splendor. But then it did so vigorously, as it?s having one of the oldest European universities, provides testimony. Today, Bologna is a formidable city with innumerable medieval buildings conserved in an ancient quarter of splendid beauty. The San Petronio Basilica and Asinelli tower, constructed in 1109 with an incredible height for its period of 328 feet, are outstanding. The Saint Domingo Church houses the tomb of the Spaniard Saint Domingo de Guzmán, founder of the Dominican Order and contemporary of Saint Francis of Assisi. After checking into the hotel selected, you will have time for a sunset stroll about the cobblestone streets, before dining in one of the city?s renowned restaurants. Overnight stay.
Day 4: Bologna - Modena - Parma - Cremona
Breakfast. A half-hour drive will bring you to the industrial capital of the region Emilia-Romagna, Modena. This vigorous city has much to offer visitors, but the most outstanding site is its fantastic cathedral, undoubtedly, the best example of Romanesque art in Italy, and which, along with the Great Plaza, and Civic Tower, has been named Humanity Patrimony Site by UNESCO. Thirty miles away is Parma, birthplace of the celebrated orchestra director, Arturo Toscanini. The historic center of this lovely city is well worth strolling about with its Renaissance palaces and churches of all styles and periods. The Romanesque cathedral and the Baptistery are outstanding, with the latter being considered by the majority of experts as the most harmonious medieval building on the Italian peninsula. An hour?s drive will bring you to Cremona, in the heart of the region of Lombardy. After you have checked into the hotel selected, we recommend a stroll about this beautiful city. From the 14th to 17th centuries, this city experienced an impressive cultural renaissance. Here was born the composer, Claudio Monteverdi, considered by many to be the creator of modern Opera. Also, from the end of the 16th century, the city?s name has been synonymous with the production of superb string musical instruments such as the Guarneri, Amati and, above all, the Stradivarius, which continue being the violins most desired by world-class soloists. The cathedral, of transitional Lombardy Romanesque-Gothic style, with its bell tower (known as the Torrazzo) of the 13th century, is obligatory for all visitors to this lovely city. Overnight stay.
Day 5: Cremona - Milan - Como
Breakfast. Milan, less than an hour?s drive away from Cremona, is the capital of Lombardy and generally recognized as the economic motor of Italy. Despite its high level of industrialization, Milan has maintained its historical center and sufficient interesting sites to justify a stop. You will want to visit the celebrated Duomo, a Gothic cathedral in white marble and with esoteric pinnacles and flying buttresses that is situated in the center of the city. The cathedral?s interior contrasts markedly with the exterior for its reclusivity and spirituality. Be sure to climb to the terraces of the cathedral, an unforgettable experience that is offered in few cathedrals in Europe. Close by, you will come upon the sober and world famous Scala Theatre. If you are an art lover, you will want to visit the Brera and Ambrosiana painting museums, which house some of the best collections in the country. After your visit in Milan, you will head towards the Lake Region. Como, some 30 miles away, is located on the shores of the lake of the same name. After checking into the hotel selected, you will want to stroll about this small city of some ninety thousand inhabitants. In addition to the architectonic and artistic charms of the city such as its cathedral and the San Abbondio Basilica (zenith of the Romanesque style), the natural beauty of the site is undoubtedly its greatest attraction. Overnight stay.
Day 6: Como - Garda Lake - Sirmione - Verona.
Breakfast. You will be on swift Italian expressways for the greater part of the 100 miles that separates Como from Sirmoine. The latter is on the shores of Lake Garda, which is not only the largest in the country but also considered it?s most beautiful. The solid wall of the nearby Dolomite Mountains protects the region of the lake from cold north winds and provides a microclimate that is more typical of the Mediterranean coast. Sirmoine is one of the most beautiful enclaves on the lake. It is situated on a peninsula and the entire village seems to revolve around the 13th century fortress known as the Rocca Sacaligera. In addition to its other monuments, such as the Santa Maria Maggiore church and the archeological excavations of the nearby Roman village of the poet Catullus, what undoubtedly will remain in your memory after visiting this enclave are the loveliness of the panoramic views of the lake and the village?s natural setting. After you leave Sirmoine, less than an hour?s drive will put you in Verona. After you have checked into the hotel selected, we recommend you stroll about the city?s ancient quarter. This city of Romeo and Juliet has a great deal to offer visitors. You might begin with the Piazza delle Erbe, set over a Roman forum from where justice was served and laws decreed. Next, but by no means least is that which has given the city world renowned, its celebrated Roman Arena, an amphitheater with capacity for 25,000 spectators, which in its day was one of the largest in the Empire. Today, during the summer, it is used as site for the city?s famed Opera festival. From the upper row, on a clear day, you can see the Alps in the distance. In addition to monuments, Verona also offers a wide selection of restaurants and an animated nightlife. Overnight stay.
Day 7: Verona - Padova (Padua)
Breakfast. You can take advantage of the first part of the morning to complete, if you wish, your visit to the sites of Verona. Afterwards, you will drive towards Padova, some sixty miles away, and again in the region of Venetia. Although the city was one of the most prosperous of Imperial Rome, little remains of the ancient Roman city, Patavium. From the beginning of the 15th century until the end of the 18th, when Napoleon abolished the Venetian Constitution, the city belonged to the Venetian Republic. This historical and political affiliation explains much of the similarities that exist in the artistic realm between these two cities. In the Capilla degli Scrovegni, of 1303, you should not miss the series of 39 frescos painted by the genius Giotto, which narrate the lives of Saint Ann and Saint Joachim, as well as that of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. In the nearby Iglesia degli Eremitani, of the 13th century, are found fragments of frescos painted by Andrea Mantegna. But what attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to this city is, above all else, the San Antonio Basilica. In addition to the majesty of the structure itself, raised in the traditional Romanesque-Gothic style between 1232 and 1300, and which brings to mind the San Marcos Basilica of neighboring Venice, there are superb works of art in its interior such as the Capilla del Santo, where the remains of Saint Anthony are buried. Although born in Lisbon under the name Fernando de Bulloes, this Portuguese came to be venerated in the Christian world as Saint Anthony of Padova. After checking into the hotel selected, you will have the evening hours to stroll about the city`s streets, animated by local university students. Overnight stay.
Day 8: Padova - Venice
Breakfast. You can either spend more time in Padova or immediately drive the scarcely 30 miles that separate the city from Venice. If you opt for Venice, there is still much to see. You might want to visit the Galleria dell`Accademia, where some of the master works of the so-called Venetian School are on display, if you previously did not have time to do so. To gain memorable vistas of the city and see how the city?s infinity of canals of all sizes, interconnect, we recommend you climb the Campanile (bell tower) of the Plaza de San Marcos. For those who want an idea of the majesty and luxury of those who governed the city in past periods, a visit to the Doge?s Palace will be obligatory. This palace, symbol of power and glory in the city, at one point also served as prison for dissidents and spies. Nevertheless, our recommendation for those who prefer a more leisurely pace is a stroll about the shaded streets that border picturesque canals, stopping now and then to sample a ?cicheti? as locals call an appetizer with a fine glass of wine. Without doubt, the best way to take the pulse of this magical city where time seems to have stood still. Overnight stay.
Day 9: Venice - USA
Breakfast. Today you will transfer to the airport with sufficient time to return your rental car and check in for your flight back to the United States. End of our services.