Visit Rome, Siena, Florence, Bologna, Milan, Verona, Padova (Padua) and Venice.

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 - Rome
After your overnight transatlantic flight and passing through customs, you will head to the center of Rome 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 Italian capital. The Antique Quarter, although extensive, is best visited on foot. And indeed, in general, the best manner to move about this vibrant city, with it?s intermix of the new and ancient, is on foot or by public transportation. There are dozens of top quality museums, and a little investigation will quickly reveal those that are most likely to coincide with your tastes and interests. Monumental churches, Renaissance and Baroque palaces, enchanting fountains, one of a kind Roman ruins (such as the Coliseum and the Pantheon), Christian catacombs, gardens, and boulevards lined with luxury shops and restaurants to tempt your taste and pocketbook. With so many possibilities, you will be hard pressed to choose and thereby take best advantage of your visit to this mythic city. At night, all changes as skillfully placed lights transform the city?s monuments, imbuing them with a special charm and aura of mystery. Overnight stay.
Day 2: Rome - Assisi - Siena
Breakfast. After picking up your rental car, you will drive to Assisi, approximately two hours away. We recommend you immediately begin to explore this mystical city, birthplace of Saint Francis, and surely one of the most beautiful of the region of Umbria. The walled city appears to tenderly recline against the slopes of Mount Subasio. From whatever angle, the city seems to revolve around the solid presence of the Basilica of Saint Francis. This impressive and beautiful structure is composed, in reality, of two basilicas, an inferior and a superior. The former was consecrated in 1253, less than twenty years after the death of Saint Francis. The superior basilica contains the celebrated frescos of Giotto and his disciples, painted towards the end of the 13th century. For a lovely view of the city, the basilica, and the surrounding countryside, we recommend climbing to the Roca Maggiore, an almost perfect example of a 14th century medieval fortification. A little less than an hour?s drive will bring you to Siena, in the celebrated region of Tuscany. After you check into the hotel selected, you will have the afternoon free to visit the important sites of this mystical city, birthplace of the Saints, Bernard and Catherine. Gothic palaces, patriarchal mansions, Romanesque churches, all mute testimony to the splendor of the 13th and 14th centuries when the city was an independent republic. All seems to revolve around the Piazza del Campo, the neurological center of the city, and towards which all streets seem to converge. Overnight stay.
Day 3: Siena - San Gimignano - Florence
Breakfast. If you wish, you can spend the first hours of the morning to further explore Siena, or set out directly across the lovely Tuscany countryside to the village of San Gimignano, less than 25 miles away, and one of the most photographed sites in the region. This city is replete with medieval ?skyscrapers?, ancient fortress towers built by noble families not only as a means of defense but also to manifest their wealth and power. Afterwards, you will want to stroll about the city?s steep streets, and enjoy the centuries old atmosphere that prevails. A 30-mile drive will bring you to Florence, capital of Tuscany. A city of art and artists, music and gastronomy, Florence was for centuries one of the most important cities of the Western World, and while today, its economic, cultural and artistic light has dimmed somewhat from its Golden Age, it continues to be a jewel that caresses the sensibilities and illuminates the souls of those who are fortunate enough to venture there. Check in to the hotel selected for overnight stay.
Day 4: Florence - Pisa - Florence
Breakfast. Today you will have the full day free to stroll about this impressive city. Few places in the world have reunited over so many centuries, such important figures of art and culture, as has Florence. Writers such as Dante and Machiavelli; painters such as Giotto, Michelangelo, Botticelli; architects such as Alberti and Brunelleschi, all were born or lived in this city, and in their efforts to explore the possibilities of their art and knowledge, had an influence that permeates into every corner and plaza of the city. Monumental churches abound and in some, such as that of Santa Croce, are buried some of the genius previously cited. If you wish, you can wander the streets with the security that no matter where you go you will come upon innumerable treasures, but if you are an ardent art lover and hope to see, in situ, some of the works that are so often reproduced in art books, you will not want to miss the Galleria dell`accademia, the Capillas de los Medici and the Galleria degli Uffizi. During the mid afternoon, you may take a short drive to Pisa and dedicate a few hours to visiting its famous Piazza dei Miracoli (Miracle Plaza). Undoubtedly, an appropriately named plaza as it houses the Baptistery, Cathedral and celebrated Leaning Tower, which is the belfry of this religious complex, one of the most photographed and recognized sites in the world. The complex was begun in the 11th and 12th centuries and in the purity of its Romanesque style has come to find a place in all books treating that style. Afterwards you will return to Florence. Overnight stay.
Day 5: Florence - Bologna
Breakfast. You will likely want to spend the first hours of the morning further exploring this magnificent city before making the hour drive to Bologna across lovely countryside. 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 6: Bologna - Parma - Milan
Breakfast. A half-hour drive will bring you to Parma. This lovely city is birthplace of the celebrated orchestra director, Arturo Toscanini. The historic center of the city is well worth strolling about with its Renaissance palaces and churches of all styles and periods. The Romanesque cathedral and it baptistery are outstanding, with the latter being considered by the majority of experts as the most harmonious medieval building on the Italian peninsula. Afterwards, you will drive on to Milan, less than 60 miles away. The capital of Lombardy is generally recognized as the economic motor of Italy but despite its high level of industrialization, Milan has maintained its historical center and sufficient interesting sites to more than justify a visit. 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. Check into the hotel selected for overnight stay.
Day 7: Milan - Garda Lake - Sirmione - Verona
Breakfast. You will be on swift Italian expressways for the greater part of the 100 miles that separates Milan from Sirmione, on the shores of Garda Lake, which is not only the largest in the country but also considered its 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. Sirmione 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, undoubtedly, what 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 Sirmione, 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 8: 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 (Padia), some sixty miles away, and 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 Cappella 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 Chiesa 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 Cappella 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 9: 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 directly for Venice, you will not be disappointed. You might want to visit the Galleria dell`Accademia, where some of the master works of the so-called Venetian School are on display. 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 10: 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.