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DAY 01: BEGINNING OUR PILGRIMAGE Depart North America via jet service enroute to Rome, Italy. Meals will be served in flight.
DAY 02: ROME, THE ETERNAL CITY Upon arrival in Rome, you will be met by our representative and assisted to your motorcoach. This afternoon visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. The balance of the day is at leisure. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
DAY 03: ROME This morning we start at Piazza Venezia. Visit Santa Maria sopra Minerva (tomb of St. Catherine). Visit the Pantheon. Walk to Trevi Fountain and then to the Spanish Steps. Time will be allowed to stroll in Villa Borghese or personal shopping with a view of Rome from Pinicio. This afternoon we will see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Drusus, the Chapel "O'Domine Quo Vadis?", the remains of imperial tombs, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, and the Catacombs of Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution.
DAY 04: ROME After breakfast drive to Vatican City to visit St. Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter was martyred. The largest religious temple in the world, St. Peter's has housed 264 popes. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, where pilgrims come from around the world, St. Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. View historical treasures such as a piece of the True Cross, the lance that pierced Christ's side, and numerous papal tombs. See Michelangelo's restored mural of the Last Judgement on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta, and four mighty piers supporting the magnificent dome. Visit the Vatican Library and Museum to see its great holdings in holy relics and works of art. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
DAY 05: ROME this morning we begin our tour of Christian Rome. Visit the other three major basilicas: St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, built after she had appeared to Pope Liberius in 358 requesting that a church be built in her honor. The shrine contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. The Basilica of St. John in Lateran, the former residence of all the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377 where five ecumenical councils have been held and which contains the remains of 4 saints. St. Paul Outside the Walls which has the remains of St. Paul under its main altar and which has many relics on display, including the chains that once bound the apostle while a prisoner in Rome. Return to your hotel.
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DAY 06: ROME / ASSISI Depart Rome this morning and drive to Assisi, birthplace of St. Francis. Visit the hilltop home of St. Francis and St. Clare. During the city tour we will visit the Basilica of St. Francis, the Church of St. Clare and St. Mary of the Angels Basilica, site of the Porziuncola, the thornless rose bush, and Carceri Hermitage, a series of caves where St. Francis came to meditate and pray, together with some disciples. The minute church, hollowed out of the rock, already existed when St. Francis was wont to retreat to these cells. Overnight in Assisi.
DAY 07: ASSISI / FLORENCE Depart Assisi to Florence, the Renaissance city. See the Ponte Vecchio, Giotto's Bell Tower - this 14th century Campanile rises to a height of 292 feet, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, with its great representation of Tuscan Gothic Architecture. The giant dome, designed by Bunelleschi, is decorated by an immense fresco, "The Last Judgement", by Vasari and Zuccaro. Visit the Academy of Fine Arts to see Michaelangelo's "David" and other Renaissance Masterpieces. Overnight in Florence.
DAY 08: FLORENCE / TURIN / MILAN Depart Florence this morning and drive northward to Turin to view the Shroud of Turin before proceeding to Milan for dinner and overnight.
DAY 09: MILAN This morning take a panoramic guided tour of Milan featuring such sights as La Scala, considered one of the world's finest opera houses, Il Duomo, Milan's fabulous gothic cathedral, and the Church of Maria delle Grazie to view Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, the Last Supper. The balance of the day is at leisure.
DAY 10: MILAN / NORTH AMERICA Transfer to the airport for your return flight to North America. Arrival in the afternoon local time.
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