Depart From: USA

In Transit: Overnight flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Arrivals in Rome the following day.

Note: The visit of the Palazzo Massimo museum will require ascending two flights of stairs from street level. Once inside, there is an elevator to reach the upper floors.

Arrive To: Rome airport and clear customs, join others for transfer.

Morning: Transfer to hotel. Check-in time is afternoon. Your room might not be ready for occupancy if you arrive early morning. The group leader will be at the reception desk to assist you with safekeeping your luggage after which you can explore the area around the hotel before lunch at 12:30.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel.

Afternoon: Meet in the lobby at 4:00 pm for a program overview and orientation in the meeting room. The detailed schedule will be distributed. An expert-led visit of the collection of Roman Art at the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme follows. The museum is around the corner from the hotel. Before dinner meet your fellow Road Scholars at a Welcome Reception.

Dinner: Dinner at the hotel's rooftop restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Diana

Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner

Note: Steep and uneven steps to reach the upper levels of the Colosseum. The walk around the Roman Forum is on uneven paths and original pavement of cobble stone.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Begin to unravel the multiple layers of Roman history through the sharp insight of a professor who will set the stage for your explorations. A local expert leads the visit to the Roman Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater, built in 80 CE.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant near Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Afternoon: Guided visit continues to the Roman Forum. The forum dates back to the 7th century BCE and was the religious and civic center of the city. Later in the afternoon a classroom lecture explores the Treasures of the Vatican in preparation for the visit that you will have of a portion of the immense art collection of the Vatican.

Dinner: Dinner at a characteristic Roman trattoria.

Lodging: Hotel Diana

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Reserved entrance time at Vatican Museums diminishes the wait in line. The visit requires negotiating multiple flights of steps and walking the long corridor to the Sistine Chapel (distance is about 1/2 mile). Year round you can expect crowds; thousands of people visit the museums daily.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Expert-led visit of the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. The extraordinary works of art in the museum collection will amaze you, notable are: Roman statuary: Laocoon, Belvedere Apollo, gilded bronze Hercules, Raphael's Stanze and of course Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. If security permits, your guide will lead you out a back way which puts you at the entrance of St. Peter's Basilica, where you will see Michelangelo's Pieta' and Bernini's bronze canopy over the main altar. Coach back to the hotel.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Free Afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner at Ristorante Cotto near Piazza della Repubblica.

Lodging: Hotel Diana

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Art Treasures in the Borghese Gallery / Pantheon / Trevi Fountain / Piazza Navona

Note: To view the Borghese Gallery painting collection requires ascending 2 flights of stairs, whereas the sculpture collection is on the ground floor. Piazza Navona and the Pantheon are in the heart of Rome's wide pedestrian only area.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Coach to the Borghese Gallery, the private pleasure and reception palace of Cardinal Scipio Borghese, an avid art collector and patron of the young Bernini. On display in the Gallery are important paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Botticelli and Titian. However, most people go there to see the sculptures by Bernini which are emotionally charged, a true evocation of the Baroque.

Lunch: Coach drops off near Piazza Navona. Lunch at a restaurant just off the elegant square.

Afternoon: A local expert leads the walk in the heart of Rome to two impressive sites - the Pantheon, Roman temple built in 126 CE, and the Trevi Fountain from the Baroque period.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Lodging: Hotel Diana

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Short walk from the hotel to the train station, comfortable ride on the train, short walk to hotel and city orientation in Florence.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Check out of hotel. Your bags will be delivered to the hotel in Florence. Expert-led visit of an early Christian church with remarkable mosaics.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant near the hotel. Pick up your carry on in deposit at the hotel and head out to the station on foot.

Afternoon: Transfer to Florence by train. Travel on the train with just your carry-on bag. Check in and settle into the hotel. Late afternoon neighborhood walk to orient you to the location of ATMs, pharmacies, stores and shops. Florence is much smaller than Rome and can easily be traversed in 30 minutes. On the walk, you may pass the Duomo, the main cathedral and Palazzo Vecchio, the 13th C. city hall, still used for that purpose.

Dinner: Dinner at Ristorante Benedicta.

Lodging: Hotel Rivoli

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Leisurely walk to the Bargello museum. During the expert-led Baptistery visit, if you opt to visit the womens' gallery on the upper level, you must climb a narrow, steep and winding stair case, otherwise wait 10 min for the group to descend.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: A classroom session on Medieval Florence. Then, an art historian leads you through the Bargello museum and examines the development of sculpture from antiquity through the Renaissance with special emphasis on the works of Ghiberti, Donatello and Michelangelo. Notable works include Donatello's David and bronzes by Cellini and Giambologna.

Lunch: Lunch at Enoteca Francescovini (near the Bargello).

Afternoon: Expert-led walk to the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's statue of David is on display. Some free time late afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Lodging: Hotel Rivoli

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: An elevator for disabled visitors may be accessible at the Uffizi Gallery. There is a long flight of stairs to reach the exhibition rooms of the gallery. Expect some crowding in the museum; it is a popular destination for art afficionados.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Morning lecture on medieval and Renaissance art in preparation for the visit to the Uffizi Gallery.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Meet at the appointed time and place for the self guided visit of the Uffizi. Enter as a group but you are free to spend as much time as you wish in the museum. This is the most extensive collection of art, tracing the development from Gothic to medieval to Renaissance to Mannerist paintings in the world. You will find many recognizable masterpieces, including DaVinci's Annunciation, Botticelli's Birth of Venus and the Primavera, some Titians, Michelangelo's Holy Family, and a few Caravaggios as well as Artemisia Gentileschi. There is a coffee bar at the end of the second corridor, on top of the Loggia, with a wonderful view of the watch tower and Duomo where you can get a refreshment and rest.

Dinner: Dinner at Ristorante Giubbe Rosse in the Piazza della Repubblica.

Lodging: Hotel Rivoli

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Note: Expert-led walk to the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's statue of David is on display.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: A local expert presents The Medici, the powerful Florentine family and patron of the arts. Some free time follows for exploring the nearby Mercato Centrale where you will find merchants' carts displaying leather goods, decorated Florentine paper, souvenirs, and in the steel building, the fresh food market, selling local produce.

Lunch: Lunch at a restaurant near the mercato.

Afternoon: The field trip continues to the Baptistery of the Duomo where you will have exclusive access to the 2nd floor women's gallery to experience up close the beautiful 13th C. mosaics depicting scenes from the Bible and the last judgment.

Dinner: Imagine yourself attending dinner with Napoleon and his sister Pauline Borghese, (you will remember her from Canova's statue in the Galleria Borghese.) Her house was decorated in Imperial style in anticipation of his visit, but he did not make it. Now the Palazzo hosts a gala Renaissance dinner, with madrigal singers and musicians, court jester and dancers--all make for a lively entertaining evening. Dress attire is not required.

Lodging: Hotel Rivoli

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: High speed train to Venice, minimal walking around Venice on arrival day.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Train to Venice, short walk to the hotel. Your bags will be delivered by courier. Venice's public transportation system operates boats, called Vaporetto. All participants will be given a pass valid for the duration of the stay.

Lunch: Lunch at the hotel restaurant.

Afternoon: Learn about the History of Venice through the ages. A neighborhood walk will indicate the location of ATMs, pharmacies, stores and shops.

Dinner: Dinner at a neighborhood restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Leisurely vaporetto (public boat) ride to S. Mark's Square. The square is very often crowded. In the Accademia, there is a staircade to access the main gallery.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Travel to Piazza S. Marco on the vaporetto along Venice's famed Grand Canal. Notice the patrician palaces, with arches indicating near-Eastern influence. Some of the houses have names based on the prominent mosaic, e.g. Ca' d'Oro, the "Golden House." The ride lasts about 45 minutes. The led visits to S. Mark's Cathedral, built during the 13 C., shows Byzantine influence. There are more than 45,000 sq. ft. of mosaics adorning the church, giving the impression of streets of gold.

Lunch: Sample Venetian dishes at a trattoria.

Afternoon: On-site lecture and visit to the Accademia museum; the paintings are grouped according to period and school. It contains a great collection of art by such notables as Veronese, Veneziano, Bellini, Tintoretto and Giorgione. Not far from the Accademia is the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, during your free time you might stroll over there if you appreciate modern art.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Visiting the Doge's Palace requires climbing a few flights of stairs. The gondoliere offers assistance in getting in and out of the gondola.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Explore the colorful market of the Rialto district with a local expert.

Lunch: Lunch at Taverna San Trovaso.

Afternoon: Guided visit continues with a vaporetto ride to Piazza San Marco to visit the Ducal Palace, seat of civic and political power. Doges embellished the palace to demonstrate their wealth and importance. Admire the murals by Tintoretto and Veronese. Then, experience the city from a different point of view as you enjoy a gondola ride along the canals of Venice.

Dinner: Dinner on your own.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Note: Enjoyable boat ride to the island, minimal effort to walk around the streets of Murano.

Breakfast: Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

Morning: Vaporetto to the island of Murano for a glassblowing demonstration by master artisans. Some free time to stroll the narrow streets along the canals.

Lunch: Lunch on your own.

Afternoon: Free Afternoon. With your vaporetto pass you can easily take the boat from Murano to explore the island of Burano, whose leaning tower rivals that in Pisa. Here you can find Venetian lace and small shops where you can watch the crafters create their handiwork. Or return to the center of town.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at the hotel restaurant.

Lodging: Hotel Principe

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Note: Transfer to the airport may be by water taxi from the hotel dock. Your bags will be loaded onto and off the water taxi but at the imbarcadero there are 3 steps from the dock to the road. The walk (along a canopied path) to the terminal takes about 8 minutes. If you have trouble managing your luggage on the flat path you can use an airport cart (euro coin deposit) or engage a shuttle van that provides assistance from the imbarcadero to the terminal for a small per bag fee.

Breakfast: Breakfast at hotel; continental style for participants with early morning departures.

Morning: Departure transfer to Venice Airport.

Meals Included: Breakfast