Make your way to your local airport, where you will board your overnight flight(s). Your meals will be served on board.

Welcome to Italy! Upon arrival at Rome airport, collect your luggage in the baggage claim area, and continue to the Arrivals Hall, where you will be greeted by a tour escort and/or driver. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon and then attend Mass at a local church, followed by a delicious Italian dinner and restful overnight.

This morning we attend the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square or at the Audience Hall. The Audience is celebrated each Wednesday by His Holiness, Pope Francis (pending the papal schedule). Enjoy some free time and lunch on your own. This afternoon, visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. The next stop is the oldest of the four major Basilicas in Rome, the Archbasilica of St. John the Lateran, the cathedral church and seat of the Bishop of Rome. Cross the street to the very steps that lead up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem which Jesus climbed on His way to trial during his Passion. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

You’ll begin the day at the Vatican Museums, where you can see the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and culminating in a visit to the Sistine Chapel. Then you will tour St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to view Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture and pray at the tombs of Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning after Mass we will visit the Catacombs in Rome. The world’s largest underground burial of its ancient Christian community. After we will visit the Basilica of St. Paul, outside the walls. Originally founded by Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century, this Basilica is the burial place of Saint Paul the Apostle. Visit the Roman Catacombs, so important to the early Christians, and then enjoy a walking tour of downtown Rome. The rest of your day is free to explore. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

After breakfast, depart Rome and enjoy the scenic route to the Abbey of Monte Cassino, the principal monastery of the Benedictine Order, founded by St. Benedict around 530 A.D . Next, stop in Magnanano del Cardinale, to visit the Sanctuary of St. Philomena. Finish your day with dinner and overnight in the beautiful town of Sorrento.

This morning you’ll depart from Rome for the scenic drive down the Amalfi Coast to Sorrento. Widely considered one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world; deemed a UNESCO World Heritage site as an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape. View the Gulf of Salerno and its beautiful coastline. First stop on the Amalfi coast, Ravello. View its interesting Cathedral devoted to Pantaleone, and the Villa Rufolo, a venue for many festivals throughout the year, and magnificent gardens. Continue on to the beautiful Amalfi Cathedral consecrated to its patron, Saint Andrew. We will then journey through Praiano, where you will drive by St. Gennaro Church, to Amalfi, one of the four maritime Republics of Italy. Enjoy the landscape on your way to Sorrento, where you will enjoy dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, depart Sorrento for Naples. Upon arrival in Naples, we will make our way to the Duomo. Originally built in the 4th century as a Christian Basilica over a pagan temple, the Duomo illustrates the beauty of the French Gothic style of architecture from the High Middle Ages. Venture into the Chapel of St. Januarius – the city’s main patron saint. From there, you will have time to explore the city before gathering to board your overnight ferry to Palermo. Dinner and a trip across the Tyrrhenian Sea await you aboard the ship.

After arriving in Palermo, spend a day exploring the best of Palermo. We’ll tour through Palermo’s colorful and bustling Ballaró street market – all spiced with an evocative whiff of Africa. See the top attractions in the old town of the Sicilian capital of Palermo, including the Teatro Massimo, Cathedral, and Politeama Theater.

After breakfast, we’ll greet our driver and hop aboard our coach bound for the hill-topping town of Monreale, renowned for its Arab-flavored cathedral, blending Byzantine, Arab, Jewish, Gothic, and Norman traditions, heritage, and art. We’ll tour the cathedral’s interior of glittering, golden mosaics as well as the story-telling columns of the cloister. Return to Palermo for dinner and overnight.

Following breakfast enjoy a scenic drive along the western coast of Sicily to Trapani. From there, we will venture up to the town of Erice, “the city of 100 churches,” located atop Mount Erice. We will pause here to embrace the breathtaking views overlooking all Trapani. The day will be spent touring this wonderfully preserved medieval village, wandering down its cobbled alleys, visiting the Norman castle, and stopping in several of the over sixty catholic churches in the historic town. You will have a moment of free time in the afternoon to explore before returning to Palermo for dinner and overnight.

After an early breakfast and heartfelt farewells, your group will leave by motor coach and transfer to Palermo airport for return flights home.

*206 Tours Disclaimer:
Occasionally local religious and national holidays, weather, traffic conditions and other events may necessitate changes in the sequence of events or the missing of certain events/places. Though every effort will be made to follow the itinerary, it should be considered as an indication, rather than a contract of events and places to be visited.