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

Welcome to Rome, also known as “The Eternal City.” Upon landing at Rome airport, claim your baggage and proceed to the Arrivals Hall, where your tour guide and/or driver will greet you. Following check-in at the hotel, enjoy some free time to unpack, relax or explore Rome on your own. Your tour escort may suggest places to visit. Later this afternoon, your group will meet in the hotel lobby for a meet and greet and you will depart together for Mass. Following Mass, you will attend a welcome dinner. After dinner you have to opportunity to join in a walk to St. Peter’s Square for the Rosary (optional).

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). Next vist Church of St. Alphonso de Liguori. The original painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is, perhaps, the most widely recognized icon in the world. The history of the image is an interesting one…involving theft, war and visons of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This afternoon, visit 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. Holy Mass will be celebrated by our priest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, dedicated to Our Blessed Mother. This Basilica contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus. Dinner and overnight.

Today we tour St. Peter’s Basilica, built on the site where St. Peter the Apostle was martyred. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to pray at the tomb of St. John Paul II and view Michelangelo’s Pieta sculpture. Next you will visit the Vatican Museum, where you can see the Tapestry Gallery, Raphael Rooms, and Sistine Chapel. After lunch, continue down the Appian Way, one of the earliest roads built in ancient Rome to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls and the Church of Domine Quo Vadis. Dinner and overnight in Rome.

This morning, you will board the bus 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. Continue on to San Giovanni Rotondo, where St. Pio of Pietrelcina (St. Padre Pio) lived for many decades and where thousands of people have flocked in order to be closer to this great saint and to Our Lord. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.

Visit the Old Church of Our Lady of Grace, see the confessional from where St. Pio spent an innumerable number of hours listening to confessions. Next, you will board the bus and travel along the beautiful Gargano Peninsula to the Grotto of St. Michael the Archangel. Return for dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo. *Candlelight Procession – Between May and October, attend the weekly candlelight procession at the Sanctuary of St. Pio after dinner, at 9:00 pm.

After breakfast, you we leave for Assisi. On the way we stop in Lanciano for private Mass at the Church of St. Longinus- the site of a Eucharistic Miracle that occurred in the eighth century. At the time of the miracle, there was a Basilian monk, who struggled with the belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. During the time of Mass, the monk, with doubt in his voice, said the words of consecration and the bread and wine transformed into physical flesh and blood. Leave for Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. Tradition holds that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived, before it was transported several times by angels, to its current location. End the day in Assisi, hometown of St. Francis and St. Clare, with dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Tour of the Basilica of St. Francis, where you will see the tomb of St. Francis, and have the opportunity to view a series of frescoes depicting his life, along with a few of the saint’s possessions. Next you will visit the Santuario Della Spogliazione where Blessed Carlo Acutis’ tomb is, the first millennial to be declared Blessed. Continue tour by walking through this picturesque town, where St. Francis and St. Clare both followed God’s call to rebuild his church. Enjoy some free time – for additional prayer, shop and lunch. After lunch, board the bus, which will take you outside of the walls of Assisi, to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels. This Basilica is made up of two structures, both of which you will visit. The first structure is the “Porziuncola” and the second is the “Capella del Transito” which is the place where St. Francis died. Return to the hotel for dinner and a restful overnight.

This morning, you will ride through the beautiful Umbrian mountains to Orvieto. This incredible town sits on a volcanic high rock formation. Here we visit one of the most beautiful and most renowned Cathedrals in Italy. Because of its strategic location, it’s Christian history officially started in 1004, but Orvieto was built over preexisting Etruscan era cave tunnels dating back 2,500 years, which some historians believe Christians used to celebrate Mass when Christianity was forbidden. Next return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast, followed by a scenic drive to the Tuscan city of Siena. This medieval city is the birthplace of St. Catherine “Doctor of the Church”, and the Apostle of Italy, St. Bernardine. Visit the Basilica of St. Catherine (which is also known as the Basilica of St. Domenico). St. Catherine passed a large part of her life inside the walls of this Basilica. It is here you will also view the incorrupt head of St. Catherine. After, visit the Shrine of St. Catherine, which occupies the site of her family home. Enjoy your walking tour through the Siena including a visit to its Cathedral (Duomo di Siena). Conclude at one of Italy’s finest squares, the Piazza Del Campo, where you will be given free time to spend at your own leisure. There are a number of restaurants surrounding the square to have lunch, as well as shops for gifts and souvenirs. Continue on to Florence. Upon arrival in Florence, you will notice immediately that it is the land for art lovers. Some of the most world-renowned artists are from Florence such as Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello, and many others. For the remainder of the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to explore the streets of Florence at leisure. In the evening gather for dinner, followed by an overnight.

Journey through the beautiful Tuscan countryside, viewing the olive groves, vineyards, and rolling hills of one of the most prestigious winemaking regions in the world before arriving in Chianti Fiorentino. Stop for the visit to a distinguished castle and wine estate, where you’ll tour the historical cellars. Learn the winemaker’s secrets as you see where the grapes are crushed, and where the wine is matured and bottled. Then, get to tasting! Enjoy a glass of Chianti Classico, Chianti Reserve, Tuscan dessert wine, or a prominent white wine. Learn the complex character of each from your expert guide while you taste. Later, enjoy a typical Tuscan lunch, and afterward, head to the medieval village of Greve, where the most important wine fair of the Chianti region is held each year. Explore the main square and pursue the local artisan shops. Then make your way to Castellina, a hilltop village characterized by its large fortress and Etruscan settlements. Stroll past the medieval street of Via Delle Volte and explore the local shops and squares before returning to Florence. Farewell dinner in Florence, before returning to your hotel for overnight.

Following breakfast at your hotel, board the motor coach for your transfer to Pisa. You will visit the incredible Leaning Tower and the Cathedral in the Square of Miracles. Continue to cultured, charming, and welcoming Parma – the elegant heart of the Emilia Romagna region and one of the most exciting cities to visit in Italy. Located along the legendary Via Emilia, the road constructed by the Romans to connect Rimini to Piacenza, Parma proudly boasts a legacy as the city of illustrious musicians like Verdi and Toscanini, where the glorious domes of Correggio grace the skyline and culinary wonders like Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma ham were born. Dinner and overnight in Parma.

Discover Emilia-Romagna’s most famous specialties—Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Prosciutto di Parma—as you go behind the scenes at a cheese dairy and Prosciutto di Parma Plant. Watch the traditional production methods, sample a selection of different aged cheeses and cured meats, then enjoy a delicious lunch including fresh homemade pasta, dessert, and regional wines. Continue to Turin your final destination on this pilgrimage for dinner and overnight.

Today the highlight of our tour will be visiting the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist which houses one of the Catholic faith’s most cherished relics: the Holy Shroud of Turin. The Sacred Shroud is believed to be the same in which Christ was buried after His crucifixion and death. If on display, you will have the opportunity to view the Holy Shroud, which St. John Paul II called “a mirror of the Gospel”. This Cathedral is also where Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, was buried in 1925.Our tour continues to Santuario della Consolata, a Marian sanctuary to venerate the tomb of St. Joseph Cafasso as well as Bl. Giuseppe Allamano: two Italian priests who served the Lord with great love. As a young man, one of Bl. Giuseppe’s Spiritual Directors was St. Don Bosco. Next to the Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, the home founded for impoverished boys by St. Don Bosco, and is now where both he, St. Dominic Savio, and other saints are buried. A beautiful painting of Our Lady under the title “Mary Help of Christians” adorns the main altar. Dinner and overnight in Turin.

After heartfelt farewells breakfast, take a flight from Turin 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.