MONDAY: Boarding your overnight flight, you’re off to Italy on the adventure of a lifetime!

TUESDAY: Benvenuti a Venezia! We are pleased to offer complimentary motorboat transfers from the Venice airport to your hotel at scheduled times. Your Perillo representative will be at the airport to greet you.

After you settle in at your hotel, take a stroll through Venice. Get lost in the traffic-free streets and alleyways. There are so many wonderful things to see!

Tonight, we’ll meet our tour leader for a brief orientation and welcome drink, followed by dinner at our favorite restaurant in Venice just steps from St. Mark’s Square.

WEDNESDAY: This morning we’ll meet our expert local guide for a walking tour of St. Mark’s Square, the great Byzantine Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs and an inside visit of the Doge’s Palace. Next, we’ll board our mostoscafi to the beautiful island of Murano, where we will visit one of the oldest glass-blowing factories. Our glass masters will show us two different glass blowing techniques: the hand-blown glass technique creating a small vase and the carved glass technique, creating a small sculpture like a glass horse, fish or cat.

Next, we’ll board our motoscafi to visit one of the world’s oldest glass-blowing factories on the island of Murano.

This afternoon you’ll have a chance to get lost in the city’s labyrinth of canals, bridges and tiny piazzas. Being a small island, it’s impossible to stray very far. But it won’t hurt to master the phrase Dov’è Piazza San Marco?

Dinner is on your own tonight and there are lots of great choices around your hotel. Even Hemingway’s famous Harry’s Bar is just around the corner. Your guide will be happy to make suggestions. Just ask.

THURSDAY: This morning it’s back to the mainland where we’ll meet our dependable driver for the ride to Florence. But on the way, we’ll make a memorable stop: Padua.

Visitors to Padua are often surprised by a sense of deep spirituality. St. Anthony (patron Saint of lost objects) is buried here in the serene Basilica which dates back to the 1200s.

Tonight, we’ll enjoy dinner at our hotel. A toast (brindisi) to Florence and new friends!

FRIDAY: Florence, the fountainhead of the Renaissance—city of Dante, Boccaccio, Botticelli, and Da Vinci!

Enjoy a breathtaking panorama of the city atop Piazzale Michelangelo, followed by our tour of the Academy of Fine Arts where Michelangelo’s proud David stands, the majestic Cathedral built in 1296, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery with its Gates of Paradise doors.

We follow the medieval streets to the most striking square in Florence, Piazza della Signoria and then to Florence’s most compelling Franciscan church built in 1294—Santa Croce. It’s not only an artistic shrine with frescoes by Giotto, but also the burial place of 270 of the city’s most eminent inhabitants—among them Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and Rossini.

In the cloister next door, we see the Pazzi Chapel— widely regarded as one of the most perfect early Renaissance creations.

Tonight, please be our guest at a fine local Florentine restaurant with flowing wines and great friends. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

SATURDAY: While the ambitious city of Florence was launching the Renaissance, Siena was her laid back country cousin. Just 30 miles South of Florence, she is considered the best-preserved medieval city in Italy.

Our guided tour will include the elaborately carved Gothic cathedral, Town Hall, and Piazza del Campo – site of the famous Palio horse race. You’ll have time for lunch on your own, shopping and a little more exploring.

This afternoon we’ll visit Tenuta Torciano winery in Tuscany and meet our dear friend, Pierluigi Giachi, the world’s most enchanting sommelier. You’ll learn about the grape, the nose, food pairings and most importantly which glass to use with each wine! You’ll also get to experience an olive oil and truffle oil tasting…and of course have some fresh bread with it!

This will all be followed by a fabulous early dinner and wine tasting. Cin-Cin!

SUNDAY: This morning, we enjoy our drive south to Rome through Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio, the green heart of Italy.

This afternoon, we enjoy a relaxing, panoramic driving tour of Imperial Rome including the Roman Forum, downtown ancient Rome, the CircusMaximus, and the Great Synagogue, built in the heart of the Jewish quarter.

Then we’ll enter the Colosseum, reliving the brutal entertainment of the gladiators and the lions, refereed by the Emperor himself.

Tonight, we return to the twenty-first century and enjoy a typical Roman dinner at our hotel.

*Colosseum entrance subject to ticket availability*

MONDAY: A free day in Rome! But don’t sleep in too late—there’s much to do and see! Ask your tour leader for suggestions.

Why not start with an espresso in Piazza Navona, toss a coin into the Trevi Fountain to ensure your return and stroll across the Tiber for another look at the Vatican. Rome is a great city for walking, shopping and people watching.

Tonight, we enjoy a delicious dinner in the characteristic district of Trastevere, one of the centers of the Roman night life. This lively area of tiny winding streets gives a taste of what one imagines Italy to be like, with cobbled streets and music-filled trattorias on every corner.

TUESDAY: This morning, it’s a ten-minute drive to another country—Vatican City! With our expert local guide we’ll tour the Vatican Museums, a massive collection of ancient Greek sculptures, medieval tapestries and Renaissance paintings.

Our visit culminates in the Sistine Chapel, the room where the Pope is elected. Next we visit St. Peter’s Basilica, by far the largest church in Christendom. We’ll see Michelangelo’s Pietà, sculpted when he was just 24, as well as Bernini’s seven-story bronze canopy located above the main altar.

(Please note that the visit of St. Peter’s Basilica is subject to availability based on the events planned by the Pope.)

Tonight, you’re free to enjoy a night in Rome on your own with your new friends. Be sure to have an ice cream at one of the best shops in Rome, close to the Trevi Fountain, “Il Gelato di San Crispino.” Try the nocciola!

WEDNESDAY: This morning you board your flight home, arriving in the USA the same day. While we say arrivederci to Italy, we realize we’re taking a little piece of it back home with us.

Thanks for traveling with the Perillo family and please return soon.