Depart for your overnight flight to Rome, Italy. Meals will be served on board.

We greet the Eternal City, Rome has always been the hub of art, education, culture and politics in the western world, nicknamed Caput Mundi (Capital of the World) it’s also known as the spiritual capital and a powerful center for pilgrimages around the world.  Upon arrival you will be met by your Perillo Tours representative and transfer by private motor coach to your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to help adjust to your new time zone. Dinner and overnight accommodations at your hotel. (D.)

After breakfast, you'll first visit Vatican City to attend an Audience Blessing with our Holy Father, after tour the Vatican Museums. Visits include The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms, and The Sistine Chapel where you'll witness Michelangelo’s incredible masterpiece. we also enter St. Peter’s Basilica which has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.  Historical evidence shows that St. Peter’s tomb is located below the altar. After you have the chance to view  Bernini’s beautiful bronze canopy and Michelangelo’s Pieta, you will also see St. John Paul II’s grave at the San Sebastiano chapel. There’s opportunity before dinner for individual exploration. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight accommodations. (B.D.)

Today after breakfast visit the Colosseum (70-80 AD), which has long been considered sacred due to its association with early Christian martyrs, we also see the Mamertine Prison, an ancient prison where St. Paul and Peter are said to have been held before their execution in Rome, and Pietro in Vincoli (the Church of St. Peter in Chains), a minor basilica in Rome that houses St. Peter’s chains and Michelangelo’s famous Moses statue. After lunch visit the Catacombs of St. Calixtus, an underground burial site of many early Christians and Popes, we are given a rare glimpse into ancient Christianity and early examples of Christian art. Our final visit of the day is at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls which was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine the 1st over the burial place of Saint Paul. After we return to our hotel  for dinner and overnight accommodations. (B.D.) 

“We are therefore about to establish a school of the Lord’s service in which we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome” (Rule of Saint Benedict, prologue). 

After breakfast we travel through the countryside to the Abbey of Monte Cassino where St. Benedict established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, in 529. During the battle of Monte Cassino (January-May, 1944), the Abbey was almost destroyed when mistaken for a German stronghold (the Abbey was a refuge for women and children) rebuilt after the war and re-consecrated in 1964. Over 1400 priceless and irreplaceable manuscripts were all transferred to the Vatican at the beginning of this siege and saved from destruction. Enjoy a panoramic tour of Naples, while we coach to Pompeii.  Visit the ruins; the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79 A.D. covered the city of Pompeii with ashes. Glimpse to what is left of this ancient city, including beautiful frescoes and mosaic floors, witness the lives of the inhabitant's moments before that catastrophic eruption. Return to Rome for dinner and overnight accommodations. (B.D.)

After breakfast, we depart for the “Cradle of Renaissance”, visit the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as The Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), Piazza della Signoria, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the bronze “gate of Paradise, and the Academy of Fine Arts which contains many masterpieces of some of the artists mentioned above. There will be free time to explore many other treasures in this beautiful city on our own before our dinner and overnightaccommodations. (B.D.)

After breakfast we depart for Padua (Padova), the picturesque site of the 800-year old Universita’ diPadova, Galileo was among its lecturers and the setting for Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Visit the Basilica of St. Anthony known locally as “Il Santo” where the bones of the saint rest in an ornamented chapel. Saint Anthony, was loved and an admired saint, who was canonized less than one year after his death. St. Anthony joined the Franciscan Order in 1221 because of the death of the five Franciscan martyrs. St. Anthony was only 36-years old when he died. His teachings were so simple and powerful that everyone including uneducated and innocent people understood them. We continue on to Venice for dinner and overnight accommodations. (B.D.)

With its unique heritage of art, architecture, spirit, and culture, the city of Venice has earned the nickname La Serenissima, “The Most Serene.” Today our guided tour includes a visit to the Basilica of St. Mark which architecturally is a Byzantine wonder covered in golden mosaics and art treasures. Legend has it that Venetian merchants stole the relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist (originally in Alexandria, Egypt) and hid them in a pork barrel to get them past the guards. The escape is depicted in the 13th-century mosaic above the door, the 12th and 13th century interior mosaics, all with a message of Christian salvation, depict scenes and events from the Old and New Testaments. St. John XXIII and Pope John Paul I were both Patriarchs of Venice. After Mass, we visit additional sites in and around the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) including the Doge’s Palace, home to the political leader of the Republic of Venice. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight accommodations at your hotel. (B.D.)

After breakfast we drive through northern Italy to Milan. We visit the painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper which is still located in its original location: the refectory wall of the former Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. After, we visit the largest Gothic cathedral and second largest Catholic cathedral in the world: the Duomo di Milano. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon at leisure in Milan before coming together for a memorable farewell dinner at a local restaurant. Return for overnight accommodations. (B.D.)

After breakfast, transfer to the Airport for your flight home. (B.)