Pilgrimage Tour to Italy
First Day
Arrival in Italy and departure to Assisi
Arrival at the airport and meeting with the English-speaking tour leader who will stay with the group till the end of the tour. Departure to Assisi, the city of St. Francis. It stretches out along the slopes of Monte Subasio, with its narrow lanes, Shrines of Saint Francis and the importance of the artists who worked on it, is a cultural and spiritual inspiration to the world.
Visit the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, built in 1569 and crowned by the magnificent dome designed by Alessi. It encloses the shrine of the “Porziuncula,” the Chapel of the Transit - the infirmary cell where St. Francis died on October 3, 1226, the Cappella delle Rose and the fifteenth-century cloister.
Arrival at the Hotel Check-in and balance of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel.
Second Day
Assisi - Sites of St. Francis and St. Clare in Assisi
After breakfast, celebrate Mass at the Tomb of St. Francis. After Mass, our local guide will take us to explore the Basilica complex, which is actually composed of two churches built one atop the other. With its medieval art masterpieces like the Basilica of San Francesco and frescoes by Giotto, Cimabue, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti, Assisi has become a fundamental reference point for the development of Italian and European art and architecture.The guided tour also includes the Basilica of St. Clare, the first and most important heroine of the Franciscan movement, where her remains and the miraculous Crucifix are kept.
Independent Lunch. Balance of the day at leisure for personal activities - visits.Dinner and overnight at the Hotel.
Third Day
Assisi - Rome
After breakfast, departure to Rome, the “Eternal City.” History, evolving over 2,500 years, will be made visible for us by the Roman ruins, 15th century churches, 17th century palaces and 20th century monuments.
Check-in at the hotel. Independent lunch. Balance of the day at leisure. Overnight.
Forth Day
Tour of Imperial Rome – time at Leisure
Buffet breakfast at hotel. Begin your day with a visit to the Church of St. Peter in Chains to see the original chains that bound Saint Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem and the statue of Moses, one of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces. Then, we continue to the ancient Roman Forum. See the Arch of Titus and the Arch of Constantine and proceed to the outside of the Coliseum for a fascinating explanation of its history. Continue to the grandiose white marble monument of King Victor Emmanuel II, often ironically called the “Wedding Cake.” See the Trajan Column and the Market.
Free time for independent lunch with the afternoon at leisure for browsing, shopping, or exploring the sights of Rome.
Overnight.
Fifth Day
Wednesday: Papal Audience – Tour of the Basilica of St. Paul and the Catacombs
After early breakfast, enter the heart of Christendom for an Audience with our Holy Father, where pilgrims and visitors have the chance to see the Pope and receive the Papal Blessing or Apostolic Blessing from the successor of the Apostle Peter. Pope Francis will pray the Our Father prayer in Latin together with those pilgrims attending the Audience. Independent lunch.
In the afternoon, we will enjoy a nice tour of Rome from the center toward the southern side of the city: the Tiberina Island, the Aventine Hill, the pyramid of Caius Cestius, and St. Paul’s Gate, part of the Aurelian Wall, the ancient city wall. Stop to visit the magnificent Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls. It was built by Constantine in the 4th century on the site of St. Paul's tomb. After having been destroyed by fire in 1823, it was rebuilt on the original basilica plan of early Christian churches. Above the columns separating the aisles from the nave are the medallions of each Pope throughout history.
Then, drive along a section of the Old Appian Way, designed in 312 BC by the censor Appio Claudio Cieco with the goal of building a road axis that quickly connected Rome to Naples and Brindisi on the Adriatic coast. Its wide sidewalks were scattered with funerary monuments and surrounded by a lush countryside. The Appian Way was also very popular for the pilgrims who came to Rome to visit and pray in the Christian sanctuaries built outside the city walls, near the catacombs, former underground burial grounds that date from the second to the fifth century and principally used by Christians - persecuted by the Romans—and Jews.
Dinner at the Restaurant “Cecilia Metella”
Return to the Hotel and Overnight
Sixth Day
Tour of Vatican Museums; Sistine Chapel; St. Peter’s Basilica – Tour of Christian Rome
Buffet breakfast at hotel.
Begin your morning of sightseeing with a visit to one of the great art collections in the world, the Vatican Museums. Founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century, they are full of historical and artistic treasures by some of the world's greatest artists. Inside is the collection of works of art accumulated over the centuries by the Popes: epoch-making masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Caravaggio. The Sistine Chapel is decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarroti covering the ceiling and the back wall (with the Last Judgment above the altar).
End your morning tour in St. Peter's Basilica, one of the holiest temples for Christendom and one of the largest churches in the world. Besides, it's where the Pope presides many liturgies during the year. Have a visit to Michelangelo’s magnificent “Pietà”, pray at the new tomb of St. John Paul II, in St. Sebastian’s Chapel or climb the dome on your own. Independent lunch.
In the afternoon, we continue our day with a visit to the magnificent Cathedral of St. John Lateran, the first Christian church to be consecrated, named the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, as it contains the Papal throne (Cathedra Romana) and, for this reason, ranks above all other churches in the Roman Catholic Church. End our day tour with a visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the four major Basilicas, built by Pope Sixtus III (AD 432-440) on the site of a pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Cybele. The current construction was finished at the end of the 16th century under the orders of Pope Liberius. View the relic of Jesus’ manger from Bethlehem and the high altar, which contains the remains of St Matthew the Evangelist. The mosaics above the entablature are among the most ancient Christian mosaics in Rome.Possibility to celebrate mass in one of the two Basilicas.
Return to the hotel and overnight.
Seventh Day
Tour of the Scavi (subject to confirmation) – afternoon at leisure
Celebrate 8:00am Private Mass at the Grottoes of St. Peter.
Tour of the Scavi*(Subject to confirmation): The Scavi, or Vatican Necropolis, is the archeological site under St. Peter’s Basilica: one of the most exclusive tours you can have in Rome. In 1939, Pope Pius XII ordered an excavation beneath the grotto of St. Peter's Basilica, where many popes are buried. Among the tombs of pagans and early Christians, far beneath the high altar of St. Peter's, excavators found a shrine amid the rubble. Most scholars concur that the small column is part of a second-century A.D. shrine built by Rome’s small Christian community on the site where St. Peter was buried. *All tours of the Scavi are subject to confirmation by the Vatican Office two weeks prior to departure. Tours run continually, are one hour in length, and are limited to 15 -20 persons.
Enjoy your afternoon at leisure. Perhaps you will want to explore the sights and enjoy the sounds and the tastes of Rome all on your own! You will have time to buy religious articles or enjoy the typical Italian food.Rome offers plenty of churches, museums, piazzas and ancient ruins to explore!You may also have a chance to toss a coin into one of Rome’s most famous fountains, Trevi Fountain, with the wish of coming back soon.
In the evening Farewell dinner in a local restaurant.
Overnight at Hotel
Eighth Day
Return from Rome
After breakfast at the hotel, you will be transferred to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport for your return flight to the US. Arrive on the same day.
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