SICLY AND MALTA
Day 1 – Departure
Depart your home city for Italy.
Day 2- Rome
Welcome to the magical city of Rome, the capital of Italy. Upon arrival, your tour representative will meet you and assist you with the transfer to the hotel. On the way enjoy your first views of a mixture of architectural styles including Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance. After check in and time to freshen up meet your Learning Through Travel guide for a walking tour of the city. See the Baroque Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the best preserved building of ancient Rome and the famous Spanish steps, which are a favorite gathering place for tourists. This evening enjoy your welcome dinner at a restaurant in the city.
Day 3 – Vatican City
Today visit the independent state within the city. The Vatican has its own post office, newspaper, radio and train stations. See the Basilica di San Pietro, the largest and most magnificent in the world, built where the Apostle St. Peter was believed to have been buried. The current Basilica was inaugurated in 1626 and the square in front with its entire colonnade completed by Bernini. The works of art include Michelangelo’s Pieta, sculpted at age 25 and the only work to bear his signature. Walking along the wall of the Vatican arrive at the Museum which contains incredible collections of art and treasures including the Sistine Chapel. There you see Michelangelo’s frescoes of the Creation on high vaulted ceilings and the Last Judgment along a wall. Please be aware of the dress code, you are not permitted to enter the Basilica in shorts.
Day 4- Rome City
Today you see the Forum, a complex of basilicas and temples and the commercial, political and religious center of ancient Rome. Continue to the Coliseum, a famous structure able to hold 80,000 spectators’ and the site for many gladiator fights. Proceed to San Pietro in Vincoli (Piazza di San Pietro in Vincoli). This church was built in the 5th century at the request of Empress Eudoxia, who wanted to keep possession of the chains which St. Peter bore during his imprisonment in Jerusalem. It was rebuilt in 780 under Hadrian I, with its doorway added in the 16th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, Francesco Fontana had ionic bases added onto the 20 antique Doric columns of the nave. The interior, with three naves, holds the mausoleum of Julius II, built by Michelangelo under commission to the Pope. At the center of the monument is Moses, an imposing bearded figure holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments.
Day 5 – Rome/Naples/Capri/Naples
Today an express train takes you to Naples, where you transfer to the Napoli Harbor to board a hydrofoil to Capri. You can appreciate, why 2000 years ago the Emperors fell in love with the mountains, sea caverns and grottoes and built their villages here. Visit the beautiful Blue Grotto and Anacapri before returning to Naples. Enjoy a typical Pizza dinner and you overnight stay.
Day 6 – Naples
This morning take a walking tour to see San Carlo Theatre, Piazza Municipio, the Royale Palace, Piazza del Plebiscito, Castel dell’Ovo, San Francesco di Paola Church and Museo Archeological Nazionale. See a vast collection of Greco – Roman artifacts, including pieces discovered on Pompeii and Herculaneum. Take a late afternoon transfer to the port for your overnight ferry to Palermo.
Day 8 – Palermo
Home to some of the most beautiful beaches, with Greek temples, Roman ruins, Norman churches and castles, Arab and Byzantine domes, splendid Baroque churches and palaces. Meet your guide for a half day visit to Monreale.This magnificent cathedral was built in the 12th century for William II and the architecture is a mixture of Norman, Arab and Byzantine. The central doorway is finished with bronze doors and the interior covered with dazzling gilded mosaics. Outside of the church, is the entrance to the cloisters, with 228 twin columns decorated with different motifs, including plants and animals.
Day 9 – Palermo
Palermo once an Arab emirate and seat of a Norman kingdom, was at one time known as the grandest city in Europe. This morning visit the many churches and architectural wonders of the city. At the Quattro Canti – the “four corners of Palermo” and the oldest part of the city notice that each corner is marked by a 17th century Spanish Baroque facade decorated with a fountain and a statue. Across from this see Chiesa di San Guiseppe dei Teatini. Continue with a visit to the Palazzo dei Normanni with its Palatine Chapel, the Church of San Giobanni degli Eremiti and cathedral. See the catacombs in the Capuchin convent in Piazza Cappuccino, where there are mummified bodies and skeletons of over 8000 Palermitans (17th to 19th centuries), including the mummified body of two-year old Rosalina Lombardi, who looks as if she is sleeping. End the day with a stroll through the picturesque markets.
Day 10 – Palermo/ Agrigento
The morning is at your leisure before the transfer to the railway station to board for Agrigento. A primarily medieval site set on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean and the spectacular Valley of the Temples. There are many Greek sites since settlers from Rhodes originally founded Agrigento (ancient Akragas). Transfer to the hotel for your overnight.
Day 11 - Agrigento
Today tour the Valley of the Temples, where you find Doric-style temples. The first to see is the Temple of Hercules, built towards the end of the sixth century BCE and believed to be the oldest. The most preserved is the Temple of Concord, built in 440 BCE. The Temple of Juno stands high on the edge of the ridge and part of its colonnade remains as an impressive sacrificial altar. Enjoy a beautiful view of the Mediterranean and picturesque beaches.
Day 12 – Agrigento/Siracusa
Today travel by rail to Siracusa, once a powerful Greek city is one of the highlights of any visit to Sicily. For many years this colony of Corinth was a major power in the western Mediterranean and is believed where Apostle St. Paul converted inhabitants to Christianity. You see Ortygia Island, including the cathedral, Arethusa fountain and Apollo Temple.
Day 13 – Siracusa
Today visit the Archeological Park to see the white 5th century BCE Greek Theater. Cut from rock it could hold as many as 16,000 spectators. Continue to the Garden of Paradise where the Greeks operated a rock quarry and prisoners cut blocks of limestone for architectural use. In the Garden is the Ear of Dionsysius, a Grotto 75feet high and 213feet deep in the shape of an ear. Also see the 2nd century CE Roman amphitheater once used for gladiator fights.
Day 14 – Siracusa/ Valletta/Malta
Today is at your leisure before you transfer to the airport for a flight to Valletta, Malta. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel.
Day 15 – Valletta
Dominated by the presence of other nations, the Maltese Islands became a truly independent state in September 1964, formerly being under British protection since the 18th century. Today visit the National Museum of Archaeology with a collection of megalithic pottery, sculpture and adornments from Malta’s temples and prehistoric sites. Continue to the Palace of the Grand Masters completed in 1574. The original Magisterial Palace of the Knights, it is now the office of the President and the House of Representatives. See the former council chamber and Hall of St. Michael and St. Georg, as well as the Ambassador’s Room displaying excellent frescoes and paintings. Your next stop is the St. John Cathedral Designed by Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar in 1577, containing frescoes by Calabrian artist Mattia Preti, intricate marble burial tombs, Caravaggio's "The Beheading of St. John," and a series of Flemish tapestries. Your final visit will be to the Upper Barracca Gardens, where you have a marvelous view overlooking the Grand Harbor including Fort St. Elmo and the quays of Marsa. The gardens display beautiful plants and flowers, colonnades and Sciortino sculpture.
Day 16 - Valletta/Gozo/Valletta
Cross Mharr harbor to Gozo, the capital, Victoria, also known as Rabat, is a cozy weave of little streets and squares. Visit the Citadel, also known as the "Gran Castello," built in the 15th century by Knights; it provided refuge and defense against the numerous attacks by Turks and corsairs coming from North Africa, since it sits on a hill in the center of the island. The Cathedral Museum houses many silver and gold items used for sacred services. The Archaeological Museum contains objects from various periods in the cultural history of the island. See Calypso's Cave, it is believed that Gozo is the island of Ogygia, described in Homer's famous poem "The Odyssey," on which the beautiful nymph Calypso kept Odysseus as a "prisoner of love" for seven years. Calypso promised Odysseus immortality if he would stay with her, but he rejected her and escaped, returning to his faithful wife Penelope. Return to Valletta.
Day 17 - Valletta/Rome
A morning flight brings you back to Rome, where you have the remainder of the day at leisure. In the evening enjoy a farewell dinner.
Day 18 - Departure
Farewell to Italy, Sicily and Malta as you transfer to the airport for a return. Arrive home, your heart and mind filled with many happy memories.
PLEASE NOTE: ITINERARY IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
