Journey through the beautiful land of Italy including Sicily as you visit the sites where the Allied powers landed. Almost one year before the strike on Normandy on July 10, 1943 the Allied Armies began the conquest of the Axis Empire.  The invasion of Sicily and Italy was conceived at the Casablanca Conference, in January 1943. Building on the momentum of the success of Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa, Roosevelt and Churchill wanted a new operation to meet Stalin's demands to divert Germany's attention from the war on the Eastern Front.

Day 1- Departure

Today depart your home city for Sicily.

Day 2 – Palermo

Welcome to Palermo!  Upon arrival, your tour representative will greet you and assist you with the transfer to the hotel. After check in and time to freshen up, meet your Learning Through Travel guide for an orientation lecture and a welcome drink.  Sicily, home to some of the most beautiful beaches, with Greek temples, Roman ruins, Norman churches and castles, Arab and Byzantine domes, and splendid Baroque churches and palaces. The Allies began their missions in Sicily early July, and on July 22, 1943 the British Commonwealth advanced and captured Palermo and Agrigento. Enjoy a welcome dinner this evening.

Day 3 – Palermo/Monreale/Palermo

This morning visit the Chiesa dei Vestri. See the picturesque and colorful market, the “Quattro Canti”—a splendid example of Baroque architecture, the Palazzo dei Normanni and its superb Palatine Chapel, the Piazza Pretoria and its fountain, the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, and the cathedral. Visit to the catacombs in the Capuchin convent on Piazza Cappuccino, here you see mummified bodies and skeletons of over 8000 Palermitans from the 17th to 19th century, including the mummified body of two-year-old Rosalina Lombardi. This afternoon visit 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 entrance is finished with bronze doors and the interior covered with dazzling gilded mosaics. Outside the church, is the entrance to the cloisters, with 228 twin columns decorated with different motifs, including plants and animals.

Day 4 – Palermo/Agrigento

Today leave Palermo for Agrigento, a 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). 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.

Day 5 – Agrigento/Gela/Siracusa

This morning depart Agrigento for Siracusa, driving along the southern coast stop en-route to visit the beaches of Gela, Locata and Scoglitti where the American forces led by General George Patton landed.  General Terry Allen became the first U.S. General on Sicilian soil when he established the Division's Advance Command Post in a grove of lemon trees on Gela Beach. While additional men and material flowed onto the Fortress of Sicily, Allen ordered elements of the 16th Infantry across the beaches into the hills beyond the bordering roadway. They quickly started tearing apart communication lines, disrupting telephone contact between the defending Italian divisions. Teddy Roosevelt's 26th Infantry overran several Italian battalions that retreated as quickly as their counterparts in the 16th's zone just a mile away. Roosevelt had reconnaissance patrols in the hills by early morning looking for Germans. On the evening of July 9th the soldiers of the 505th Combat Team were given the following orders by Colonel Gavin: “Tonight you embark upon a combat mission for whom our people and the free people of the world have been waiting for two years. You will spearhead the landing of an American force upon the island of Sicily. You have been given the means to do the job and you are backed by the largest assembly of air power in world's history. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of every American go with you. The term American Parachutist has been synonymous with courage of a high order. Let us carry the fight to the enemy and make American Parachutists feared and respected through all his ranks. Attack violently. Destroy him wherever found. I know you will do your job. Good landing, good fight, and good luck.” The mission was only partially successful, due to strong winds and inexperienced pilots; however a small contingent of Gavin's men did land near their target zone and were determined to carry out their mission. Early intelligence reports gathered showed the tactical importance of controlling a road around Piano Lupo, behind Gela Beach. Left in control of the enemy, it would provide the most direct route to the beachhead and expedite the counterattack of the 1st Division. The road also provided unrestrained access to a secondary road leading to the nearby Ponte Olivo airfield, whose capture was also assigned to the Big Red One. In the middle of the night as the 1st Division was crawling onto the beaches, this small contingent of Captain Edwin A. Sayers’ Company A, encountered an Italian strongpoint near the junction and came face-to-face with machine gunners who had fired up on them before their chutes collapsed on Sicilian soil. Although uncertain about the size of the forces against him, Sayers’ ordered his men to attack. Personally leading the initial strike, he "carried his carbine in his right hand, a grenade in his left and another between his teeth." His first charge did not dislodge the enemy, but undaunted and soon reinforced by additional forces, his men struck again with their arsenal of grenades and two 60-mm mortars. Once the dust settled, a door had been blown off the Italian bunker where the enemy was holed up. Sayers quickly threw one of his grenades through the open passageway and within minutes fifty men threw up their arms and surrendered. Sayers’ efforts led to more than merely establishing control of the important road junction standing between the enemy reserve units and the 1st Division. In addition to confiscating twenty machine guns and nearly a half million rounds of ammunition, he captured the first Germans in Sicily. After some interrogation, Sayers was able to identify ten of his prisoners as a unit of the Hermann Goering Division. The discovery of the Germans was quickly passed along, leaving little doubt at Terry Allen's command post about the identity of the counter attackers poised to strike at Gela Beach. On this day the British and Americans captured Siracusa.  Arrive in Siracusa for dinner and overnight.

Day 6 – Siracusa/Taormina

Today you tour the landing beaches at Avola and visit targets including Lentini, Primosole Bridge and Catania. As the war continued to be fought in Sicily, on August 15 the cities of Randazzo and Taormina had been captured, and by August 17th all Axis resistance in Sicily had ceased. Allied casualties included 6,896 Americans and 12,843 British. Axis killed, wounded, and prisoners numbered about 164,000, approximately 32,000 were Germans. The Allies captured or destroyed about 1,500 aircraft, 78 armored fighting vehicles, 287 guns, and 3,500 motor vehicles. While the fighting in Sicily was in progress, important political developments had been taking place. On July 25th Mussolini was forced to resign, and Marshal Pietro Badoglio became premier of Italy, while King Victor Emmanuel III assumed command of the Italian armed forces. These events were followed by secret feelers put out by the Allies through neutral diplomatic circles, to induce Italy to cease hostilities and if possible declare war on Germany. On September 3rd, a military armistice between the Allies and the Italian government was signed secretly at Siracusa. It was announced publicly by General Eisenhower on September 8th. Visit ancient Siracusa which once a powerful Greek city and for years this colony of Corinth was a major power in the western Mediterranean. It is believed that the Apostle Saint Paul visited Syracuse and converted the inhabitants to Christianity. You also visit Ortygia Island, the ancient core of the city, the cathedral, the Arethusa fountain, and the Apollo Temple. This afternoon depart to Taormina.

Day 7 – Taormina/Mount Etna/ Taormina

Sicily's greatest natural attraction is also its highest mountain. To the ancient Greeks, Mount Etna was the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops. At approximately 3350 meters, it is Europe's highest active volcano. The height of its summit changes with each eruption, and over the centuries a few lava flows have reached the coast. Over 1200 square meters of Etna's surface is covered with solidified lava. Return to Taormina for dinner and overnight.

Day 8 – Taormina/Messina/Cefalu/Palermo

Today depart Taormina for Palermo and frequent stops will be made along the way to important sites. Arrive in Messina a key strategic city during the war. Without Messina, Axis forces would have been cut off from supply and reinforcement. Unfortunately, the country around Messina was extremely rugged and the beaches narrow. Moreover, the city was heavily fortified and beyond the range at which the Allies’ Africa-based fighters could provide effective air covers. Consequently, Allied planners ruled it out as an initial objective. Messina was badly damaged during the war and finally liberated in August.

Day 9 – Palermo/Naples

The morning is at your leisure before you board a short flight to Naples. As you leave Sicily, take with you many memories of the operations that took place in Sicily which were victorious and the largest amphibious operation of World War II. Arrive in the city of Naples for your overnight.

Day 10 – Naples/Salerno/Naples

Today visit Salerno where one of the bloodier, more critical operations of the Second World War took place, named “Operation Avalanche”. Operation Avalanche was the codename for the landing near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. The Italians withdrew from the war the day before the invasion; however the Allies landed in an area defended by German troops. The landings were carried out by the U.S Fifth Army, under American General Mark W. Clark. It comprised the U.S. VI Corps, the British X Corps and the US 82nd Airborne Division, a total of about nine divisions. Its primary objectives were to seize the port of Naples to ensure re-supply, and to cut across to the east coast, trapping the Axis troops further south. The landings were carried out without previous naval or aerial bombardment in order to achieve surprise, however as the first wave approached the shore at Paestum a loudspeaker from the landing area proclaimed in English, "Come on in and give up, we have you covered." The troops attacked nonetheless. On the 12th–14th September, the Germans organized a concerted counterattack by six divisions of motorized troops, hoping to throw the Salerno beachhead into the sea before it could link with the British Eighth Army. Heavy casualties were inflicted, as the Allied troops were too thinly spread to be able to resist concentrated attacks. The outermost troops were therefore withdrawn in order to reduce the perimeter. The new perimeter was held with the assistance of naval and aerial support, although the German attacks reached almost to the beaches in some areas. Allied pilots slept under the wings of their Aircrafts in order to beat a hasty retreat to Sicily in the event German forces broke the beachhead.

Day 11 – Naples/Monte Cassino/Rome

After breakfast leave Naples for Rome. Stop to see Monte Cassino, where you visit the Monastery, which was founded by St. Benedict about 529 of the Christian era and was the site, many centuries later of the Monte Cassino Battles. In 1944, these battles lasted 5 months and totally destroyed the Monastery. The Abbey was rebuilt after the war, financed by the Italian State. Pope Paul VI reconstructed it in 1964. Arrive in Rome in time for a special dinner.

Day 12 - Rome

Today explore ancient Rome. Visit the Baroque Trevi Fountain, continue to the best-preserved building of ancient Rome- the Pantheon, see the famous Spanish Steps, the Coliseum and of course the prestigious Vatican Museum with its incredible collection of art treasures. Visit the Sistine Chapel, home to the famous works of art, Michelangelo’s frescoes of the Creation on high vaulted ceilings and the Last Judgment on one of the walls. Continue to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, where the early Christians are buried.

Day 13 – Rome/Anzio/Rome

The operation launched in the small town of Anzio in January 1944 was tricky. The idea for an amphibious operation near Rome had originated in late October 1943 when it became obvious that the Germans were going to fight for the entire peninsula rather than withdraw to northern Italy. The Allied advance following the Salerno invasion was proving so arduous, due to poor weather, rough terrain, and stiffening resistance, that General Dwight D. Eisenhower pessimistically told the Anglo-American Combined Chiefs of Staff that there would be hard and bitter fighting before the Allies could hope to reach Rome. As a result, Allied planners were looking for ways to break out of the costly struggle for each ridge and valley, which was consuming enormous numbers of men and scarce supplies. After months of struggle the Germans could not ignore the troops and were forced into a response, thereby surrendering the initiative in Italy to the Allies. The 135,000 troops of the Fourteenth Army surrounding Anzio could not be moved elsewhere, nor could they be used to make the already formidable Gustav Line virtually impregnable. The Anzio beachhead thus guaranteed that the already steady drain of scarce German troop reserves, equipment, and materiel would continue unabated, ultimately enabling the 15th Army Group to break through in the south, however the success was costly. Visit the beach area as well as the Rome American Cemetery and Memorial and a statue of the little girl Angelita, representing the brutality and pain of the war.

Day 14 – Departure

Farewell to Italy as you transfer to the airport for your return. Arrive home, your heart and mind filled with many memories!

Sicily and

Italy Historic

Tour

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• International Air US/Palermo-Rome/US
  

• 1 way air Palermo/Naples
  

• 3 nights accommodation in Palermo a 4-star hotel
  

• 1 night accommodation in Agrigento at a 4-star hotel
  

• 1 night accommodation in Siracusa at a4-star hotel
  

• 2 nights accommodation in Taormina at a  4-star hotel
  

• 2 nights accommodation in Naples at a 4-star hotel
  

• 3 nights accommodation in Rome at a 4-star hotel
  

• English speaking escort
  

• On site local guides (World War II historians)
  

• Entrance fees to all sites
  

• 3 meals daily
  

• Deluxe air conditioned motor coach
  

• All hotel taxes and service charges
  

• Porterage
  

Not Included

• U.S. Departure Tax and Airport Security fees  
  

• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, e-mail, soft drinks, coffee, tea, mineral water, alcoholic beverages, tips to drivers, guides, transfer personnel, travel insurance, etc………….
  

PLEASE NOTE: ITINERARY SEQUENCE SUBJET TO CHANGE