DAY    1            DEPARTURE FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight to Milan.

DAY    2            ARRIVE MILAN - BOLOGNA AREA (1 NIGHT)
We will be met at the airport by our Tour manager/guide, where we will board our own private bus and transfer into Milan to visit the unique and beautiful Gothic Duomo. The cathedral is easily recognizable due to its extraordinary roof, with its 135 spires and innumerable statues and gargoyles. We will tour the cathedral including the beautifully crafted stained glass windows, the treasury and the remains of the original 4th century Baptistery. We continue with a visit to the church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie. In what used to be the refectory of the monastery is the famous painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. This afternoon we transfer to Bologna. (Arrival day sightseeing is subject to flight arrival time)

DAY    3            BOLOGNA - FLORENCE AREA (4 NIGHTS)
This morning we will explore Bologna, where we will begin our sightseeing with a stroll down what must be the most architecturally elegant street in Bologna, Via Strada Maggiore, with its colonnades and mansions. We will then visit the Basilica di San Petronio, an enormous Gothic basilica honoring the patron saint of Bologna, which was never completed. Legend has it that the construction was greatly curtailed by papal decree when the Vatican learned that the Bologna city fathers had planned to erect a basilica larger than St. Peter's. Charles V was crowned emperor here in 1530, and today the church features a magnificent central nave, and 22 art-filled chapels, the most interesting is the Bolognini Chapel, embellished with frescoes representing heaven and hell. We continue to Florence, "the Cradle of the Renaissance." Our afternoon will focus on the work of Masaccio, one of the most important artists of the early Renaissance. We begin with a brief visit to the church of Santa Maria Novella, one of Florence's most distinguished churches, begun in 1278 for the Dominicans. The highlight of the interior is Masaccio's masterpiece Trinità, a curious work that has the architectural form of a Renaissance stage setting but whose figures (in perfect perspective) are like actors in a Greek tragedy. We continue across the Arno River with a visit to the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, highlighted by the magnificent Cappella Brancacci, which contains frescoes by Masacchio on the Life of St. Peter commissioned around 1424. Our day concludes with a visit to the massive Pitti Palace, one of Europe's greatest artistic treasure troves, which features rooms as they would have appeared in the period, and the Palatine Gallery with important works by Titian, Rubens, and Raphael.

DAY    4            FLORENCE (MEDICEAN FLORENCE)
Our morning commences with a visit to San Marco. In 1437, Cosimo de' Medici il Vecchio, grandfather of Lorenzo the Magnificent, had Michelozzo convert a medieval monastery here into a new home for the Dominicans, in which Cosimo also founded Europe's first public library. From 1491 until he was burned at the stake on Piazza della Signoria in 1498, this was the home base of puritanical preacher Girolamo Savonarola. The monastery's most famous friar, though, was early Renaissance painter Fra' Angelico, and he left many of his finest works, devotional images painted with the technical skill and minute detail of a miniaturist or an illuminator but on altarpiece scale. Our tour will include the Fra' Angelico Gallery, full of altarpieces and painted panels; the Reffetorio Grande, with 16th and 17th century paintings; the Sala del Capitolo, frescoed from 1441 to 1442 with a huge Crucifixion by Fra' Angelico and his assistants; the Sala del Cenacolo, with a long fresco of the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio; the Dormitorio of cells where the monks lived, featuring one of Fra' Angelico's masterpieces and perhaps his most famous cycle of frescoes; and the Biblioteca, which was designed by Michelozzo in 1441 and contains beautifully illuminated choir books. Next we visit the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, the home of the Medici family for over 100 years, and the model for other Renaissance palaces. The highlight of our visit will be the beautiful Cappella dei Magi, featuring richly colored frescoes showing the Journey of the Magi. We continue with a visit to San Lorenzo, the city's second most important church, which was founded in the 4th century. It later became the church of the Medici's and our visit will include the Medici Chapels. Michelangelo built the New Sacristy between 1520 and 1533, and it was to be a tasteful monument to Lorenzo the Magnificent and his generation of fairly pleasant Medici. We will also visit the Biblioteca Laurenziana, one of the world's most important collections of Italian manuscripts, which also features Michelangelo's pietra serena staircase. We continue to the Piazza del Duomo, where the Cathedral, Tower and Baptistery display the traditions of Florentine art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. We will view the massive and detailed façade of the Duomo, before viewing the Baptistery's bronze doors by Ghiberti, which Michelangelo commented were worthy to be the "Gates of Paradise." After brief visits inside the Duomo, and the spectacular interior of the Baptistery, we continue with a visit to the Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo, a museum, which houses the sculptures removed from the niches and doors of the Duomo group for restoration and preservation out of the elements. Highlights of our visit will include: the enclosed courtyard that houses Lorenzo Ghiberti's original gilded bronze panels from the Baptistery's "Gates of Paradise;" Michelangelo's Pietà, his second and penultimate take on the subject; and Donatello's morbidly fascinating sculpture, a late work in polychrome wood of The Magdalene, emaciated and veritably dripping with penitence.

DAY    5            DAY TRIP TO LUCCA & POGGIO A CAIANO
This morning we journey through the beautiful Tuscan countryside to Lucca, a city that flourished in the 14th century as a result of the silk trade. Upon our arrival, we will take a Walking Tour through the old town to view the Renaissance and Gothic palaces, and the Piazza del Anfiteatro, where the amphitheater once stood. Lucca's prosperity resulted in the building of several outstanding churches, and we will visit two of the most spectacular. We begin with a visit to San Martino, Lucca's magnificent cathedral, with a magnificent green and white marble façade and a Romanesque and Gothic interior. Next we visit San Michele in Foro, with a rich mixture of twisted marble columns and Cosmati work on the exuberant Pisan-Romanesque façade. Built on the site of the ancient Roman forum, much of the decoration is pagan, and the painting of Saints Helena, Jerome, Sebastian and Roch by Filippino Lippi are not to be missed. This afternoon we stop in Poggio a Caiano, set in a pleasant spot on the Ombrone River. We will visit the magnificent Medici Villa Ambra, which was ordered by Lorenzo il Magnifico on a plan drawn by Giuliano da Sangallo in 1484 and completed in 1514. The true heart of the building is the splendid Leone X room on the first floor of the villa, where a large ballroom named after the Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, contains an excellent collection of frescoes by the Tuscan Mannerist School. Outside lies a beautiful garden redesigned in the 19th century, a neoclassic building used as lemon store and the stables.

DAY    6            FLORENCE (THE ART TREASURES OF THE RENAISSANCE)
We begin with a visit to the Accademia Gallery, where we will view Michelangelo's statuary masterpiece, David. We continue with a visit to the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence's premier sculpture museum, with works by Michelangelo and Donatello. In the old armory are 16th-century works, including some of Michelangelo's earliest sculptures, including Bacchus (1497), the Pitti Tondo, the so-called Apollo-David, and the bust of Brutus. Donatello is also well represented in the museum, including a mischievously smiling Cupid (ca. 1430-40), his polychrome bust of Niccolò da Uzzano, the Marzocco, St. George, the marble David (1408) and the magnificent bronze David (1440-50). Our morning concludes with a brief visit to the Church of Santa Croce, featuring the impressive tombs of many of Florence's most important people, including Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Dante and Galileo. After viewing the open-air museum of sculpture in the Piazza della Signoria, the political stage of Renaissance Florence, we conclude the afternoon with a visit to the Uffizi Museum, which contains a collection of the most important Italian and European paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries, including works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli.

DAY    7            FLORENCE AREA - SIENA - ROME (3 NIGHTS)
We will make an early morning start as we leave Florence and begin our journey to Rome. Our first stop today will be in Siena, one of Italy's best-preserved medieval cities, which is dominated by its unique Duomo (Cathedral) and its striped Bell Tower. We will visit the Duomo, including the beautiful Piccolomini Library, designed to house the churches collection of illuminated manuscripts. The magnificent room features an unrivaled ceiling and large frescoes depicting the important events in the life of Pope Pius II. We continue with a walk through the narrow and winding streets of Siena to the Piazza del Campo, a vast and lively square in the heart of the city. We continue to Rome, the Eternal City.

DAY    8            ROME (FOCUS ON MICHELANGELO & RAPHAEL)
Today we will explore the Vatican, the world's smallest independent nation, and the center of the Christian world. Our day begins with a specialist-guided tour of the Vatican Museums, which house one of the most impressive collections of art in the world. Our tour will include the map rooms, the tapestry rooms, and the magnificent Raphael Rooms, as well as the spectacular Sistine Chapel, highlighted by Michelangelo's ceiling and his Last Judgment. We continue with a visit to St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the western world and the most important point of pilgrimage in the Catholic world. Highlights of our visit will include: The Pieta by Michelangelo, the tomb of St. Peter and Bernini's magnificent Baldacchino. After time to explore St. Peter's Square, we will continue with a walk to the Piazza Navona, built on the foundations of Domitian's Circus. This magnificent square, designed in the 17th century by Bernini, is full of life and is highlighted by one of Rome's most spectacular fountains, the fountain of the Four Rivers. Our afternoon concludes with a visit to the Pantheon, one of the grandest and the best-preserved Roman monuments, which today houses the tombs of Raphael, Vittorio Emmanuelle II, and Queen Margherita.

DAY    9            ROME (FOCUS ON BERNINI & CARAVAGGIO)
Our day will begin with a visit to the Church of Santa Maria della Vitoria, highlighted by the Cornaro Chapel, which features Bernini's The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Our morning continues with a visit to the Museo Borghese, located in the Borghese Palace. The museum features sculptures by Bernini, including Apollo and Daphne, as well as masterpieces by 16th and 17 century Italian artists such as Raphael, Correggio, Titian and Caravaggio. After a walk through the Borghese Park, we will view the Piazza del Popolo, before visiting Santa Maria del Popolo. The highlight of this magnificent church is the Chigi Chapel, built originally by Raphael and later completed by Bernini. We will also view Caravaggio's two works in the Cerasi Chapel, Crucifixion of St. Peter and Conversion of St. Paul. Our afternoon concludes with a visit to San Luigi dei Francesi to view the Contarelli Chapel, which features 3 paintings by Caravaggio based on scenes from the life of St. Matthew. This evening we will walk to the Spanish Steps, the stairway of the Church of Trinita dei Monti, and "the sitting room" of the city. Our evening concludes at the spectacular Trevi Fountain, where it is traditional to toss a coin into the fountain to ensure a return to the Eternal City.

DAY    10            DEPARTURE FROM ROME
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.