DAY    3            ASSISI
Assisi, the city of birds and silence, has hardly changed since the Middle Ages.  Our sightseeing commences with a visit the grandiose, gorgeously embellished Basilica di San Francesco, an incongruous memorial to a man who preached and lived an utterly simple life - one of poverty, abstinence, and renunciation of worldly goods in search of greater spirituality.  We will explore the bi-level basilica including: the Lower Church, the Crypt, and the Upper Church, with the famous 28 scenes of the Life of St. Francis, frescoed by Giotto.  We continue with a visit to the Church of Santa Chiara, the resting place for St. Clare's bones, as well as the home of Francis' miraculous crucifix.  Our visit will include the neo-Gothic Crypt, and the Oratorio del Crocifisso, preserving the venerated 12th century crucifix that spoke to St. Francis at San Damiano and set him on his holy path.

• Your first concert performance will be today

DAY    4            ASSISI - ROME (4 NIGHTS) CITY OF THE CAESARS
Today we will return to Rome and explore the most spectacular remains from the powerful Roman Empire, commencing with a specialist-guided tour of the Colosseum, considered the symbol of Rome’s eternity.  Completed under Titus in 80 A.D., over 55,000 spectators could watch the gladiatorial games.  We continue with a walk through the ruins and excavations of the Roman Forum, featuring the remains of magnificent temples, basilicas and triumphal arches, which once formed the heart of the Empire.  Our afternoon includes 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    5            ROME - ST. PETER'S & THE VATICAN
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 contains 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 Last Judgment.  Next we will participate in a Papal Audience (subject to availability and the Holy Father’s schedule).  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.

DAY    6            ROME - THE ETERNAL CITY
Today we will experience one of the holiest places in Rome, the San Giovanni in Laterano Basilica.  St. John Lateran is one of the four largest basilicas in Rome.  In the Piazza of the Basilica rises a 15th century B.C. Egyptian Obelisk, the tallest in Rome.  The staircase located in the Lateran Palace is the Scala Sancta; reputedly the 28 marble steps are the original steps that Christ climbed in the Palace of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem.  Later today we will visit the Mamertine Prison, a Roman prison noted for its famous inmates.  Inside you will see lists of the most important prisoners and how they died - suppliziato means quartered, strongolati is strangled, and morto di fame is starvation.  Saint Peter and Paul are said to have been imprisoned here.  The remainder of the afternoon will be free to explore and shop in Rome at our leisure.

DAY    7            ROME
The Basilica of St. Mary Major is our first visit this morning.  The impressive interior contains remarkable mosaics and depicts scenes from the Old Testament.  Later this morning we will ascend Michelangelo’s graceful Cordonata stairway, leading to Piazza Campidoglio atop the Capitoline Hill. This perfectly proportioned square is highlighted by a copy of the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the center.  On our final evening in Rome 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.

• Your third and final concert performance will be today

DAY    8            DEPARTURE FROM ROME
Our enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as our tour manager/guide accompanies us to the airport for the return flight home.