DAY    3            VENICE - FIRST CONCERT
Venice is set in languorous beauty on a shiny lagoon and the center of this city, built on a myriad of wooden piles, is St. Mark's Square.  Here we visit the magnificent St. Mark's Basilica with its famous cupolas, arches and interior walls encrusted with precious art, rare marbles and impressive dark gold mosaics.  Next we will also see the 9th century Bell Tower, the Clock Tower and the old Law Courts on St. Mark's Square.  The Grand Canal has been described as the world's finest street.  We will view palaces of amazing grandeur and richness when we ride on a Vaporetto.  Your guide will also help you discover galleries filled with masterpieces, churches, small squares and bridges like the Bridge of Sighs.

DAY    4            VENICE - RAVENNA - FLORENCE AREA (2 NIGHTS)
We will drive to Ravenna, an Eastern jewel in a Western setting, truly beyond compare.  No other town in Europe has such perfectly preserved monuments and memorials from the late Empire to the early Middle Ages.  The Tomb of Galla Placidia's wonderful mosaics is a model of classic perfection.  The Church of St. Vitalis is one of the wonders, not only of Ravenna, but also of the world, for the beauty and richness of the marbles that remain.  We travel on to Florence, a city that is a living gallery of man's greatest work of art, sculpture and architectural forms.

DAY    5            FLORENCE - SECOND CONCERT
We begin with a visit 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 a brief visit inside the Duomo, we will have the opportunity to do one of the following: ascend the Bell Tower, climb the narrow steps to the top of the red Dome, or visit the spectacular interior of the Baptistery (One admission included).  Our afternoon begins in the Piazza della Signoria, the political stage of Renaissance Florence and virtually an open-air museum of sculpture Our afternoon concludes with a stroll along the Ponte Vecchio. This bridge, built in 1345, is a riot of life and color and is famous for the rows of shops lining both sides that have been reserved for gold and silversmiths since the 16th century.

DAY    6            FLORENCE - SIENA - ROME (3 NIGHTS)
Our first stop is Siena where we will wander through the medieval streets leading to the magnificent Cathedral with its unusual black and white facade and, inside, the lovely Piccolomini Library with its manuscripts and frescoes. We will then make our way to the scallop-shaped Piazza Del Campo, where the Sienese hold their Palio festival, a wild horse race around the square.  We continue on to Rome for the night. After settling in tonight you will take a Walking Tour from Castel Sant’Angelo over the River Tiber to Piazza Navona, an elegant square built on the site of Emperor Domitian’s ancient stadium.

DAY    7            ROME
Rome is so rich in art treasures that many consider it to be the most magnificent city in the world.  We will visit the ruins of the Forum with its many temples, basilicas and arches that lie below the Palatine Hill with its lovely gardens and impressive Roman remains.  Nearby stands the great Colosseum, the grandest and most celebrated of Rome's monuments, where the bloody games took place and where Christians were thrown to the lions.  We will also visit the Pantheon, the best-preserved Roman building and the Victor Emmanuel Monument.

DAY    8            ROME - THIRD CONCERT
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 Spanish Steps, the stairway of the Church of Trinita dei Monti, and “the sitting room” of the city.   Our day 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    9            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.