Arrive in Italy and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight in Venice Mestre.

Travel to the magical city of Venice. Rising between sea and sky, this fascinating city boasts waterways and boats instead of roads and cars, encompassing 118 islands separated by more than 150 canals. Stand in the Piazza San Marco, bordered on three sides by palatial arcades in two tiers and faced on the other by the Basilica of St. Mark, one of the world’s most magnificent churches. Tour the Basilica with its treasure of marble and gold background mosaics. From the square, you can see the famous Bell Tower and the Clock Tower, as well as the charming pink and white Doges’ Palace. After seeing the romantic Bridge of Sighs, enjoy free time to explore on your own. You can shop, stroll along the bridges and canals or even indulge in a gondola ride along the Grand Canal. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

From Venice, we will travel south along the Adriatic to Ravenna. Here Theodoric built his future tomb in 520 AD. The Byzantines removed his remains and made this into an oratory (prayer room) that is today a UNESCO Historic Site. This is one of 8 early Christian monuments on the World Heritage List here. Dante is buried in St. Francis Basilica. Continue to San Gimignano for dinner and overnight.

The elegant city of Florence is nestled between a line of hills and the banks of the Arno River. During your visit to Florence, enjoy the beautiful gardens and a leisurely stroll through the open-air markets. Every street, square, and winding alley is a showcase for Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance grandeur. Among Florence’s masterpieces, you’ll see the Piazza della Signoria with its Neptune Fountain and Vecchio Palace, the anta Maria del Fiore Cathedral, which houses Michelangelo’s unfinished Pietá, the Baptistry which features Ghiberti’s famous Gates of Paradis, and the Academy where you can view some of Michelangelo’s finished and unfinished work, including the awe-inspiring David. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Beautiful Siena is built across several hills and valleys. The focal point of the city is the shell-shaped town square which is both a meeting place and a marketplace. It is also the venue for the town’s famous horse race, known as the “Palio.” This afternoon make your way to Assisi for dinner and overnight.

Enjoy your time in Assisi, the charming medieval town once home to Saint Francis. Just two years after his death, the large Basilica was started in his memory. At one time, the land on which the church now stands was an execution ground for condemned criminals. In his humility, Saint Francis asked to be buried there, and it became known as the Hill of Paradise. The church contains his tomb and many great works of art.

Stop in Greccio to visit the sanctuary. Set within the rock like an eagle’s nest, the Greccio hermitage is an extraordinary fusion of architecture and nature. The sanctuary is famous because Saint Francis of Assisi chose it as the backdrop to one of the highest and most lyrical moments in his life: the first recreation of the Bethlehem Nativity in Christianity on Christmas Eve, 1223. Continue to Rome for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, enjoy the opportunity to join in prayer with Pope Francis and receive his greeting, blessing, and prayers. Explore the many wonders of ancient Rome as you visit the magnificent Colosseum and the Pantheon. From the most sacred hill of ancient Rome, Campidoglio, view the Forum. See the Circus Maximus, the Arch of Titus, the famous Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Constantine, and the Victor Emanuel Monument. View the Monti Region, Rome’s most ancient neighborhood, which spreads over three of her seven hills. In the afternoon, explore the romance of Rome as you climb the graceful Spanish Steps and stop at the famous Trevi Fountain. Legend says those who toss a coin into the fountain will one day return to Rome to toss another into the waters of Trevi. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Experience the glory of Christian Rome today as you visit the Vatican, home to one of the greatest museums in the world. And, of course, tour St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s frescoes, now restored to their full, colorful glory. Continue your pilgrim journey to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Maria Maggiore). This is the largest Marian church in Rome.  Its construction began after the Council of Ephesus in 431 proclaimed that Mary was the Mother of God.  Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible into the Latin Vulgate, is buried here. Visit the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran. Six popes are entombed here. Next door is the Holy Staircase (Scala Santa), brought from Pilate’s Palace in Jerusalem by Saint Helena in the 4th century. Climbing the stairs on your knees is a devotion that many pilgrims perform, and a plenary indulgence is granted for completing this feat. Visit also St. Clements and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The present structure stands over the place where Constantine built the first church over Saint Paul’s grave.  The church features a portrait of every pope who has served the church, with the face of Pope Francis I illuminated as the present pontiff. Tour the Catacombs of St. Sebastino and see some of the only surviving examples of early Christian art. In the 1840s, Pope Gregory XVI took steps to preserve the catacombs and their treasures. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Travel today to Manopello to see the Veil of Manopello. After lunch, continue to Bari, once the home of St. Nicholas. Board the ferry for your overnight cruise to Croatia.

rly this morning, we arrive in the beautiful city of Dubrovnik, where we will be met by our private motorcoach. Tour this “Pearl of the Adriatic.” We will visit the Basilica of St. Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, the medieval walls, the historic buildings, and one of the world’s oldest pharmacies. Check into your hotel for dinner and overnight. 

Today, you proceed to the peaceful town of Medjugorje. During our stay in this blessed town, we will climb The Apparition Hill, where the visionaries first encountered our Lady in 1981. We will touch and pray before the cross commemorating the spot where Mary first appeared to the visionaries. We will spend time in prayer and meditation at this holy site. Return to Dubrovnik for dinner and overnight. 

Travel to Kotor, a city by the sea with a history that stretches through time. Enjoy a tour of Byzantine and Medieval sites. Return to Dubrovnik for dinner and overnight.

Depart Dubrovnik to Return to the USA