Duration: 9 Days
Dates: October 9, 2022 to October 11, 2022
Departure City: Jacksonville, Florida

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Detailed Itinerary

DAY 1 Sunday , October 09th 2022 Depart for Rome .
International Airport on our overnight flight to Rome. Complimentary meals and beverages will be served on board.

DAY 2: Monday , October 10th 2022 Arrive –Rome – Assisi
Arrive at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport, proceed through Passport Control, claim your luggage, and meet your tour guide inside the baggage claim aria. Upon exit from customs we will board our comfortable motor coach and soon we are on our way to Assisi, one of the high points of any travel experience. After a two and half-hour ride, we will see Assisi on a mountaintop. The narrow lanes, the Shrines of Saint Francis and the overwhelming art dedicated to its young friar - a rich young man who turned to God after an illness and established an order that has grown stronger over the centuries. Visit the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Crowned by the magnificent dome designed by Alessi, this great Basilica was built in 1569. It enclosed the shrine of the "Porziuncola" or the Little Portion Chapel around which the first Franciscan community was centred, the place where Clare received the habit from Francis, and the Capella Del Transito, which marks the spot where the Saint died. You will see the statue of Saint Francis in the courtyard where thorn less roses bloom. After our visit we continue to Assisi for hotel check-in. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Assisi. (B,D)

DAY 3: Tuesday October 11th 2022 Visit the Sites of St. Francis & St. Clare
After early breakfast, transfer to the Basilica of St. Francis to Celebrate Mass at the Tomb of St. Francis, at which we will. After Mass, visit the Basilica of St. Francis. Our local guide will take us to explore the Basilica complex, which is actually composed of two churches built one atop the other. Beneath both churches is the crypt that houses the tomb of St. Francis. The lower Basilica dates from 1228 to 1230, and is richly decorated with beautiful stained-glass windows, and paintings done by some of the most important artists of the 13th and 14th centuries. In the upper Basilica, built from 1230 - 1253, we will marvel at the monumental frescoes painted by Giotto, which depict scenes from the life of the saint. Continue to visit the Basilica of St. Clare, the first and most important heroine of the Franciscan movement, view her remains and see the miraculous Crucifix. ,Independent lunch. In the afternoon we will take a van and drive a short distance to visit San Damien heritage, which has been very important to the religious path of the young Francis. In the year 1203, in its dilapidated old oratory, the Christ on the Crucifix, spoke to St Francis saying: "Vade Francisco et repara domum meam" ( Go Francis and rebuild my church) Such words were enough to him, he sold all his goods and used the money to repair the oratory. In this convent, in the winter of the year 1224, Francis wrote the “Canticle of creatures “ – Return to Assisi and continue the tour with the guide: our next visit is at St Claire Basilica, , which houses her incorrupt body. One of the chapels contains the crucifix that bowed its head and ordered St. Francis to “repair God’s Church” Dinner and overnight at hotel in Assisi. (B, D)

DAY 4 Wednesday October 12th 2022 :Assisi Enjoy a day at leisure in Assisi (BD)

DAY 5: Thursday ,October 13th 2022 Assisi – Orvieto - Civita di Bagnoregio – Rome
After breakfast, we depart Assisi on a 1 hour trip to Orvieto where we visit the gothic Cathedral built to house the holy relics of the Eucharistic Miracle of Orvieto. It was this miracle that occasioned the proclamation of the Feast of Corpus Christi and inspired St. Thomas Aquinas to write the famous hymn “Tantum Ergo.” we enjoy lunch in a local restaurant with tasting, of the Orvieto and Orvieto Classico wine this region is famous for. On the way to Rome , we will stop in Civita di Bagnoregio,known as "the dying city", a small town which became a popular destination for national and international tourism. We are in the land of St. Bonaventure , father of the Church and the central figure in the Middle Ages. Franciscan Earth, then. After crossing the bridge, we will be immersed in a quiet place, out of time and the world. Continue to Rome, where we will check in at the hotel, dinner and overnight (BLD)

DAY 6: Friday , October 14th 2022 ROMA : AM/Tour of the Vatican Museums Sistine Chapel; St. Peter’s Basilica –PM Baroque Rome
After breakfast, begin your morning of sightseeing with a visit to one of the great art collections in the world, the Vatican Museums. Walk in the footsteps of the Princes of the Church through the richly decorated galleries. Continue on to the Sistine Chapel, the private chapel of the Popes, where Michelangelo best expressed his genius in monumental frescoes Daily Itinerary tour continues in St. Peter's Basilica. Take in the awesome architecture and the statuary adorning this largest of all Christian churches, including Michelangelo’s magnificent “Pieta.” Pray at the new tomb of Blessed John Paul II, in St. Sebastian’s Chapel. On our own, with time permitting, we may wish to go to the Vatican Crypt to see and pray near the tomb of St. Peter and where numerous pontiffs are buried, among incredible works of art. Regain our bus and transfer to Navona Square, where we will enjoy time at leisure for lunch. In the afternoon, we will meet the guide and continue the tour of Rome, by walk we reach the Pantheon and to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, this church houses relics of St Catherine. Continue our walking tour , to reach the Gesù Church, the mother Church of the Society of Jesus. We have a private tour of the church and the burial site of St. Ignatius as well as the original restored rooms of Ignatius, where he wrote the Constitutions of the Society, and governed the new Jesuit Order for 17 years.- We return to the hotel for dinner and overnight (BD)

DAY 7 Saturday October 15th, 2022 AM Imperial Rome / San Clemente PM/ Sant’Agnese
After breakfast we we meet the local guide for a tour to learn about the great history of Rome, the “Eternal City.” Its history, evolving over 2,500 years, will be made visible for us by the Roman ruins, 15th century churches, 17th century palaces and 20th century monuments. We start with walk along the ancient Roman Forum. See the Arch of Titus, we continue to the Coliseum for a fascinating explanation of its history. See the Arch of Constantine, next we visit the the Basilica of San Clemente, one of the few Roman sites where we can actually travel through time to discover ruins from centuries apart. The Basilica of San Clemente grants visitors the unique opportunity to see how Roman life has evolved throughout thousands of years. The first tier of Basilica di San Clemente was erected in the late 1st Century AD. Almost 200 years later, the inner courtyard was transformed into a Temple of Mithras or 'Mithraeum.'In 313 AD, when Christianity triumphed over Mithraism as the primary religion of the Roman Empire, a hall and later a church were built atop the Temple of Mithras. Fully transformed into a Basilica by the end of the 4th Century- A further short bus transfer will lead us to Trevi Fountain, where we can toss a coin to wish to come back to Rome. Enjoy time at leisure for lunch. In the afternoon, we will regain our bus and drive to visit the Catacombs of Sant’Agnese and visit the Mousoleo of Santa Costanza – We celebrate Mass- Continue to the hotel, dinner and overnight (BD)

DAY 8 :Sunday , October 16th 2022ROMA:; AM: Relics of the Passion of Jesus. PM St Paul Outside the walls and Medieval Rome 
Easier of access for European pilgrims than the Holy Land, in the Middle Age Rome became the major destination for pilgrims. Rome became home of many saintly martyrs, holy relics and miraculous events. Today we will visit the basilicas to pray on the relics of the Passion of Jesus Christ We will begin the tour from Basilica of St Mary Major. The crypt is built to resemble the cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem and here there is a reliquary containing part of the Holy Crib in which ourLord Jesus Christ once lay.. After we will visit Holy Stairs so named because they are the steps which led to the praetorium of the Roman Procurator Ponzio Pilato. From there we will visit Basilica of St John in Lateran which houses a fragment of the table on which Jesus consumed his last supper.Then we drive to the Basilica of St Paul Outside the walls, built by Constantine in the 4th century on the site of St. Paul's tomb. After having been totally destroyed by fire in 1823, it was rebuilt on the original basilica plan of early Christian churches. Surrounding the nave are the medallions of each Pope, from Peter to Benedict XVI. Break for lunch ( included) - Continue by bus for a short distance to the Medieval side of Rome, so called Trastevere ( the other side of the river Tevere ) where will visit the Church of St Francis a Ripa, the first Franciscan Church in Rome built over the cell where St Francis used to stay when he was in Rome. His cell is well preserved and has been enriched with a ingenious mechanism (built by a Franciscan friar in 1708). Continue to the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere. It was probably the first official place of Christian worship built in Rome and certainly the first dedicated to the cult of the Virgin. The church was founded in the third century by Pope Callixtus I. Here we celebrate Mass. Enjoy free time for shopping. Dinner at our leisure tonight, in one of the local “trattoria” Return to the hotel for overnight (BL)

DAY 9: Monday , October 17 th 2022 Return from Rome
Breakfast at your hotel. Then, you will be transferred to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport for your return flight home. Arrive on the same day.