VACATION UNDER THE ITALIAN SUN
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Day 1. June 5. Fri. Fly to Italy
At 21:10 p.m. leave from Philadelphia with American Airlines and go to Rome, Italy. Dinner is served aboard.
Day 2. June 6. Sat. Land in Rome, connect for Palermo
At 11:20 a.m. land in Rome. First impression: Italian is spoken here! While waiting for your connecting flight to Palermo, have a “cornetto” (croissant) and an espresso coffee or just begin to enjoy the delicious Italian food with a full meal (it is lunch time). Then go to the Gate for Palermo and, after one hour flight over the Tyrrhenian Sea, you land in Sicily, the magic land of legends! A private Bus will take you to your hotel. You are very tired, so relax in your room, but make sure you wake up on time for your first exquisite Sicilian dinner. Buona Notte! (Good Night!)
Day 3. June 7. Sun. Visit Palermo
Palermo is a city of about a million people and the capital of Sicily. It is rich in history and culture. During the past 3000 years many nations conquered and ruled it: the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Spaniards, and French. Their cultural influence is still evident in the highlights of the city. A local guide you will take you to see most of them. Then you will have plenty of free time downtown for lunch and to for some shopping. Same hotel
Day 4. June 8. Mon. Agrigento/ Campobello di Licata
Did man reach civilization only in our times? A journey to Sicily proves that he reached it more than 2000 years ago. In fact everywhere in Sicily one can find remains of the great Greek Civilization. Why Greek? Because the Greeks conquered and owned Sicily for many centuries; they built monumental temples and public buildings that are still standing. In Agrigento (old Akragas) you will see a profusion of that civilization. The so called “Valley of Temples” (the heart of old Akragas) still reveals what a beautiful and prosperous city it was. Alas, time, wars, earthquakes, fires and Akragas came to an end. Today farmers grow wheat, olive and almond trees where that city was. However, the temples, ruins and burial sites are still there and attract a large number of visitors. You will see and touch those ruins. A local guide will walk you through them and explain everything. Next, a country restaurant is waiting for you: you will eat antipasto, three kinds of Sicilian pizza and plenty of wine! Then you drive through central Sicily and arrive to your next hotel by Taormina.
Today a few people, instead of visiting those temples, will go to the town of Campobello di Licata for their sentimental journey. Visiting the town of their family roots and meeting relatives will be a thrilling experience!
Day 5. June 9. Tue. Taormina
Today you fill your mind and soul with the splendor of God’s creation. Located above the Ionian Sea with the smoking Mt. Etna on the back ground, Taormina is the most visited place in Sicily and one of the most breathtaking places of in Italy. The 3000 year old Greek Theater is still there and you must see it. After a short orientation tour, you will have the rest of the day free to stroll, eat and go on a shopping spree. Ladies, Yes, Taormina is a shopping paradise! Same Hotel.
Day 6. June 10. Wed. Calabria
Arrivederci, Sicilia Bella! Leave Sicily, cross the Strait of Messina on a huge ferry boat and land in the Italian mainland, the Calabria Region. After traveling through mountains, high bridges and quaint villages on hilltops, you take a break for lunch near Cosenza. Then continue north through more of Calabrian scenic landscape and arrive to a very nice hotel in Paestum. It is a long day on the road, but smile: tomorrow will be a day of complete relaxation in Amalfi!
Day 7. June 11. Thu. Amalfi
After a short drive to Salerno, you take a large boat going along the Amalfi Coast and to the city of Amalfi. What is so special with Amalfi? They say that when people of Amalfi die and go to Heaven, they look around and say: “Well, nothing new; it looks just like home!” Today, while on the boat and then in the city of Amalfi, you will see that those people are right. Breathtaking blue sea and sky, beaches, picturesque towns, good food, limoncello drinks, a super artistic cathedral and the tomb of the Apostle St. Andrew: what a fantastic place to visit! Oh, Yes, Ladies, this is another famous place where you can do a lot of shopping. You will have the entire day free to enjoy that piece of heaven and to sing: “O Sole Mio…..!”
While most people today will be in “heaven” in Amalfi, a few others will be in another kind of heaven: they will spend the day in the picturesque, remote mountain town of Campora, where they will walk on the footsteps of their ancestors!
Day 8. June 12. Fri. Sorrento
If today a few people, instead of Sorrento, prefer to go to Pompeii, that will be possible. But there is no way to go to both Sorrento and Pompeii.
Day 9. June 13. Sat. Rome
Day 10. June 14. Sun. Vatican City
Day 11. June 15. Mon. Assisi
Day 12. June 16. Tue. Siena
You have heard about the beauty of the “Tuscan country side”. Smile, because today you drive through it as you go to the magic city of Siena, known as “A pearl among the Tuscan hills”. It is one of Italy’s most visited tourist places and one of the greatest art centers. It has a profusion of fine architecture and numerous medieval churches and palaces. The entire historical center is the same as it was some 1000 years ago. Piazza del Campo, the Tower rising above the city, the many quaint old streets, its 800 year old Cathedral, the cozy restaurants and shops: what an interesting place to spend some time! The famous “Pallio”, a picturesque parade in medieval costumes and horse race, takes place in Siena every year. Seeing Siena is going a step back to medieval Tuscany. The best way to enjoy Siena is to walk at easy through its medieval streets and palaces. Have a camera ready, brows in every shop, sit in an outside café and watch people go by. Hotel by Florence.
Day 13. June 17. Wed. Florence
Florence is the cultural “Renaissance City of Europe”, because, after about 1000 years of “dark ages”, western civilization was born there again. The greatest artists lived, worked and are buried there: Dante, Michelangelo, Macchiavelli, Donatello, Rossini, Galileo, etc. Highlights like Uffizi Gallery, Gorgeous David by Michelangelo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Signoria, Duomo, Gates of Heaven, Giotto’s Campanile, Santa Croce, etc. will make you feel as if you were living during the Renaissance time! You will have the entire day free city for visiting and having your shopping spree. Ladies, this is the day you have been waiting for: shop, shop, shop! Late afternoon drive to your next hotel by Venice.
Day 14. June 18. Thu. Venice
After breakfast you board your Bus and drive to the famous city of Venezia (Venice). You might have seen it in books and on TV, but today you see and touch that fairy city entirely built on water. It is one of the world’s greatest tourist attractions. It is a city with a network of canals, narrow alleys and hidden plazas linked by 450 quaint bridges. For more than a thousand years Venice was the capital of the famous Venetian Republic. Its fleet dominated most of the Adriatic Sea. After an orientation walking tour of the city’s highlights, you will have the rest of the day free to discover on your own that city of dream: ride the Gondola, shop for souvenirs, eat in a romantic restaurant by a canal and have fun.San Marco’s Square: what a fantastic place, how people and pigeons! You will be in a real Wonderland! Remember that the only way to convince your friends you were in Venice it is to show pictures of you in the Gondola! Same hotel.
Day 15. June 19. Fri. Return Flight
“And now the end is here…..” At 12:15 p.m. you leave Venice Airport and fly back home. It is true that your wallet is almost empty, but, see how much life experience you have gained and how much fun you have had! Because of the delicious food you ate everyday in Italy, from now on pasta and wine will be part of your life! Mamma Mia, I love Italy! Arrivederci, Bella Italia! I shall return!
Dates of the tour: June 5-19, 2026
Cost of the Tour: $4950 per person
Tour cost includes: round trip air fare from Philadelphia to and from Italy, air fare from Rome to Sicily, all land transportation in Italy by private, deluxe bus, all hotel rooms (double occupancy) in first class hotels, all breakfasts and all dinners, sightseeing, tour escort at all time, local guides in a few places, tips and taxes.
Tour cost does not include: lunches, entrance to the Valley of Temples, entrance to any museum, boat to Amalfi. Why not included? Because often a few people choose to be free and not go to those places. Thus: pay only if you go. If you go to all those places it should cost a total of about 150 euros (based on 2025 cost).
Miscellaneous
Make the check to:
P.O. Box 174. Reynoldsburg Oh. 43068
For more information, please contact:
The Italian Heritage Tours
Phone: 1-614-833-5716
Yonnie Niebel: 1-814-238-6977

VACATION IN BELLA ITALIA
Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2026
14 days
Day 1. Sept. 30. Wed. Fly to Italy
At 15:01 (3:01 p.m.) you leave from Columbus, Oh, with American Airlines and go to Philadelphia. From there you fly overnight to Venice, Italy. Dinner is served aboard. If you are not from the Columbus area, you fly from your closest airport and meet the group in Philadelphia. In that case your airfare might be different.
Day 2. Oct 1. Thu. Land in Venice, visit Padua
Italy, here we are! Before landing your airplane flies over the snow capped Alps Mountain. If you are seated by a window, enjoy the spectacular view. Venice is entirely built on water, but don’t worry, your plane will not land in the water! Yes, you are very anxious to start your Italian Dream, but you cannot go to Venice, because you are tired and going to Venice is a full day job. You cannot go to your hotel neither before 3:00 p.m. Mamma Mia, what are we going to do? You will spend a few hours in the nearby medieval city of Padua, where you can see the renowned shrine and tomb of St. Anthony. Then you check in a very nice hotel in the neat resort town of Abano, right by Padua, where a huge swimming pool and a classy dinner are waiting for you. Buona Notte (Good Night).
Day 3. Oct. 2. Fri. Venice
Day 4. Oct.3. Sat. Verona
The great city of Verona, on the Adige River, is another interesting tourist attraction in north Italy. People go there mainly to admire the best preserved “Roman Amphitheater”, the Castle of Romeo-Juliet and to relax in one of the many sidewalk Cafés on main square. You will have plenty of free time there: make it romantic, dream of being Romeo-Juliet! Then you will return to your hotel on time to relax on the large swimming pool with water directly from a hot spring.
Day 5. Oct. 4. Sun. Tuscany: Pisa
Day 6. Oct. 4. Mon. Tuscany: Florence
Day 7. Oct. 6. Tue. Tuscany: San Gimignano, Winery
Day 8. Oct. 7. Wed. Assisi
Day 9. Oct. 8. Thu. Loreto, Gilulianova
Day 10. Oct. 9. Fri. ABruzzo: Faieta Oil Mill and Memorable Lunch in Pianella
Day 11. Oct. 10. Sat. Abruzzo: Manoppello, Sulmona
The town of Manoppello keeps preciously one of the most revered relics in Christianity: “Il Volto Santo” (The Holy Face). It is a delicate veil bearing an image of the face of Jesus Christ, reputed to be the veil of St. Veronica. You will see it. Next, you spend some time in the medieval and neat town of “Sulmona”, surrounded by mountains as high as 10,000 feet. The town is known as “The Capital of the Confetti”. You will see many Confetti shops along main street. We will even visit the old confetti factory that still makes them. Then, say “Arrivederci, Abruzzo” and drive to your next hotel by Rome.
Day 12. Oct. 11. Sun. Vatican City
This morning you go “abroad” to Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. Let’s begin by walking into St. Peter’s Square: what an impressive place! Then you follow your group and go inside St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the largest and most famous of all the Christian churches. There you will see the famous “Pieta’’ of Michelangelo, the tomb of St. Peter and the tomb of many popes, including that of the Polish Pope John-Paul. There is so much to see in that Basilica that one should spend an entire day there, admiring its breathtaking pieces of art and learning about the history of the Christian church. You will also visit the Catacombs (the Church’s basement) where you can see the tomb of many other popes.
Day 13. Oct. 12. Mon. Rome: historic highlights
You are in Rome, the Capital of the World, the Center of Christianity, the land of the Roman Caesars, and the Cradle of Western Civilization. Let’s discover its past and present greatness.
Day 14. Oct. 13. Tue. Return flight
“And now the end is here…..” At 13:30 (1:30 p.m.) you leave Rome’s Airport and fly to Charlotte, N.C. From there you go back home. It is true that your wallet is almost empty, but see how much life experience you have gained and how much fun you have had! Because of the delicious food you ate in Italy, from now on pasta and wine will be part of your life! Mamma Mia, I love Italy! Arrivederci, Bella Italia! I shall return!
Dates of the tour: Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2026 (14 days)
Cost of the Tour: $4875 per person
For more information please contact
Remo/Eva Faieta
at
The Italian Heritage Tours
Phone: 1-614-833-5716