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Your Trip Includes:
Round-trip air from Nashville
Airline Fuel Surcharges & ALL AIRPORT TAXES
9 nights at centrally located 3 and 4 Star hotels as follows:(or similar)
        ~ 3 nights: April 17-20, Rome, Hotel Emmaus
        ~ 2 nights: April 20-22, San Giovanni Rotondo, Hotel Gran Paradiso
        ~ 3 nights: April 22-25, Assisi, Hotel Subasio
        ~ 1 night: April 25-26, Rome, Hotel Emmaus
Transfers as per itinerary
Breakfasts and 8 Dinners
Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach
Assistance of a professional local Catholic guide(s)
Sightseeing and admissions fees as per itinerary
Mass daily & Spiritual activities
Luggage handling (1 piece per person)
Flight bag & portfolio of all travel document

Not Included:
Lunches. Beverages not mentioned. Travel Insurance optional at $169. (www.206tours.com/insurance) Extended Cancellation Protection Plan $199 per person (www.206tours.com/cancellationprotection) Tips to your guide & driver . 3.5% Credit card processing fee. Items of a personal nature.

Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:

Day 1, April 16, Monday: Nashville - Rome
Depart from Nashville for your overnight flights to Rome.


Day 2, April 17, Tuesday: Arrive Rome
Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy.

Day 3, April 18, Wednesday: Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)
Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican. Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.

Day 4, April 19, Thursday: Rome - Touring Christian Rome
This morning we depart for a sightseeing tour entitled "Christian Rome" which includes: the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the oldest shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, a shrine that contains a relic from the manger of the infant Jesus; the Holy Stairs, the Basilica of St. John the Lateran, The Basilica of the St John in Lateran, is the former residence of the popes prior to their return to Rome in 1377; St Paul Outside the Walls, which houses the remains of St Paul under its main altar; and the Appian Way-- the oldest road from Roman times--plus the famous Domino Quo Vadis Chapel; see the ancient Baths of Caracalla, Arch of Drusus; Tomb of Cecilia Metella, and the catacombs of St Callixtus where the early Christians hid themselves to escape persecution. We will also enjoy a visit to the Trevi fountain. Dinner and overnight.


Day 5, April 20, Friday: Rome - Monte Cassino - San Giovanni Rotondo
We leave the Eternal City and head south, cross through the Roman countryside with its villas and vineyards, stopping at the Abbey of Monte Cassino, a beautiful town founded by St. Benedict in 529. Continue through the countryside heading east to St. Pio’s town of San Giovanni Rotondo, our base for the following two nights. Dinner and overnight in San Giovanni Rotondo.


Day 6, April 21, Saturday: San Giovanni Rotondo - Monte Sant'Angelo
After celebrating Mass, we tour the sanctuary, see the old church and the crucifix from which he received the stigmata in 1918. You will see the confessional where St. Pio spent innumerable hours with a multitude of pilgrims, directing them on their journey toward God. Enjoy a breathtaking view of the Cargano Peninsula and a visit to the Grotto of Michael the Archangel. Six different popes, St Francis and at least four other saints have knelt in prayer at this grotto, seeking the protection of St Michael. A panoramic view of the ocean and the surrounding countryside awaits you at this most celebrated shrine of early Christianity, a shrine consecrated by St Michael himself in 490. Return to San Giovanni for devotions, reflection, and a restful overnight.


Day 7, April 22, Sunday: San Giovanni Rotondo - Lanciano - Loreto - Assisi
We will have breakfast at our hotel before we embark on a drive up the Adriatic coast to Lanciano where we will see the Eucharistic Miracle and celebrate Mass. We then continue on to the great Marian shrine of Loreto to visit the Holy House of Nazareth and the beautiful Madonna of Loreto. More than 50 popes have made a pilgrimage to the house transported by angels to this hill in central Italy in 1294. Tradition has it that this is the house in which Mary first prayed the Magnificat, in which Jesus grew to manhood, and in which the Holy Family lived. Continue to Assisi for dinner and overnight.


Day 8, April 23, Monday: Assisi
Visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. We go to the Church of St Clare. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before dinner and retiring for the evening.


Day 9, April 24, Tuesday: Assisi - Siena
Full day Excursion We are off to the beautiful town of Siena, the birthplace of Saints Catherine and Bernardine and one of Italy's loveliest medieval cities. Here we will stroll the Piazza Del Campo, one of Italy's finest squares and visit the Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Francis, containing the miraculous consecrated hosts that remained intact since 1730. View the incorrupt head of St. Catherine at the Basilica of St. Dominic. Return to Assisi for dinner and overnight.


EXTRA DAY 10, April 25, Wednesday: Assisi - Rome
We'll depart Assisi this morning and travel to Rome. You'll enjoy the balance of today at your leisure for independent activities in this magnificent city!

Day 11, April 26, Thursday: Rome – Nashville.
We bid farewell to our new friends and to a pilgrimage which will be in our memories and heart for a long time to come. We'll transfer to the airport for your return flights to Nashville with memories for a lifetime.

Additional Information & Travel Tips:  What to Know Before You Go
Any Questions?  For more information, contact: 206 Tours Liz tel: 800-206-TOUR (8687) or email: liz@206tours.com with any questions or to register.

For general information, contact: Richard & Luba Richard tel: 615-962-9127

Fr. Mark

or email: richard.luba@gmail.com

click here for a printable flyer

Assisi Cathedral Assisi, Italy		Pietro Lorenzetti Assisi Frescoes, Madonna & Child Assisi, Italy
Piazza del Campo Siena, Italy		Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption Siena, Italy

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