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Saturday, October 18
Conference-only people will proceed to the airport for their
flights home.
Those continuing will visit the trulli of
Alberobello. These buildings, domed without
mortar, are of construction similar to those of Mycenae (3,000 BC).
After lunch a deluxe motor coach will take you by coastal
road and autostrada to the four star Vibo Valentia. Included dinner
and buffet breakfast.
Sunday, October 19.
A ferry will take you to Sicily and to
Cefalu with opportunity for prayer in the 12th
century Norman duomo built by Roger II. The magnificent mosaics are
the most purely Byzantine works of art in Sicily. From Cefalu we
proceed to Palermo, the most exciting city in
Sicily, sited on the Conca d'Oro. Your hotel will
be the four star San Paolo Palace (an appropriate hotel as
this is the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul). Included
dinner and breakfast buffet.
Monday, October 20.
A day to explore the delights of Palermo with its
archtecture influcenced by the Byzantine, Arab, Norman, exhurberant
Siciliar Baroque and Art Nouveau. The dozen really important
churches reflecting all of the above (except Art Nouveau). Perhaps
the Byzantine gem is the Capella Palatina with its
dazzling mosaics. For those with a taste for the macabre, there are
the catacombs with dessicated, costumed remains on view. Dinner and
breakfast and the Hotel San Paolo Palace are included.
Tuesday, October 21.
A short distance from Palerma is Monreal. Built by
the Norman William II as a gift to God and to counter the influence
of Palermo's archbishop, it is the artisitic high point of Norman
Sicily. Its interior litters with mosaics of Sicilian and Byzantine
origen. The gold used inthe church weighed over a ton. The mosaic
cycle, complete in 1182, contins Old Testament scenes in the nave,
the teachings of Christ in the aisles, choir and transept, the
Gospels in the side aisles, and the Christus Pantocrator in the
apse. After the overwhelming splendor of the interior, the quiet
beauty of the cloister of the Benedictine monastery offers a
welcome respite.
After lunch you will make a short geographic journey, but a long
chronological leap as you go to the fifth century BC Greek
temple in Segesta. In a serence countryside
setting, its beauty is perhaps the least compromised by modernity
of any in Sicily. The tour will then return to the four
star Hotel San Paolo Palace for an included dinner and
breakfast.
Wednesday, October 22.
Today you will visit the Valley of the Temples,
the ancient Akragus. Dating from the 5th century BC, nine of ten
temples are still visible. The Temple of Concord is one of the most
beautiful. The temple of the Olympian Zeus was to be one of the
biggest Doric temples ever built. The city was completely destroyed
by the Carthaginians in 406 BC. This evening you will stay in the
four star San Michele in Caltanisetta. Dinner and breakfast
included.
Thursday, October 23.
Piazza Armerina will take you into the Roman
world of the third century AD. Noted for thousands of square feet
of floor mosaics in public rooms, privates quarters, baths and
courtyards, this magnificent country villa was begun by Maximanius
Herculae, Diocletian's co-emperor. The mosaics are the largest and
best preserved from Roman antiquity. The coach will
take you past Mount Etna to
Taormina. After a time to visit this earliest and
most beautiful of Sicilian resorts, you will have dinner in
Taormina, and then drive to Messina where you will board the
overnight ferry for Salerno.
Friday, October 24.
Debarking at 8:00am in Salerno, youi will visit Paolo Portoghesi's
Church of the Holy Family. Then you will
proceed to Pompei, the city buried in the volcanic
ash of Vesuvius. After a tour, youi will drive the incredibly
scenic road of the Amalfi Coast to the spectacular
town of Ravello. Noted from Boccaccio's Decameron
to the jet set, on the Via San Siovanni del Toro one sees some of
the most beautiful palaces of Ravello. Of special note is the
beautiful Romanesque Church of Santa Maria a Gradillo, and the
duomo (1086). Then it is a short drive to Amalfi,
where you will stay at the four star Grand Hotel Excelsior
with its spectacular views. Dinner and breakfast included.
Saturday, October 25.
Via the Amalfi Coast, the tour will continue to
Naples and a visit to the National
Archaeological Museum which includes Roman treasurs from
Herculaneum and Pompei--including its famous frescoes. Naples is
famous for its presepios, so you will visit the street where many
of the finest Christmas figures are made. Toward evening you
will take the autostrade to the Hotel Holliday Inn, Parco dei
Medici. Included is the farewell dinner.
Sunday, October 26.
After a good night's sleep and an included buffet
breakfast, you will have an easy transfer to the Leonardo
da Vinci Aeroporto (Fiumenchino) for your flight back to the
States.
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