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12-Day Pilgrimage to Italy
Visiting Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina, Salerno,
Pietrelcina, San Giovanni Rotondo, Gargano Peninsula, Lanciano,
Subiaco, and Rome.
Contact
us for a price for
your group.
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Day 1:
Transatlantic flight to
Rome, Italy
Depart today from the U.S. on a transatlantic flight to Rome.
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Day 2:
Rome – Palermo
This morning, arrive into Rome’s Fiumicino airport to connect
with your flight to Palermo. In Palermo, your tour escort will
greet you and take you to the motorcoach to travel to the
lovely, unspoiled seaside town of Cefalu. There, visit the
duomo that was intended as the main religious site in Sicily.
It contains splendid mosaics in the Byzantine style.
Afterwards, travel to the nearby mountains to visit the
Sanctuary of Gibilmanna, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, its one
of the oldest, most known and celebrated sanctuaries of
Sicily. Return to Palermo for a welcome dinner and overnight.
(WD) |
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Day 3:
Palermo
This morning visit the Duomo of Monreale, one of the great
sights of Norman Sicily. Founded in 1172, it flanks a
monastery of the Benedictine Order. The interior glitters with
mosaics designed by Sicilian and Byzantine artists. The
cloisters are a masterpiece of Norman artistic expression.
Return to Palermo to render homage to St. Rosalia, the patron
saint of Palermo, and enjoy the beautiful view of the city
from the Monte Pellegrino. Afterwards, visit the Palazzo Reale.
The site has been the focus of power since the days of
Byzantine rule and is now home to Sicily’s regional
government. See the luxurious royal apartments, especially the
Sala di Ruggero and the splendid Capella Palatina. Rest of
the day at leisure to explore Palermo on your own. (BB) |
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Day 4:
Palermo – Agrigento –
Siracusa
Depart Palermo this morning towards Agrigento. Visit the
Valley of the Temples, ranking among the most impressive
ancient Greek buildings outside Greece. Continue to Siracusa,
the most important and powerful Greek city from the 5th
to 3rd centuries BC, and, according to the Roman
consul Cicero, the most beautiful. Upon arrival, visit the
Ortiga island, linked by short bridges to contemporary
Siracusa. Its highlights include ancient sites, narrow
backstreets, a restaurant-dotted waterfront, and the Piazza
del Duomo. Dinner and overnight in Siracusa. (BB, D) |
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Day 5:
Siracusa
Start the morning with a visit to the Weeping Madonna of
Siracusa. In 1953, a plaque bearing a small plaster bust of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary shed tears from the eyes of the
Virgin. Tests confirmed that those tears were of a human
being. Many miracles followed. Afterwards, visit the Church of
Santa Lucia in the Achradina quarter, which occupies the site
where St. Lucy, patron saint of Syracuse, was martyred in 304
AD. Then to the catacombs of San Giovanni and the crypt of San
Marciano, where St. Paul preached on his way to Rome. Continue
your visits to the Archeological Park featuring the 5th
century BC sparkling white Greek Theater, the Altar of Hieron
II, the Garden of Paradise, the Ear of Dyonisius with its
extraordinary acoustics, the Roman Amphitheater, and the
Cordmaker’s Cave. (BB, D) |
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Day 6:
Siracusa – Taormina –
Ferry
This morning travel to delightful Taormina. Its most
illustrious relic of the past is the theater. Begun in the 3rd
century BC by the Greeks, it was subsequently rebuilt by the
Romans. Visit the ruins of odeon for musical performances and
the naumachia for artificial lake mock-battles. The 13th
century duomo is a fortress-like building. Time to explore
Taormina on your own before an overnight ferry take you to
Salerno. (BB, D) |
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Day 7:
Salerno – Mugnano –
Pietrelcina – San Giovanni Rotondo
Arrive this morning to Salerno. Your motorcoach and tour
escort will take you to Mugnano to render homage to St.
Philomena, whose remains were taken from the catacombs of
Pricilla in Rome to Mugnano in the year 1805. The Cure of Ars,
St. John Vianney said of her “My children, St. Philomena has
great power with God. Her virginity and generosity in
embracing heroic martyrdom has rendered her so agreeable to
God that He will never refuse anything that she asks for”.
From Mugnano travel to Pietrelcina, the town where St. Padre
Pio was born and lived in his early years and youth. Visit St.
Mary of the Angels Church where he started his ministry, the
house where St. Padre Pio was born and lived his childhood,
the Little Church of St. Ann where he received baptism,
confirmation, and first communion, as well as other sites
related to St. Padre Pio’s life in Pieltrecina. Afterwards
travel to S. Giovanni Rotondo where St. Padre Pio developed
his work and died. Dinner and overnight in S. Giovanni Rotondo.
(B, D) |
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Day 8:
San Giovanni Rotondo –
Gargano Peninsula – San Giovanni Rotondo
After breakfast, visit the sites where the miracle-worker St.
Padre Pio spent the last years of his life: the Church of Our
Lady of Grace, built to house the crowds of pilgrims who
flocked to Padre Pio’s Mass and confessional; the old church
in the friary, where he received the stigmata; the crypt where
his remains are entombed; and the hospital founded by Padre
Pio, one of the best medical research centers in Italy.
Afterwards, tour the Gargano Peninsula, with visits to a 16th
century convent in St. Marco de Lamis, and to the grotto where
St. Michael the Archangel appeared to the Bishop of Sipontum
in Monte San Angelo in 493. Dinner and overnight in San
Giovanni Rotondo. (BB, D) |
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Day 9:
San Giovanni Rotondo –
Lanciano – Subiaco – Rome
A day of many graces! In Lanciano, pray before the Eucharistic
Miracle: the Host that turned to flesh and the wine that
turned to visible blood in the 8th century.
Afterwards, travel to Subiaco. In the 6th century,
weary of the decadence of Rome, St. Benedict left the city to
become a hermit in a cave above Subiaco. Others joined him,
and eventually there were 12 monasteries in the area. Visit
St. Benedict Monastery; overhanging a deep gorge, it comprises
two churches built on top of each other. The lower one
incorporates the original cave where St. Benedict spent 3
years after fleeing Rome. Nearby, visit St. Scholastica
Monastery, dedicated to St. Benedict’s sister, is organized
around three cloisters. A short drive will take you to Rome,
for dinner and overnight. (BB, D) |
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Day 10:
Rome
Today visit St. Peter’s Basilica the place of martyrdom and
burial of St. Peter the Apostle. Render homage to the many
Popes and saints entombed in this site. Next, to commemorate
St. Paul’s year visit St. John Lateran, the basilica where the
head of the saint is enshrined above the altar; St.
Sebastian’s Catacombs, where St. Paul was buried, St. Paul
Outside the Walls, housing St. Paul’s remains, and Tre Fontane
Church where St. Paul suffered martyrdom. (BB, D) |
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Day 11:
Rome
Today take advantage of a leisure day in Rome to visit those
sites you have always wanted to see but have not had enough
time. Tonight enjoy a farewell dinner to celebrate the success
of your journey. (BB, FD) |
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Day 12:
Transatlantic flight back to the U.S.
This morning transfer to Rome's airport for your return flight
to the U.S. (BB) |
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Call today for a price quote for your group!
Group leaders can travel for free! Call
1-800-290-3876 for details or
fill out our online
Information Request Form.
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