Pilgrim Tours offers a nine-day, all-inclusive escorted tour around Italy, with all meals, transportation, guides and admission costs included. The tour begins in Rome where tour-goers will see Vatican City, including St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum, Scala Santa and the Church of Priscilla. From there the tour takes in Roman Christian sites around the city, including the catacombs, where thousands of Christians were interred. The tour then visits Assisi and Montacatini Terme, where guests will stay for two days exploring sites around Tuscany. Florence is the next stop, home to Michelangelo's David. Pisa and Venice end the trip with tours of Basilica San Marco, the Doge's Palace and the Bridge of Sighs.
Pilgrim Tours: Treasures of Italy from a Christian Perspective
800-322-0788
pilgrimtours.com
Italy's long history with Christianity has given rise to hundreds of shrines and pilgrimage sites throughout the country. Blue Heart Travel has a comprehensive 13-day tour of the shrines and important religious centers of Italy that includes 11 nights accommodation, breakfast and dinner daily, a bilingual guide, a modern tourist coach, porterage for luggage, water taxi excursions in Venice, entrance fees to Vatican City, the Catacombs and La Scala Opera House, as well as daily Holy Mass and tickets for a general audience with Pope Bendict XVI. The tour travels first through Rome, where guests will see the sights and have their audience with the Pope, and then on to the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino. From there the tour will take in the shrine of St. Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, the Grotto of Monte Sant' Angelo, where the archangel Michael is said to have appeared many times between the 5th and 17th centuries. The tour then visits Lanciano and Loreto, Assisi, Sienna, Padua, Venice and finally Milan, where a farewell dinner is offered to guests.
Blue Heart Travel: Catholic Shrines of Italy Tour
307-222-4856
bluehearttravel.com
Globus Faith Travel offers an 11-day tour of the most important Catholic sites around Italy. Starting in Rome, the tour takes in all of the religious and secular attractions around the city, including Vatican City and the Colosseum. From there, the tour travels to Montecassino to visit the first Benedictine monastery founded by St. Benedict in 529 AD, and then on to San Giovanni Rotondo, the home of St. Padre Pio, where his friary and churches are located. The Shrine of Monte Sant' Angelo is the next stop, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the country, where St. Michael the Archangel is said to appear. After visiting Loreto and Lanciano, the tour moves on to Assisi where tour-goers will see the crucifix that spoke to St. Francis and St. Mary of the Angel's Basilica. In Siena the group will see the Sanctuary of St. Catherine and St. Dominic's Basilica. During a two-night stay in Florence the group will view Michelangelo's David, as well as have a guided tour of the city. After a brief stop in Padua, the tour concludes in Venice, where a farewell dinner is served at a local restaurant. The tour includes all meals and accommodation at four-star hotels during the duration.
Globus Faith Travel: Grand Catholic Italy
877-797-8793
globusfaith.com
