HIGHLIGHTS OF SICILY & SOUTHERN ITALY - 2010

14 days incl. travel, or 13 days from Rome to Rome (ZM)

Vacation Overview

This is the ideal vacation if you want to concentrate on Southern Italy. Guided sightseeing is included in Rome, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Palermo, and Syracuse, with visits to St. Peter’s, the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Colosseum, and Roman Forum in Rome; the palace and gardens of Reggia of Caserta and the National Archaeological Museum in Naples; the Isle of Capri; Sorrento; and Pompeii. Enjoy boat rides across the Bay of Naples and the Strait of Messina, and an overnight ferry crossing from Naples to Palermo, where guided sightseeing visits the Palatine Chapel and the Norman Cathedral in Monreale. Excursions are also included to the Valley of the Temples and the Syracuse archeaological site, birthplace of Archimedes. Back on the continent, drive through Calabria and Apulia via pretty Matera to Alberobello with its unique trulli houses. Return to Rome for the conclusion of your journey.

Things to see on your vacation: View Vacation Photo Slideshow

A Vacation Story Vatican Museums

"In the early 1500s, Rome was full of neglected ruins from the days of the ancient Empire, which still contained artworks buried amongst the rubble. The Renaissance had seen a sudden growth of interest in all things classical, and the popes – cultivated men who were in touch with the intellectual currents of the day – were the richest art collectors in Italy. They began offering substantial cash rewards for any sculptures, until Rome was scoured by freelance treasure hunters on the hunt for pagan masterpieces. The most dramatic discovery occurred in 1506, when a Roman father-and-son team of excavators reported a promising find near the ruined Baths of Titus. The artist Michelangelo himself excitedly hurried over to help with the work, followed by the pope’s official agent, Guiliano da Sangallo. When the excavators brushed away the dirt of 1,000 years, they found an enormous marble sculpture, perfectly intact, of a muscular Trojan hero being attacked by giant snakes. Guilano cried out in amazement, “This is the very Laocoön described by (the ancient Roman author) Pliny!” The sculpture was carted off to the Vatican Museum."