Day 1 - Monday, November 24: Flight from Toronto
Departure at 7:30 PM on Air Canada’s non-stop flight from Toronto to Rome.
Day 2 - Tuesday, November 25: Rome to Beneveto
Arrival in Rome at 10 AM. A comfortable private coach will be waiting to take us along the trajectory of the legendary Appian Way (a Roman road connecting Rome to Puglia, recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site) to visit Monte Cassino, where a terrible battle was fought in WW II, and then to the town of Benevento in the province of Campania. Accommodation in the centrally located four-star Hotel Antum and dinner in the hotel or in a nearby restaurant.
Day 3 - Wednesday, November 26: On to Taranto
After a look at Benevento’s main attractions” first, Italy’s finest triumphal arch, named after Emperor Trajan; and second, the 8th-century Santa Sofia Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then we motor to Matera, the picturesque little capital of the mountainous province of Basilicata, whose name conjures up the title of the Byzantine governors of southern Italy, basilos. The main attractions here are the Sassi, “pebbles,” a troglodyte settlement of houses, some of them already inhabited in the Stone Age, and no less than 130 ancient Byzantine churches, a complex also ranked as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On into the province of Puglia (or Apulia), the “heel” of the Italian “boot,” for overnight in the four-star Hotel del Sole in the historical centre of the seaport of Taranto. Dinner in a nearby restaurant.
Day 4 - Thursday, November 27: Exploring Taranto
Taranto, one of the most important Greek seaports in southern Italy since the time when the ancient Greeks settled here, in the land they called Megalè Hellas (Latin: Magna Graecia), “Greater Greece.” The quaint old town occupies a peninsula tucked between a bay of the Gulf of Taranto, called Mar Grande, “Big Sea,” and a lagoon called Mar Piccola, “Little Sea.” Highlights will be the palm tree-lined waterfront promenade, the Aragonese Castle, the Duomo (Cathedral), and the remains of a Greek temple. No group dinner this evening.
Day 5 - Friday, November 28: Ostuni
Excursion to the region of the “Trullli,” curious dwellings with conical roofs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. in and around the town of Alberobello and the picturesque neighbouring town of Locorotondo. On the way back to Taranto, we may have time to visit the pretty hilltop town of Ostuni and/or a winery. Today, group lunch or dinner.
Day 6 - Saturday, November 29: Massafra
This morning we take a sidetrip to a quaint village, Massafra, famous for its churches carved out of the rock. In the afternoon, visit to Taranto’s National Archaeological Museum, featuring countless mementoes of the Hellenic past of this city and region, including beautiful statues and vases. Rest of the day free to shop or explore on your own. No group dinner.
Day 7 - Sunday, November 30: Taranto to Lecce
Departure from Taranto after breakfast. We explore the tip of the “heel” of Italy, an isolated and rugged but scenic Puglian peninsula tucked between the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas, known as the Salento. Via Manduria, a walled town dating back to the 8th century BC, famous for its Primitivo, Puglia’s highly rated, internationally famous red wine, we head for Gallipoli, a quaint little seaport on an offshore island. In the afternoon, we continue to Otranto, the most oriental of all Italian cities, overlooking the Strait of Otranto, that is, the narrow stretch of water between the Adriatic and the Ionian Seas, facing Albania. Turning inland, we reach the city of Lecce, the capital city of Salento, where we check into the traditional first-class Grand Hotel. Dinner in the hotel or in a nearby restaurant.
Day 8 - Monday, December 01: Lecce
After a leisurely breakfast, sightseeing by little tourist train of Lecce, a city famous for its baroque churches and palaces dating back to its “golden age,” lasting from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Among the highlights will be the Roman Theatre, the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square), and the Sant Croce Basilica. The afternoon is free to shop, visit one of more of the local museums, and/or explore picturesque Lecce on your own. No group dinner this evening.
Gallipoli and Lecce’s Piazza del Duomo
Day 9 - Tuesday, December 02: Ostuni and Bari
Departure from Lecce after breakfast. We head for the historic Adriatic seaport of Brindisi, in Antiquity the terminus of the famous Appian Way, still marked today by two Roman columns. On to the hilltop town of Ostuni, an architectural jewel commonly referred to as “the White Town” for its mostly white-painted architecture, where we pause for lunch. In the afternoon we continue to Bari, Puglia’s biggest city and a busy Adriatic seaport connecting Italy to Greece. Dinner and overnight in the centrally located 4-star/first-class Hotel Excelsior Bari.
Day 10 - Wednesday, December 03: Bari
Morning sightseeing tour of Bari, with as highlights the impressive Romanesque Basilica dedicated to the immensely popular Saint Nicholas with his Turkish-Greek connection (to be explained by your tour guide), the Cathedral, the castle built by German Emperor Frederick II, and the rest of the attractive, labyrinthine old town (Bari Vecchia) as well as the monumental waterfront. Afternoon free to shop, explore the city on your own, and/or visit museums like the Archaeological Museum and the Pinacoteca, featuring Byzantine icons as well as paintings by Italian masters such as Tintoretto, Bellini, Veronese, and De Chirico. No group dinner this evening.
Day 11 - Thursday, December 04: Vieste
We leave Bari and head inland for a visit to Castel del Monte, a mighty medieval castle in a lonely but scenic setting, built by Emperor Frederick II and a unique blend of Cistercian and other occidental as well as oriental, i.e., Byzantine and Islamic, architecture. On into the area that witnessed the 216 BC Battle of Cannae, Hannibal’s most famous victory against the Romans, and to the town of Barletta, a seaport on the Adriatic. A must-see here is the “Colossus,” a huge bronze 4th-century statue of a Roman emperor. In the afternoon we continue along the coast to the mountainous and forested Gargano Peninsula, the “spur” of the Italian boot, one of Italy’s most unusual and scenic regions. Dinner and overnight in the 4-star/first-class Palace Hotel, centrally located in the picturesque coastal town of Vieste.
Day 12 - Friday, December 05: Gargano Peninsula
A full day of sightseeing on the Gargano Peninsula. We first experience the Bosco d’Umbra, a majestic “Black Forest” of beech, maple, chestnut, oak, and other trees generally found in more northern regions, but thriving here because of the altitude, over 1,000 meters above sea level. Then we visit Monte Sant’Angelo, a famous hilltop centre of pilgrimage, as the Archangel Michael reputedly appeared here in a cave around 490AD; like Rome and Santiago de Compostela, this site was the terminus of a famous trans-European pilgrims’ road, the St. Michael’s Way, which started in Cornwall and reached Italy via a string of other famous sanctuaries devoted to the Archangel, such as the Mont St. Michel. And we finish with a scenic drive along the peninsula’s magnificent coast, dotted with fabulous beaches, rocky promontories, and offshore rocks known as faraglioni, to our hotel in Vieste. No group dinner this evening.
Day 13 - Saturday, December 06: Vieste
This morning we discover the rugged but scenic northern coast of the Gargano Peninsula, featuring the fishing village of Peschici and the picturesque town of Rodi Garganico with its long sandy beach. Return to Vieste and rest of the day at leisure, except for dinner in the restaurant of our hotel.
Day 14 - Sunday, December 07: To Molise, Termoli and Fiumicino
Early departure and scenic all-day drive towards Rome, a total distance of approximately 400 km. Following the Adriatic coastline, we leave Puglia and enter the small province of Molise, tucked between the Adriatic and the Apennine Mountains. Short stop in the seaside resort and seaport of Termoli, liberated in the fall of 1943 by Canadian troops who called it “Maple Leaf City”! Then we turn inland, enter the Abruzzi region, and cross the rugged Abruzzo National Park, with its forest-covered mountains inhabited by a variety of wildlife, including bears and wolves. Via the town of Sulmona we reach Fiumicino in late afternoon. Time permitting, shortly before our arrival we will take a look at a well-preserved stretch of the ancient Appian Way just outside of Rome, featuring mausoleums and catacombs! Accommodation in the 4-star/first-class Hotel Mercure or similar. Final group dinner in the hotel or in a nearby restaurant.
Day 15 - Monday, December 08: Flight to Toronto
After a leisurely breakfast, transfer to Fiumicino Airport by hotel shuttle and non-stop return flight from Rome to Toronto with Air Canada, departing at 12:15 and arriving at 4:15PM.
