Venice (2 nights) Florence (4) Rome (3)
A first-class, fully escorted tour focusing on the beauty of the most delightful destinations in Italy. Join us as we journey to the romantic and wondrous cities of Venice, Florence, Siena, Pisa, Padua and Rome.

Begin your tour in Venice. This will be your home base for your first two nights. Sightsee Venice with its awesome Grand Canal and St. Mark's Square. We're off to Padua to visit the Basilica where the remains of St. Anthony are interred. Then spend four nights in Florence, the fountainhead of the Renaissance, and take a sightseeing tour of the city. On your fun-filled excursions to Pisa, see the home of the incredible Leaning Tower. Back in Florence; delight in our exclusive enchanted dinner. Off to Siena, the famous medieval city.Our final stop is Rome, the Eternal City, where you will visit some fabulous places like the Vatican and the grandiose Colosseum. Attend a fabulous feast at our exclusive Gala Dinner Dance in a Roman castle. Your last day in Rome is a day of leisure. Depart Rome for the USA after eleven stupendous days in the lovely land of Italy!

Highlights:
- Gala Dinner Dance at the Brancaccio Palace
- Gala Dinner Dance at the Casina di Macchia Madama (April-Oct2008 only)
- Worry-Free & Fully Escorted
- First Class Hotels
- American Breakfast & Dinner Daily with Wines
- All Gratuities (hotel & restaurant) & Transfers Included

• Perillo Tours is happy to arrange low cost flights priced as shown in Dates & Rates

• Airport transfers, provided you arrive and depart on scheduled tour dates and times

• First Class Hotels with Private Bath

• Hearty breakfast daily

• Dinner nightly. Serving pasta, choice of 2 entrees, vegetable, salad, dessert, coffee. Antipasto also served on "Dinner Out" nights

• Dinner Beverages - Dinner wines, mineral water, coffee, soda or beer

• All baggage handling, hotel taxes, hotel service charges

• All gratuities for hotel and restaurant personnel

• All sightseeing and excursions described featuring a visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

• Wireless headsets to hear your guide clearly and distinctly in public places

• Gala Evening at the lavish Casina di Macchia Madama with cocktails, dinner and dancing (starting Apr9)

• Deluxe air-conditioned inter-city motorcoaches with lavatory aboard

• Professional Tour Directors and licensed local guides

• Personalized, worry-free and fully escorted

Day 1
Depart USA
Boarding your overnight flight, we're off for the adventure of a lifetime.

Day 2
Cities Visited: Venice
ARRIVAL IN VENICE
Benvenuti a Venezia! We are pleased to offer complimentary motorboat transfers from the Venice airport to your hotel at 11:00am and 1:00pm. Your Perillo representative will be at the airport to greet you. This afternoon will be yours to relax. Why not have a café in St. Mark's Square - which is the "drawing room of Europe." This evening we enjoy a welcome drink followed by dinner with fine local wines.

Day 3
Cities Visited: Venice
EXPLORING VENICE
This morning we'll meet our expert local guide for a walking tour of St. Mark's Square, the great Byzantine Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs and inside the Doge's Palace, one of the most stunning examples of go this art. This afternoon, we'll have a chance to "get lost" in the city's labyrinth of canals, bridges and tiny piazzas. Fear not. Being a small island, it's impossible to stray very far. But it won't hurt to master the phrase "Dov'e' piazza San Marco?" Tonight, we'll enjoy dinner out at one of my favorite Venetian restaurants with great wines.

Day 4
Cities Visited: Padua and Florence
TO FLORENCE, VIA PADUA
This morning it's back to the mainland where we'll meet our dependable driver for the ride to Florence. But on the way we'll make an important stop. Visitors to Padua are often surprised by a sense of deep spirituality. St. Anthony (patron saint of lost objects) is interred here and the Basilica holds the world's largest collection of Giotto's paintings. When you get home friends will ask, "So what was your favorite city in Italy?" Now you'll have four days to decide if you agree with Steve Perillo - it's Florence! Tonight we'll enjoy dinner at our hotel. A toast to Florence, to our new friends and how about one for Perillo?

Day 5
Cities Visited: Florence
FLORENCE - BIRTHPLACE OF THE RENAISSANCE & A SHOPPERS PARADISE!
This morning our city sightseeing will include the breathtaking view atop Piazzale Michelangelo, followed by a tour of the Academy of Fine Arts where Michelangelo's proud "David" stands. We'll the see the majestic Duomo (Cathedral) built in 1296, Giotto's Bell Tower and the Baptistery with its renowed "Gates of Paradise" doors. We follow the medieval streets to the most striking square in Florence, Piazza della Signoria and then to Santa Croce Church, Michelangelo's final resting place. There will be plenty of time to shop this afternoon for leather, gold and lots more. But be ready for dinner at one of my favorite Florentine restaurants with great local wine.

Day 6
Cities Visited: Pisa
PISA!
Just a short drive away is Pisa. As we near the most photographed building in the world, our imaginations kick into gear, wondering "how" and "why". You'll soon find out! We'll take our own photographs of the famous bell tower, along with the beautiful Cathedral and Baptistery. This afternoon is leisure in Florence. Tonight we'll have dinner at one of the most well-known Florentine restaurants, complete with savory Tuscan wine.

Day 7
Cities Visited: Siena
A DAY IN SIENA
While ambitious Florence was launching the Renaissance, Siena was its laid-back country cousin. Just 30 miles south of Florence, she is considered the best preserved medieval city in Italy. Our guided tour will include the elaborately carved Gothic cathedral, Town Hall and Piazza del Campo - site of the famous Palio horse race. After the tour, you'll have time for shopping and a little more exploration. For our last night in Florence, we'll recap the day's events with our friends at a great local restaurant.

Day 8
Cities Visited: Rome
ANDIAMO A ROMA!
This morning we head south to Rome along the Highway of the Sun. It's a beautiful drive through the very heart of Italy - the regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. This afternoon, we'll enjoy a panoramic tour of Imperial Rome, including Castel Sant'Angelo, the Roman Forum, Largo Argentina (where Caesar was stabbed by Brutus), the Jewish Ghetto, and Circus Maximus. Then we'll enter the Colosseum, reliving the brutal entertainment of the gladiators and the lions, refereed by the emperor himself. Next we visit colossal St. Peter's Basilica. Home to Michelangelo's Pieta, Bernini's seven-story bronze altar canopy. Astonishing mosaics and priceless sculptures. Tonight we share our stories with a fabulous dinner at our hotel.

Day 9
Cities Visited: Rome
VATICAN MUSEUMS & THE SISTINE CHAPEL, GALA PARTY TONIGHT
This morning we'll visit the Vatican Museum, a treasure trove of sculptures, paintings and tapestries. Our visit culminates in the Sistine Chapel, the room where the Pope is elected. We enter in total silence, not wanting to disturb Michelangelo's famed frescoes depicting the "End of Times."  We marvel at Michelangelo's Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. Back on the coach, we enjoy a panoramic city tour viewing Castel St. Angelo and Largo Argentina - where Julius Caesar met his fate at the hands of Brutus. See the most important of the seven hills in Rome, the Capitoline - home of Jupiter, Marcello's Theater and the Jewish Ghetto. We are awed by the view of the ancient Imperial Palaces atop the Palantine Hill overlooking the Circus Maximus, where the Rape of the Sabines occurred. There will be time to relax this afternoon. For strollers and people watchers - a table a Doney's on Via Veneto. For shoppers - Via Condotti. Are you young or wish you were again? Join Rome's well-behaved kids on the Spanish Steps! Tonight get ready for our Gala Party at Casina di Macchia Madama - an extravagant dinner with flowing wines and dancing to our own orchestra. A memorable night with your new friends. Salute!
Not included on departures Nov 1-Apr 8, where the Gala will be replaced by dinner out at a local restaurant.

Day 10
Cities Visited: Rome
A DAY OF LEISURE IN ROME
What a treat - a free day in Rome! But don't sleep too late this morning. There's so much to do and see! Ask your tour guide for suggestions. My own routine is very predictable - espresso in Piazza Navona, a coin in the Trevi Fountain (yes, I still do it) and across the river to the Vatican. A truly amazing city! Tonight is our last dinner out together. No tears, you'll exchange e-mails with your newly found friends and maybe meet your tour guide again on your next Perillo Tour.

Day 11
Cities Visited:
FLIGHT HOME
This morning we board our flight home, arriving in the USA the same day. While we say 'arrivederci' to Italy, we realize we're taking a little piece of it back home with us. Thanks for traveling with the Perillo Family, and please return soon!