Day by Day Travel Itinerary

• DAY 01 Mon . Jun . 05

  DEPARTURE

  Today we depart…to follow Paul’s last journey to Rome and the surrounding areas. It will be an inspiring, life-changing adventure! It is by this journey, as we reflect of Paul’s final days. 

• DAY 02 Tue . Jun . 06

  ARRIVE ROME / CATACOMBS / TREVI FOUNTAIN / SPANISH STEPS

  Buon Giorno! Welcome to magnificent Italia.  We enjoy the “glory that was Rome” as we tour some of the famous landmarks. First, we visit the catacombs of Santa Domitilla.  The catacombs are extremely important for the art history of early Christians.  At first, they were used both for burial and memorial services and celebrations of the anniversaries of Christian martyrs, following similar Roman customs.  This afternoon we’ll enjoy a walking tour of baroque Rome including a visit to the Trevi Fountain, the famous Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and one of the most famous squares in Rome, Piazza Navona. We’ll enjoy dinner at our hotel where we spend five nights. 

• DAY 03 Wed . Jun . 07

  ROME / SAN CLEMENTE / TRAJAN’S COLUMN / PIAZZA DEL CAMPIDOGLIO

  After breakfast we proceed to San Clemente, we’ll visit the Basilica of San Clemente with its magnificent frescoes and its twelfth-century mosaic of the Cross. You can travel back in time and visit a fourth-century basilica before exploring what was once a pagan temple! Centuries of Christian faith, art and history wait to be discovered! Most important for us, is that it was one of the first house churches in which Paul taught and preached. Next, we pass by Church of Santa Prisca (Priscilla) dedicated to her on the Aventino Hill. This spot has traditionally been associated with Paul. Priscilla came from a wealthy Roman family. Aquila, her husband, was probably Greek. Paul spent a couple of years with them in Corinth. This is often mentioned Paul’s Letters and the Book of Acts. The House on the Aventino Hill where Paul lived is named in a legal document of the 5th century, as “Titulus Priscae We then proceed to the center of the Roman Empire. From Trajan’s Column, jewel of architecture and sculpture made by Apollodorus of Damascus, our guide will lead us along the Via dei Fori Imperiali (the road in the center of the city of Rome) to view the ruins of the emperors built as lasting memory of their power. We then enter the Forum of Trajan, the largest and most splendid of all marketplaces. A wide variety of goods were offered to Roman citizens — a true forerunners of the modern commercial centers! On foot you will reach the Capitoline Hill, once political and religious center of the town, which today is the seat of the Municipality. The stairway will lead you to the Piazza del Campidoglio, the magnificent result of a single project by Michelangelo, with a copy of the most famous equestrian statue in the world, the statue of Marcus Aurelius. Behind Piazza del Campidoglio you will find a natural terrace providing the best panoramic point over the valley of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Walking through the Valley of the Roman Forum with its impressive buildings, we will view the Curia, seat of the Roman Senate, the State Archive, with basilicas, palaces of justice, the Temple of Vesta, and the House of the Vestals (the virgins in charge of keeping the sacred fire always alive) and all-around temples and columns and arches of triumph erected to commemorate the many gods of Roman history. From the Forum the guide will show you to the place linked to the fabulous origins of Rome: The Palatine. Here, Romolus founded the town in the year 753 BC and starting with Augustus the great emperors settled here. From the valley of the Roman Forum, you will admire the Domus Tiberiana, which is only partially explored and the ruins of the Imperial Palaces. Leaving the Roman Forum you will find the  Arch of Constantine, erected to commemorate the victory of the emperor over Maxentius in the 4th century ad. We end this part of the tour at the Colosseum, everlasting symbol of the greatness of Rome and the stage for the historical fights of the gladiators. Tonight, we’ll enjoy a special dinner at local ristorante Tempio di Bacco.  Return to our hotel for overnight. 

• DAY 04 Thu . Jun . 08

  ROME / ABBEY OF THE THREE FOUNTAINS

  We start the day with a visit to the Abbey of the Three Fountains. This is the traditional place of Paul’s martyrdom; where three different springs gushed out at each spot touched when Paul’s head fell down. Legend claims that when St Paul was decapitated, his head bounced three times and fountains miraculously sprang out when it touched the ground. The legend is nice, but the springs were known in pre-Christian times as the Aquae Salviae, and the excavations revealed ancient mosaic pavements. Still, even if it is not true, it helps identify the site of St Paul’s martyrdom. It is also said that there was a stone-pine tree at the site of his death, and the identification of this place was strengthened when ancient stone-pine cones were found here during excavations in 1857. We end our morning tour with a visit to San Paolo Alla Regola.  According to tradition, S. Paolo Alla Regola is accredited as his first home in Rome. Here he lived between 61 and 63 AD, for eighteen months as required by law, pending trial. In this first Roman period, in his state of semi-freedom, Paul may have met the community of Rome, “domus ecclesiae” where they gathered to share the Word and the Eucharist and may have visited the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Paul lived in one of the places inhabited by the Jews, near the River Tiber, the Trastevere area, beyond the port of Ripa Grande, the 14th and final quarter of the city, according to the district divisions by Augustus. Recent archaeological excavations in this area showed the presence of stores of grain (horreum). “Paul took a rented horreum” — which is a large barn where one could possibly preach, teach, and comfort the Christians. Visiting the church, you will see the oratory which has been created using the room where Paul lived and on the main beam you can read the following: “This is the place where the Apostle Paul lived and taught.” After a break for lunch travel to the center of the Roman Empire. This afternoon you have free time for lunch and time to explore on your own.   Return to the hotel for your dinner and overnight. 

• DAY 05 Fri . Jun . 09

  VATICAN MUSEUM / SISTINE CHAPEL / ST. PETERS BASILICA

  We start the day with a visit to the Vatican Museums. Passing through the Court of the Pigna, designed by Bramante in the 16th century, you will enter the Belvedere Palace to reach the heart of the museum, the Belvedere Courtyard. Proceeding with the visit you will quickly pass the secondary galleries to reach the Greek Cross Room where the splendid Sarcophagi of St. Helene and St. Constance are housed. Walking through the Galleries of the Candelabra, of the Maps and of the Tapestries you will reach the Apostolic Palace, the oldest section of the complex of the Vatican Palaces. Your guide will show you the Apartments of Julius II, splendidly decorated by Raphael and his assistants, and then the Sistine Chapel, where you will admire one of the highest masterpieces of art: the Genesis and the Last Judgment by Michelangelo, that have gained their original splendor after the latest restorations. Leaving the Sistine Chapel and going down the Royal Stairway, projected by Bernini we will end our tour of Rome with the magnificent St. Peters Basilica. This is afternoon is at leisure to explore sites you may have missed.  Return to the hotel for dinner. 

• DAY 06 Sat . Jun . 10

  OUTSIDE OF ROME – TOUR TO ORVIETO

  Journey to Orvieto, set on a 984-foot-high plateau overlooking vineyards below. Visit the Duomo of Orvieto, a notable Romanesque-Gothic cathedral built over a span of 300 years. The façade is a visual treat, a blend of sculpture and mosaic splashed with a palette of colors and magnificent bronze doors. Inside, view inspiring frescoes by renowned artists. The Orvieto Cable Car is an innovative transport system dating back to 1888. It is an efficient mode of transport for carrying passengers between the charming old town zone and the modern development surrounding the Orvieto Railway Station. Enjoy the pleasant views of the Umbrian countryside on your journey up the fortress hill, home to the town’s most significant landmarks. Afterwards walk through Orvieto’s charming, narrow alleys, and small squares.  This evening we’ll have a special farewell dinner.  

• DAY 07 Sun . Jun . 11

  DEPARTURE

  Early morning transfer to airport — We say farewell to Italy and fly home, taking with us extraordinary memories of the history of our faith and the culture of a place which has had a profound impact on Western civilization.