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Detailed Itinerary (back to top)
Day 1 Rome (D) Your tour leaders Mario and Viny will meet you at the hotel in the centre of Rome at 4.00 PM. Introductions and a small talk on the tour will precede an afternoon stroll through some of the famous "piazze" of Rome. The guided walking tour will include Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza Barberini, Piazza di Spagna, Fountain of Trevi, Piazza della Rotonda, Piazza Navona and finally Campo de' Fiori. Then we travel to Trastevere with an early dinner in a family restaurant in this beautiful part of Rome.
Day 2 Rome/Ascoli Piceno/Macerata (BLD) After breakfast we leave Rome for Macerata. We will travel in air-conditioned comfort through some of the most beautiful countryside of the Central Apennines. We make a brief stop at Ascoli Piceno for a tour of the historical part of the City. We will walk around the Piazza del Popolo and the other main square Piazza Arringo. After a quick lunch we then proceed to Macerata for check in at our hotel. Dinner at a local restaurant before an evening at the opera at the magnificent Sferisterio.
Day 3 Macerata (BLD) After breakfast we will spend the morning with a local guide who will take us through the city's famous landmarks and museums. Lunch will be at a traditional restaurant. The afternoon is free for you to stroll through some of the beautiful streets of Macerata. A special dinner is organised at a local restaurant specialising in local cuisine and wines.
Day 4 Macerata/Recanati (BLD) Today we will visit the town of Recanati. This was the birthplace of Giacomo Leopardi, Italy's greatest romantic poet. It is also the home of the world renowned tenor Beniamino Gigli. We then visit the museum in Villa Colloredo-Melson on the outskirts of the town which holds Recanati greatest art treasures, a room with four of Lorenzo Lotto's finest pictures. The afternoon is free. An early dinner before a performance again at the Sferisterio.
Day 5 Macerata/Loreto/Pesaro (BLD) After breakfast we leave Macerata and travel to the northern most part of Le Marche Region and our stay for the next 6 nights is in the City of Pesaro. Pesaro is situated on the Adriatic Coast. On the way we will make a stop at Loreto for lunch, a beautiful hill town second only to Assisi and Rome as a place of religious pilgrimage. The town is a showcase of some of Italy's greatest artists and architects. Dinner at the hotel will be preceded by an optional passeggiata through the historical centre of Pesaro.
Day 6 Pesaro/San Marino (BLD) Today after breakfast at the hotel, we travel just over the border of Le Marche for a day visit to the tiny Republic of San Marino. It is a day for shopping as San Marino is jammed with duty free shops. Apart from souvenirs, you will be able to pick up perfume, watches and leather bags at very reasonable prices. San Marino is also worth a visit for its history and pageantry and its magnificent hilltop setting which offers excellent views of the countryside. A picnic lunch is organised at one of the parks of San Marino. We travel back to Pesaro for a free afternoon. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 7 Pesaro (BLD) After breakfast a local guide will accompany you as we stroll through the streets of Pesaro. We will visit the house of the Gioacchino Rossini and the Rossini Consevatoire which hosts many items of Rossini memorabilia. We will explore the ancient centre of Pesaro with its Ducal Palace and Piazza del Popolo. Lunch will be at one of the local trattorias just off the Piazza del Popolo.
The afternoon is at leisure. Early dinner at the hotel before attending a performance at Teatro Rossini, one of the 3 venues used during the festival.
Day 8 Pesaro/Gradara (BLD) Today's visit is to Gradara, a medieval village dominated by its magnificent castle which overlooks the Adriatic Sea. We will tour the castle and the impressive old walled town. Gradara was made famous by the legendary love affair between Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini as immortalised in the 5th Canto of Dante's Inferno. Lunch at Gradara with piadina and local wine.
In the afternoon you will have time to relax before an optional tour of the Villa Imperiale. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 9 Pesaro/Urbino (BLD) . Today we explore the land once ruled by the medieval lords of Montefeltro. We visit Urbino one of Italy's fascinating towns of the Rennaissance. It is also the birth place of Raphael. A conducted tour of the magnificent Ducal Palace which houses the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche with its precious paintings by Piero della Francesca, Tiziano, Paolo Uccello and Raphael. A lunch is organised in a traditional osteria in Urbino. An early dinner at the hotel before our second opera performance.
Day 10 Pesaro (BLD) After breakfast we will visit the Civic Museums and several important churches and their art treasures. Lunch is organised at Novilara, a nearby hill town, in a traditional trattoria which is famous for its local produce and pasta e fagioli on the menu. After a pleasant stroll of Novilara, we travel back to Pesaro. There will be a special farewell dinner in one of the most famous restaurants in Pesaro.
Day 11 Pesaro (B) The tour officially ends after breakfast. Mario and Viny will farewell the group at the hotel.
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