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Day 01, Thursday: Rome - Naple - Pompeii - Sorrento
Early morning, departure from Rome from Naples, where a short visit of the town is featured. Then on to Pompeii, the famous Roman city destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Lunch in a local restaurant, and afterwards, visit of the excavations. Proceed to Sorrento. Dinner and overnight. (L,D,O)

Day 02, Friday: Sorrento - Capri - Sorrento
Buffet breakfast. Departure to Capri by steamer. Weather conditions permitting, visit of the Blue Grotto. Return to Marina Grande and then transfer to Anacapri. Lunch in a typical restaurant followed by a visit of Augustus' Gardens, with a view of the Faraglioni. Return to Sorrento. Dinner and overnight. (B,L,D,O)

Day 03, Saturday: Sorrento - Castle Del Monte - Alberobello - Selva Di Fasano
Early morning departure for Apulia, on the way, stop to visit Castel De Monte, imposing octagonal castle, with eight octagonal towers at each side built in 1250 by the emperor Federico II, on a hill of 570 meters that dominates all the valley. Free time for lunch. The journey continues to Alberobello, the town of "trulli" and Unesco Heritage. Trulli are typical houses with a cone roof that were used as homes and to keep the farmer utensils. In the afternoon, arrival at the hotel, dinner and overnight. (B,D,O)

Day 04, Sunday: Selva Di Fasano - Lecce - Castellana Caves - Selva Di Fasano
Breakfast and departure to Lecce and its "famous baroque" form of art and architecture that developed between the end of the XVI century and the first half of the XVII century. Very rich and beautiful are the decorations of the church of S. Oronzo the Basilica of Santa Croce, the Celestini Palace. In the square of S. Oronzo we can admire the roman amphitheatre from the II century ac that could seat up to 25,000 spectators and the column of S. Oronzo 29m high with a copper statue of the saint on the top. Free time for lunch. Departure to Castellana Caves. Discovered in 1938, the entrance is represented by an enormous vertical tunnel 60 meters long. At the end of the visit, return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight. (B,D,O)

Day 05, Monday: Selva Di Fasano - Matera - Sorrento or Rome
Buffet breakfast. Departure for Matera that has gained international fame for its "Sassi". The Sassi originated from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first settlements in Italy. The Sassi are house dug into the tuff rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Puglia. Many of these "houses" are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. One of the benefits of this ancient city, is that with there is a great similarity in the look of the Sassi with that of the ancient sites in and around Jerusalem. This has caught the eye of film directors and movie studios. Principally due this reason the Sassi were the set of many films as for example " The Gospel According to St Matthew" (Pasolini 1964), "King David" (Bruce Beresford 1985), "The Passion of the Christ" (Gibson 2006). Matera is also a Unesco heritage. Time for a snack and return to Rome or Sorrento. End of the tour. (B)


B=Breakfast; D=Dinner; O=Overnight                                  appits