Shrines of Northern Italy & Rome - Faith-Based Travel (5360)

9 Day Tour from Milan to Rome

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Catholic heritage in Italy extends well beyond the Vatican. Discover the inspiring Catholic Italian icons of northern Italy. From Milan’s St. Ambrose to Turin’s St. John Bosco and Padua’s St. Anthony, you’ll collect memories and inspiration that will remain with you for life. Visit the Holy Shroud Museum in Turin and the Gothic Duomo in Milan, and marvel at the unique beauty of the Carthusian Monastery of Pavia. Discover the history of musical notes at the Abbey of Pomposa and admire in awe the early Christian works of art of the Byzantine era in Ravenna. Spend two full days in Rome, focusing on the Papal legacies. Attend the Papal Audience (subject to availability), visit the four major Basilicas of Rome, join Mass, and collect in prayer at many inspiring places of worship instilling a sense of solemnity and serenity. Enjoy a special treat as you visit the Papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo and its gardens, the perfect spot to meditate surrounded by beauty.

Adventure is knocking with everything you need for perfectly affordable touring. Cosmos includes hand-selected accommodations, guided sightseeing, and seamless transportation between destinations—with value-minded travelers in mind. Explore with expert Cosmos Tour Directors and Local Guides, complimentary headsets, and private, first-class, air-conditioned motorcoach with free Wi-Fi. Enhance your free time to explore like a local with your CosmosGO mobile app!

* For operational reasons, changes to the Rome program cannot be excluded.

Dates & Prices Book Online

800.646.5374

Shrines of Northern Italy & Rome - Faith-Based Travel map

Photo Highlights

Meals

Meals & Itinerary

Buffet breakfasts daily, 3 dinners

Notes:

The Papal audience at the Vatican is subject to availability.
Mass services may be in local language and venues are subject to change.
Papal audience not available on departures June 11 and September 14

Itinerary

Day 1 ARRIVE IN MILAN, ITALY

Check into your hotel and, if you have time, start exploring this busy city on your own before meeting your tour companions and Tour Director during the included welcome dinner at your hotel.

Dinner

Day 2 MILAN

Dedicate the morning to Milan’s most important Catholic churches: St Ambrose Basilica and the Gothic Duomo. St Ambrose is the patron saint of beekeepers, beggars, learners, and Milan. Celebrate Mass and discover the treasures of the Basilica and the Duomo with a Local Guide.

Breakfast

Day 3 MILAN–TURIN

Turin is known in the Catholic community worldwide as the home of the Holy Shroud, only available to the public on very special occasions. The city was also home to St. John Bosco, the priest who founded the Salesian religious institute to help poor children with their education during the industrial revolution. Your visit includes the Holy Shroud Museum, the Basilica of St Mary Ausiliatrice, and St John Bosco's rooms. You’ll have time to appreciate the elegance of this city and former capital of Italy before attending Mass.
Today's Distance: 90 mi / 145 km

Breakfast

Day 4 TURIN–PAVIA–PADUA

Pavia boasts a beautiful Carthusian Monastery, built in the 1400s by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. The monastery is one of Italy’s “hidden treasures” with lavish decorations. It is still inhabited and looked after by monks who still live a traditional life of seclusion and prayer.
Today's Distance: 245 mi / 395 km

Breakfast

Dinner

Day 5 PADUA–POMPOSA–RAVENNA

Attend morning Mass and visit St. Anthony Basilica in Padua with a Local Guide, then enjoy a short city sightseeing tour and time on your own. In the afternoon, on the way to Ravenna, we’ll stop to see the Abbey of Pomposa, where the Benedictine monk Guido d’Arezzo invented modern musical notation in the 11th century.
Today’s Distance: 85 mi / 137 km

Breakfast

Day 6 RAVENNA–ROME

UNESCO declared the early Christian monuments of Ravenna as having “outstanding universal value.” Ravenna was the seat of the Roman Empire in the 5th century and of Byzantine Italy until the 8th century. It has a unique collection of early Christian mosaics and places of worship. The Neonian Baptistry, the Basilica of St. Apollinare Nuovo, St. Vitale Church and the Archbishop’s Chapel of St. Andrew were all constructed in the 5th and 6th centuries. They show great artistic skill, including a wonderful blend of Greek-Roman tradition, Christian iconography, and Asian and Western styles. The morning is dedicated to discovering these masterpieces and focusing on the Byzantine-style mosaics with a Local Guide. In the afternoon, travel to Rome.
Today’s Distance: 221 mi / 355 km

Breakfast

Dinner

Day 7 ROME

Today you have the unique chance to attend the Papal Audience in the Vatican (subject to availability). Afterwards, enjoy an included city tour with a Local Guide to see the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, where St. Paul was buried after his martyrdom, St. John Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral of Rome, and seat of its Bishop (the Pope) and the Holy Stairs. Said to have led Jesus to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate, the stairs were transferred to Rome by Empress St Helena. Finally, visit St. Mary Major Basilica, where a reliquary contains wood from the Holy Crib. Attend Mass here before returning to your hotel.*

* For operational reasons, changes to the Rome program cannot be excluded.

Breakfast

Day 8 ROME

A special treat today: visit the Papal Summer Residence in Castel Gandolfo. Wander through its manicured gardens, an opportunity to reflect and meditate in quiet and relaxing surroundings. Walk through the rooms where many Popes have spent the summer months enjoying the cooler countryside on the hills outside Rome. Later, you can join one of the optional excursions available.*
Today's Distance: 50 mi / 80 km

* For operational reasons, changes to the Rome program cannot be excluded.

Breakfast

Day 9 ROME

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.

Breakfast

Tour Director

With COSMOS, there’s no better way to get to know your destination than through the eyes of a Tour Director. We’d like you to meet one of our Tour Directors, who average over a decade of experience and are representative of the type of expert that will be with you on your vacation.

JORGE LOZANO LEITAO

Escorting tours for more than 5 years

“I'm a daily pilgrim, taking each day as a new opportunity to discover & share about life, people & places. Whilst I now live in Italy, I'm originally from Galicia in Spain and have double nationality due to my Portuguese father. I'm proud to consider Catholic faith-based travelling my specialist field. As I always explain to the pilgrims I'm glad to meet on our way, these experiences transcend the simpler sense of vacation touring as we do not only travel in search of shopping, exploring, leisure, relax or entertainment, but we travel to meet what, somehow, has been part of us from the very beginning of our existence through our identity, our family or cultural heritage: that's pilgrimating, a journey that takes us to redefine our existence according to our beliefs through those sites where these have happened or been commemorated.”

Accommodations

Optional Excursions

No matter what you’re into: food, wine, history, art, music or anything else, we give you the freedom to personalize your vacation with optional excursions that speak to your interests.

When you book your excursions with us, you can be assured that every optional excursion that we offer coordinates with the free time that you'll have in your destination, so you'll never have conflicts between included and optional activities. Our team of travel experts carefully selects each optional excursion that we offer to ensure that you receive the highest quality at a great value. Our tried-and-true partners have a finger on the pulse of the city in which they operate so they deliver the very best experiences. We offer experiences you cannot create on your own and because you’re booking with us, we coordinate all your transportation and timing needs.

The following optional excursions are examples only for this vacation. These may or may not be offered, and availability is subject to days of operation and seasonality. Please select a departure date to view optional excursions and pricing for a specific date (due to currency fluctuation, pricing shown is subject to change until purchased). Optional excursions are available for purchase on our MyCosmos site 90 days prior to the tour start date.

Price Ranges

$ ($50 USD and under)
$$ ($51 - $100 USD)
$$$ ($101 - $150 USD)
$$$$ (Over $150)

Rome

Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

A tour around the Vatican Museums to admire the beautiful tapestry gallery and the Sistine Chapel with masterpieces by Botticelli and Signorelli. See the "Genesis" and Michelangelo's "Last Judgment".

Price Range: $$

The Catacombs

The early Christians created the Catacombs, a network of underground corridors. We will show you the best of them!

Price Range: $

Treasures of Rome and Dinner

Enjoy a tour of Rome and relax over a 3-course dinner with dessert, local wine, and authentic Roman atmosphere!

Price Range: $$

Private Touring

Private Touring: Cosmos European Private Touring enables you to experience all of the attractions, sights and highlights of your selected Cosmos tour as a private experience - delivered just for you and your traveling party. With Private Touring, you'll have your own dedicated Tour Director, your own private transportation and driver, and your own professional local guides. All with greater flexibility in pace and your experience. For your selected tour, there will be additional per-person cost for the size of your party - from 1 to 24. This additional supplement is reduced with each traveler you add to your party. Here's a sample of the additional cost:

6 guests in a party: $1,851*
18 guests in a party: $426*

Contact Cosmos or your preferred travel agent for pricing for your specific party size as well as any other information on Cosmos Private Touring.

*Supplement pricing is per person (USD) and will be added to the standard published price for your given departure date and is based on availability. Supplement price is valid for 2021 travel year. Occasionally some included and optional activities & excursions may be operated with other guests. Additional restrictions may apply. Not applicable for custom groups. No Group allowances or promotions are available on Private Touring. Published itineraries only. Note that blackout dates may exist where the Private Touring option is not available.

The "Starting at" or listed price is based on the lowest price available to book. Price is per passenger based on double occupancy and does not include International airfare; additional fees/charges are not included. If a price is crossed out, the new price includes a limited time promotional offer(s) – please review current promotions or deals for additional information. Some tours require intra-vacation flights (and in some cases intra-vacation segments must be purchased from Cosmos).

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