Fly London to Verona and 3 nights at the Leon d'Oro Hotel with time this evening for the group to go out and eat at an excellent restaurant and discuss the week ahead. (D)
DAY 2 - THERE IS NO WORLD WITHOUT VERONA
A full day in Verona on a leisurely tour that will include the great tombs of the Scaligeri, the Roman Theatre and Archaeological Museum, the unique doors of San Zeno, Titian's outstanding Assumption in the Duomo, the famous Arena (the best in Italy) and the so-called tomb of Juliet, a mix of myth and archaeology. (B)
DAY 3 - VAL CAMONICA
A full day visit to the UNESCO site at Val Camonica and an exploration of the extensive rock art to be found here which is exceptional in quality and quantity with over 100,000 engravings spanning 8,000 years. Themes and iconography will be investigated in full in conjunction with the Archaeological Cooperative of Valcamonica. (B)
DAY 4 - CATULLUS SAYS…
Another wonderful full day as we explore the shores of Lake Garda in an AWT way with visits to the mosaic villa of Catullus at Sirmione, more rock inscriptions at San Vigilio, the Bronze Age site at Ca'nova and the prehistoric Rocca at Rivoli, before continuing to the lovely town of Rovereto and overnight Grand Boscolo Hotel. (BD)
DAY 5 - TO THE MOUNTAINS
A tour of the museum in Rovereto and then we will take a short walk out of town to some amazing dinosaur footprints - about 350 of them! Drive to the small town of Ledro and view the Bronze Age pile dwelling before departing for pretty Bolzano, ringed by mountains and of Austrian heritage. Overnight Alpi Hotel. (BD)
DAY 6 - THE DOLOMITES
This morning we visit the museum to pay our respects to the famous Ice Mummy, found frozen in a local glacier and predating the pyramid age. We visit Castel Roncolo with the largest collection of original medieval secular art in the world. We drive through the Dolomites to Cortina d'Ampezzo with 5 towering peaks above for one night at the Europa Hotel. (BD)
DAY 7 - THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS
Today we slowly descend to sea level and indeed over the bridge to the lagoon island that is Venice, without doubt the most beautiful city in the world where we spend two nights at the sumptuous Gabrielli Hotel. This afternoon is at leisure to explore the canals by vaporetto or better yet, by gondola. (B)
DAY 8 - LA SERENISSIMA
A leisurely guided tour of St Mark's, the Doge's Palace and the Grand Canal - a heady blend. Rest of day at leisure. (B)
DAY 9 - HOMEWARD BOUND
A morning free in La Serenissima to explore quieter areas such as Dorsoduro and Cannaregio at your own pace before we fl y back to London.(B)
 The Theatre at Verona  Interior - Roncolo Castle  The Dolomites Venice |