Join the Maine Historical Society exploring Rome, the heart of Tuscany, and Venice with a cruise down the Po River into the heart of Italy.

14-Day Splendors of ItalyRome, Tuscany, Venice and the Po River

Aboard Uniworld’s River Countess

October 13–27, 2013From $5,685 per person

*Note: It is not always possible to arrange after-hour visits to St. Mark’s Basilica. If religious functions or festivities are taking place in the evening, we will visit during regular hours.

of its agricultural and artisan origins. In addition to the artistic and cultural treasures, San Gimignano is well known for its local wine and gastronomy. We will go on admiring the beauty of Santa Fina pottery and local handicrafts. You will also have the opportunity to taste the famous Vernaccia, the only Tuscan white wine recognized as D.O.C.G in one of the most renowned wineries of San Gimignano area with a selection of other typical wines and products. We will take a break for lunch at the Fattoria San Donato – a medieval village over looking San Gimignano and then will return for some free time in town before returning to Siena.

This evening dinner is on your own. (B, L)

Sunday October 20

Siena to VeniceMid-morning motorcoach for the 4-hour trip to Venice. This afternoon enjoy free time to explore Venice after embarkation on the ship. (D)

Monday October 21

VeniceFeatured Included Excursions: Walking tour of historic Venice and Grand Canal cruise and exclusive, special evening opening of St. Mark’s Basilica.

Venice, founded in the sixth century, rose up on 118 islands in a lagoon of the Adriatic Sea. It became a great political power that controlled all European trade with the East throughout the Middle Ages, and its citizens lavished their wealth on their home town. You’ll stand in Piazza San Marco, perhaps the most famous plaza in Italy, where every view has been re-created by painters through the ages, and be awed by 11th-century San Mark’s Basilica,* adorned inside and out with treasures Venetian traders brought back from their voyages. The Palazzo Ducale, the Doge’s Palace, refl ects the wealth and the security of Venice’s rulers – it contained both the

doge’s private quarters and the council chambers where the elite 1,000 met to make major political decisions. It is full of artistic treasures, including Tintoretto’s wall-sized Paradise. The exquisite Bridge of Sighs connects the palace with the prisons – which may be how it got its name. See the city as voyagers have always seen it, from the water, as you cruise along the Grand Canal, lined with palaces that refl ect the history of the city – Byzantine, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque – and spanned by famous bridges. Conclude your fi rst day in Venice with a feast for the senses at the Captain’s Welcome Gala. (B, L, Captain’s Welcome Gala)

Tuesday October 22

Venice (Padua)Featured Excursion: Full-day excursion to Padua with Scrovegni Chapel visit.

The 13th and 14th centuries were glory days for Padua. At the Scrovegni Chapel you’ll see the astonishing and moving frescoes painted by Giotto around 1300, but Giotto was not the only artist to shine here; Mantegna and Donatello also gave Padua extraordinary artistic treasures. Your walking tour will take you from the Basilica del Santo to Caffè Pedrocchi, which writers, poets, and artists have frequented. (BB, D)

Wednesday October 23

Serravalle (Ravenna)Featured Excursion: Full-day excursion to Ravenna with Brisighella artisanal foods tasting.

Ravenna, a vital seaport and Italian capital of the Byzantine Empire, is celebrated for the fi fth- and sixth-century mosaics that adorn its churches. You will see the UNESCO-designated Basilica di Sant’Appolinare and the mausoleum of Galla Placidia; the buildings are sheathed in spectacular mosaics. Spend the afternoon rambling through the lovely historic downtown on your own, or discover the delicious results of Italy’s “Slow Food” movement in the Medieval village of Brisighella with an idyllic lunch at an olive oil mill. (BB, L, D)

Thursday October 24

Polesella (Bologna)Featured Excursion: Full-day excursion to Bologna, the culinary capital of Northern Italy.

Spend the whole day in Bologna, called la grassa, meaning bountiful. Does it have the best food in Northern Italy? You be the judge. There’s more to the city than Bolognese sauce, that’s for sure – there’s Parma ham,

Parmegiano (parmesan), and perhaps the best tortellini in the world, all on lavish display at Bologna’s amazing food markets. Join in on a pasta workshop and discover how to make your own fabulous pasta. (BB, L, D)

Friday October 25

Polesella (Verona)Featured Excursion: Full-day excursion to Verona, city of Romeo and Juliet.

Shakespeare endowed Verona with fame through the ages when he wrote of two local star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, but Verona’s wealth comes from its role as a center of trade; today it hosts Italy’s biggest wine fair. You’ll see architectural treasures ranging from an ancient Roman amphitheater still in use to Medieval palaces and the Piazza d’Erbe, with its 14th-century fountain. And, of course, you may stand below the Juliet balcony just as Romeo did. (BB, D)

Saturday October 26

VeniceExplore Venice at your leisure. Take a vaporetto to Murano for the world-renowned glass studios. Of course, you must take a gondola ride! Go to the Gallerie dell’Accademia for the greatest collection of Italian masters in one place; you’ll fi nd Titian, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Veronese, Canaletto, and Guardi, to name only a few. Lounge beside the Grand Canal with an aperitivo. Take time to see some of the quiet back lanes where tourists rarely go and get a sense of daily life in the enchanted city. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)

Sunday October 27

Venice (Disembark), Transfer to the AirportDisembark the ship and transfer to the Venice Marco Polo Airport for your fl ight home. (CB/BB)

of its agricultural and artisan origins. In addition to

Sunday October 13

Overseas Flight to Rome

Monday October 14

Arrive RomeIn the heart of the Eternal City, in Piazza della Repubblica, between the Baths of Diocletian and the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli designed by Michelangelo, the fi rst 5-star luxury hotel in Rome was established. Owing to the astounding restoration and redesigning of a sumptuous late XIX-century palace, the Boscolo Exedra Roma is unmatched.

Tonight dinner at the hotel is included. (D)

Tuesday October 15

Rome Mid-morning DepartureIt is impossible to overestimate the signifi cance of Rome in European history. The Eternal City was founded 2,700 years ago and at one time ruled most of the known world, from Northern Africa all the way to the Scottish border. Our tour begins by passing through the Via Veneto, made famous by Fellini’s Dolce Vita fi lm. Before reaching Via Nazionale we cross Piazza della Republica with Najadi’s Fountain. Our walk through the historical centre starts with the Trevi Fountain and continues to Piazza Navona, built on the ancient Domitian Stadium with the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers, Bernini’s masterpiece. Along the way we admire Piazza Colonna so called due to the Column of Marco Aurelio. Visit the interior of the Pantheon which was built in the First Century B.C. with the biggest dome in the world as requested by Emperor Hadrian.

We will enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before our afternoon Roman Countryside and Catacombs tour. By bus and by foot, our guided tour will take us beyond the city walls: through the ancient tunnels of Rome’s catacombs, along the rustic Appian Way, and under the arches of the aqueducts of antiquity. This tour provides a unique perspective on ancient Rome, in an environment that you have never seen in the city center. The coach will take us from the start of the Appian Way, and continue to the southern edge of ancient Rome. We will make three stops along the way, giving us an opportunity to walk the ancient Roman countryside, explore the underground catacombs, and examine the masterful structure of Rome’s remaining aqueducts.

Dinner is on your own this evening. (B,L)

Wednesday October 16

Rome Mid-morning DepartureToday a walking tour with a difference – Our Ph.D. level scholar/historian will provide us with an in-depth alternative to traditional tours. Our four-hour, critically acclaimed Arte Vaticana walking seminar is designed to give a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to the Vatican art collection and St. Peter’s Basilica. We begin with the Vatican art collection, one of the world’s great repositories of art. We generally start with a thorough overview of Papal history and the construction of the Papal Palace (now home to the Museums). We will often veer off to the chronologically-arranged picture gallery known as the Pinacoteca, which forms the perfect backdrop for a seminar on the history of painting from the late medieval to high Renaissance periods. From here we will traverse the halls of the Vatican palaces, visiting the most important rooms of the museums including the ancient statuary collection of Julius II and the Papal apartments decorated by Raphael. By the time we reach the Sistine Chapel, we will have set the context to appreciate the cultural and artistic climate in which Michelangelo worked painting the ceiling and later the Last Judgment.

Lunch is on your own and the remainder of the afternoon is free. This evening we will be treated to a wonderful 3-course dinner in a wonderful rooftop restaurant with magnifi cent views of Rome at night. (B, D)

Thursday October 17

Rome to Siena (via Chianti)Late-morning DepartureAsk a sample of Europeans to defi ne their idea of paradise and the odds are many will come up with something that sounds like the Chianti region of Italy. Every aspect of life in Chianti seems in perfect balance, the landscape so loved by painters through the ages, the

balmy climate, and of course the wine. We will stop in Greve, the capital of the Gallo Nero wine region, and taste wine at Castello Verrazzano – whose cellars date back to the 16th century. After wine tasting we will have lunch in a charming Tuscan restaurant.

After lunch it is a short drive to Siena and Hotel Garden, our 4-star hotel for the next three nights. The hotel, just outside the walls of Siena, is restored from an 18th century villa set within a large park fi lled with rose-gardens and ancient trees. Tonight dinner on your own. (B, L)

Friday October 18

Siena Late-morning DepartureWe will enjoy a slow-paced walking tour of Siena this morning.

Siena is a treasure trove of historical, artistic, religious and cultural riches to be discovered. We will visit on foot the major tourist attractions like Piazza del Campo, the Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall), the Cathedral and the majestic Basilica of San Domenico. There you will note the references to the great noble families and their palazzos, to the great tradition of the Siena Palio but also the stories of pilgrimage and saintliness that distinguish the town. The walk continues with a visit to the Cathedral that preserves the treasures of artists like Pinturicchio, Donatello and Bernini besides its marvelous marble fl oor that is a unique example in the history of art.

Lunch is on your own and the afternoon is free for exploring Siena or relaxing in the hotel gardens. This evening a four course Tuscan dinner is included. (B, D)

Saturday October 19

Siena (San Gimignano) Mid-morning DepartureSan Gimignano – a UINESCO World Heritage site is defi ned as the town with a hundred towers till the 13th century counted 72 towers, fourteen of them are still standing today. Due to the development of trade during the Middle Ages, San Gimignano underwent an economic and cultural revival arising from the recovery

For reservations and information call:

Hewins Travel at 207-523-2123

Past Uniworld Customers

Save $100 per person

$50 per person shipboard credit

balmy climate, and of course the wine. We will stop in

INCLUDES:Land arrangements as noted

12 breakfasts; 6 lunches; 9 dinners7-day Po River cruise as noted

5 shore excursionsWine with lunch & dinner on cruise$50 per person shipboard credit