Sun. September 6:

() • Arrival at the Airport Falcone-Borsellino in Punta Raisi, Palermo

• Transportation to the hotel in Palermo on your own•3 nights in twin rooms with private bathrooms incl. breakfast at a 2 or 3-star hotel in Palermo

• Orientation session with your on-site coordinator• Free afternoon to discover Palermo on your own

• Welcome dinner at a restaurant in Palermo to kick off the program

Mon. September7: (Palermo)•Breakfast at the hotel

• Guided tour of Palazzo dei Normanni and the Cappella Palatina in the morning. Palazzo dei Normanni is the seat of the Sicilian Regional Assembly and was the seat of the Kings of during the Norman domination. It is the oldest royal residence in Europe, and it was the imperial seat of Frederick II and Conrad IV. The Palatine Chapel is located on the first floor of the Palazzo Reale and is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily.

• Admission to the Church San Giovanni degli Eremiti in the early afternoon. The church is famous for its brilliant red domes, which clearly show the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily. The church’s origins date to the 6th century and after the Islamic conquest of Sicily, it was converted into a mosque.

• Admission to the in the afternoon. The church was erected in 1154 and is a notable example of the Arab-, which flourished in Sicily under the Norman period. In 2015, the church received the status of World Heritage Site.

• Admission to La Martorana, or Cattedrale Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, in the late afternoon. The original church was built in the form of a compact cross-in-square, a common Sicilian and south Italian variation of the standard middle Byzantine church type. The church now belongs to the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi, a diocese, which includes the Albanian communities in Sicily, that officiate their liturgy according to the Byzantine Rite in the ancient Greek language.

Tues. September 8: ( -)•Breakfast at the hotel

• Transportation by private bus during the morning

• Guided tour of the Duomo di Monreale in the morning. The cathedral is one of the greatest existent examples of Norman architecture and it was begun in 1174 by William II of Sicily. In 2015 it was declared UNESCO Heritage Site. The main internal feature is the large extent glass , in Byzantine style that was executed between the late 12thand the mid-13thcentury.

• Return train tickets from Palermo Centrale to Agrigento Centrale (travel time: 2 hrs) • Guided tour of the in Agrigento in the afternoon. It is one of the main attractionsin Sicily and a great example of Greater Greece art and architecture. The archaeological site of Agrigento was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and it is the largest archaeological site in the world.

• Free evening in Palermo to have dinner at your expense

Wed. September 9: (Cefalù -Palermo-)•Breakfast at the hotel

• Return train tickets from Palermo to Cefalù (travel time: approx. 1 hour)

•Admission to the Duomo di Cefalù in the morning. The cathedral is a Roman Catholic basilica, which was erected in 1131 in the Norman architectural style. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale.

• Free afternoon in Palermo to discover the city further on your own

• Transportation by private bus in the late afternoon from your hotel to the harbor in Palermo

• Overnight ferry tickets from Palermo to Naples (2-4 berth cabins will be reserved for students)

Thurs. September 10: (Naples) • Breakfast on the ferry

• Transportation by private bus from the harbor in Naples to your hotel

• 3nights in twin rooms with private bathrooms incl. breakfast at a 2 or 3-star hotel in Naples • Orientation sessionwith your on-site coordinator

• Admission to the Church of San Lorenzo Maggiore in the late morning. The church is located in the geographic center of the ancient Greek-Roman city. Beneath San Lorenzo, an original Roman market has been excavated. Two of the gothic church’s chapel are designed in baroque style,the Cacace Chapel and the Chapel of Sant’Antonio.

• Admission to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples in the afternoon. The museum is particularly important for its ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes works from Greek, Roma and Renaissance times as well as Roman artifacts from , and Stabiae.

• OPTIONAL: Admission to the Sansevero Chapel in the late afternoon. The chapel’s origins date to 1590 when John Francesco di Sagro had a private chapel built in the gardens of the nearby Sansevero family residence, the Palazzo Sansevero. The chapel houses works of art by some of the leading Italian artists of the 18thcentury, as for example Raimondo, Francesco Maria Russo and Giuseppe Pesce.

Fri. September 11: (Pompeii) • Breakfast at the hotel

• Return metro tickets from Napoli Garibaldi to Pompei Scavi Villa Misteri (travel time: approx.40 minutesone way)

• Guided tour of the Ancient Site of Pompeii in the morning. It was completely buried duringa catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and rediscovered in 1748. Its excavations have provided an extraordinary and detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.

• Free afternoon and evening in Naples to discover the city further on your own and have dinner at your own expense

Sat. September12: () • Breakfast at the hotel

• Return train tickets from Napoli Garibaldi to the Archaeological Site of Paestum (travel time: approx.1 hour 30 minutes one way)

• Guided tour of the Archaeological Site of Paestum in the morning. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their 3 well-preserved ancient temples in , dating from about 600 to 450 BC. According to Strabo, the city was founded as Poseidonia by Achaeans from Sybaris.

• Free afternoon and evening in Naples to have dinner at your own expense

Sun. September 13: (Naples -) • Breakfast at the hotel

• Train tickets from Napoli Centrale to Roma Termini (travel time: approx. 1 hour 15 minutes)•4nights in twin rooms with private bathrooms incl. breakfast at a 2 or 3-star hotel in Rome

• Public transportation pass for the duration of the entire stay in Rome

• Orientation session with your on-site coordinator

• Guided walking tour of Rome led by your faculty leader in the afternoon. During the walking tour you will see many sights of Rome such as San Pietro in Vincoli, Piazza di Spagna, San Luigi dei Francesi, the Pantheon, Santa Maria della Vittoria and much more

Mon. September 14: (Rome) • Breakfast at the hotel

• Admission to the Coliseum in the morning. The Coliseum is an elliptical amphitheater, which was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its monumental size, as well as it practical and efficient organization to control large crowds, makes it one of the greatest architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.

• Admission to the Roman Forum and Palatine in the afternoon. The Roman Forum is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed. It served as a city square and central hub where the people of Rome gathered for justice and faith. The Palatine Hill was the most exclusive address in Rome during the Republic and during the Empire it became the location for ever grander palaces.

Tues. September 15: (Rome) • Breakfast at the hotel

• Guided tour of the Vatican Museums in the morning, famous for their architecture and their decorations that were frescoed by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio and many others. During your 3-hour guided tour you will admire the Niccoline Chapel, the Pio Clementino Museum, the Gallery of the Candelabra, the Gallery of the Tapestries, the Gallery of the Geographical Maps, Raphael’s Rooms and the Sistine Chapel.

• Visit the Cappella Paolina (to be confirmed) in the afternoon. The Cappella Paolina is the Pope’s private chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City. Michelangelo’s two last frescoes,The Conversion of Saul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter were painted from 1542 to 1549. Revolutionary, they did not conform to the compositional conventions of the time and the subject-matter is depicted in an unorthodox manner. The chapel was commissioned in 1538 by Pope Paul III and completed in 1540 under the supervision of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. The Cappella Paolina served as both the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Chapel of the Conclave.

• Free evening in Rome to have dinner at your own expense

Wed. September 16: (Rome) • Breakfast at the hotel

OPTIONAL: Admission to the Galleria Borghese in the morning (please note that for this visit a reservation is required). It is an art gallery, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. The Galleria Borghese houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculptures and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the nephew of Pope Paul V. The Villa was built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, developing sketches by Scipione Borghese himself, who used it as a villa suburban, a country villa at the edge of Rome.

• Free afternoon in Rome to discover the city further on your own. You may consider taking a walk through the gardens of Villa Borghese. It is the third largest public area in Rome. The gardens, as they are now, were remade in the early 19th century. You may also visit the monumental Spanish steps, built between 1723 and 1726. The steps lead up the Pincio Hill, on top of which the French Church Trinità dei Monti is located. On the square, at the bottom of the steps, you can find the Barcaccia Fountain.

• Farewell dinner at a traditional Italian restaurant to wrap up the program

Thurs. September 17: (Rome) • Breakfast at the hotel

• Transportation from your hotel to the airport on your own•Departure from Rome FiumicinoAirport to the USA