Sacred Places in Greece and Southern Italy: Daily Itinerary (subject to change as necessary)
Thursday, Jan 4, Friday, Jan 5, Monday, Jan 8, and Tuesday, Jan 9:
Class sessions 9 am until lunchtime (in Daniel Hall, Room 101 in basement) and continuing as needed after lunch. Lectures enlivened by slides will address the historical interplay between religion, art, architecture, culture and the landscape. Students are to consult resources on reserve in the campus library to prepare for on-site presentations during the travel portion of the project.
Wednesday, January 10
Departure from campus at 3 pm on charter bus to Charlotte airport overnight flight on Lufthansa Airlines to Athens via Munich.
Thursday, Jan 11
Arrival in Athens. Visit the temple of Poseidon at Sounion en route to the Esperia Hotel. Our route takes us along a winding coastal road with spectacular views of the Mediterranean Sea. Group dinner in Athens at 7 pm.
Friday, Jan 12
General tour of Athens, including Olympic Stadium, Likavitos Hill via funicular, Syntagma Square, and Filopappou Hill in the morning. Tour of the Agora and Agora Museum, the Temple of Hephaistos, including the Stoa of Attalos,and the Church of the Holy Apostles in the afternoon.
Saturday, Jan 13
Tour of the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum. Among the many monuments we'll see are the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and Porch of the Caryatids, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon. Free time in the afternoon before group dinner at 7:30.
Sunday, Jan 14
Visit to the National Archeological Museum in the morning; free afternoon.
Monday, Jan 15
Departure for Olympia, with stops at the Church of the Dormition in Daphni, the archeological site of ancient Corinth, and Acrocorinth. After our visit to Acrocorinth, we travel by bus 186 km across the Peloponnese to Olympia where we'll have a group dinner at our hotel.
Tuesday, Jan 16
Tour of the archeological site at Olympia and the Archeological Museum. Free time in the late afternoon.
Wednesday, Jan 17
Depart at 9:00 am by bus for trip northwest across the Peloponnese to the city of Patrai where we will ferry across the Gulf of Korinthos to the mainland and arrive in Distomon to tour the Monastery of Hosios Loukas. The distance from Olympia to Distoman is 245 km. From Distomon, we travel 28 km to Delphi, arriving in time for a 7:30 group dinner at the Amalia Hotel in Delphi.
Thursday, Jan 18
Tour of the archeological site at Delphi and the Archeological Museum.
Friday, Jan 19
Travel the 250 km from Delphi to Kastraki in Meteora, arriving at Hotel Orfeas in Kalambaka. Following this bus trip, you'll have some free time before our group dinner at a restaurant in Kastraki. Saturday, Jan 20
Visits to monasteries in the Meteora region, including the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, the Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen, and the Holy Monastery of Rousanou. Be aware that visitors should not wear shorts. Bare legs and shoulders are not permitted while visiting these monasteries. There may be a little free time in the late afternoon after visiting the monasteries.
Sunday, Jan 21
Early breakfast at hotel so we can depart at 6:30 am for the 345 km bus trip from Kalamabaka to Athens where we depart at 2:10 pm on Air One Flight 4402 to Naples, Italy. Upon arriving in Naples at 2:55 pm, we'll have a general orientation bus tour of Naples before arriving at our hotel (The Plaza). Our group dinner will be at a local restaurant.
Monday, Jan 22
Walking tour of Spaccanapoli including impressive Roman Catholic churches. Santa Chiara has a lavishly decorated cloisters. Other churches on our itinerary (San Lorenzo Maggiore, Gesu Nuovo, and Pio Monte Della Misericordia Church ) allow us to compare the architecture and decoration of Roman Catholic Churches to Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries we have seen in Greece. Group dinner at 7:00 pm.
Tuesday, Jan 23
Excursion to Pompeii in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Make the most of this day. You'll have the option to return to Naples by bus or train.
Wednesday, Jan 24
Full day excursion to Paestum to see the Archaic-period Greek temples in the archeological site. We travel by way of the mountainous Amalfi Coast, with stops at Amalfi and/or Ravello. The excursion takes us past scenery like that of Positano. We'll have a group dinner in Sorrento before returning to Naples after a long day.
Thursday, Jan 25
Morning tour of the National Archeological Museum which houses a world class collection of ancient art. In the afternoon, we visit the monastery of San Martino which affords a spectacular view of the bay of Naples and beyond to Mount Vesuvius.
Friday, Jan 26
Full free day in Naples. The professors will recommend additional sites to visit and explore.
Farewell group dinner.
Saturday, Jan 27
Boxed breakfast at hotel prior to departing at 5:30 am for bus ride to airport for our 8:15 flight to Munich.
Sunday, Jan 28
Free day to recover from trans-Atlantic flight.
Monday, Jan 29
Final class meeting, comprehensive review of the project, course evaluations, final writing assingments given to students. Students dismissed early afternoon to complete writing assignments which will be due Thursday, Feb 1st.