The Undiscovered Coast of

Puglia and Basilicata:

A Travel Adventure for Alumni & Friends of Duquesne University

May 30 – June 9, 2013 Itinerary (As of November 28, 2012)

Thursday, May30 Depart USA for , Italy!!

Travel from your home city overnight to arrive the next morning in Rome, the Eternal City.

Friday, May 31 Rome

After an early morning arrival in Rome, our flights arriving at Leonardo DaVinci (“Fiumicino”) airport will be met just outside Baggage Claim by our trip leader, Dr. Jean Anne Hattler, and by Michael Wright, Director of Duquesne University’s Italian Campus program. We’ll be transferred via motorcoach to our hotel for the next two nights, Hotel 21 (www.twentyonerome.com), located near the in central Rome, approximately mid-way between the Vatican Museums and the . We’ll leave our bags at the hotel and take a special topical walking tour through Piazza del Popolo, the , and the Spanish Steps, while we wait for the rooms to be ready for check-in.

This evening, we’ll enjoy a special welcome dinner!

Independent Lunch. Overnight in Rome at Hotel 21. (D)

Saturday, June 1 Rome Today we’ll begin our formal sightseeing with a walking tour of some of the most important Baroque , including San Luigi dei Francesi with Caravaggio’s “Calling of St. Matthew” with Elizabeth Lev, our prestigious Italian Campus professor.

In the afternoon, we’ll enjoy an opera recital by the students of the “Lirica Roma” opera program (students of Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music) and an aperitivo afterwards with the singers and other Duquesne “Maymester” students at the Duquesne University Italian Campus. Independent Lunch and Dinner. Overnight at Hotel 21 (B, A)

Sunday, June 2 Rome * Polignano a Mare Join the rest of your travelers for a special (optional) private Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica with Fr. John McFadden, Chaplain of the Italian Campus and part of the general administration at the Generalate House of the Spiritans in Rome. Experience the peacefulness of St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica in the early morning before the large pilgrim and tourist groups arrive.

In the late morning, we’ll head southeast via motor coach to the first stop on our “undiscovered Italy” itinerary for a visit to Polignano a Mare. Here, we’ll check into our beautiful home for the next three

nights, the Pietrablu Resort (www.pietrablu.it/resort/?lang=en).

Independent lunch. Dinner tonight at the hotel. Pietrablu Resort (B, D) Monday, June 3 Polignano a Mare *Lecce

This morning we’ll proceed by coach to the Baroque city of Lecce in the heel of the boot where Daniela Lopez , a native of Lecce, will be our guide this morning through this whimsical and fascinating southern city. Lecce’s Baroque palaces and churches are among the most memorable of Southern Italy’s unexpected visual delights.

After our morning tour, we’ll have lunch together at La Vecchia Osteria, a favorite of the locals in the heart of the historic center of the city.

Dinner tonight in the hotel.

Overnight at Pietrablu Resort (B,L,D). Tuesday, June 4 Polignano a Mare

Today is a free day to enjoy soaking up some sun and bathing in the beautiful waters of the Adriatic Sea from the private beach of our resort! For those who would rather explore, take the free shuttle at the resort into the small village of Polignano a Mare, a town with an incredible setting on the craggy cliffs over the Adriatic. Do as the locals do and stroll with a gelato , enjoy the small shops, and people watch.

Tonight we will enjoy having a fresh fish dinner coupled with a spectacular setting at the Ristorante Grotta Palazzese. (see photo!)

Overnight at Pietrablu Resort (B, L, D) Wednesday, June 5 Castellana * Alberobello * Matera

This morning after breakfast, we will leave Polignano a Mare and visit the Caves of Castellana. We’ll explore this extensive cave system, including the breathtaking “White Cave” with a local geological guide. After our morning visit, we’ll travel by coach a few more miles down the road to the town of Alberobello, known for its medieval conical-shaped homes known as “trulli.” We’ll have a typical Pugliese feast at the Trullo d’Oro and afterwards we’ll enjoy a small walking tour through the town to explore these unique trulli houses! Late in the afternoon we’ll leave the Puglia region of Italy and arrive in one of Basilicata’s most important cities, Matera.

Independent dinner. Overnight at the Hotel Relais Casa di Lucio (www.lacasadilucio.it/en/). (B, L) Thursday, June 6 Matera

Our guide and Matera native, Nadia Garlotti, will take us on a fascinating tour of a town where the citizens dwelled in caves until the end of the 1950’s! The caves or the “Sassi” district, where our own hotel is located, is a place where one feels as if they are in limbo between the ancient and the modern. Today’s tour will include the cave homes and churches of this special city.

This evening before dinner, we’ll enjoy an aperitivo and wine tasting at Mata d’Uva, Matera’s official provincial “enoteca” or wine bar.

Independent lunch and dinner. Overnight at the Hotel Relais Casa di Lucio .(B, A) Friday, June 7 Matera * Rome

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll depart by coach for our journey back to Rome. With an independent lunch break en route, we should arrive back in the Eternal City by 4:30 p.m.

This evening we’ll participate in a special evening visit to the Vatican Museums , including the and the ancient statues lit by candlelight , with Prof. Elizabeth Lev.

Independent lunch and dinner. Overnight at Hotel 21 (B)

Saturday, June 8 Rome This morning you’ll have the opportunity to explore a special moment in Roman history: the early Christian era from when Christianity was either illegal and underground to when it emerged in the early 4th century as the official religion of the Roman Empire. We’ll start at the Catacombs of St. Priscilla, known as the “Queen of the Catacombs” for the large number of martyrs who are buried in this complex, with Latinist and Church historian, Gregory DiPippo. Before heading to lunch, we’ll also stop to see the Church of St. Agnes Outside the Walls and visit the Mausoleum of St. Constanza, to see the magnificent porphyry tomb of the daughter of Constantine.

After our special visits, we’ll head to the Villa , one of Rome’s large green parks to have a memorable final lunch at La Limonaia. After lunch there will be plenty of time for shopping and a final “passeggiata” or walk through the cobblestone streets of Rome.

Independent dinner. Overnight at Hotel 21 (B, L,) Sunday, June 9 Rome - USA

Morning departure to the Leonardo DaVinci (“Fiumicino”) airport to catch our flights back to the USA.

Ciao, Bella Italia!

Itinerary subject to change without notice. B=Breakfast; L=Lunch; D=Dinner; A=Aperitivo (cocktail & appetizers) ; indicates included meals.