SOUNDS OF NORTHERN ITALY

Turin, Milan, Parma, Bologna - 12 days Departure: April 16, 2017 Return: April 27, 2017

This unique tour offers you to see the rarely performed The Coronation of Darius by in Turin, two at in Milan Anna Bolina by Donizetti and La Gazza Ladra by Rossini and I Masndieri by Verdi at the in Parma. Besides, we will visit the places where Verdi was born, grew-up in, his retirement home Sant’Agata and his resting place in Milan.

Opera Performances In Turin: April 19 – The Coronation of Darius by Vivaldi at Teatro Regio di Torino, with Carlo Allemano and Sara Mingardo singing. This musical drama was first performed in Venice on January 23, 1717!

In Milan: April 20 – Anna Bolina by Donizetti at Teatro alla Scalla April 22 - La Gazza Ladra by Rossini at Teatro alla Scalla

In Parma: April 23 – I Masnadieri by Verdi at Teatro Regio di Parma

Sunday, April 16 (D)* DEPART FOR TURIN Depart this evening aboard any airline of your choice to Turin, Italy. Dinner and light breakfast served on the plane.

Monday, April 17. (B,D). TURIN Upon arrival at the Torino International airport take a taxi to the centrally located GRAND HOTEL SITEA where we stay three nights. We will reimburse you the taxi fare. Reception and cocktails at the hotel. Dinner at a gourmet restaurant.

Tuesday, April 18. (B). TURIN Morning sightseeing of this elegant and prosperous city begins with a drive along the wide Via Roma Avenue from Piazza San Carlo, exhibiting a graceful example of city planning lay-out in the 17th Century, with the churches of San Carlo and Santa Christina symmetrically placed on the south end and the Cathedral placed at the north end. We will visit the Cathedral San Giovanni, where behind the high alter is the Chapel of the much-contested Holy Shroud.

Turin is to Italy what Detroit is to the U.S.A. It is here that the Italian motor industry, represented by Fiat and Lancia, was born. The textile and leather industries are also highly developed here. Yet, the city center is lined with arcades, beneath which are attractive shops selling highly reputed articles made in Turin itself. The wines of the Piedmont are nearby and with the famous vermouths of Martini and Cinzano, accompanied by the good cooking of the region, give its people a certain sense of being connoisseurs.

Wednesday, April 19. (B). TURIN Today is free to take in any of the many museums in the city – the Egyptian Museum or the Museum of the Automobiles. This evening you will see the opera The Coronation of Darius by Vivaldi at the Teatro Regio di Torino.

Thursday, April 20. (B). TURIN – MILAN This morning we drive east to Milan where we stay three nights at the centrally located deluxe TOWN HOUSE GALLERIA. This evening we will see the opera Anna Bolina by Donzetti at Teatro alla Scala.

Friday, April 21. (B,D). MILAN Morning sightseeing of this dynamic city. Among the sights to see is the beautiful Duomo, the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral and the third largest Catholic Church in the world – after the Vatican and the one in Seville, Spain. Afternoon free to take in the Pinacoteca di Brera or any of the other museums in the city. Dinner at a local gourmet restaurant.

MILAN is just not very Italian. All the Milanese do is work to make money and they refuse to indulge in the myth of la-dolce-vita. The city has its origin from Celtic settlements, which were subdued by the Romans in 222 B.C. In 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine published the Edict of Milan making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. On Christmas day, 800 AD, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as the Holy Roman Emperor in the Cathedral of Milan. To the Milanese people, all that is just history.

Saturday, April 22, (B). MILAN This morning we will visit the Villa Resposa that Verdi funded and had it built for retired musicians and singers to live free for the rest of their lives. This evening we will see the opera La Gazza Ladra by Rossini at Teatro alla Scala.

Sunday, April 23. (B). MILAN – PARMA This morning we drive east to Parma where we stay two nights at the centrally located HOTEL STENDAL. This afternoon we will see the opera I Masnadieri by Verdi at Teatro Regio.

Monday, April 24. (B,D). VERDI SITES – PARMA This morning we drive west to see Verdi sites, in Roncole where he was born, Busseto where he grew up and Saint’Agata where he built an elegant home with extensive ground where he planted exotic tropical trees.

PARMA was founded by the Etruscans in 525 BC, became a roman station on Via Emilia in 183 BC and flourished under the French Bourbon rulers in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The historical figure was Marie-Louise of Hapsburg who was Emperor Napoleon’s second wife. The most famous person in the musical world we know of, Arturo Toscanini was born here in 1867.

Tuesday, April 25. (B). PARMA – BOLOGNA Morning sightseeing of the Arturo Toscanini Museum to see exhibits of his early life in Parma, his conducting career in Italy and many letters he had received including one from Prof. Einstein. This afternoon we drive south to arrive in Bologna where we stay two nights at the centrally located deluxe HOTEL BAGLIONI

Wednesday, April 26. (B,D). BOLOGNA Morning sightseeing of this city, built predominantly of red bricks, to include Piazza Major and Neptune’s Fountain, the Basilica of Saint Petronio and the two very tall towers rising high above the old buildings. We visit the University of Bologna to see the operation theater where medicine was first taught in the Western World. Dinner at a gourmet restaurant.

BOLOGNA is one of Italy’s oldest cultural cities. The Etruscans settled it before the Romans got there in 189 BC, followed by barbaric tribes, the Huns and the Lombards. Europe’s oldest university was founded here in 1088 and it had the honor of having the first woman as a professor. She was so beautiful that she lectured from behind a screen so as not to distract the students.

Thursday, April 27. (B). BOLOGNA – BACK HOME We provide transport to the Bologna International airport for you to take your flight back home arriving the same afternoon. See you on another H.A.T. Tours.

* B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner (including wine)

LAND COST

DOUBLE: $7,950 PER PERSON

SINGLE: $8,950 IN DOUBLE ROOM

TOUR INCLUDES • Transfer between airports and hotels on published arrival and departure days only • Four operas • Orchestra level seats in theaters • Deluxe centrally located hotels • Four dinners with wine in gourmet restaurants • Welcome reception with cocktails • Private sightseeing in each city • Experienced English speaking guides • Entrance fees to museums • Intercity coach services • Baggage handling • Guide, and driver gratuities • Travelling with the owner at your service • Maximum 15 persons in each group

H.A.T. Tours Address: PO Box 46876, St. Petersburg, Florida, 33741, USA Phone: (727) 367 3973 Fax: (727) 360-8459 Toll free: (800) 472-4448 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.EuropeanOperaTours.com