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This tour has been designed as an introduction to Calabria, the most southern and least known part of mainland Italy. It is only in the last decades that new road networks and infrastructures have made the province accessible so it still retains its unique and special character, a spectacular landscape rich in history and folk culture.

The mountainous peninsula separating the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas was a place of legend from the time of Homer, a safe haven for settlers and a prize for invaders. There is plentiful archaeological evidence of the Greeks who established colonies in the 8th century BCE. It was they who called Calabria ‘the land of the grape’ and the varieties they cultivated are still grown while a dialect of Greek is spoken in parts of the province.

When Rome took the south in 275 BCE the wealthy coastal cities became home to large communities of merchants and artisans.When Rome fell and Calabria became part of the Byzantine Empire she absorbed architectural styles from the East and in the 10th century the invading Saracens left their mark on agriculture, cuisine, language and crafts. The legacy of the Normans lies in the magnificent castles and churches they created and in their turn the Swabians, the Angevans, the Aragonese and the Spanish contributed to the many aspects of this ancient province.

Sunday 17 March

Heathrow/Rome 12.20/15.55. Rome/Lamezia 17.20 arriving Lamezia 18.30.

Transfer by private coach to Vibo Valentia. Check in at the 4* Hotel 501. (http://www.501hotel.it/)

Pre dinner orientation meeting and presentation of programme followed by a welcome cocktail.

Dinner at the hotel.

Monday 18 March

Morning - A walk through Vibo Valentia, founded in the 7th century BCE as the Greek colony of Hipponion. Visits include the 9th century Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore e San Leocula and the 11th century church of Sta Ruba.

Lunch

By private coach to Pizzo Calabro for the Angevan-Aragonese castle where Napoleon’s brother in law Joachim Murat was imprisoned and executed. On to Tropea, the beautiful seaside town founded (according to Pliny the Elder) by Hercules. Visits include the Arab, Gothic and Baroque city gates, the Renaissance palaces of the centro storico and the 11th century Norman Cathedral.

Return to Vibo Valentia for dinner at the hotel.

Tuesday 19 March

Morning - By private coach to Reggio di Calabria for the National Museum home to the Riace bronzes and the so-called Head of a Philosopher. On to the beautiful mosaics of the Chiesa di San Paolo and the Piccolo Museo San Paolo housing a Nine collection of icons and works by Messina, Raphael and Bellini and precious liturgical objects. Along the promenade for the remains of the ancient Greek walls and Roman baths.

Lunch

Return to Vibo Valentia via the ancient town of Scilla, the legendary location of the six headed cave monster in the Odyssey and Monte Sant’Elia for stunning views of the volcanoes at Etna and Stromboli.

Dinner at the hotel

Wednesday 20 March

Morning - By private coach for the wonderful drive through the mountains and forests of Le Serre to Serra San Bruno where visits include the 11th century centro storico, the Museo of the Carthusian Monastery and a walk through the woods to the Santuario di Santa Maria nel Bosco.

Lunch

Return to Vibo for a visit to the Norman-Hohenstaufen castle, now a state museum housing a very Nine collection of Greek jewellery and artefacts.
Dinner at the hotel

Thursday 21 March

Morning - By private coach to Gerace, one of the best preserved medieval towns in Calabria. Visits include the centro storico, the massive, austere Norman Cathedral, the largest in Calabria and virtually unaltered and the churches of San Francesco and San Giovanello with their unique fusions of Byzantine, Saracen, Norman and Gothic architecture.

Lunch

By private coach along the coast to Riace where the bronzes were discovered in 1972 and to Stilo for ‘La Cattolica’, the perfect 8th century Byzantine church.

Return to Vibo

Dinner at the hotel

Friday 22 March

Morning - Transfer by private coach to our second base at Cosenza via Altomonte, a beautifully preserved hilltop village. Visits include the Gothic Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione, built in the Angevan period and the Museo Civico containing works by Simone Martini and ‘Nardo Daddi.

Lunch

Arrive at Cosenza, one of the last bastions of the Roman Empire in Italy. Check in at the 4* Hotel Royal (http://www.hotelroyalsas.it/) Visits include the glorious buildings of the cenro storico and the Duomo housing the tomb of Isabella of Aragon, the wife of King Phillip III of France.

Dinner at the hotel

Saturday 23 March

Morning - By private coach to Rossano, the foremost Byzantine centre in southern Italy from the 8th to the 11th century. Visits include the Monastery Church of Pathiron, the Cathedral which has a Nine 9th century Byzantine fresco and the 10th century, the Museo Diocesano which contains the unique ‘Purple Codex’, an important 6th century Life of Christ and the 10th century Church of San Marco.

Lunch

By private coach to the excavations and museum at Sibari, one of the largest and most sophisticated cities of Magna Grecia.

Return to Cosenza for a farewell dinner at the hotel.

Sunday 24 March

Morning - Depart by private coach for Lamezia Termini Santa Eufemia with a stop for lunch at the charming small town of Amantea.

Flight Lamezia/Milan Linate 16.15/1755 – Linate/London Heathrow 19.40/20.46.

This tour is fully catered

The itinerary may be subject to slight modification

Prices

£1685 per person sharing a twin or double room
£1899 per person in single accommodation
RoE £1.00 = €1.15
Please refer to booking conditions at paragraph 8

The Hotels

5 nights at the Hotel 501 in Vibo Valentia - http://www.501hotel.it/
Tel +39 0963 43951-2-3/ +39 0963 44560 Fax +39 0963 43400
2 x nights at Hotel Royal in Cosenza - http://www.hotelroyalsas.it/
Tel/fax +39 0984 412165 - email direzione@hotelroyalsas.it

Prices include

•   Flights with Alitalia.
•   7 x nights accommodation on half-board basis at 4 star hotels.
•   All airport taxes, UK government levies and security charges.
•   Half board arrangements – dinner in each hotel nightly including 1/3 wine and 1/2 water.
•   7 x light lunches including 1/2 water and coffee starting from day 2 to day 8.
•   De Luxe a/c coach and driver for the period including all related expenses.
•   All entrance fees to the sites listed in the programme.
•   All tuition.
•   All hotels and restaurants gratuities.
•   Services of a Tour Manager.
•   Local guide(s) where essentially required by local law.
•   Porterage at each hotel on arrival (coach to rooms) and departure (lobby to coach).
•   Other useful travel accessories.

Not included

•   Items of personal expenditure such as telephone calls from your room, laundry etc.
•   Any other drinks except those specified above.
•   Transport to/from your UK airport
•   Personal travel insurance. (please see MillenniumTours booking form)

This visit is arranged in association with Millennium Tours, our tour operator responsible for all the travel arrangements of this tour. They are CAA bonded with ATOL for the protection of your holiday.

Your Financial Protection: All monies paid by you for the air holiday package shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Their ATOL number is ATOL10040. For more information see their booking terms and conditions.

Booking and enquiries

You can download a booking form and Terms and Conditions here.

For a printed brochure, booking form and Terms and Conditions please contact Millennium Tours or Margaret Knight at the following addresses.

Millennium Tours
Suite 67
95 Wilton Road
London SW1V 1BZ

Tel. 020 8875 9863

e-mail: groups@millenniumtours.co.uk

Margaret Knight

e-mail: cavalieri@waitrose.com

(copy and paste Margaret's address into your email address box)

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