There are many ways to take guided tours of Italy but many of them start near the top of the country and go southward. The tour can begin in the watery canals of Venice or in the fashion capital of Milan. In Venice, visitors can take a gondola ride and eat in one of the many fine restaurants in the city. The lovely city stretches across numerous small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon that opens into the Adriatic Sea in the northeast part of the country. The city conveniently lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers.
Florence Ponte Vecchio |
The St. Regis Hotel in Florence |
When you think you’ve seen enough churches, many guided tours of Italy take you to Rome and the Vatican—both places where the churches and cathedrals are extremely wealthy and amazing to see. You’ll also see the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and the Pantheon—all parts of ancient Roman times that have been somewhat preserved. You may also be able to see some catacombs, which were places where early Christians worshipped and buried their dead.
No good visit to Rome is complete without a visit to the Vatican, including the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. These are wondrous sites that make you wish it were possible to take pictures. You can take as many pictures as you wish of St. Peter’s Square and St. Paul’s Basilica.
Hopefully, you’ll be on one of the guided tours of Italy that includes Southern Italy and a visit to the very ancient village of Pompeii. Destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, it is currently a life-sized museum of what life was like in the average city a millennium ago. It may prove, in fact, to be the highlight of your guided tour.