The Mysterious South Tour , 3 Days 2 Nights (Code D)
Leaving from Sorrento, 4 star hotels - Saturday Departures

Itinerary

Day 1 - Sorrento/Castel Del Monte/Alberobello/Selva Di Fasano
Early morning departure for Apulia. On the way stop to visit Castel del Monte, an imposing octagonal castle, with eight octagonal towers at each side built in 1250 by the emperor Federico II, on a hill of 570m that dominates the valley. Free time for lunch. Continue to Alberobello, the town of “trulli” and Unesco Heritage. “Trulli” are typical houses with a cone roof that were used as homes and farmers equipment storage. In the afternoon, arrival at hotel, accommodation, dinner and overnight.

Day 2 - Selva Di Fasano/Lecce/Castellana Caves/Selva Di Fasano
Breakfast and departure to Lecce and its famous Baroque art and architecture that developed between the end of the XVI century and the first half of the XVII century. Very rich and beautiful are the decorations of the church of S.Oronzo, the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Celestini Palace. In the square of S.Oronzo we can admire the Roman amphitheatre from the II century A.D. that could seat up to 25,000 spectators, and the column of S.Oronzo, 29m high with a copper statue of the saint at the top. Free time for lunch. Departure to Castellana Caves. Discovered in 1938, the entrance is represented by an enormous vertical tunnel 60 meters long. At the end of the visit, return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight.

Day 3 - Selva Di Fasano/Matera/Sorrento or Rome
Buffet breakfast. Departure to Matera, famous for its “Sassi”. The Sassi originated from a prehistoric (troglodyte) settlement, and are suspected to be some of the first settlements in Italy. The Sassi are houses dug into the tufa rock itself, which is characteristic of Basilicata and Puglia. Many of these “houses” are really only caverns, and the streets in some parts of the Sassi often are located on the rooftops of other houses. One of the benefits of this ancient city, is the great similarity in the look of the Sassi with that of ancient sites in and around Jerusalem. This has caught the eye of film directors and movie studios. Principally due this reason the Sassi were the set of many films, for example “The Gospel According to St Matthew” (Pasolini,1964), “King David” (Bruce Beresford, 1985), “The Passion of the Christ" (Gibson, 2004) and "The Nativity Story" (Hardwicke, 2006). Matera is also a Unesco heritage. Time for a snack and return to Sorrento or Rome. End of tour.

PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

DEPARTURE DATES 2010:

OUR HOTELS (OR SIMILAR 4 STARS):