For Rome pre-tour details, see PDF link above

Day 1: Monday, June 22, 2020: DEPARTURE FOR ITALY

• We depart the United States on our overnight flight to Italy.

Day 2: Tuesday, June 23, 2020: ARRIVE IN ROME

• We arrive in Rome (transfer included for all flights arriving in Rome on June 23rd).
• This morning, we enjoy a city bus tour, including Palatine Hill, Piazza del Popolo and Castel Sant'Angelo with a few stops for photo opportunities. Lunch stop (on own) along the way. We return to our hotels for check-in and time to refresh before our evening program.
• The same tour will run again this afternoon, for those who arrive later in the morning. The afternoon tour will conclude as our afternoon introductory meeting with our scholars and tour escorts begins.
This evening, we join together for our welcome opening concert organized by the Jewish community of Rome in our honor, including a presentation of Italian music and refreshments.
• We return to our hotel, then set out for an evening at leisure and dinner on own.
Our local hostess can assist with dinner reservations on free evenings throughout our tour.

Overnight in Rome

Day 3: Wednesday, June 24, 2020: JEWISH HISTORY IN ROME FOR OVER 2000 YEARS

• Breakfast at our hotels.
• We begin our day with a tour of the Jewish Ghetto in the Trastevere section on the banks of the Tiber River, guided by a local historian. This was the site of Jewish concentration at the hands of Pope Paul IV. The medieval streets wind their way towards Deportation Square, the point from which Jews were sent to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
• We continue with a visit to the Great Synagogue, completed in 1882 and considered one of the most impressive in Europe. We meet with a local leader to learn about the Italian Jewish experience, both in the past and present.
• Next, we visit the Museo Ebraico di Roma (Jewish Museum of Rome). Built in 1904, it is one of the oldest Jewish museums in Europe. Most impressive is the collection of Torah covers made with fabric dating back to between the 16th and 18th centuries.
We return to our hotel for a lecture by our scholar in residence.
• Next, we visit the Jewish Catacombs of Rome, ancient underground burial places beneath the old city of Rome. There are at least forty such catacombs, some discovered only in recent decades.
• We walk along the Appian Way. This is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman pathways of the ancient republic, and connected Rome to Brindisi.
• Enjoy the evening at leisure to wander the streets of Rome and have dinner on own.
For those who want to show off their special talents, join us at the hotel bar for a late-night talent show.

Overnight in Rome

Day 4: Thursday, June 25, 2020: HISTORY OF ROME AND CONCERT

• Breakfast at our hotels.
• We begin our day with a visit to the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and other monuments marking Rome's great historic past, including the Arch of Titus. This is a monument to a past less deserving of praise and a symbol of Jewish historic lows. Located in the archaeological heart of the city of Rome, the Flavian Amphitheatre, or more commonly, the Coliseum, stands for monumentality and receives visitors attracted by the enchantment of its history and its complex architecture.
Later, our scholar in residence gives an enlightening lecture at our hotel.
In the late afternoon, we attend a gala concert at the Auditorium Parco Della Musica.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Rome

Day 5: Friday, June 26, 2020: ROME, VATICAN TOUR AND WELCOME SHABBAT

• Breakfast at our hotels.
Our scholar in residence gives an enlightening lecture at our hotel.
• We enjoy a walking tour of Rome's most famous sites, including Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Colonna, Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori.
• Lunch on own.
• This afternoon, we enjoy a tour of the Vatican Museums, including one of the largest art collections in the world, spanning from Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities to contemporary art. We'll see the work of Raphael and Michelangelo and admire the Sistine Chapel's magnificent frescoes.
• We continue to St. Peter's Square, where some of the most important Papal ceremonies take place.
As the sun begins to set over Rome, we join together for Shabbat services, followed by a festive Shabbat dinner together.

Overnight in Rome

Day 6: Saturday, June 27, 2020: SHABBAT SHALOM!

• Breakfast at our hotels.
This morning, Shabbat services are led by our amazing cantors, followed by a Kiddush. Option to pre-order Shabbat lunch.
Our afternoon continues with limudim sessions and a lecture by our scholars at our hotel.
As day turns to night, Havdalah together at our hotel marks the end of Shabbat and the beginning of a new week.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Rome

Day 7: Sunday, June 28, 2020: DISCOVERING FLORENCE

• Breakfast and check out of our hotels.
• This morning, we board our train to Florence. Luggage will be transferred separately to our hotel.
• Upon arrival, we hold a short ceremony on Track 16 where Jews were deported to concentration and labor camps.
• We set out on a walking tour of the city's highlights beginning at Il Duomo. Begun in the late 1200's and consecrated 140 years later, this pink, green and white marble Duomo (cathedral) symbolizes Florence's wealth and prestige. Nowhere in the world can one see such architectural magnificence in a church as in the Duomo. While here, we view the Baptistery's renowned “Gates of Paradise” by Ghiberti.
• We continue to Piazza Santa Croce, one of the most famous piazzas in Florence. The piazza houses the Basilica Santa Croce, where the famous Renaissance movers and shakers such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and modern Italian inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi and Enrico Fermi lie buried.
We complete our tour at Shir Hadash Firenze for a meeting with the Jewish community in Florence. (Some buses will go to San Gimignano, and see these sites on day 8)
• We check into our hotels, followed by an evening at leisure and dinner on own.
• Option to visit the Accademia and Uffizi museums on own.

Overnight in Florence

Day 8: Monday, June 29, 2020: SAN GIMIGNANO AND CONCERT

• Breakfast at our hotels.
• Today, we depart for San Gimignano, an Italian hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany. San Gimignano is known as the “Town of Fine Towers”, famous for its medieval Romanesque and Gothic architecture. While here, we stop at a local winery for a delicious wine tasting, followed by a visit to the Archaeological Museum with Etruscan, Roman and Medieval collections. (Some buses will tour Florence and see these sites on day 7).
Later this afternoon, our scholar in residence gives an enlightening lecture at our hotel.
This afternoon, we enjoy a concert with the Jewish community in Florence at the Plazzo Dei Congressi.
• Evening at leisure and dinner on own.

Overnight in Florence

Day 9: Tuesday, June 30, 2020: FERRARA

• Breakfast and check out of our hotels, with scholarly discussion en route.
• We travel by bus to Ferrara, where we visit the new Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah exploring 2,000 years of Jewish History (see NYTimes article), including an introduction by the museum director, Simonetta Della Seta.
• Enjoy a walking tour of the former Jewish Ghetto, including the sites of schools and synagogues from the past.
• Light lunch in the area before we continue to Venice, city of water, city of love, city of dreams.
• We check in to our hotel and enjoy free time.
• Private evening tour includes a “secret itineraries” tour of Doge's Palace, one of Venice's main landmarks built in the Venetian Gothic style.
• We visit St. Mark's Basilica, adjacent to Piazza San Marco. It was originally the chapel of the Doge and has been the city's cathedral since 1807 when it became the seat of the Patriarch of Venice.
• This evening, we are treated to an unforgettable sunset gondola ride along Venice's famous canals!
• Enjoy dinner on own.

Overnight in Venice

Day 10: Wednesday, July 1, 2020: VENICE - THE JEWISH GHETTO/BURANO & MURANO

• Breakfast at our hotels.
• We begin our day with a visit to Campo Del Ghetto, where Jews were compelled to live by the government of the Venetian Republic in 1516 and is the oldest ghetto in the world. We also visit the Jewish Museum and the Spanish, Canton, and Italian synagogues.
• This afternoon, we ride the ferry to visit the Island of Burano, noted for its lace work and colorfully painted houses.
• Time permitting, we visit the Island of Murano and tour one of the many glass-making factories.
• Dinner on own.
• Tonight, we join together for a farewell concert at the Arsenale, followed by a delicious farewell reception, where we reminisce about all that we have experienced together on this musical journey.

Overnight in Venice

Day 11: Thursday, July 2, 2020: DEPART HOME OR EXTEND YOUR ADVENTURE!

• Breakfast and check out of our hotels. Luggage will be stored until departure when it will be transferred to the airport or cruise pier by taxi boats.
• Enjoy free time to explore or relax until departure for home or …

JOIN US FOR ONE OF THE FOLLOWING INCREDIBLE POST-TOURS!

o Venice land tour
o Sicily land tour
o Croatia land tour
o Krakow land tour (with Jewish Culture Festival & Ride for the Living)

The Memories Last Forever!!
*Itinerary subject to change and different buses will do same touring at different times.


PAST CA TOUR PARTICIPANTS COMMENTS (FROM SPAIN 2016):

"What a powerful experience it was to encounter the Jewish History and present reality of Spain with our beloved Hazzan Elias Rosemberg together with a warm and accomplished contingent of cantors, and congregants, from across North America. What does it mean to travel with the Cantors' Assembly? Music! Everywhere! From beautifully planned concerts to impromptu harmonies at historic sites, or even on the bus, the joy, talent and spirit we felt could not possibly be matched on an ordinary trip. We visited all of the important landmarks of any typical trip, but the chance to have a uniquely Jewish perspective, shared with such a group, is like nothing we have experienced before…and, of course, we had the treat of getting to know Elias even more as the amazing, gifted Hazzan and mensch that we know and love." - Ilene F. Beckman

"The trip to Spain … was an amazingly touching to the soul trip! It was truly a thorough comprehensive cultural trip [including] lectures in Spain by scholars & knowledgeable tour guides. We saw it all - the beauty & the ugly of Spain: gorgeous architecture & the glorious Arts VS. historical remains of our Jewish community, remembering painfully its destruction with the rise of Christianity in Spain. Everyday ended with uplifting reminder of Am Yisrael Chai - the hard feelings were soothed by the singing and by the professional concerts performed by the cantors on the trip. What an empowering trip it was!" - Sigalit Davis