Freshman Trip Itinerary

4/10 - Depart PHX

Naples: 4/11 - 4/14 - Staying at Villa Vergiliana

4/11 - Luxury and Slavery

• Arrive at Rome Fiumicino
• Picked up by bus from Villa Vergiliana
• Sperlonga: See the Grotto di Tiberius, ruins of an ancient villa situated in front of a major grotto along the coast. It's an excellent example of the type of luxurious, rural residences Rome's elites built for themselves.
  
• Capua: Spartacus's slave rebellion occurred here. Today there is a Gladiatorial Museum, the best of its kind.
  

4/12 - Frozen in Time

• Pompeii: a city buried alive by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 and one of our best glimpses into life in Ancient Rome (Student Tour Guides)
  
• National Archaeological Museum: Houses the richest finds from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other ancient sites in the region
• Free time in Naples
  

4/13 - Frozen in Time, Pt. II

• Mt Vesuvius: We will climb to the top of the mountain that punished Romans but rewarded historians...
• Herculaneum: Though less famous than Pompeii, this is still a rich site, offering us another perspective on life in Ancient Rome - in this case, the perspective of an affluent town (Student Tour Guides)
  
• Oplontis: Emperor Nero's wife's villa, this boasts some of the best preserved frescoes from the era
  

4/14 - Island Life in the Ancient World

• Sail to Capri: Visit Greek and Roman remains and enjoy the views (Student Tour Guides)
  

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Rome: 4/15 - 4/19 - Staying at Flatinrome Termini

4/15 - Morning in Hell, Evening in Rome

• Visit the Greek Acropolis of Cumae before leaving Naples
• Lake Avernus and the Sibyll's Cave: We will journey deep into the earth, torches in hand, en route to the River Styx
• Bus to Rome
• Walking tour of Rome (including Pantheon, Trevi Fountain)
  

4/16 - Knowing Rome through its Ruins

• Colosseum: Gladiators! (Student Tour Guides)
  
• Forum: Politics! (Student Tour Guides)
  
• Trajan's Column: Cylinders!
  
• Palatine Hill: The heart of early Rome
  

4/17 - Knowing Rome through its Artifacts

• Capitoline Museum: The collection is massive. We will focus on the frescoes and stuccoes that tell the story of Rome and the tombstones that reveal a great deal about Roman religious beliefs
  
• Museo Nazionale / Diocletian Baths: Again, the collection is huge, but we will focus on one key part - the extensive assortment of tablets that provide historians with a wealth of information about Roman culture
  
• Optional Visit to Vatican Museum (Not included in trip cost)
  

4/18 - Knowing Rome through its Luxury

• Day trip to Tivoli
  
• Hadrian's Villa: The most opulent villa of its era, though sadly raided over the years (Student Tour Guides)
  
• Villa d'Este: A Renaissance re-imagining of the classical villa
  
• Optional Visit to Borghese Gallery (Not included in trip cost)
  

4/19 - The Rise of Christian Rome

• San Sebastiano Catacombs: One of the many surviving catacombs of the early Christian era, when the believers were persecuted by the Roman government
  
• St. Peter's Basilica: Not ancient, but can't be missed
  
• St. Peter's Necropolis: Deep below the basilica, this *does* have ancient origins
  
• Capuchin Crypt: Bones, bones, and more bones
  

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Delphi: 4/20 - Staying at Pan Hotel

4/20 - Visiting the Oracle

• Fly to Athens
• Bus from airport to Delphi
  
• Visit Delphi archaeological site

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Athens: 4/21 - 4/22 - Staying at AthenStyle Hostel

4/21 - Ancient Greece in a Nutshell

• Mycenae: Ruins from the land of Agamemnon and Menelaus (Student Tour Guides)
  
• Epidauros: One of the best preserved Greek theaters
  
• Athens: Arrive late afternoon for a stroll around town
  

4/22 - The Glory of Athens

• The Acropolis: You might have heard of it (Student Tour Guides)
  
• National Archaeological Museum: One of the greatest collections in the world

4/23 - Fly Home