Tailored Group Pilgrimage to Tuscany & Rome Itinerary
DAY 1-To start off this pilgrimage we will depart for our flight to Pisa. On arrival, we will be met by our Joe Walsh tours pilgrimage co-ordinator and transferred by private
coach to Pisa where we will admire the beautiful Pisa Tower and its main sites. Mass will be celebrated before continuing to Montecatini Terme where we will stay for the next 3
nights in a hotel, on a Half Board basis. It will then be time to check in, have dinner and rest for the night.
DAY 2-Following breakfast we will visit a hidden gem in Tuscany, the nearby small town of Lucca. Its famous walls enclose one of Italy’s finest medieval treasures. The centre is relatively unspoilt and scattered with palazzi, towers and many splendid churches. We will visit the Augustinian church and the Basilica of San Frediano, which houses the tomb of the Irish Saint Finian, and also St Zita, patron saint of Lucca.
DAY 3-Today we will have a full day excursion to Florence, capital of Tuscany and of the Italian Renaissance. We will go and see the incorrupt body of the Carmelite Nun St Teresa Margaret Redi in the Carmelite Monastery on Via dei Bruni, located a bit outside of the city. In Florence we will also see some of the beautiful sights this elegant city has to offer: the Duomo, Il Campanile (bell tower) and Baptistery, the Uffizi Gallery (exterior), Piazza della Signoria and the famous Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno. Time permitting there will be free time for shopping and personal sightseeing before returning to Montecatini.
DAY 4-This morning we depart for Rome. En route to Rome, we visit the city of Siena, birthplace to one of the most influential and popular saints in the church, St Catherine. Catherine’s writings were so influential, that she was declared a Doctor of the church. Catherine was also instrumental in restoring the papacy from Avignon in France back to Rome. We continue on to Rome, where we will check into our next hotel which will be our base for the next four nights. Our accommodation is located within walking distance of St Peter’s Basilica so a great area for exploring the Vatican City.
DAY 5-After breakfast our day will begin with the visit of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the ultimate destination of many pilgrims to Rome. The Basilica is the centre of Christendom as the tomb of St. Peter lies directly under Michelangelo’s famous dome. In the afternoon we will visit the Basilica of St. Mary Majors, a beautiful basilica which has
magnificent mosaics and one of the first shrines dedicated to Our Lady. In the afternoon, there will be some free time before returning to our accommodation for dinner.
DAY 6-Today after breakfast we will visit the last two if the main Papal Basilicas in Rome. St. John in Lateran and St Paul Outside the Walls. The Archbasilica of Saint John in the Lateran is the site of the first church allowed by Emperor Constantine. It is considered the ‘Mother Church’ of Roman Catholicism. It is the Cathedral of Rome
and therefore the Church of Rome’s Bishop, Pope Francis. Nearby is the sanctuary of the holy stairs. According to tradition, Helena, Emperor Constantine’s mother, had the steps that Jesus climbed when he appeared before Pontius Pilate, transported from Jerusalem to Rome. St Paul Outside the Walls Basilica was built in the fourth century on the spot where the disciple Paul was buried – a public necropolis on Via Ostiense. The remains of St. Paul are housed in a tomb in the Basilica’s crypt. Along the nave of this beautiful basilica, we see mosaics of all the Popes, starting with St. Peter and ending with Pope Francis. The rest of the day is free for personal visits and shopping.
DAY 7-unfortunately this will be the last day of this beautiful pilgrimage. We will have breakfast and a morning transfer from our accommodation to Rome Fiumicino airport
for our flight back.
