UNIWORLD
15 Days | Splendors of Italy
Southbound

MILAN TO ROME

Day 1 | Milan, Italy.Arrive at Milan Malpensa Airport, where you will be transferred to your hotel.

Day 2 | Milan. FEATURED EXCURSION: Milan city tour with visit to Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Vibrant Milan is the fashion and design capital of Italy. Today you’ll explore this dazzling city and encounter two of its greatest sights—the towering Gothic cathedral and Da Vinci’s astounding The Last Supper.

Day 3 | Milan, Verona, transfer to Venice. Embark. FEATURED EXCURSIONS: Verona, “City of Romeo and Juliet,” and Valpolicella wine estate lunch. Head to Venice today, stopping en route in Verona—home to Shakespeare’s tragic Romeo and Juliet. Outside fair Verona, enjoy a tasting and multi-course lunch at a beautiful Valpolicella wine estate. In magical Venice, you will board your ship and embark on your exploration of the “Queen of the Adriatic.”

Day 4 | Venice. FEATURED EXCURSIONS: Walking discovery of Venice and exclusive evening–opening of St. Mark’s Basilica. Wind through Venice’s labyrinthine back lanes on a walking tour that features the city’s top sights and a Venetian glassmaking demonstration. This evening, you’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience—a crowd-free, after-hours visit inside St. Mark’s Basilica. In the evening, enjoy a Captain’s Welcome Reception and Gala Dinner. Note: It is not always possible to arrange after-hours visits to St. Mark’s Basilica. If religious functions or festivities are taking place in the evening, we will visit during regular hours.

Day 5 | Venice, Chioggia (Padua), Taglio di Po, Polesella. FEATURED EXCURSION: Padua walking discovery tour. Enjoy magnificent views of “The Floating City’s” greatest sights, including the Grand Canal, as your ship departs Venice. Visit the medieval walled city of Padua, walking through ancient arcades and porticos to Palazzo della Ragione, Padua’s historic city center, and enjoy a treat at a local café.

Day 6 | Polesella (Bologna or Ferrara). FEATURED EXCURSIONS: Choice of full-day excursion to Bologna with exclusive pasta-making workshop with lunch OR half-day excursion to Ferrara with lunch onboard. Spend the day in Bologna, Italy’s culinary capital, an ideal place to learn the art of making pasta. Or, spend a half day in Ferrara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a long history as a center for the arts.

Day 7 | Taglio di Po. Chioggia. Venice. FEATURED EXCURSIONS: Chioggia with choice of market visit with seafood lunch OR mussel harvest experience. There’s no better place to indulge in Italy’s famed frutti di mare than Chioggia, a colorful fishing village on the Venice Lagoon. Stroll through the town’s bustling fish market with a guide before indulging in a fresh and flavorful seafood lunch. Or, head to a casoni (fisherman’s hut) to learn the art of mussel harvesting from local fishermen. You’ll get to steam your own freshly gathered mussels in prosecco and enjoy them on the waterfront—a unique culinary treat. Later, head to the Sun Deck of your luxury ship to take in views of two more Venice Lagoon isles: sleepy Pellestrina, and Lido, home to the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

Day 8 | Venice Island (Burano and Mazzorbo). Venice. FEATURED EXCURSION: Full-day “The Magic Islands of Venice” tour: colorful Burano with lace making and peaceful Mazzorbo with wine tasting. Spend the day exploring the Venice Lagoon and two of its most notable islands. Stroll through Burano with its rainbow of cheerful and colorful homes. Learn the history and importance of lace making, which dates back to the 16th century. Then go to the island of Mazzorbo for a very special wine tasting, as it is here where the time-honored and historical grape variety, Dorona, has been planted to yield the liquid Gold of Native Venice, Prosecco.

Day 9 | Venice. FEATURED EXCURSIONS: Choice of exclusive “Do as the Locals Do” Venice walking tour OR “Venetian Painters at the Accademia” tour with art-historian guide. Get a feel for daily life in Venice with a guided stroll through the bustling Rialto Market, or tour the renowned Accademia Gallery with an art historian. In the evening, enjoy a Captain’s Farewell Reception and Gala Dinner.

Day 10 | Venice. Florence. FEATURED EXCURSION: Guided Accademia Gallery tour with visit to Michelangelo’s David. Florence offers innumerable artistic treasures, but perhaps none is more spectacular than Michelangelo’s David, which you’ll see today on your guided visit to the Accademia Gallery.

Day 11 | Florence. FEATURED EXCURSION: “Architectural Treasures of Renaissance Florence” walking discovery tour. Your walking discovery tour of Florence provides close-up views of some of the city’s most glorious sights, including the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flower and Signoria Plaza. Gaze across the Arno River at the Palazzo Pitti, a Renaissance palace that once housed the powerful Medici family.

Day 12 | Florence. Rome. FEATURED EXCURSION: Chianti tasting and lunch at Castello di Verrazzano wine estate. See Tuscany’s breathtaking scenery via motorcoach, stopping en route to Rome for a homemade lunch and wine tasting at a gorgeous estate in Chianti country.

Day 13 | Rome. FEATURED EXCURSION: “Imperial Rome and the Heart of the City” discovery tour. Today’s grand overview of the Eternal City starts with a panoramic tour of Rome’s most iconic sights, including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Arch of Titus and the Villa Borghese. Venture inside the Colosseum for an expertly guided tour, then stroll through the heart of the city from Piazza Navona to the dome-topped Pantheon—an architectural masterpiece famous for its perfectly engineered oculus. After lunch on your own, you’re free to explore or continue on with your guide to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. 

Day 14 | Rome. FEATURED EXCURSION: Guided Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel visit St. Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo’s sublime Sistine Chapel frescoes are just two of the wondrous sights awaiting you on today’s guided tour.

Day 15 | Rome. Transfer to Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport for your flight home.

NOTE: Itinerary is subject to change without notice. For the most up-to-date information, please refer to the itinerary schedule you receive with your final documents.

SOUTHBOUND ITINERARY 15 DAYS | MILAN TO ROME Click HERE to view the 8-day Venice & Gems of Northern Italy itinerary.