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| The Tour travels in Italy to Assisi, La Verna, Rieti, Cortona, Greccio, San Sepolcro, Lake Trasimeno |
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| Day 1 |
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You will be picked up at the Florence or Rome airport and will be taken to Rieti Valley.
We will check into a beautiful convent with lush gardens and sweet, friendly nuns.
In the afternoon, we will visit the Sanctuary of La Foresta. This is where St. Francis went to rest before he
had his eye operation. We will meet the caretaker and listen to stories about St. Francis while he stayed there.
We will have dinner prepared by the nuns at the convent.
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| Day 2 |
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After breakfast at the convent, we will wind up a small mountain road passing quaint villages and superb views to a
mountain where we will visit the beautiful Sanctuary of Poggio Bustone. This is the first place that St. Francis
visited in 1208 after he left his home Assisi and where his real spiritual birth took place. We will meet the
friars that live there and trek in the forest on a path where St Francis used to walk.
After lunch, we will visit the serene Sanctuary of Fonte Colombo where St. Francis most frequented in the last years
of his life. It was here where he wrote the final rule of the Francescan order. We will take a tour of the Sanctuary
by the friars that live there. We will meditate in his favorite small chapel of Mary Magdalene. This chapel is so
powerful that you can feel the presence of St. Francis all around.
Back in Rieti, we will have a home cooked dinner at the convent.
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| Day 3 |
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After breakfast, we will pack our bags and leave Rieti. We will visit the majestic Sanctuary of Greccio
which is built on a massive rock formation at one of St. Francis’s favorite hermitages. This is famous for its
Nativity Scenes and is where in 1223 St. Francis had the first Nativity Scene acted out with live performers.
There is a collection of Nativity Scenes here made from all over the world.
After Greccio we will drive to Assisi where we will check into our hotel with a lovely view of Assisi and have
a great Umbrian dinner at the hotel.
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| Day 4 and Day 5 |
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After breakfast, we will wander the medieval streets of Assisi and visit the most important sites of St.
Francis and St. Clare. These include: The Church and convent of St. Chiara, The Sanctuary of San Damiano, The
Basilica of San Francesco, The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and The Hermitage.
In the evening we will have dinner in a famous local Umbrian restaurant. |
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| Day 6 |
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After breakfast, we will drive to Lake Trasimeno. We will take a ferry to Isola Maggiore (Grand Island) where
there is a charming 15th century village inhabited by fishermen and women famous for their lace-making. In
1211, Francis came to this then deserted island to be alone and fasted for a month during Lent. We will hike
mindfully, in walking meditation around this peaceful, lush green island.
After lunch, we will head to Cortona in Tuscany, where we will visit the Convento delle Celle (The Cells).
This convent was once a mill and was given to St. Francis by an admirer. It has a beautiful setting with a
river running through the wooded area and waterfalls. |
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Afterwards, we will wander the lovely streets of Cortona, one of the crown jewels of Tuscan hill towns,
which has become so famous from the book: Under The Tuscan Sun.
We will then drive to another gem, the hill town Citerna, peacefully set over the Tiber Valley where our hotel
is located. St. Francis came here in 1224 and performed the miracle of the ants. We will be dining at a
delicious Tuscan restaurant with a great view of the valley. |
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| Day 7 |
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After breakfast, we will drive up a picturesque mountain road to the Hermitage of Montecasale. Here we will have a
chance to talk to the friars that reside there, visit the hermitage and see the cave where St. Francis stayed.
Afterwards, we will drive to La Verna where we will check into the monastery for the night. This beautiful national
park is where St. Francis received the stigmata. He adored this place and came to meditate and commune with God in
nature. We will visit the grounds with 2 churches, the place where he received the stigmata, the cave where he
slept, and many other special places and relics that exist there.
We will have dinner at the monastery. |
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| Day 8 |
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We will have an early breakfast at La Verna and then we will drive to Florence where you will be taken to the airport. |
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