We depart by scheduled flight from Gatwick to Venice Marco Polo Airport and then transfer to the Spa Town of Montegrotto Terme, where we check into our hotel for a 5-night stay. Dinner will be in our hotel each night.

This morning we travel by coach to Venice, ‘La Serenissima’, where traditionally an angel appeared to St Mark whilst on his way to Rome and where the famous Basilica was constructed to house the relics of the Saint. Our next visit is to another of the Gems of Venice - Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, the second-largest church in Venice, founded by the Franciscan order in 1250. Amongst the famous buried here is the composer, Monteverdi. The Frari church contains some of the greatest examples of religious art in Venice, including Titian’s Assumption of the Virgin, Donatello’s St John the Baptist and Bellini’s Madonna and Child with Saints. We will spend some time here in order to enjoy what could be argued to be the jewel in Venice’s crown. From here we have a visit to St Mark’s Basilica. The rest of the day will be at leisure in Venice, with the opportunity to visit a gallery or perhaps take a gondola ride, or just browse through the maze of streets and canals.

St Anthony, born in Lisbon in 1195, came to Italy at the age of 26, and after meeting St Francis during the Feast of Pentecost in 1221, was inspired to become a great Franciscan preacher, missionary and teacher. After his death at the age of 36 near to Padua, his body was later buried in the great basilica constructed by the townspeople of Padua. We drive into Padua, where our guide will give an explanation of the basilica. Afterwards there will be a guided visit to the 16^th century cathedral (Duomo) and the 12^th century baptistery next to it, with frescoes depicting scenes from the bible including the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ. This afternoon there will be a visit to the magnificent Capella degli Scrovegni, built in 1303 by Enrico Scrovegni, the interior of which contains Frescoes of New Testament scenes by Giotto, which have been acclaimed as his masterpiece.

Today we travel out by boat into the lagoon to visit some of the inhabited Northern islands. San Francesco del Deserto is so named because St Francis of Assisi landed here on his way back from the Middle East in 1220 and founded a sanctuary. A small Franciscan community still lives here today and we will be able to visit the small medieval church and enjoy the great peace and tranquility of this special place. The first cathedral of Venice was built on the island of Torcello in the 7th century and although there are few inhabitants today, in the 14th century there were nearly 20,000 people living here! Today, Torcello is quiet but its beautiful cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is definitely worth the visit. Burano in contrast to Torcello is still very much a working island, where many of the men still depend on fishing and some of the women still practise lace making, and the brightly coloured houses lend it its own particular character. There will be an optional lunch in Burano at £19 per person.

Today is at leisure in Montegrotto or you can join the optional day trip to Verona at £29 per person: Although Verona is famous for being the city of Romeo and Juliet, it is much more than that as our guided tour will show. San Zeno was a 5th century bishop and the Romanesque church which houses the Saint’s relics, is one of the finest of this period in Europe. In the centre of the city we will see the Roman amphitheatre (Arena) and also some of the delightful medieval squares and fascinating churches as well as the famous balcony! There will be time at leisure to discover the city on our own before returning to the hotel for dinner.

Today we transfer by coach to Venice Marco Polo Airport for our return flight to Gatwick.