Itinerary

1. 

   Travel to Italy (D, DR)

   Morning: meet your Tour Leader at Heathrow Airport and check-in for your flight to Italy.

   Afternoon: on arrival you will be met by your local Tour Manager who will escort you to your hotel in the spa resort of Abano Terme to check-in for a seven-night stay. Your resort is located within easy reach of the beautiful towns and attractions that you will visit. After arrival take time to stroll your resort or make use of the hotel’s excellent spa facilities.

   Evening: meet your Tour Leader and Tour Manager for a welcome drink reception followed by dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

2. 

   Padua, the city of Saint Anthony (B, L, D, DR)

   Morning: travel to Padua, the city of Saint Anthony, for a guided tour. Padua is a city of art, rich in culture. From Giotto to Donatello, Petrarch to Galileo, Padua has hosted the greatest artists and scientists, making it a temple of knowledge and beauty. Its ancient history breathes through the architectural miracles of the Middle Ages, the legacy of the famous University, and the charm of the aristocratic villas, arcaded streets, and squares. We also visit the Basilica and tomb of St. Anthony and offer prayers for those lost items during a short worship.

   Afternoon: included lunch in a local restaurant followed by free time in Padua before a mid-afternoon return to the hotel to enjoy its facilities.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

3. 

   Verona and the carnival (B, D, DR)

   Morning: enjoy a guided walking tour to include the Piazza Bra, Piazza dei Signori, Piazza Erbe, the Arena di Verona, Romeo and Juliet’s balcony as well as the Arsenale and Castelvecchio. The castle is the most important military construction of the Scaliger dynasty, the family that ruled the city in the Middle Ages. Optional worship will be offered in a local church in Verona.

   Afternoon: watch as nearly seventy floats march through the streets of Verona with a wide variety of themes and fantasies. Almost all the are made from papier-mâché, and all the artisans responsible for making them put their heart and soul into the endeavour. Read about the history of the Verona carnival at the end of this itinerary.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

4. 

   Bassano del Grappa and Treviso (B, L, D, DR)

   Morning: drive to Bassano Del Grappa, a picturesque town at the base of the Dolomites. Famous for its Grappa, cuisine, world renown wines, ceramics, stunning villas, rolling hillside vineyards, picture perfect piazzas and Ponte Vecchio, (a wooden bridge that dates back, to 1209, that today is synonymous of the town). Your guided tour will also include the Piazza Libertà and Piazza Garibaldi. Of course, we will offer a sample of the town’s famous product! After the tour enjoy free time to wander at leisure.

   Afternoon: continue to Treviso for an included lunch at Villa di Maser. Conceived around 1550 by architect Andrea Palladio as for the noble Venetian brothers Daniele and Marcantonio Barbaro, who employed the painter Paolo Veronese and sculptor Alessandro Vittoria to decorate the building. We also visit the Palladian Barbaro Temple for a short optional worship. After, enjoy a short-guided tour of Treviso with its medieval city walls, lots of pretty canals, narrow cobbled streets and frescoed churches. Despite this, it receives few visitors, making it a more authentic insight into life in the Veneto.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

5. 

   The Palladian Villas of the Brenta River (B, L, D, DR)

   Morning: drive to Venice to transfer by boat to St Mark’s Square for a guided walking tour of Venice including St Mark’s Square, St. Mark’s Basilica, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge and the city’s hidden lanes showing an insight into Venetian life.

   ‎Afternoon: free time for lunch before enjoying the atmosphere, During the Carnival of Venice festival people engage in activities such as masquerade balls, street performances, and concerts. Street singers, jugglers, acrobats, and other artists are seen on the squares, bridges and passing by in boats on the canals. As you walk around enjoy the costumes and elaborate masks.

   Evening: dinner in a local restaurant in Venice with drinks included and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

6. 

   Venice and its carnival atmosphere (B, D, DR)

   Morning: cruise along the Brenta River, a scenic waterway inland from Venice towards, best known for its scenery and over 30 grand villas. Its construction and subsequent use as a transportation link dates back to the 16th century, and during the centuries that followed many magnificent villas were built alongside the canal by the gentry who carried out their business along the waterway. During the course of the morning, you will tour Villa Pisani once owned by Napoleon and the Habsburgs and home to the first meeting of Hitler and Mussolini. Then we visit Villa Valmarana which is still inhabited.

   Afternoon: lunch in a local restaurant before returning to the hotel to enjoy its facilities.

   Evening: dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

7. 

   Vicenza (B, D, DR)

   Morning: drive to Vicenza a prosperous town under Venetian rule. Its pride was demonstrated in fine architecture, much of which still survives. Its 'unique appearance,' largely owing to the work of influential sixteenth-century architect Andrea Palladio, has led to the town's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We include entrance to the The Teatro Olimpico, the first indoor theatre in masonry in the world, with interiors made of wood, stucco and plaster and some of the ornate Palladian villas where we join together in worship in these stunning surroundings.

   Afternoon: free time for lunch and to wander at leisure before returning to the hotel to enjoy its facilities.

   Evening: farewell dinner in the hotel with a drink and tea or coffee included. After dinner enjoy an evening of live music in the hotel.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

8. 

   Depart for the UK (B)

   Depart for the airport, bid farewell to your Tour Manager and check-in for your return flight to the UK where you bid farewell to your Tour Leader and fellow travelling companions.

   Key to symbols: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon Tea, D = Dinner, DR = Drink 

9. 

   The history of the Verona Carnival

   During the 16th century Verona was suffering from a terrible famine as a result of a series of devastating floods and repeated raids by the armies of Emperor Charles V fighting against Lombardy. In these desperate times, the bakers had increased their prices for bread and the people decided to blockade the bakeries.

   As happened many times through history, hunger caused an uprising among the population of Verona, notably in San Zeno in June 1531 when the bakery was raided for bread and grain. The charity of some citizens, who supplied the poorest residents of the neighbourhood out of their own pockets, meant that disaster was averted, quelling the revolt. According to tradition, the charitable citizens included doctor Tommaso Da Vico, now officially recognised as the founder of Bacanal del Gnoco, who kept the custom going by stipulating in his will that bread, wine, butter, flour and cheese should be distributed every year to the people of San Zeno.

   Bread for all!

   These are many theories about the origins of Carnival in Verona. The Festival of “Venardì Gnocolàr” (or Gnocchi Friday) dates back to 1405 when the city was conquered by the Republic of Venice. The historian Zagata recounts the story of Verona’s "Devotion to Venice". When the city’s ambassadors travelled to meet the Doge and pledge their allegiance to the Republic. On their return, they paraded a banner donated by the Doge on the Carroccio, a richly decorated wagon that was a symbol of the city in wartime. This allegorical wagon, the Wagon of Plenty, seems to have been a reference to the Venetian wagon, in the same way that the huge flag alluded to the Venetian standard. Since Verona was subsequently struck by famine in 1406, it seems very plausible that the new government would have wanted to gain popularity from citizens by founding the Festival of Plenty, with donations of food and using the might of the Republic which a few months previously had marched triumphantly through the city.

   Another theory places the origins in the even older “Festival of all People” set up in 1208 by Ezzelino da Romano to mark the victory of the Ghibellines over the Guelphs in their battle for control of northern Italy, whilst others say it dates back to the time of Cangrade della Scala who, to commemorate Saint Zeno, would hold a great fair in the courtyard of the Basilica every May, featuring singing, dancing and much merry-making.

   The Papà del Gnoco, the king of the festival

   Verona Carnival was suspended from 1900 to 1923 but following its restoration by students it has become a much-loved holiday in the city and since 1949 the king of the festival has been Papà del Gnoco. In the historic district of San Zeno, Papà del Gnoco is portrayed as an old man, with a ruddy face and a long white beard, dressed in brown with a red cape and top hat decorated with bells.‘Father Dumpling’, as his name translates, is traditionally elected by the residents of San Zeno. The king of the festival grasps his sceptre, which is a large gnocchi impaled on a giant golden fork, and travels on a mule, handing out sweets to children and portions of gnocchi with tomato or meat sauce to adults, helped by his servants. In Verona and the surrounding region, it is still traditional on the last Friday before Lent to eat a lunch of home-made gnocchi. If you are in Verona in the final week of Carnival, don’t miss the opportunity to try our traditional gnocchi and soak up the festive atmosphere in the city. During this time, it is impossible to resist all of the pastries baked for the festival: fritters and galani (thin pieces of fried batter) are two sweet treats you have to try when in Verona.

Essential Information

Practical information

Dates