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ITALY TRIP 2011 Click HERE for printer friendly reservation form ITALY TRIP UPDATE
As you know we have arranged for the trip to be organized by ABC Tours as vendor. They have over forty years experience in the industry and hosted our group's last trip to Italy in 2006. This trip is not a fundraiser and neither our organization or any individual member of the Lodge receives any compensation regarding the endeavor. Reservations and payment is strictly with ABC Tours so those wishing to reserve a place must pay careful attention to the tour number, scheduled deadlines and contact information which will be provided in early August. The ultimate cost of the trip will be effected by the number of reservations received. The minimum number for a group is twenty, but the more people going, up to forty, the less expensive the trip and the saving will be passed on to those going. The cost reduction is the result of the diminishing cost per person for the Italian tour bus, our land mode of travel, the more people on the bus the less the bus costs per person. As a result depending on the response we may cut off enrollment at forty, bus capacity, so sign up early. The reservation period will run from August 6th thru September 25 2010. If enough people respond we will consider two buses with an eighty person limit but that will be determined by response.
Regarding the trip we have attempted to create a tour schedule which will offer unique experiences to both the seasoned traveler and those going to Italy for the first time. The trip will be for twelve days with departure from Newark airport on April 25, 2011. The initial three nights will spent in the town of Melfi which is regional to San Fele and will provide easy access to the sights and experiences of Melfi, Venosa and San Fele, the center of our group's point of ancestral origin. We also will be taking a half day trip to the shrine of San Angelo on the East coast of Italy at Gargano. This initial part of the trip will offer access to the non tourist real culture of rural southern Italy, the culture that connects to the ancestry of probably half of the Italian American population. The remainder of the trip will bring us to the experiences of Amalfi, Sorrento, Naples, Rome , Florence and Venice. Please see the reservation form or below for details.
San Fele Society NJ – trip to Italy - 25 April / 07 May, 2011
TOUR # 3636 Departure date – Apr 25, 2011
Flights confirmed: 45 seats AZ 643 25APR EWRFCO HK45 1655 0720 AZ 1263 26APR FCONAP HK45 0945 1040 AZ 1464 7MAY VCEFCO HK45 0800 0905 AZ 642 7MAY FCOEWR HK45 1015 1350
Deposit of $500 per person is due upon booking
Final Payment is due by January 20, 2011 PRICING Group size: Min 20 passengers Per person in double room: $4000 Single room supplement: $959 PLUS Airport taxes: $141 / per person (Valid at present time) PLUS – insurance
Price Included: *Round trip air fare from Newark airport. Fuel surcharges are included. (Valid at the date of proposal) *3 night accommodation at the Relais Fattoria in Melfi or similar 4 star hotel. (pending confirmation) *3 night accommodation at the Bristol Hotel or similar 4 star hotel in Sorrento. (pending confirmation) *2 night accommodation at the Quirinale Hotel in Rome (confirmed) *2 night accommodation at the NH Hotel Anglo American hotel in Florence (confirmed) *1 night accommodation at the Hotel Papadopoli Venezia (former Sofitel) in Venice. (confirmed) *Daily breakfast, 3 lunches and 4 dinners (¼ bottle wine and ½ bottle water are included with lunches and dinners). *Service of professional tour director throughout. *Round trip airport / hotel transfers. *Half day walking tour of Melfi. *Full day tour of Melfi & Venosa & San Fele. Including Entrance fees of museum and catacombs in San Fele and Venosa. *Visit of Town Hall in San Fele & Pierno. *Visit of St. Michael in Monte S. Angelo. Entrance fee of St, Michael is included. *Transfer from Monte S. Angelo to Sorrento with touring of Amalfi Coast. *Full day tour of Pompeii and Naples. Entrance fee of Pompeii, Capodimonte museum and Archeological museum are included. *Full day tour of Imperial Rome & Vatican. Entrance fee of Coliseum and Vatican are included. *Half day walking tour of Florence. Entrance to the Academy is included. *Half day walking tour of Venice.
Price Not Include: *Airport taxes. $141 / per person (Valid at present time) *Tips *Travel Insurance *Optional tours
Travel Insurance: can be purchased only before/or with final payment. The pre-existing condition exclusion is waived if the payment of the insurance received by ABC Destinations within 14 days of the deposit payment for or your trip. All Trips from $3,001 to $4,000 $215.00 All Trips from $3,001 to $3,500 $275.00
CANCELLATION POLICY Land From 46 to 60 days 10% From 31 to 45 days 25% From 30 to 15 days 50% From14 days to day of departure: 100% of land cost penalty (for group or individual cancellations). If a passenger cancellation creates a change in the price schedule, the tour price will be revised based on the remaining number of participants. A passenger becoming a single as a result of a partner’s cancellation must pay the single supplement. AIR: Penalties are determined by the fare basis used. Most tickets are non-refundable once issued. Utilization date with is 90 days prior to departure. There is $120 / per seat cancellation penalty after 20 January 2011. After final payment air is non refundable.
DAY BY DAY ITINERARY
April 25, 2011 – Depart the U. S. for Italy. April 26, 2011 – Naples/Melfi: Upon arrival, proceed to baggage claim and after clearing customs you will be met by your Tour Escort and transfer to your hotel in Melfi. Melfi is the most important town in Basilicata's Vulture, both as a tourist resort and economic centre. Afternoon walking tour of Melfi. Welcome dinner is at the local tratorria. (Dinner) April 27, 2011 – Melfi / Venosa / San Fele: After breakfast, visit Old City Castle and National Museum in Melfi. And then drive to Venosa and visit Old City Castle, Archeological Park and Catacombs. We will also stop by at the Vulture to see national park. And then continue to south of San Fele for sightseeing. (Breakfast) April 28, 2011 – Melfi / San Fele / Melfi: After breakfast, depart for San Fele. You will visit Tow Hall and then free time on your own in San Fele. After continue to Pierno. After lunch at the local trattoria visit Ma Donna de Pierno. (Breakfast, Lunch) April 29, 2011 – Foggia / Amalfi Coast / Sorrento: After breakfast drive to Foggia to visit the shrine of St. Michael in Monte S. Angelo. And then drive to Amalfi Coast. Overnight and dinner at your hotel in Sorrento. (Breakfast, Dinner) April 30, 2011 - Sorrento / Pompeii / Naples / Sorrento: After breakfast today, history awaits in Pompeii and Naples, where you explore Pompeii’s excavations. After drive to Naples to see old town, Posillipo, Piazza del Plebiscito, San Carlo Theater and Naples’ castles. Enroute, stop in the most famous pasticceria of the city to taste the world-famous sfogliatella. You will also visit Capodimonte museum and Archeological museum in Naples. (Breakfast) May 01, 2011 - Sorrento: After free day at leisure. You can take an optional tour to Capri or explore the Amalfi cost on your own. (Breakfast) May 02, 2011 - Sorrento: After breakfast depart for Rome. After check-in to your hotel, free day at leisure. (Breakfast) May 03, 2010 - Rome: After breakfast start your full day tour of Rome. In the morning enjoy a guided tour of Imperial Rome. Visit the Roman Forum, the most important archaeological area in the city and once the center of the public life; visit the Coliseum, the most famous monument of ancient Rome and an impressive testament to her past greatness. After lunch in a local trattoria, continue the tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums and their immense wealth of art, resulting from centuries of papal collections, offer an extraordinary experience. Amongst others, see the great masterpieces of Renaissance art with the frescoes of the Raphael Rooms and one of Michelangelo’s greatest achievements, “The Last Judgement” in the Sistine Chapel. (Breakfast, Lunch) May 04, 2011 – Rome/Florence: After breakfast depart for Florence the Cradle of Renaissance. Its striking buildings, formidable galleries and treasure-crammed churches attest to the Florentine love of display. Its elegant appearance and the skyline, with its russet rooftops and lofty domes, contributed to give this city its role of important center for culture and arts. After lunch at local restaurant, enjoy a guided half day walking tour of Florence. See the Duomo, the city’s geographical and focus point, Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Baptistery. Stop in Piazza della Signoria, the political heart of the city and known for its Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery. Visit the Academy to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece “David”. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon to explore the city on your own or to stop at one of the many quaint shops atop the oldest bridge, Ponte Vecchio. (Breakfast, Lunch) May 05, 2011 – Florence: After breakfast, free day at leisure. You can take an optional tour of Siena or explore the Florence on your own. Tonight, a farewell dinner is at local restaurant with entertainment (Breakfast, Dinner) May 06, 2011 – Florence / Venice: After breakfast depart for Venice, the powerful city state that once ruled the trade route of Europe and Asia for centuries, and one of Europe’s most romantic cities. Venice is a magical tapestry of Renaissance buildings perched on narrow canals with sleek gondolas gliding silently beneath ornate bridges that will leave you breathless. Enjoy half day walking tour starting from Piazza San Marco. See the majestic Doge’s Palace and Giotto’s Bell Tower. Visit St. Mark’s Basilica, a marble and golden fantasy and one of the most gorgeous containers ever built to display the relics of a saint. Enjoy farewell dinnera t local restaurant. (Breakfast, Dinner) May 07, 2011 – Venice/U.S.: After breakfast depart for the Venice Airport for your return flight home. (Breakfast)
We believe that this Trip will provide us with a unique opportunity to view first hand those locations so important to our cultural heritage. The majority of Italian-Americans have their roots in Southern Italy. On our twelve day visit we plan to visit Rome, the Neopalitan and Almalfi regions as well as Sicily. However, our Trip also proposes to explore our regional roots and to become better acquainted with the Lucania/Basilicata countryside of our ancestors. This area, the home of the “first” Italians is regarded as the last unexplored and untraveled part of Italy by tourists. We plan to spend two nights in the Vulture region, and to visit San Fele, one full day, as well as Venosa and Melfi.
Click HERE for printable reservation form
Report on the San Fele Trip 2006
First we arrived in Sorrento on Good Friday and stayed in a lovely seaside hotel with a magnificent view of Mt. Vesuvius across the bay of Naples. We also had time to witness the local enactment of the funeral procession of Christ. This is a religious tradition in Sorrento going back to the 17th century. The city’s total participation together with its solemnity if not sheer drama was very impressive and hypnotic.
After our
museum visit we had lunch at a local restaurant and briefly were
able to see some of the sites of Naples before once again
returning to Sorrento. Tuesday finally arrived and we set off by
chartered bus for the town of San Fele. In San Fele we were able
to visit Town Hall with its extensive records section.
While there we were able to look up information about ancestors in their records and I was surprised to find that in addition to marriage, births and deaths the records often included information like occupation and addresses. We were also taken to Pierno which is a small hamlet within the San Fele locale. Pierno is located about five miles from San Fele’s mountain top center and is in the valley. We had lunch at the Mayor’s family restaurant in Pierno and he arranged for the Church to be opened so that we might visit. I think as we left at the end of the day we all felt that we could have spent at least another day visiting.
As we left San Fele we purposely took what is the long way back in order to briefly see some additional sites. First, there is a small part of the San Fele commune which is a part of a large National Preserve. It is here that you can see what Lucania used to look like and is striking in its natural heavily wooded beauty. The density and type of forest here presents the visitor with the sense that they are in a much more northern climate. From this part of the commune you can also get a good view of Mt Vulture an extinct volcano which dominates the landscape of the region. This route also takes the visitor to the nearby town of Bella and Bella Mauro. Bella Mauro is where the local train station is. The railroad line which extends northwest to Naples was the way most of our ancestors made their way to America. The railroad line is one of the oldest in Europe and was built in 1815.
Following our visit to San Fele we left early Wednesday morning on a four hour bus trip to Rome. We spent three days visiting the many sights of that great city. There are far too many experiences from our time in Rome to recount here but one unique experience was that we arrived in time to help celebrate Pope Benedict’s first anniversary as Pope. Our group was even mentioned and acknowledged at the ceremony as being in the crowd of tens of thousands from around the world standing there in St. Peter’s square.
Our final evening in Rome was spent as a group at a local restaurant where we reserved a private room and were entertained by a singer and musician who occasionally were accompanied by any number of our waiters. One of the consistencies on our visit is that it generally did not take much or any encouragement to get your waiter or the other patrons for that matter to start singing.
By Tom Frascella
© San Felese Society of New Jersey
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