Itinerary as per Nov 29, 2006

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New York contingent departs in the evening from New York JFK International Airport on direct flight for Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport (AMS) on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines # KL 644

Dinner and breakfast (shortly before arrival) served on board

New York contingent arrives in Milan, Italy

Upon arrival you will be met by your tour-guide Fritz Doppelhofer (cell phone:+43 664 6381721), who will travel with you during the entire concert tour

Depart for Cernobbio at Lake Como.
Check in to Hotel Regina Olga and begin your Lake Como Residence.
Welcome dinner provided at hotel (1)

Como and the Lariano area are a splendid part of that very special Lombardy with its wonderful landscape and history. Here, nature and inhabited areas intermingle in a setting of villas and parks suspended on the shores of the lake that was dear to Manzoni. Many tourists from all over Europe come to Como and the surrounding area for a holiday or a visit. There are walks along the shore, boat trips, art shows, open-air sports, a coffee in the piazza and food and wine of excellent quality. There is no limit to the interesting activities and trips!

Evening at leisure and dinner on your own
Overnight Lake Como (2)

DRESS REHEARSAL
CONCERT #1 WITH THE SANTA MONICA CHAMBER PHILHARMONIA CONDUCTED BY ALLEN GROSS AT LAKE COMO (details to be confirmed)
Dinner provided at local restaurant (3)
Transfer back to hotel
Overnight Lake Como (3)

Built on the site of an Etruscan settlement, Florence, the symbol of the Renaissance, rose to economic and cultural pre-eminence under the Medici in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its 600 years of extraordinary artistic activity can be seen above all in the 13th-century cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore), the Church of Santa Croce, the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace, the work of great masters such as Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli and Michelangelo.

Morning half-day guided tour of Florence
Lunch on your own
Afternoon time at leisure and to explore on your own

CONCERT #2 WITH THE SANTA MONICA CHAMBER PHILHARMONIA CONDUCTED BY ALLEN GROSS IN FLORENCE (details to be confirmed)
Dinner provided at a typical local restaurant in the Florentine countryside with a panoramic view of the city (5)
Transfer back to hotel
Overnight Montecatini (5)

Standing in a large green expanse, Piazza del Duomo in Pisa houses a group of monuments known the world over. These four masterpieces of medieval architecture - the cathedral, the baptistry, the campanile (the 'Leaning Tower') and the cemetery - had a great influence on monumental art in Italy from the 11th to the 14th century.

Lunch on your own

CONCERT #3 WITH THE SANTA MONICA CHAMBER PHILHARMONIA CONDUCTED BY ALLEN GROSS IN MONTECATINI (details to be confirmed)

Dinner provided (6)
Overnight Montecatini (6)

San Gimignano delle belle Torri is in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art.

Lunch and dinner on your own
Overnight Montecatini (7)

Siena is the embodiment of a medieval city. Its inhabitants pursued their rivalry with Florence right into the area of urban planning. Throughout the centuries, they preserved their city's Gothic appearance, acquired between the 12th and 15th centuries. During this period the work of Duccio, the Lorenzetti brothers and Simone Martini was to influence the course of Italian and, more broadly, European art. The whole city of Siena, built around the Piazza del Campo, was devised as a work of art that blends into the surrounding landscape.

Lunch on your own
After arrival in Perugia check in to your hotel Quattrotorri
Dinner provided at hotel (7)
Overnight Perugia (8)

Perugia, the regional capital, is an ancient city located in central-northern Umbria. The historic center is built on the high hills along the right bank of the Tiber River. An art town, Perugia is a multiethnic and multicultural center with two universities, a synthesis of the region's multifaceted character: culture, art, history, religion, crafts, food and wine, and the natural environment.

Lunch on your own
In the afternoon start your guided city tour

CONCERT #4 WITH THE SANTA MONICA CHAMBER PHILHARMONIA CONDUCTED BY ALLEN GROSS IN BAGNOREGIO (details to be confirmed)

Dinner provided at local restaurant (8)
Transfer back to hotel
Overnight Perugia (9)

Assisi, a medieval city built on a hill, is the birthplace of Saint Francis, closely associated with the work of the Franciscan Order. Its medieval art masterpieces, such as the Basilica of San Francesco and paintings by Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto, have made Assisi a fundamental reference point for the development of Italian and European art and architecture.

Lunch and dinner on your own
Optional dinner and wine-tasting in Montepulciano
Overnight Perugia (10)

Ravenna is a city of ancient origins, on which many legends have grown. Some describe it as a mythical place suspended between land and sea, at the mouth of the Eridano, facing the islands of amber. Archaeological finds take us back 2500 years; a settlement probably of Umbran (or Tuscan) origin arose serving as a port at the edge of a lagoon which bordered the Adriatic at that time at the mouth of an ancient branch of the Po Delta.

Check in to Jolly Hotel
Lunch and dinner on your own
Overnight Ravenna (11)

The Duomo, the Sforzesco Castle, the splendid gates, the navigli, the streets in the centre, Brera and the theatres: Milan, the great city of Milan, in addition to its frenetic and metropolitan aspect, offers a wide range of beautiful things, including art, architecture and cultural events without equal! Just outside the city, gastronomic itineraries and country scenes open the window on a life that still respects and preserves the traditional farming traditions.

Farewell-dinner provided at a local restaurant (9)
Overnight Milan (12)

New York contingent departs Paris on direct flight for New York JFK International Airport on Air France # AF 6

New York contingent arrives at New York JFK International Airport.

WELCOME HOME

ITINERARY SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR MODIFICATION BY CONCERT COORDINATORS