World War II

in Sicily and Italy,

1943-1944:

A Field Tour of Rome, Catania, Siracusa, Gela, Enna, Leonforte, Assoro, Agira, Mount Etna, Messina, Salerno, Pompeii, Paestum, Cassino, Anzio, Nettuna, Ortona, L’Aquila, Gran Sasso, Camp Imperatore and other sites

June 11-22, 2008 - from Rome, Italy

This exciting adventure in World War II history will begin in Rome with a welcome reception and dinner on Wednesday evening, June 11, 2008. The next morning, our jet-lag having subsided, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of The Eternal City. On Friday morning, we’ll shuttle to the airport and board a 75-minute flight to Catania, Sicily which will serve as our base for the next three days. In Sicily, we’ll visit:

·        Siracusa, the ancient city that was once the most important Greek settlement in the region

·        Gela, on the southwest coast of Sicily where the Allies landed on the beaches as a part of Operation Husky, to begin the liberation of Europe – on July 9, 1943

·        Enna, Sicily’s highest town, which sits atop a crag overlooking a magnificent valley, and the nearby battlefields of Leonforte, Assoro and Agira

·        Mount Etna, Europe’s largest, highest, accessible volcano

·        Messina, the gateway to the narrow body of water between Sicily and Italy, and the enemy’s escape route to the Italian mainland.

On Monday morning, we’ll fly back to Rome, board a charter bus, and head south to the sites of the most storied beach landings and inland fighting in Italy, and to several other sites of mythical lore, including:

·        Salerno – where the Allies landed on September 9, 1943 as a part of Operation Avalanche

·        Pompeii – the Roman city completely buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD

·        Paestum – where the first wave of the U. S. 36^th Infantry Division came ashore

·        the Abbey of Monte Cassino, and the Polish and German cemeteries at Cassino

·        Anzio and Nettuno – where American troops landed in January, 1944, the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery where 7,861 Americans are interred, and the Museum of the Allied Landing.

During our tour, we’ll also visit Ortona, on the eastern shore of Italy along the Adriatic Sea where raged what has been described as the deadliest close quarter combat of the entire war as German paratroopers were ousted from the town by forces of the 1^st Canadian Infantry.

We will also take a scenic drive into the Apennine Mountains to visit the Villetta Inn where Benito Mussolini was imprisoned for a time in September, 1943. And we’ll ride the cable car to Camp Imperatore, where Mussolini was rescued by Otto Skorzeny’s commandos in one of the most daring exploits of the war.

Our grand adventure across Sicily and Italy will conclude with a farewell dinner in Rome on Saturday evening, June 21. You will be free to fly home, following breakfast, on Sunday morning, June 22.

Our tour will be led by an outstanding team of historians including one of the most famous heroes of World War II, James “Maggie” Megellas, the most decorated officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division. Maggie fought with great distinction at Naples and Anzio. Later in the war, he fought in Operation Market Garden, at the famous crossing of the Waal River, and in the Battle of the Bulge. As recommended reading for this tour, we suggest Maggie’s book, All the Way to Berlin and The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Rick Atkinson.

A complete tour description will be posted up here on or before November 1, 2007.

Registration Fees:

Single - $4,795

Double Room - $3,975 per Person

Your Registration Includes:

·       the services of expert historians

·       the services of two professional tour managers

·       deluxe transportation from site to site

·       11 nights’ lodging

·       all taxes, baggage handling and gratuities on included features

·       round-trip airfare between Rome and Catania

·       11 breakfasts

·       several lunches

·       4 dinners.

·       all admissions to group site visits

·       a book of maps, orders of battle and other useful materials

Refund Policy for this Tour

If you must cancel, you are subject to the following cancellation charges being deducted from your refund:

·        cancellations before May 1, 2008 – no cancellation fees shall be deducted

·        cancellations received from May 1 to June 5:  10% of the total tour price *

·         cancellations after June 5:  we cannot guarantee a refund but will endeavor to return as much of your fees paid as possible.*

* Please Note: Regardless of the date of your cancellation, if we can substitute someone in your place, or otherwise recover our pre-paid fees, we will adjust the cancellation charges downward or waive them entirely.