A vacation to visit archaeological sites can be a great way to learn about the past, a planned itinerary tour by Target Travel might be just the ticket for safe, educational travel.
THE ARCHEOLOGY TOURS OFFERED BY TARGET TRAVEL reveal the archeology changes that occurred to the Italian civilizations through the century, thanks to a deep knowledge of our territory, of its treasures, traditions and peculiarities. We will tailor the thematic itinerary of your choice according to season of your trip, length of your stay, number of persons.
Our expertise in taking care of either large or small groups is guaranteed by many satisfied clients.
Visiting an archaeological site with a herd of people is qualitatively different than with a smaller group, particularly if there are to be lectures. A smaller group may mean a higher cost; but it may also mean a richer experience as well, with the opportunity for questions and the group providing some of their specialist knowledge.
The thematic tours we offer now are some of the group tours we already operated, but we will be more than happy to help you in setting new itineraries.
All the services our customers receive during their trip are respectful of the standards requested and faithful to descriptions provided.
Greek & Roman Campania
7 Days / 6 Nights
Day 1: Rome
Arrival in Rome. Brief bus tour of the city with panoramic views from the Gianicolo Hill and other heights. Dinner at a local restaurant followed by an evening walk around Rome’s historic center: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Campo dei Fiori & Piazza Farnese. Overnight.
Day 2: Naples
Departure for Naples. Visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, containing one of the finest collections of Classical sculpture in the world.
Continue to Sorrento area to check in at our hotel. Dinner and Overnight.
Day 3: Pompei
All day visit to Pompeii, perhaps the single most famous archaeological site in the world. An unimportant provincial Roman town, Pompeii’s fame rests exclusively on its role as a perfectly preserved archaeological fossil providing a valuable snapshot of Roman daily life. Free time late afternoon. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Herculaneum – Paestum
Today we tour Herculaneum, the small fishing town & vacation resort for rich Romans from Naples that was destroyed by Vesuvius along with Pompeii in 79 A.D.
During the afternoon we visit Oplontis, ruins of a large Roman imperial villa, believed to have been owned by Nero’s wife & containing superb examples of ancient Roman wall painting. We then proceed on to our hotel in the area of Paestum. After dinner we shall take a stroll by the temples illuminated at night. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Velia
Half-day trip to Velia, the ruins of a Greek city on the rugged coast 30 miles south of Paestum and birthplace of the Greek philosopher Parmenides. Velia is an interesting example of how flexibly the Greeks adapted their rational principles of city planning to an unusual local topography. Return to our hotel. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Paestum
Visit to the ancient city of Paestum, its Greek temples of the 6th & 5th centuries B.C. Return to Rome. Free afternoon. Farewell Dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Rome
Transfer to Fiumicino airport for return flight home.
Archaeology In The Rome Area
8 Days / 7Nights
Day 1: Rome
Arrival in Rome. Brief bus tour of the city with panoramic views from the Gianicolo Hill and other heights. Dinner and Overnight
Day 2: Rome
We begin our tour with a visit to the National Etruscan Museum, the world’s foremost collection of Etruscan art and artifacts. Next we drive out to Cerveteri, site of one of the most powerful of Etruscan city-states, to the necropolis which furnished some of the objects in the Villa Giulia Museum. During the afternoon we shall visit a totally different type of cemetery. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Tarquinia
A full day in Tarquinia, another important Etruscan city a bit further to the north of Cerveteri. These are unmatched in the ancient world for their sheer number, their engaging color, and their vitality. Tarquinia’s Etruscan museum, which is housed in a Gothic-Renaissance palace, is truly a jewel. In the museum’s very fine collection, there is a truly unique piece, a sculpted terracotta decorative plaque depicting a pair of winged horses. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Rome
Focal point of Roman daily life, the Forum was where people gathered to shop, vote, revere their Gods, submit to justice, hear political speeches, gather news, and, of course, gossip.
The Colosseum needs no special introduction, but a brief visit would be meaningful, since it, too, played a central role in Roman life. On the way to San Clemente, our next stop, we see below street level a miniature amphitheater.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Ostia
All-day visit to Ostia Antica, ancient Rome’s port city abandoned in the late Empire. A large part of Rome’s supply of necessities, as well as luxuries passed through Ostia. Behind the museum we can see the breakwater of the Roman port that replaced Ostia, as Rome’s imports grew beyond Ostia’s ability to handle them. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Rome
An all-day tour of the surviving elements of the aqueducts, ancient Rome’s ingenious system of urban water supply, including a walk inside the water channel (conditions permitting). The aqueducts were one of the supreme achievements of Roman engineering, and Roman writers eulogized them as being greater than the Egyptian pyramids for their combination of beauty & functionality. Dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Rome
Today we shall make a very brief visit to the ruins of a Roman postal way station and a stretch of the ancient Via Cassia, one of the main roads which linked ancient Rome to Florentia, Roman Florence. This will be followed by a tour of a live archaeological excavation, consisting of the Via Amerina, and its bridges and tombs.
We shall make a brief stop in the medieval section of Civita Castellana, the ancient Faliscan city of Falerii (completely destroyed by the Romans in 241 B.C.) to see a very fine example of a medieval Italian church in the Romanesque style. On our return, we shall stop at Sutri, an ancient Etruscan-Faliscan town taken by the Romans in the 4th century B.C. Farewell dinner and Overnight.
Day 8: Rome – Departure
Departure for return flight home.
The Etruscans
6 Days / 5 Nights
Day 1: Rome
Arrival in Rome. Brief bus tour of the city with panoramic view from the Gianicolo Hill and other heights. Dinner and Overnight.
Day 2: Rome – Cerveteri
We begin our tour with a visit to the National Etruscan Museum, the world’s foremost collection of Etruscan art and artifacts. Next we drive out to Cerveteri, site of one of the most powerful of Etruscan city-states, to the necropolis which furnished some of the objects in the Villa Giulia Museum. During the afternoon we shall visit a totally different type of cemetery. Dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Tarquinia
A full day in Tarquinia, another important Etruscan city a bit further to the north of Cerveteri. These are unmatched in the ancient world for their sheer number, their engaging color, and their vitality. Tarquinia’s Etruscan museum, which is housed in a Gothic-Renaissance palace, is truly a jewel. In the museum’s very fine collection, there is a truly unique piece, a sculpted terracotta decorative plaque depicting a pair of winged horses. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: S. Giovenale – Acquarossa – Viterbo
Today visit to San Giovenale and Acquarossa, two of only a handful Etruscan town-sites so far excavated in central Italy. From Acquarossa we stop at Viterbo, a gracious provincial capital north of Rome with one of the most picturesque medieval quarters in central Italy. But first a visit to the unique exhibit on Etruscan houses, the only one of its kind in the world. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Orvieto
Visit to Orvieto, a gracious medieval town with a past reaching back to Etruscan times. It was the Etruscan Velzna, called Volsinii by the Romans, before they destroyed it in the 3rd century B.C. Farewell dinner and Overnight.
Day 6
Departure for return flight home.
Sicily Archeo Tour
8 Days / 7 Nights
Day 1: Catania
Arrival at Catania airprot. Transfert to the reserved Hotel. Check in and meeting with the tour escort. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: Siracusa
After breakfast, departure to Siracusa. Guided visit of Archaeological area including the famous Latomie and the Dyionisios “Ear”. Lunch in an ancient Farmhouse with typical Sicilian cuisine. Visit of the island of Ortigia, singular treasure of the baroque style. Visit of the Archaeological Museum “Paolo Orsi”. Return to hotel; dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Acireale – Etna – Taormina
Breakfast. Brief stop in Acireale to admire its baroque center and to taste its famous “granite”. Morning excursion to Mt. Etna, the highest volcano in Europe. Departure to Taormina. After visiting the important sights such as the Greek Theatre, free time for shopping or exploring the enchanting narrow streets lined by elegant shops and souvenir stores. Return to hotel; dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Pantalica – Palazzolo Acreide
After breakfast, departure to the Necropolis of Pantalica, the biggest necropolis of the Mediterranean with over 5000 tombs, where an ancient civilization was born during the Bronze age, immersed in an extraordinary natural scenario. We strongly suggest to wear comfortable shoes. Proceed to Palazzolo Acreide, the ancient Greek colony of Akrai, and visit of the town. Visit of the Greek theatre, the Bouleterion, the Latomie. Return to Catania; dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 5: – Piazza Armerina – Morgantina – Agrigento
After breakfast and check out, departure to Piazza Armerina. Guided visit of the Roman Villa “del Casale” which contain the most fascinating and colorful mosaics ever found of the late period of the Roman empire. Excursion to Morgantina, discovered in the early ’50 by the archaeologists of the Princeton University; visit of the Agora’, the Theatre and the Acropolis. Lunch in a traditional Farmhouse with typical Sicilian cuisine. Departure to Agrigento. Brief visit at sunset of the “Valley of the Temples”. Check in at the hotel, dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Agrigento – Eraclea Minoa
After breakfast, guided visit of the “Valley of the Temples” and of the Archaeological Museum. Proceed to Eraclea Minoa; visit of the archaeological area surrounded by white cliffs. Return to Agrigento. Free time for shopping. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 7: Selinunte – Cave di Cusa – Segesta – Palermo
After breakfast and check out, departure to Selinunte. Guided visit of the Dorian Temples and of the Acropolis. Brief stop at the “Quarries of Cusa” from which Selinunte extracted calcareous tufa materials to build temples. Departure to Segesta, lunch at local restaurant; guided visit of the Doric temple and the Greek theatre. Departure to Palermo; check in at the hotel. Free time for shopping or exploring the enchanting narrow streets of the historical city center. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 8: Departure
Breakfast and check out. End of services.
