• Overview
• Perillo Tours that best serve the Art & History lover
• Archeology and History
• Architecture, Art & Culture
• Religious Art and Architecture
• History

Italy is a land rich in art, culture and history. Italy's extensive history radiates from the architecture, paintings, cathedrals and sculptures across this land. Throughout history, Italians have produced some of the most stunning and innovative works of art and architecture. Monuments and fountains permeate city landscapes. One can view an abundance of stained glass, paintings and perfectly crafted marble statues created by artistic masters such as Michelangelo, Donatello and Da Vinci. Great art is everywhere.

Italy provides the opportunity to "travel back in time". Archeologists have determined that the first people settled on the Italian peninsula as early as 1,000,000 BC, in the Paleolithic era. Visitors today can get a taste of that distant past, but it is the later epochs of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance that have enriched this land with its greatest treasures.

Religion has also played a major role in shaping Italy's past, present and future. Italy has thousands of Catholic churches and houses of worship from other religious denominations. Each reminds us of the influence of religion on Italian history, and most contribute to the wonderful pastiche of architecture and artwork that is Italia.

Each Perillo Tour will allow you to experience the Art & History of Italy from a unique perspective that blends an unparalleled knowledge of Italy with an unrivaled ability to satisfy the travel curiosity of the American tourist.

We'll give you the highlights below. If we've piqued your interest, read on!

While you won't go wrong with any of our tours, the following provide a bit of extra time to savor the wonders of Italian Art & History:

• 14 Day Italy North Classic Starting in Rome
• 14 Day Italy North Classic Starting in Milan
• 14 Day Italy North Continental
• 10 Day Vesuvius

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Archeologists have determined that the first people settled on the Italian peninsula as early as 1,000,000 BC, in the Paleolithic era. The preserved ruins of Pompeii, buried and frozen forever by an eruption from Mt. Vesuvius, enable modern day man to see how ancient people lived. A sea of extraordinarily fascinating ancient ruins of Ancient Rome is situated throughout the center and outskirts of this otherwise modern city. Historical sights include:

• Roman Forum
• Palatine Hill
• Colosseum (built in AD 80)
• Various ancient excavated churches, temples and obelisks
• Circus Maximus
• Baths of Caracalla and Diocletian
• Pantheon

Italy, essentially, is art. From the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical periods, Italy has produced some of the most stunning and innovative works of art and architecture. The Renaissance blossomed here, and the results are everywhere. Monuments and fountains permeate city landscapes. Venice, an intricate city of waterways, canals and narrow alleys, is a prime example of how Italian architecture reigns supreme. One can view an abundance of stained glass, paintings and perfectly crafted marble statues created by artistic masters such as:

• Donatello
• Leonardo Da Vinci (Last Supper in Milan)
• Michaelangelo (Sistine Chapel and sculptures of Moses and Pieta in Rome, statue of David in Florence)

Literary genius is not uncommon to Italy either. Italy has been the home to Ovid and his mythological accounts, Cicero, Virgil, Dante and Machiavelli, to name a few. Milan's La Scala Opera House reminds visitors that some of the greatest musicians and composers came from Italy as well; such greats include composers Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Vivaldi. Italy keeps on producing artistic talent. Luciano Pavarotti is viewed as one of the greatest opera singers to date.

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In 315 AD, during Constantine's rule, Christianity became the state religion. The church was the source of much of the inspiration (and the funding) of the early artist. The galleries and museums of Florence, Venice, Milan, and Rome all exhibit a wealth of religious inspired artwork, dating back to the early days of the first millennium.

Italy is, of course, filled with Catholic churches and cathedrals. Each is a testament to the influence of the church on Italian history. The most well known of them are:

• The towering Duomo in Florence
• The Basilica in St. Mark's Square in Venice
• St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the largest church in the world
• Milan's Duomo, the third largest church in the world

Rome, named after its founder Romulus, has undergone centuries of political change, fueling many periods in Italian history -- Ancient Rome (The Monarchy: 753-510 BC; The Republic: 510-27 BC; The Empire: 27 BC- AD 476), The Dark Ages, The Renaissance, Post-Renaissance and today's Modern Italy.

Rome, of course, followed Greece as the dynamic engine of western civilization. But it overshadowed Greece in its reach, spreading its culture and influence as far west as the British Isles and as far to the east as the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

The church, its home in Rome, remained firm in its resolve to shepherd the wounded repository of civilization through the difficult era of the Middle Ages. Then, with the blossoming of the Renaissance, Italy was positioned to reassert its cultural leadership. The fractured history of competing "nation states" provided a sustained and diverse cultural energy, until the relatively recent 19th century. when Garibaldi pulled the Italy together into its current context.

Some rulers and historical figures over the centuries included Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Brutus, Marcus Aurelius, various Popes, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Vittorio Emanuele II, Garibaldi and Mussolini. The Italy we know today has a Prime Minister, a Parliamentary government and is one of the key members of the European Community.

One of the beautiful aspects of European travel, especially Italian travel, is that all the history is still there to see and experience. With a much greater sense of historical perspective than exists in America, there comes a greater appreciation for preserving the treasures of the past. Walk the alleys of Florence, float the canals of Venice, or travel the surviving "Roman roads", and you will truly experience the entire sweep of history, culture and civilization first hand.