PROGRAM EXCURSIONS
Experience Rome, the surrounding country, and other famous sites throughout Italy.
You won’t just read about Aquinas, Cicero, Dante, Fra Angelico, Catherine of Siena, and Michelangelo — you’ll go to where they lived and worked. We’ve got an extensive series of program trips led by Thomistic Institute professors.* Visit where Thomas Aquinas was born and lived, the room in Naples where he taught, and the place where he died. Spend some time with Dante and Fra Angelico in Florence. Explore the city of Catherine of Siena. See the genius of Renaissance architecture in Montepulciano and Pienza.
Plus, the TI will organize regular excursions in the City of Rome itself — even a full semester won’t be enough to exhaust the riches of the Eternal City!
*Subject to change. This information pertains to the Spring 2024 session. Pre-register for free to receive updates.
Our Students Have Traveled To:
Florence
The city of Dante, Fra Angelico, Michelangelo, and the Renaissance.
Siena, Montepulciano, and Pienza
Siena: Birthplace and residence of St. Catherine of Siena. Origins of international banking.
Montepulciano: Includes the monastery founded by St. Agnes of Montepulciano, a tour of the winemaking operation for the Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, and the famous Renaissance church of St. Ambrogio.
Pienza: 15th Century Renaissance gem in Tuscany, home of Pope Pius II.
Roccasecca
Birthplace of Thomas Aquinas
Fossanova
Cistercian Monastery where Thomas Aquinas died and was buried
Orvieto
Italian hill town where Aquinas taught for 4 years. The site of a magnificent frescoed Duomo and Etruscan ruins.
Naples
Where Aquinas met the Dominicans and taught for years. His monastic cell and the classroom are still preserved.
Itinerary is subject to change.
Panoramic view of Florence
The main piazza in Siena
The Roman Forum
Excursions in Rome
Classical Rome
Including the Forum, Capitoline Museum, the Colosseum, and much more.
The Church and Priory of Santa Sabina
A basilica dating from the era of Constantine. Aquinas wrote much of the Summa Theologiae here. St. Dominic lived here.
Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
A Gothic church in Rome with the tombs of Fra Angelico and St. Catherine of Siena
St. Peter’s Basilica
A guided tour of the archeological excavations beneath the basilica
Basilica of San Clemente
A guided visit of the archeological excavations underneath the Basilica with first-century AD Roman apartment buildings, pagan Mithraeic temple, and 4th century AD Roman basilica
