USC: Rome Imperial Medicine – Bulgaria, Serbia & Italy (2024)

Depart the United States on overnight flight to Europe

Arrive in Sofia, Bulgaria
Check into hotel
Welcome Dinner

Tour of Sofia
Travel to Stolat
Stone & Compass Center – Nature Walk
Stone & Compass Center – Bulgarian 101

Take a day trip to the 2nd Bulgarian empire’s capital city of Veliko Tarnovo. Here you will have the opportunity to climb Tsaravets Fortress.

Tonight, we will have a special treat at the center – Bulgarian Dancers and a pizza party

Herbal Garden Day
Herb Lecture & Hike
Learn how to make herbal teas ect.

Stone & Compass Center – Honey: Medicine and Commerce

Sevlievo village clinic day

Travel from Bulgaria to Belgrade
Check into hotel
Tour Palace of Parliament/Walking tour of Belgrade

Day trip to Serbia Stara Planina

Local Farm Day
Visit Local Farm; learn more about herbs grown there and traditional medicinal practices

Travel to Venice
Check into hotel
Visit St. Mark’s Basilica & Doges Palace

Murano Glass and Burano Glass Blowing Tour

Wake early this morning and travel to Florence
Tour of Florence including:

• Duomo
• Uffizi
• Ponte Vecchio
• Accademia Gallery

Today we will vsit the world’s oldest pharmacy: Santa Maria Novella.

Later we will visit, Antica Erboristeria San Simone – The Antica Erboristeria San Simone is one of the most ancient shops in Florence, opened at the beginning of the 18th century near the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova. The shop sells various kinds of medicinal plants for herbal teas and preparations.

Travel from Florence to Rome
Check into hotel
Visit the Borghese Museum

We will depart in the morning and head to the Colosseum for a skip-the-line tour. We will have special access to the arena floor and avoid lines by entering the colosseum via the Gladiator’s Gate. Afterward, we head to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. (3 hrs)
Taking a break for lunch then on to:

• Spanish Steps/Piazza di Spagna
• Trevi Fountain
• Piazza Colonna
• Pantheon

Dinner this evening will be in the lively Roman neighborhood of Trastevere.

We will depart early this morning to have the chance to be some of the first people to explore the Vatican museums today. We will skip the line and first visit the Sistine Chapel after the tour you can spend your day inside the Museums. This will be a 3-hr guided tour. You also have the opportunity to leisurely wander the Vatican’s magnificent galleries at your own pace, allowing you to focus on what interests you, if you prefer.

In the afternoon/evening we will go on a Street Food Tour of Rome – experiencing Italian classics and real Roman street food.

Today we will visit the Apothecary of Santa Maria della Scala. We will have a guided tours by the same order of Carmelite monks who, centuries ago, dished out medicines to nobles, cardinals and popes. The on-site gift shop sells a selection of herbal remedies, as well as therapeutic brandy, grappa and limoncello.

Today we will leave early to take the 2.5 hour drive to Pompei In the afternoon, you will explore Pompeii, Italy’s most famous archaeological site, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site like no other. Pompeii, a lively city, got indeed buried in ash and pumice by Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD. You can see a perfectly preserved fossil record of ancient Roman life, visiting the most fascinating sites of the city, from plaster death casts to streets cut out by carriage wheels 2,000 years ago.

After our visit in Pompeii, we will head to Naples, where have a chance to wander around the city and pop into the shops. You will also have a chance to see many of Naples’ historic buildings including, San Carlo Opera House, Europe’s oldest working theater.

Today we will visit Herculaneum, giving you the opportunity to compare and contrast this ancient site and the city’s fate with that of Pompeii.

Depart today for your return trip to the United States.