For a more extensive itinerary and further information about the content of the program, please contact the directors, Monica Cyrino (pandora@unm.edu) or Martin Winkler (mwinkler@gmu.edu). Participants will need to sign up and arrange payments through the Secretary of the Vergilian Society, Holly Lorencz (vergsoc@yahoo.com).

Program Description: Our tour offers the first-ever exploration of ancient culture and history in the city of Rome and the region of Campania in close connection with their modern recreations on the screen and with visits to specific cinematic sites. As befits a tour offered by the Vergilian Society, special focus will be on the Aeneid on film. At a time when silver screen and television return to the ancient Romans more and more, especially with the help of digital visual effects as in Gladiator, anybody seriously interested in ancient Roman life and culture and their modern reception cannot afford to ignore film, today's farthest-reaching and most popular mass medium. The directors have many years of experience with teaching and writing about cinematic aspects of Roman literature, history, and culture. Participants are encouraged to read through our recent books -- Gladiator: Film and History (ed. Winkler; 2004) and Big-Screen Rome (Cyrino; 2005) -- in preparation for this tour. While most participants will be familiar with the films to be discussed, we will provide a list of films that participants are encouraged to re-view before the tour. Screenings of carefully chosen film excerpts, and of the entire six-hour Aeneid (a rare film which participants are unlikely to know), will take place at the Villa Vergiliana. Participants will also be encouraged to bring along a copy of the Aeneid for readings and discussions at the Villa.

Itinerary Overview: in Rome and Campania: 6 nights in Rome, 6 nights in Cumae at the Villa Vergiliana, and 1 night on the island of Capri. This program necessitates a good deal of walking and the use of public transportation.

Sunday, 7/1: Program officially begins. Participants meet in Rome at our centrally-located hotel. Afternoon informal orientation and easy city walk.

Monday, 7/2: All day walking tour of the ancient city sites: the Colosseum, Ludus Magnus, the Domus Aurea, the Forum Romanum, the Palatine and the Capitoline.

Tuesday, 7/3: All day walking tour of the city center sites: start from the Villa Borghese, then on to the Via Veneto, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Colonna, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori.

Wednesday, 7/4: Taxi to St. Peter's Square and the Vatican. Visit Castel San Angelo. Taxi back to Circus Maximus, Theater of Marcellus, and the Bocca della Verità.

Thursday, 7/5: Excursion by bus outside the city of Rome. Possibilities include: Ostia Antica, the EUR, Via Appia Antica, Cinecittà Studios.

Friday, 7/6: Transfer by bus south to Campania. Stop to visit the ancient site of Capua, then on to Cumae: Acropolis, Cave of the Sibyl. Proceed to the Villa Vergiliana, with introduction and screening of the first part of the Aeneid.

Saturday, 7/7: Tour by bus the local sites of the Phlegraean Fields: Puteoli (Pozzuoli), the Solfatara; Lake Avernus, Baiae, Bacoli, Cape Misenum. Evening screening of the second part of the Aeneid.

Sunday, 7/8: Morning visit to the ancient city of Herculaneum. Afternoon visit to the archaeological museum in Naples. Evening screening of the third part of the Aeneid.

Monday, 7/9: Ferry to the island of Ischia, or free day for participants to choose their own activity or day of leisure. Evening discussion on film of Aeneid: Does the film do justice to Vergil?

Tuesday, 7/10: All day tour of the ancient site of Pompeii. Evening screening of excerpts from The Last Days of Pompeii (American and Italian versions).

Wednesday, 7/11: Ferry to the island of Capri. Visit the town and the Villa Jovis of Tiberius. Dinner and night on Capri.

Thursday, 7/12: Morning ferry to Sorrento. Pick up by bus to visit the Roman villas at Oplontis and Stabiae. Evening farewell dinner at the Villa.

Friday, 7/13: Transfer by bus to Rome. Afternoon walking tour of Janiculum and farewell dinner and festivities in Trastevere.

Saturday, 7/14: Program officially ends after breakfast.

Price: $2,195

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