Day 3 will take you to one of the most unique places in the world, the likes of which you certainly not have experienced before. Your guide will escort you to Pompeii, just outside Naples at the foot of Mt Vesuvius. 

Today though will be spent exploring the ruins of ancient Pompeii on a guided tour. Until 26 August, 79 AD, Pompeii was a thriving Roman trading centre, where ordinary people went about their everyday business, but it was frozen in time when Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing 2,000 people and their homes under a layer of ash. The city was never rebuilt and largely disappeared from people’s minds until the 18th century, when the ruins were re-discovered. Paul walked many a Roman city that looked as Pompeii does, and the imagery of the Epistles to those cities is nowhere more easily pictured. You can take an unparalleled look back into the lives of ancient Romans and discover how they lived, worked and interacted 2,000 years ago. The finely preserved ruins include villas, temples, theatres and bustling markets. Walk along the chariot-marked streets, visit the magnificent amphitheatre and the ‘Villa of Mysteries’. You can also visit the Roman Forum and basilica, temples, public baths, and the tiny Odeon created for music recitals. 

It is through understanding the context of this time period that we can understand Paul’s preaching. People who walked these streets were of the generation of the early apostles, and Paul’s message had reached there long before the eruption. 

In the afternoon we’ll head back to Naples to relax, perhaps taking a dip in your hotel pool to freshen up before another fabulous Italian dinner.

Today we will begin the journey North to Rome, joining the ancient Appian way traveled by Paul the Apostle.

As we near Rome we will arrive in a spiritual place where in the 6th century Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order of monks spent a part of his life as hermit, and it is possible walk into a roman aqueduct.

The aqueduct, Built by emperor Caligula and completed by emperor Claudius, it collected water from small lakes formed by two springs located in the upper Aniene valley, and it reached Rome after traveling about 45 miles.

Nearby this spectacular roman structure, some hermits in the VI century decided to live a part of their ascetic life.

The monastery of San Cosimato is one of the most evocative and least known places among those linked to the story of Saint Benedict. In the "Dialogues", of San Gregorio Magno, it is said that the monks who lived in the hermitage turned to the Saint to act as abbot for them, and that he agreed to abandon the cave near Subiaco where he had retired at that time, only after much insistence.

Saint Benedict began to supervise their work and the observance of the monastic rule, which was very strict, and for this reason they decided to poison him. But as soon as the Saint traced the sign of the cross on the glass it was a miracle: the cup shattered.

He lived in a chapel carved into the rock, which can be reached from the monastery garden by a flight of steep stairs cut into the stone, and here you can literally touch the faith sculptured in the rock, with the miracle of the broken cup painted on a wall.  This will be a humbling and emotional experience as we learn about the Benedictine rule of life, the lifestyle adopted by these monks in their quest to live their lives separated unto the service of God.