Join us on our expedition to Italy and Austria as we consider how God prepared the world for the Reformation and the effect that it had beyond the faithful. We will travel from Pompeii to Vienna. Visit ancient Roman ruins and consider how the Roman Catholic church tried to reestablish that empire. Visit where that empire fed Christians to lions to entertain the people. See the St. Peters Cathedral which required such money that exposed the ungodly Roman Catholic system. Go to Florence, the heart of the Renaissance, and hear how the humanists prepared the way for the Reformation. Travel to Konstance and hear about the corruption of the Roman Catholic church and how that led to the martyrdom of Jan Hus. Hear about the Italian martyrs who died for their faith even as the Reformation was failing in Italy, but how the Roman Catholics reinvented themselves in Trent. End up in Vienna the capital of the Hapsburg empire that promoted Roman Catholicism until it ended at WWI. We will also visit castles and climb church towers for overviews of cities. We hope you can join us on this exciting journey and see the amazing things God has done in history through the lives of ordinary men and women.
Information
Dates – May 7-18, 2024.
Prices – As usual, the price just includes costs. If it turns out to be significantly lower, we will refund the difference. On the other hand, if the currency exchange rates fluctuate greatly, we may need to increase the price.
- Adults – $1850
- Children 6-17 – $1650
- Children 1-5 – $1450
- Young children not requiring a bus seat are free
Deposit – There is very limited space available. Deposit of $350 required by March 15 to reserve your place. Payment in full due by April 15. You can pay using the booking section later on this page. In the checkout process you will have the option to pay by credit card or to mail a check. Checks must be made payable to Dan or Kendra Horn.
Includes – All lodging, admission, and transportation during the tour. We plan to provide a light breakfast and lunch every day, and dinner on several days. This price does not include airfare.
Flights – All flights are to be scheduled individually. We will gather in the morning of May 7 at our hotel in Naples. There will be accommodation available May 6 for those arriving early. The tour ends in Vienna on May 18. To get the best prices and schedule, you may want to fly out of a major airport like Washington Dulles.
Tour Map
Itinerary Highlights
The schedule is subject to change due to weather, traffic, and site conditions outside of our control.
May 7
The tour begins at Mt. Vesuvius with an optional hike at the crater of the volcano that preserved Pompeii before visiting that city with its preserved ruins from the first century before traveling to Rome.
May 8
In Rome, we will visit sites related to the Roman Republic and the Empire. We’ll go to the palaces and temples, but also where the Christians were fed to the lions as an attempt to stop the rise of the church.
May 9
The next day in Rome, we will study the corruption of Roman Catholicism that led to the Reformation. We will go to St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican, the funding of which sparked the Reformation. We will go to the Spanish steps, where Luther began to realize the vain superstition of Roman Catholicism.
May 10
As we travel north to Tuscany, we will go to the scenic Civita di Bagnoregio where the scholastic Bonaventure was born. We will also consider monasticism as we go to the Abbey of San Salvatore. We will end the day and have dinner in San Gimignano a well-preserved medieval town in Tuscany where we can climb the tower to view the city.
May 11
We will go to the center of the Renaissance, and visit Florence where God prepared the ground for the Reformation. We will go to the Medici palace where this powerful family had influence throughout Italy and the world. At the cathedral, we will also talk about the reformer Savonarola before climbing the bell tower. At Fiesole, we will discuss Peter Martyr Vermigli who was born there. We will end the day in Pisa and climb the famous tower.
May 12
May 13
We will head to the Alps stopping en route at a weapon museum housing one of the finest collections of antique arms and armour on our way to Trent. We will visit the cathedral in Trent that was built for a council to meet to reform the Roman Catholic church in response to the Reformation before going to our ski lodge in the Alps.
May 14
We will visit Tirol, the seat of the powerful Hapsburg empire. We will visit the Court Church in Innsbruck that was built to honor Emperor Maximilian. We will visit the silver mine which gave them power and its associated mint. We will consider the battle of Tirol where Napoleon’s troops were stopped in their invasion.
May 15
We will start the day at scenic Neuschwantstein castle which through Disney has become the model for what castles look like before heading to Konstance. In Konstance, we will go where, a hundred years before the Reformation, Jan Hus was martyred for attempting to bring reformation to the Roman Catholic church. We will learn about the three concurrent popes and the politics that led to his death.
May 16
We will visit a museum that shows what farm life looked like in the Alps before industrialization before heading to Kufstien Fortress. The fortress was controlled by the Hapsburg and held many political prisoners. We will end the day at the fortress in Salzburg. There we will talk about the peasant’s revolt that arose because of Luther’s teaching when the fortress was besieged.
May 17
As we head to Vienna to end the tour, we will stop at three castles. One where Richard the Lionhearted was held captive during his return from the crusades and one destroyed by Gustav Adolphus during the Thirty Years War when religious differences generate a war throughout Germany. We will end at the Hapsburg Museum of Military History with its exhibits that cover the whole period of the Hapsburgs with artifacts from ancient Roman times up to the car where Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated that started World War I and ended the Hapsburg empire.
May 18
Transfer to Vienna Airport.
Accommodation
Naples – We will be gathering the morning of May 7 at a hotel in the Naples area. Accommodations will be available the night of May 6.
Rome – We will be staying 3 nights at Tenuta Santa Cristina, about an hour north of Rome. The colonial villas are situated on a beautiful Italian estate. Each of the villas has a private pool.
Tuscany – The next 3 nights will be staying at the country house Poggio Giulia, completely renovated in the traditional Tuscan rustic style, equipped with all comforts for a relaxing stay immersed in nature. There is a large outdoor area for exclusive use, a barbecue area and a swimming pool.
Brixen im Thale – The next 4 nights we will be staying in a traditional Tyrolean guesthouse in the Kitzbühel Alps. Nestled in gentle grassy mountains with extensive alpine pastures, the charming village of Brixen im Thale is located in the middle of the Brixen Valley.
Vienna – The last night of our trip we will be staying in a hotel near Vienna.
Contact
Please send us any questions via our contact page.