Essential History Expeditions
Italy tour From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44
From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44
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Date/Time
Date(s) - 22/05/2026 - 01/06/2026
12:00 am

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From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44. The Soft Underbelly or the Tough Old Gut. A Leadership Expedition for Hunt Scholars & Friends of SMU

May 22 - June 1, 2026

Southern Methodist University’s (SMU’s) Center for Presidential History’s Jeffrey A. Engel and Essential History Expeditions’ Brian DeToy are pleased to partner for an on-site exploration of the people and places of the Italian Campaign from July 1943 to June 1944, that began Europe’s liberation from Nazi rule. We will walk the beaches and cliffs and follow the operations from the Sicilian landing zones to the desperate fighting along the Gustav Line and Monte Cassino and on to the Anzio-Nettuno landings and the liberation of the Italian capital, the famed Eternal City.

The events of 1943-44 continue to inspire long after the guns have fallen silent. This Italy expedition will bring guests to the beaches, mountains and fields; and villages, towns and cities where the Greatest Generation made their most indelible mark. From the Rangers at Licata and Gela, to the American infantrymen assaulting the beaches at Paestum; from American paratroopers holding the key Biazza Ridge, and in the dizzying heights and intense fighting at Altavilla to the brutal slugfest fighting along the Rapido at San Pietro, and Monte Cassino to the 3rd Infantry Division and the Ranger Force at Anzio-Nettuno and the final Ranger battle at Cisterna. Then, we will arrive in Rome to discuss the liberation of that city on June 4th and 5th, 1944, as well as visit so many other iconic sites in the city that is like no other!

This WWII expedition unfolds over nine days and eight nights with stories of all the Allied participants as well as those of the German defenders. In addition, we will see numerous examples of ancient Greek and Roman civilization – the heart of the Western World’s legacy. Along the way, we will also be immersed in gorgeous scenery in the provinces of Sicilia, Campania and Lazio, and enjoy some of the world’s finest cuisine and wines.

ACTIVITIES & HIGHLIGHTS

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Day 1

FRIDAY, MAY 22nd: CATANIA ARRIVAL AND EXPEDITION OVERVIEW

  • Arrive by 4pm in Catania, the capital of Sicily. Our hotel, the Romano Palace Luxury Hotel, is quite near the Catania airport. Most flights will connect through Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. Early arrivals may wish to explore the very fine Operation HUSKY museum in the town.
  • Check-in to Romano Palace Luxury Hotel near Catania International Airport.
  • Starting at 6pm, we will enjoy a welcome social and dinner along with an overview of the expedition and group introductions, all under the shadow of the fabled volcano, Mount Etna!
  • Hotel: Romano Palace Luxury Hotel or similar

Day 2

SATURDAY, May 23rd: THE HUSKY LANDINGS AND INITIAL FLIGHTS

  • Breakfast and load luggage and check-out of hotel.
  • Depart lodgings and drive southwest from Catania into the American landing zone.
  • Visit the landing beaches of George Patton’s US 7th Army, with the Ranger Battalions and the 3rd Infantry Division at Licata and Gela. The Sicily invasion was the war’s largest in numbers of men landed on D-Day. Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander in the Mediterranean, sent two armies ashore under command of General Sir Harold Alexander’s 15th Army Group. At Licata was the 3rd Division and attached Rangers. At Gela was the 1st Division and the Ranger Force.
  • Walk the Gela streets and waterfront where Colonel William Darby and his Rangers hunted German tanks.
  • Lunch on your own in Gela.
  • In the afternoon visit the 1st Infantry Division’s inland battlesite at Casteluccio di Gela. A large ItalianGerman armored counterattack threatened the invasion here.
  • We will visit sites of the American advance inland, including Jim Gavin and the 505th PIR holding the key Ponte Dirillo Bridge and Biazza Ridge. Some of the stiffest fighting for the 82nd Airborne in the entire war! A tragic friendly fire incident here had lasting repercussions for further use of airborne troops. Meanwhile, the 45th Infantry Division also saw hard action nearby at Piano Lupo.
  • Drive through the rugged mountains to Siracusa in the British and Canadian zone. Siracusa is famed for its millennia of history. A crossroads of empires.
  • We will enjoy a walking tour of the Old Town on the island of Ortigia. Ancient Greek city states fought bitterly here for Mediterranean domination. Later, the Carthaginians and Romans did the same.
  • Social hour at the hotel and lecture with post-doc.
  • Group dinner (Optional mentor session) at the hotel.
  • Hotel: Ortea Palace by Autograph Collection or similar in Siracusa

Day 3

SUNDAY, MAY 24th: THE BRITISH LANDINGS AND ANCIENT SIRACUSA

  • Breakfast
  • Visit British Commando and glider battle sites at Ponte Grande Bridge and on the Maddalena Peninsula as the British and Canadians attempt to gain a foothold. General Bernard Montgomery’s 8th Army, fresh from North African victories, had a tough fight up the eastern coast.
  • Visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Siracusa. We will later visit Polish and American cemeteries on the mainland.
  • The entire afternoon and evening are on your own to explore the fascinating Old Town of Siracusa. A visit to the ancient Greek and Roman sites is also recommended. Sites in the Neaopolis include Dionysius’ Ear – an auditory marvel of a cave, and the ancient Roman amphitheater.
  • Dinner on your own in the Old Town with its myriad restaurants.
  • Hotel: Ortea Palace

Day 4

MONDAY, MAY 25th: 8th ARMY ADVANCE ON CATANIA & FLIGHT TO NAPLES

  • Breakfast
  • Drive north along the British 8th Army route to the strategic Catania Plain, the focus of the British advance.
    The terrain on the east coast is cut by numerous rivers and streams and was well-suited to the German
    defense. In addition, the Germans brought in crack reinforcements from the mainland France.
  • Visit the incredible dayslong battlesite at Primosole Bridge, perhaps the toughest British action in the
    entire war. Elite units from both sides battled in brutal terrain and heat. By the time the British
    breakthrough, the Germans have been enabled to withdraw their troops from the trap of Patton’s
    encircling Americans.
  • Lunch on your own at the airport, followed by an early afternoon flight from Catania to Naples.
  • Meet the bus on arrival at Naples and drive to Pompeii.
  • Visit the famed ancient Roman city, covered with ash by the eruption of nearby Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
    The sudden eruption and massive ash cloud has preserved the city to this day. A remarkable window into
    ancient life.
  • Continue to drive south to Paestum on the Salerno plains and beaches and check-in to lodgings. This area
    is much more built-up post-WWII and the village we see today hardly existed in September 1943.
  • Lecture with Professor Engle followed by group dinner with optional mentor discussion at the hotel.
  • Hotel: Mec Paestum or similar

Day 5

TUESDAY, MAY 26th: OPERATION AVALANCHE AND PAESTUM

  • Breakfast
  • Explore the landing beaches of Mark Clark’s US 5th Army, especially the 36th Division at Paestum in
    Operation AVALANCHE. The 8th Fleet under Vice Admiral Kent Hewitt delivered the forces on time but the
    Germans were waiting, almost in ambush. The battle for the beachhead was touch-and-go for nearly a
    week. Clark contemplated withdrawal under pressure, but reinforcements saved the day.
  • A visit to the ancient Greek ruins of Paestum is followed by lunch on your own near the museum. This
    Magna Graecia site is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved in the ancient world. The amazing
    temple to Zeus is as large as the Parthenon and older than the buildings on the Acropolis!
  • Drive to lodgings in Amalfi, the famed town on the idyllic coast of the Sorrento peninsula. We will have on
    own time to explore the beautiful cliffside village.
  • Dinner on your own in Amalfi.
  • Hotel: Hotel Luna Convento (or similar)

Day 6

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27th: THE BATTLES AT THE GUSTAV LINE AND CASSINO

  • Breakfast and load luggage and check-out of hotel.
  • Depart for San Pietro Infine and Cassino.
  • At San Pietro, we will observe the brutal fight against a formidable enemy and equally formidable terrain.
    The 36th Division sustained many losses but took the town (though totally destroyed and now a national
    park). Famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle wrote his most eloquent dispatch about this fight – “The
    Death of Captain Waskow.” John Huston made an acclaimed war documentary during the battle.
  • Our next stop is the Rapido River crossings at Sant Angelo in Theodice. The battle here, to break the
    stalemate at Cassino, resulted in one of the bloodiest setbacks of the war in Italy. Veterans of the 36th
    Division, Texas own National Guard outfit, carried a bitter feeling toward Clark for decades.
  • Box lunch along the riverside.
  • In the rebuilt city of Cassino, we will discuss the four attacks by Americans, New Zealanders, Indians and
    finally Poles to capture the high-ground behind. Cassino and the abbey above and behind it, dominated
    the main road to Rome. Any advance had to capture these first. The campaign took five long months, one
    of the longest tactical fights anywhere!
  • We will visit the amazing Abbey of Monte Cassino, one of the most important sites in all Christendom and
    one that dominates the road to Rome. Its destruction by allied bombing remains one of the most
    controversial decisions of the entire war. Built by St Benedict, the patron Saint of Europe (most nations
    have a patron saint; Benedict is the only saint of an entire Continent!)
  • We will also explore the nearby Polish Cemetery where we can observe the final fight up the forbidding
    terrain resulting in its capture. The Poles, their homeland under Nazi domination, were the best fighters
    (along with the French Expeditionary Corps) on the Allied side.
  • Drive to Nettuno or Latina
  • Dinner on your own in one of the many boutique restaurants in Nettuno.
  • Hotel: Astura Palace or similar

Day 7

THURSDAY, MAY 28th: OPERATION SHINGLE & BREAKING THE LINE

  • In the pre-dawn darkness of January 22nd, the Ranger Force landed at Anzio and quickly seized the vital port, spearheading the invasion in Operation SHINGLE, an attempt to turn the Germans out of their Gustav Line positions at Cassino. The main American force landed at nearby Nettuno and we will visit the beach.
  • Our next stop is one of the most pivotal actions for the Rangers in WWII. At Cisterna, on January 30th, Darby’s Ranger force faced overwhelming odds and was itself destroyed in a fierce battle that few survived. The remains of the 1st, 3rd and 4th Battalions were dismantled and the survivors sent back stateside to train new Rangers.
  • Group lunch (final optional mentor discussion) in Aprilia.
  • In the afternoon, visit the battle of the Caves from February 1944, the most desperate action of the beachhead. The TV series, The Liberator, captures scenes here.
  • Visit the nearby Sicily-Rome American Cemetery where over 7,000 Americans lie in a spectacularly beautiful resting place maintained by the American Battlefields Monuments Commission.
  • Social hour, with Reflections, followed by dinner on your own in Nettuno
  • Hotel: Astura Palace (or lodgings in the Alban Hills near castle Gandolfo)

Day 8

FRIDAY, MAY 29th: THE CAPTURE & LIBERATION OF ROME

  • Breakfast and load luggage and check-out of hotel.
  • Continuing on to Rome, we will follow the May 1944 breakout from the beachhead by MG Lucian
    Truscott’s VI Corps.
  • Upon arrival in Rome, we will visit the moving Ardeatine Cave Massacre site and memorial. Italian civilians
    were brutally murdered here in April 1944 by German SS in retaliation for a partisan ambush in Rome.
  • We will also visit sites of Rome’s June 1944 liberation by the US-Canadian 1st Special Service Force, as well
    as battles against the Germans by Italians in September 1943.
  • In the afternoon, we will visit the vibrant Jewish Quarter and its synagogue and Shoah museum.
  • Group lunch in the Jewish Quarter.
  • Drive to central Rome lodgings and check-in, the 5-star Eitch Borromini, a 17th century palace designed by
    Borromini overlooking the Piazza Navona.
  • Final group dinner and lecture with Professor Engel in Rome.
  • Hotel: Eitch Borromini or similar (students may be in a nearby hotel)

Days 9 & 10

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 30th AND 31st: ROAM LIKE A ROMAN

  • Breakfast
  • End of trip for non-Hunt Scholar Students.
  • For Hunt Scholar Students: These days are yours to explore the Eternal City and all its magical treasures!
  • Lunches on your own with dinner on own for Saturday and possible final group dinner on Sunday.
  • Hotel: Eitch Borromoni or nearby hotel

Day 11

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 30th AND 31st: ROAM LIKE A ROMAN

  • Breakfast, followed by departures and onward journeys.
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TRIP INCLUSIONS AND PRICING

  • Nine days and eight nights of in-depth guided tours.
  • Full-time military historian.
  • Full-time presidential historian.
  • Full-time post-doc.
  • Full-time trip manager.
  • All single occupancy lodging in best hotel available in each location: 1 night in Catania, 2 nights in
    Siracusa, 1 night in Amalfi, 2 nights in Nettuno and 2 nights in Rome.
  • All museum and other entrance fees per itinerary.
  • Daily transportation on luxury bus with driver.
  • Personalized tour support.
  • Most meals (all breakfasts) as per itinerary.
  • Flight from Catania to Naples.
  • Cost: $6,750 per person, double occupancy; $750 single occupancy supplement.

NOT INCLUDED

  • Flights to/from Europe
  • Alcohol

DEPOSIT, PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICY

EHE requires a deposit of $1,000 per person to confirm the trip. For any cancellation made 90 days before the
tour start date, EHE will refund all payments minus itemized sunk costs by EHE and a $250 per person
administrative fee.

  • Cancellations received by EHE between 90 and 60 days of the tour start date will result in forfeiture of
    the deposit.
  • For cancellations received by EHE between 30 and 60 days of the tour start date, the guests will be
    responsible for 50 percent of the tour cost to cover sunk costs.
  • For cancellations received by EHE less than 30 days of the tour start date, the guests will be responsible
    for the total tour cost.

INTRIGUED BUT STILL HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT TOURING ITALY?

  • Let’s schedule a conference call! We’d love to chat with you and answer any questions you may have.
  • Complete the contact form below and let’s set up a call.
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From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44 22/05/2026 - 01/06/2026 12:00 am From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44 From Sicily to Rome, 1943-44 The events of 1943-44 continue to inspire long after the guns have fallen silent. This Italy tour will bring guests to the beaches, cliffs and fields; and villages, towns and cities where the Greatest Generation made their most indelible mark. Mission Critical Systems 22-05-2026T00:00 22-05-2026T00:00 Active Active 22-05-2026 Active $0.00 22-05-2026
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