Thursday, May 15, 2014

Your venue in the ancient city of Itri, Italy

Incantato Tours is happy to announce that the Phoenix Girls Chorus is confirmed to have a concert at the ancient Itri Castle.

The castle located in Itri, a small city and commune in the province of Latina, has an impressive history and dates back to the 9th century. Itri is also called "one of the most beautiful towns in Italy".
As typically for castles, it has a strategically position high on a hill, overlooking the Appian Way, which is one of the most famous ancient roads. The town was built around the castle afterwards and then spread along the passage of the Appian Way.

The round tower was given the name “Crocodile Tower”. The legend says, the tower contained a pool which was home of a crocodile. Prisoners, who had been condemned to death, were thrown in the pool and eaten by the reptile.


Recently the castle has undergone extensive reconstruction and renovation.  It was partly destroyed in 1944 when the town of Itri was savagely pounded by aerial bombardment, which left 75% of the town in ruins. The castle is now used for exhibitions and cultural events and an atmospheric setting for summer music and film festivals.




Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Protecting Yourself and Your Investment: Travel Insurance

Dear PGC Travelers, 

As indicated on your registration form, it is mandatory for all tour participants to obtain travel insurance to protect your investment in case you have to cancel for a medical situation, loss of luggage or various other reasons.
Our recommended insurance option is described below along with an online link to Travel Guard. We highly recommend this company based on a long and excellent relationship. TravelGuard has a variety of policies including a family plan. In order for us to keep track of travel insurance for your group, please sign up through the link below connected with Incantato Tours.

Click here to get a Travel Guard Insurance quote.

Incantato Tours strongly recommends getting Travel Guard travel insurance for your upcoming journey as they have been a very reliable partner and provide excellent services, but we also know that you may have a different preferred supplier or are already covered under another policy. Again, travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage is mandatory for all Incantato Tours travelers. 
Not only are you covered medically should anything happen when traveling, but with TravelGuard's policies, you also protect your investment should you have to cancel or interrupt the trip.There is also coverage for delayed and lost luggage etc.
Here is a direct line to purchase travel insurance online and can you do so with your credit cards and also select the option that is best for you.


In the meantime, have a look at the most comprehensive coverage option The Protect Assist Gold below.

Protect Assist (Gold) -
Comprehensive Travel Protection for the World Traveler
  • Trip Cancellation
  • JUST ADDED! - Trip Cancellation due to employment loss or layoff
    if employed with the same employer 1 year or longer
  • Trip Interruption and Travel Delay
  • Emergency Medical and Emergency Medical Transportation
  • Baggage and Travel Document Protection
  • Baggage Delay and Lost Baggage Tracking
  • NEW - Cancel For Any Reason option now available
  • NEW - Cancel For Work Reasons option now available
  • NEW - Children age 17 and under covered at no additional cost
  • IMPROVED -Trip Cancellation limit increased to $100,000 (from $15,000), 
  • IMPROVED - Trip Interruption coverage increased to 150% of Trip Cost
  • IMPROVED - Travel Delay required hours reduced to 5 hours (from 12)

ProtectAssist special features:
  • Best coverage for Weather Related Cancellations
  • Pre-existing Condition Exclusion Waiver*
  • Default/Bankruptcy Protection*
  • $50,000 Flight Accident Insurance*
  • 24-Hour "LiveTravel" Travel Agency
  • Emergency Cash Transfers
  • Identity Theft Restoration

* These additional benefits apply If you are purchasing within 15 days of making your initial trip deposit or payment, however, coverage may still be purchased at any time up to 24 hours prior to departure.
Increase your coverage with these valuable additions to your Protect Assist Plan:
Cancel For Any Reason – 50% 
reimbursement of nonrefundable expenses if you cancel your trip for any reason, up to 48 hours prior to your departure. Only available when this plan is purchased within 15 days of initial trip payment.

Cancel For Work Reasons – 
Offers additional work-related reasons for cancellation or interruption. Also includes our exclusive “Business Assistant” services if you have work obligations during your travels. Only available when this plan is purchased within 15 days of initial trip payment.

Umbrella Package – Medical Expense limits are doubled and coverage is upgraded to primary. Emergency Medical Transportation limits are doubled and benefits upgraded to take you home or to the hospital of your choice. $25,000 Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage will be added

Optional coverages cannot be purchased separately. Must be purchased with base ProtectAssist plan.

Comprehensive non-insurance travel services* automatically included with plan!With the ProtectAssist plan, every customer also has access to these valuable travel services when they travel:
· Arrangements for last-minute flight changes
· Hotel finder and reservations
· Rental car reservations
· Emergency medical assistance
· BagTrak® -- lost baggage tracking
· Pre-trip health and safety advisories
· Live e-mail and phone messaging to family and friends
· Cash transfers
· Airport transportation
· Golf course reservations
· Event ticketing
· Floral services
· Identity Theft restoration

Business Assistant* (available when Optional Cancel for Work Reasons coverage is purchased)

*Non-Insurance services are provided by AIG Travel Assist.

Eligibility
Citizenship: All Nationalities
Residency: United States
New York, Oregon, and Washington residence please call to purchase
Some rider options are not available and other restrictions may apply
Destination: Worldwide
Ages: All Ages
Max Trip Length: 365 Days

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Phoenix Girls Chorus performs at St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 4:00 PM



The Phoenix Girls Chorus Cantabile is invited to sing in the prestigious Sunday Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 4:00 pm. 

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter is located within the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".

In Catholic tradition, it is the burial site of its namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to tradition, first Bishop of Rome and therefore first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at St Peter's since the Early Christian period. There has been a church on this site since the 4th century. Construction of the present basilica, over the old Constantinian basilica, began on April 18, 1506 and was completed on November 18, 1626.


St. Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564), an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer. Michelangelo took over a building site at which four piers, enormous beyond any constructed since the days of Ancient Rome, were rising behind the remaining nave of the old basilica. He also inherited the numerous schemes designed and redesigned by some of the greatest architectural and engineering brains of the 16th century.

Incidentally there are over 100 tombs within St. Peter's Basilica, many located in the Vatican grotto, beneath the Basilica. These include 91 popes, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, and the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Exiled Catholic British royalty James Francis Edward Stuart and his two sons, Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart, are buried here, having been granted asylum by Pope Clement XI. 

Monday, May 12, 2014

Incantato Concert Tours prime performance Venue: the magnificent Teatro de Rieti on Friday, June 20 at 6 pm


The Teatro Falvio Vespasiano di Rieti is a magical place where the PGC Cantabile singers will be presenting a special concert as part of their 2014 Performance Tour in Italy with Incantato Tours.

The current structure of the theater dates back to December of 1883 but was not officially inaugurated until September 20, 1893, featuring productions of Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust and Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.

The theater, named after the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus, required ten years of construction under the direction of Milanese architect Achille Sfondrini
The theater underwent complete restoration from 2005 through 2009. A grand re-opening celebration commenced on January 10, 2009 featuring conductor Marcello Rota, and soloists Karina Grigoryan, Jessica Pratt, Anna Gorayacheva, and Roman Burdenko. 
The Secretary to the Prime Minister, as well as Senator Franco Marini were in attendance. The restoration efforts totaled more than 3.3 million Euros. The reopening of the theater also fostered the formation of the Flavius Vespasian Foundation, aiming to promote international artistry and music. 

The Rieti Theater also annually hosts the "Città di Rieti", an international dance competition, the International Competition for the New Opera Voices of Mattia Battistini and the National Competition for Young Actors. 

The theater is well known for its excellent acoustics, a characteristic that earned the structure the very first National Award for the Acoustics. In referring to the acoustics, Professor Bruno Cagli, president of the National Academy of Saint Cecilia, once called the theater “the world’s best in that respect”.