Mondial will take winner on tour of central Italy

Mondial Holidays will be taking the winner of the new The Times word game starting today on a tour of central Italy.

It starts on September 10 with a flight to Verona, including a tour that same day of the main sights, including the house of Juliet, made famous by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and the extraordinary arena, still used for outdoor performances (although of the musical variety!).

The tour then goes on to Rimini.

The next day, the group may opt for an excursion to Bologna, with an optional evening outing to the nearby upmarket resort of Riccione.

On Thursday, the group will almost certainly not miss the optional excursion to Venice, while the next day's excursion is to Ravenna and the Mirabilandia theme park.

Saturday is dedicated to Rimini, although there will also be the chance to visit San Marino, the smallest republic in the world.

Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli are close by, and will be visited on Sunday, while a whole day is dedicated on Monday to Florence.

The prize includes a flight, seven nights' accommodation for one person in a three-star hotel on bed and breakfast basis (based on twin-room sharing), all airport transfers, and the services of an experienced Mondial tour leader.

All taxes, service charges, optional excursions, drinks, entrance fees and gratuities are excluded.

The winner of the series which ended last week will be joining a Mondial Holidays tour to Barcelona and Lourdes in July.

The nine-letter words were: eponymous, piecework and workpiece, scholarly, bacterial and calibrate, visionary and furniture.