Breakfast and departure.
Meeting with your local
guide for a panoramic tour of Imperial Rome:
Colosseum, Roman Forum, San Pietro in Vincoli (S. Pietro in Vincoli does
not belong to the Imperial Rome but it is very closed to Nero's Domus Aurea.
Inside you will admire the great Mosè by Michelangelo, a work of incomparable
beauty).
The Colosseo or
Anfiteatro Flavio is biggest amphitheater of the Roman world,
it was erected on the site of an artificial lake. Begun in the year 72
AD, it was completed eight years later.
The amphitheater has a diameter of 620 feet in its widest section and
490 feet in its narrowest. During its inauguration, which lasted for a hundred
days five thousand wild animals were slaughtered. Animal entertainments formed
a part of the games and normally took place in the morning, till noon.
Executions were another common feature of the Roman games. They took
place at midday as an interlude between the animal in the morning sessions ant
the gladiatorial combat in the afternoon. Although the executions were seen as
symbolizing Rome’s and Emperor’s powers the senators and the higher classes,
who have the best seats for the show, normally took advantage of the interval
to live the arena to dine. The executions of deserters, prisoners-pf-war-,
criminals from the lower classes, first Christians, were crucifixions or damnationes
ad bestias, in which they would fight, with their hands, face to face with
wild animals. Shows were always free, with pre-assigned day and seat inside the
theatre.
The Roman Forum was the political, commercial, and religious center of
ancient Rome. The project was made in the valley between the Palatine and the
Capitol hills, not far from the Aventine hill and the river Tiber. The VIA
SACRA, which traverse the Forum from north-west to south-east, was the main
street used for impressive military parades. The Temples, the arches, the
Basilicas inside the Forum were constructed over the course of 900 years.
Lunch
at leisure
Take your time in the afternoon for shopping. There are
many designated shopping areas in Rome: around Piazza di Spagna, via del Corso,
Galleria Alberto Sordi, La Rinascente, via Condotti, via del Babuino, via
Ottaviano, via Candia, via Giulio Cesare (near the Vatican), or you can decide
to visit a big shopping mall (1 hour from Rome).
Dinner
in a really unique restaurant. You can find there the real authentic Roman
recipes.
Transfer back to your hotel
and overnight.
ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENCE: THE
VATICAN
Breakfast and departure
with your private bus towards S. Pietro and Vatican Museums.
Meeting with your private Guide.
Morning devoted to the
visit of the Museums, Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo fresco and other
artistic frescoes made by Raffaello, Pinturicchio, Perugino.
Sistine Chapel and Vatican
Museums. Our expert native
guide will whisk you through the labyrinth-like corridors of the museum, taking
you directly to the Sistine Chapel without delaying a moment. After the tour you can spend your day inside the Museums, leisurely
wandering its magnificent galleries at your own pace, allowing you to focus on
what interests you. With an expert guide who will bring
Michelangelo’s artwork to life
The collection of art and treasures, including paintings, carpets
accumulated by the Popes along the centuries can be seen at the Vatican
Museums.
The buildings that house the Vatican Museums cover an area of almost
6 hectares. Their construction has been a work in progress since the 5th
century.
The restructuring work of the Museums started after the signing of the
Lateran Treaty. Pius XI commissioned Giuseppe Momo to construct a monumental
staircase and Luca Beltrami to design a new PINACOTECA. Only parts of the
Museums are open to visitors.
The Sistine Chapel was completed in 1484
for Pope Sixtus IV, Sixtus IV commissioned to the best Tuscan and Umbrian
painters to decorate the walls with frescoes.
Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" was the last of the
chapel's decorations to be carried out.
What's Included
•
Expert,
English-speaking tour guide
•
Entrance Tickets
and Reservation Fees
Sites Visited
•
Sistine Chapel
•
Vatican Museums
Lunch at leisure
Afternoon guided tour of
Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain and Quirinale Palace. Enjoy a private tour
of the squares of Rome, starting from piazza Navona.
We start a walking tour with PIAZZA NAVONA, that still preserves
the shape of the Stadium of Domitian, built at the end of 1st
century A.D. The central fountain of the Four Rivers was made by Bernini in
1651. From the low basin rises a rock, pierced in the middle, on which are
arranged the figures of four rivers also symbolizing four continents: the
Danube, the Ganges, the Nile, and Rio de la Plata.
Just a few block away, there is the oldest monument in central Rome, the
Pantheon. This monument was built by Hadrian in 120 AD. The temple dedicated to
all gods (pan theon), had already been erected by Agrippa between 27 and 25
B.C. on the same site and in 609 it was converted into a Church, the first
temple in Rome to be Christianized. The original temple was built to
commemorate the victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. The interior is
circular and measures 43,3 meters in diameter and in height. Along the walls,
are a series of rectangular and semi-circular niches. Recent investigations
have allowed scholars to determine how great was the technical skill required
to build it. The temple rests on a heavy foundation wall, in the shape of ring,
made of concrete, covered with travertine blocks measuring some 4,5 by 7
meters. At the summit of the pediment the travertine yields to brick, while in
the dome itself only light brick and light volcanic stones were used, so that
this vast dome would weigh as little as possible. The use of light from the
opening in the roof displays the genius of the architect. Inside, the second
chapel houses the tomb of Vittorio Emanuele II, first king of Italy. The third
edicola is the tomb of Raphael.
Your nice stroll in town is
almost at the end. Few minutes ahead and you are in front of Trevi Fountain.
The custom is to throw a
coin into the water, over your left shoulder while facing away, to ensure you
return in Rome. Toss a second coin and you’ll fall in love with an Italian.
After the fountain, you will end the walking tour by the Spanish steps (in Italian
Piazza di Spagna). The tour last about 2 hours, and you can take a break
whenever you wish.
Back to your hotel and
relax
Dinner in a local typical
Restaurant in Rome