Are you coming to Rome on a Cruise?... and you have only one day to visit the city? This tour is what you're looking for!
I will take you on a fun and interesting tour of the highlights of Ancient, Renaissance Rome and Vatican.
Your shore excursion to Rome will start with pick up dockside at your cruise ship in Civitavecchia (1 hour and half from Rome), where a professional driver and a comfortable limo or minivan will be waiting for you and will lead you to Rome.
At the conclusion of your Rome guided day tour, the driver will take you back to your cruise ship, dockside, in Civitavecchia.
We will visit Vatican museums (Sistine Chapel), St. Peter's Basilica, Fountain, Colosseum, Forum.
Suggestions:dress code at the Vatican - no bare shoulders, skirts and shorts under the knees
This 16th century Villa, surrounded by a wonderful park, was built by Borghese family. The Borghese Gallery houses probably the collection you have heard most before coming to Rome. The great masterpieces are the works of Raphael, Caravaggio and Titian and the wonderful sculptures of Bernini like David, Apollo and Daphne and the most celebrated sculpture Paolina Bonaparte by the 18th century Italian artist Antonio Canova.
BORGHESE GALLERY
GALLERIA BORGHESE
GALLERIA BORGHESE Paolina Borghese by Canova
GALLERIA BORGHESE San Girolamo by Caravaggio
GALLERIA BORGHESE Sacred and Prophane by Titian
LAKE AND ESCULAPIO TEMPLE
Please note: advanced booking required. Reservation is mandatory for entrance to this museum as the Galleria Borghese only allows entrance to a certain number of visitors at a time.
Visiting these museums will help you give face, form and expression to the gods and to the key personalities who inhabited the squares, temples and houses of the ancient city. You can see the splendid gilded bronze statue of Hercules, the formidable statue of Mars in full military dress, the Drunken Faun carved from ancient red marble, and dozens of other extraordinary sculptures.
Above all, you can admire the perfection of the original bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, with its minute attention to detail apparent in the emperor’s beard, veins and rather incredible sandals. You’ll come across the very famous remains of the colossal statue of the Emperor Constantine, his head, hand and foot all etched with their long history. The Dying Gaul will touch you with his pained expression and show of courage. The mosaics of the Doves and the Theatrical Masks are immortal symbols that all of us have seen in our school books.
As no doubt is the case with the legendary statue of the She-wolf, symbol of the city. The museum also houses the busts of Cicero, Julius Caesar, Nero, Homer, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The two buildings of the museum are linked trough a tunnel built by Mussolini that runs underneath the City Hall (former Roman Archives) from which you can enjoy an overwhelming view over the Forum valley with all its vestiges of ancient glory.
The most important of the Roman roads, it was built in 312 b.c. by Appius Claudius.
Running from Rome to southern Italy, the road is still paved with big blocks of basalt (grey volcanic stone) and in use today. It has also been used for the first few miles as pagan and christian burial grounds. The early Christians, for example, built along it their underground cemeteries (catacombs).
The tour starts near the San Sebastiano gate, one of the 18gates of the Roman city walls and still well preserved. Then, we visit the Saint Callistus Catacombs, which were an object of pilgrimage from the Middle Ages to modern times. Here the bones of Saint Peter and Saint Paul were kept during 3rd century persecution. The catacombs are a complicated network of galleries flanked by hundreds of tombs.
Returning to Via Appia, a little farther along the road, we find the Circus of Emperor Maxentius and the temple of Romulus (his son), both built in the 4th century a.c. Beyond them is one of the famous landmarks of the Roman Countryside, the Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella. It is a magnificent tomb of a patrician lady who died in the first century a.c. Then, we continue on foot (only pedestrians or bikes allowed). For the next mile the road is lined with cypresses and flanked by the ruins of ancient Roman tombs.
The landscape is wonderful… Don’t come to Rome and miss the views that you will find here along this road… Come and discover it.
Have you ever marveled at a mosaic in a church and wondered “how do they do it?”
Prepare to find out! After our tour of Saint Peter‘s, we will tour the school where they created the mosaics on display in the basilica. This school opened in the 18th century and still makes the most important and beautiful mosaics adoring churches, convents, villas and private collections all over the world.
The mosaic artists use a secret technique invented by Venetian artists in the 17th century. We’ll visit their school and see the mosaic masters in progress – and even learn their trade secrets!
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. Bathing was one of the most common daily activities in Roman culture, and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity.
Once the largest ancient baths complex in the world, the Baths of Diocletian – or Terme di Diocleziano – were built between 298AD and 306AD in honour of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
Set out along the traditional model of a Roman baths complex, the Baths of Diocletian contained a frigidarium (cold room), tepidarium (warm room) and caldarium (hot room or steam room) as well as additional large bathing chambers, gymnasiums and even a library. The baths themselves were a hugely impressive building project, particularly given how swiftly they were constructed. The majority of the water for the baths was supplied by the Acqua Marcia.
The key difference with other contemporary baths was simply a question of scale – it is believed that at their height the Baths of Diocletian could hold up to 3,000 people at a time.
After 30 years of restoration the Baths opened to the public in 2008 and became part of the National Museum of Rome. At present we will be able to visit some remaining parts of the remarkable structure. It will be even possible to walk through a cloister garden projected by Michelangelo where nearly 400 works of art, including statues, sarcophagi and reliefs, are on display.
EXTERNAL VIEW
VIEW OF THE CLOISTER
CLOISTER
Look at this video with a gorgeous rendering about the old Bath:
Get a real taste of local culture by dining with a local family in their home, which means you can enjoy an intimate setting and relaxed vibe.
Enjoy memorable experiences you won’t find in any restaurant. The host cooks with her personality serving up customized menus.
Not only will you enjoy home-cooking at its best and get to taste local delicacies but you’ll also have a unique chance to experience the local culture and to get to know the people by sharing a meal in a family home.
The host, Mrs. Allegra, English mother tongue, will be happy to cook and share with you her Roman recipies and secrets, welcoming you in her appartment, plenty of Art masterpieces, located on the top floor of a Art Deco building in the Ghetto Area. From her windows you will see the island of the Tiber and the Synagogue.
This magical site will bring you back in time to wander its Roman streets, watch a play in a Roman theatre, visit one of its many Roman baths complexes.
Ostia was the commercial port of Ancient Rome. It would have been a busy port town, exotic and lively, brimming with people from all over the Roman empire: Greeks, Egyptians, Nubians, Jews, Syrians and Gauls. In the first century AD, Ostia's main function was to receive grain from Egypt and Sicily and to ship it on to Rome and its one million inhabitants. This grain was stored in Ostia's many warehouses and sometimes made into bread before being transported by barge along the winding Tiber to the capital city, fourteen miles away. In addition to the usual residents of a first century Roman town there would have been sailors, stevedores, ship-owners, storehouse managers, customs officers, rope-makers, sail-makers, and plenty of unsavoury types.
THE THEATRE
ANCIENT RESTAURANT AND BAR
A STREET in ANCIENT OSTIA
MOSAIC
Today, Ostia is no longer bustling and dangerous, but quiet and peaceful. Over the past two thousand years the mouth of the Tiber has silted up, pushing the coastline away from Ostia. The site is landlocked and long deserted. Wandering around its ruins, you will find the remains of baths, temples, houses, shops, taverns, latrines and even a theatre. You can see traces of frescoes on the walls, half standing columns, marble thresholds and millstones from bakeries. One of the most distinctive features of Ostia are its black-and-white mosaics. They are everywhere...
Hadrian's Villa tour will allow us to discover the grand 2nd-century AD Hadrian's villa , located 4 miles south of Tivoli, was an emperor’s paradise, an exclusive retreat below the ancient settlement of Tibur where the marvels of the classical world were reproduced for a ruler’s pleasure.
Hadrian, who succeeded Trajan as emperor in AD 117, was a man of genius and intellectual curiosity who was fascinated by the accomplishments of the Hellenistic world. From AD 125 to 134, architects, laborers, and artists worked on the villa, periodically spurred on by the emperor himself when he returned from another voyage full of ideas for even more daring constructions (he also gets credit for Rome’s Pantheon).
After his death, the fortunes of his villa declined. It was sacked by barbarians and Romans alike; many of his statues and decorations ended up in the Musei Vaticani, but what is left of expansive ruins are nonetheless compelling.
It’s not the singular classical elements that make the villa special, rather the peace and harmony of the design that leaves a lasting mark. The vast estate is a fascinating succession of baths, theaters, temples, libraries, guest pavilions, nymphaeums, and open-air gymnasiums. Oleanders, pines, and cypresses growing among the ruins heighten the visual impact.
The most famous “sight” in the Villa is the Canopus, an artificial valley with a long pool modeled after an Egyptian canal on the Nile, surrounded by colonnades and sculptures. Hadrian did not live long enough to enjoy his creation. He fell ill and retired to Baia near Naples, where he died in AD 138.
Transportation private minivan 1 hour away from Rome
Tour length: 2/3 hours
VILLA ADRIANA Maritme Theatre
VILLA ADRIANA Baths
Hadrian’s villa Canopus
Suggestions: Confortable shoes, a hat, sun cream in Summer. It can get very hot in Summer, it is better to visit Hadrian’s villa early or in the afternoon.
Photo reference: Paliano, Jastrow, Szilas et al., Wikimedia Commons and Jean-Pierre Dalbéra via flickr
