GUIDED TOURS, ITINERARIES AND EXCURSIONS IN ROME AND LAZIO

GUIDED TOURS

ROME GUIDED TOURS

Borghese Gallery

The grand collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese is housed in his manor built up between 1613 and 1615 after the sixteenth-century Farnesina Villa in Via della Lungara.
In our tour we will have the occasion to meet great artists such as Raphael and his Deposition and The Lady with unicorn, Titian with his Sacred Love and  Profane Love, Caravaggio and his David and Goliath, The Madonna dei Palafrenieri, San Girolamo and St John the Baptist, Bernini and his Apollo and Daphne, and the Rape of Proserpina, to conclude with Canova and the symbol of the whole Gallery, that is Pauline Borghese.

Capitoline Museums and Centrale Montemartini

The Capitoline Museums, the oldest museum in the world, opened to the public in 1471. The seat of the government and of the civil institutions ever since, the Capitoline Hill, together with its museums, offers a wonderful itinerary, such as the Palazzo dei Conservatori, or Councillors Palace, with its Exedra of Marcus Aurelius and Picture Gallery, the Palazzo Nuovo, or New Palace, the Tabularium, namely the ancient Record Office with its Galleria Lapidaria, that houses the epigraphic collection of the museum.
Situated on via Ostiense, the Centrale Montemartini is an extraordinary example of an industrial building transformed into an exhibition space. Now it is the second exhibition centre of the Capitoline Museums, and contains an outstanding collection of classical sculpture from the excavations carried out in Rome at the turn of the nineteenth century The display reconstructs the monumental complexes of antiquity, tracing the development of the city from the Republic to the Late Empire. It includes works of great significance, often almost unknown to the general public, such as the huge mosaic of hunting scenes from Santa Bibiana.

Celio Roman houses

Founded in the early fifth century by Pammachius, a Roman senator, the titulus Pammachii or Basilica of SS. Giovanni e Paolo now stands over a magnificent residential complex comprising several Roman houses of different periods.

According to tradition, this was the dwelling of John and Paul, officers at the court of the Emperor Constantine (312-37), both of whom, having suffered martyrdom by execution during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), were buried on the site of their own house.

In 1887, Padre Germano, a Passionist brother, excavating beneath the church, uncovered a fascinating site comprising more than twenty rooms, some of which were richly decorated with paintings dating from the third through the twelfth centuries.

The sequence of decorated rooms and the maze of stratified structures cut through by the foundations of the church, reveal aspects of Roman daily life with an interesting blend of cultural themes.

This monument originated in a variety of building types including an insula or apartment block for artisans, and a wealthy domus, which was subsequently converted into an early Christian church.

According to tradition, this was the dwelling of John and Paul, officers at the court of the Emperor Constantine (312-37), both of whom, having suffered martyrdom by execution during the reign of Julian the Apostate (361-363), were buried on the site of their own house.

During the third century A.D., these different properties were combined under a single owner and transformed into an elegant pagan house characterised by finely-decorated rooms.

Colosseum - Roman Forum - Palatine Hill

The Colosseum is the symbol of Rome and was the most grandiose arena in the ancient world used to stage gladiatorial contests, hunting spectacles and executions.

The Roman Forum was the religious and political centre of ancient Rome. Walking along the “Via Sacra”, or Sacred Way, you will observe the changes in the city’s public, economic and religious life.

Everything begun on the Palatine Hill, where Romulus founded his city and Emperors built up their palaces. It was here that the rule of Rome spread throughout the world. During our walk we will survey the archaeological evidence of the first settlements of huts, dating back to the eighth century B.C. Then we will go on through the imperial age where Augustus erected his own house, getting to the last period of the Roman Empire.

National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia and Villa Poniatowski

The museum is housed in the splendid Renaissance villa of Pope Julius III. Today, the National Etruscan Museum can boast one of the largest archaeological collection of its kind. We will see the famous Apollo of Veii, the Sarcophagus of the Married Couple from Cerveteri, the Pyrgi Gold Plaques with inscriptions in Etruscan and Phoenician, and the jewellery collection.

It is also possible to enter an Etruscan tomb carved in the tufa stone with its furnishing, and admiring the marvellous frescoes of the Funerary Bed Tomb from Tarquinia.
The visit includes the new departement of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Poniatowski.

National Roman museum

You can choose one or two of the four departments:

Baths of Diocletian - The historical seat holds the epigraphic collection of the museum, spanning from the Archaic period to the Imperial one.

Palazzo Massimo - It displays the Roman Portrait throughout the centuries and the marvellous Roman frescoes of Livia’s House and those of the Farnesina Villa too. We will have the chance to admire the statue of the first emperor of Rome, Augustus and the Discobolus, the extraordinary jewel collection and the only existing example of a Roman mummy with its funerary equipment.

Palazzo Altemps - It holds the Boncompagni-Ludovisi collection. Among the sculptures, restored by Bernini and Algardi, we see the Suicidal Gaul, the Ludovisi Throne and the Great Ludovisi Sarcophagus.

Crypta Balbi - It focuses on the last period of the Roman Empire and the first centuries of Middle Ages. The purpose of this section is to display the changes, from Augustus onwards, in the urban fabric of the quarter, as well as objects from the domestic and commercial daily life typical of it.

Ostia Antica archaeological area

One of the few examples of well preserved Roman town.

Together with the monumental area, we could discover the everyday life conducted by the Ostia inhabitants by visiting their private dwelling and productive structures, allowing us to better understand the daily life in ancient Rome.

Saint Angel Castle

It was built by the Emperor Hadrian to house his own tomb. Today St. Angel Castle offers the visitor a fascinating excursion within its walls.

We will see the ancient imperial structures of the building that throughout the centuries are strictly intertwined with those of Middle Ages period.

During the Renaissance period some artists, such as Perin del Vaga, will wonderfully decorate the Papal apartments with stucco and frescoes.

Vatican Museums

The Vatican Museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century. Since then, they are the true compendium of civilisation and the history of arts since prehistory to nowadays.

Indeed, from the Egyptian collection, we pass through the Etruscanm the Greek and Roman ones to get to the golden age of Italian art, such as the Renaissance period. Our tour will include the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael’s Rooms, it goes without saying, a must of our visit.

Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican Museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the sixteenth century. Since then, they are the true compendium of civilisation and the history of arts since prehistory to nowadays. Indeed, from the Egyptian collection, we pass through the Greek and Roman ones to get to the golden age of Italian art, such as the Renaissance period. Our tour will include the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael’s Rooms, it goes without saying, a must of our visit.

After visiting the great collection of the Vatican Museums, passing through the Royal Staircase built by Bernini, we will enter the largest Christian church ever built, namely St Peter’s Basilica.

St. Clement’s Basilica and the Mithraic Area

St Clement Basilica we will allow us to go back to the past, up to Roman times by visiting the three successive places of Christian worship, built one on top of the other between the first and twelfth century, including a well-preserved mithraeum. Indeed, from the twelfth-century Basilica we go down to the fourth-century one to get to the first-century Roman dwelling of Domitian era.

Catacombs of Priscilla

Dug into the tuff, a soft volcanic rock used to make bricks and lime, the galleries have a total length of about thirteen kilometers, at various depths. The first level, which is the most ancient, winds along in a series of galleries; the wall are full of “loculi”, the most common kind of tomb. The bodies were laid within them, directly on the dirt, wrapped in a shroud, sprinkled with lime to restrain the normal process of decay, and closed in with pieces of marble, or tiles. Inscriptions were written in Greek or Latin on the tombs, or small objects placed near them to help identify graves with no inscription. Only on this level, where the martyrs were buried, do we find the small rooms known as “cubicula – bed chambers”, which were the tombs of wealthier families or of the martyrs themselves. Likewise, we find here the “arcosolia”, another type of tomb for the upper classes, often decorated with paintings of religious subjects. Most of the stories depicted are Biblical, from both the Old and New Testaments, an expression of faith in the salvation and final resurrection obtained for us by Jesus Christ. The stone inscriptions on the tombs are often marked with symbols whose meaning was known to the Christians, but not to the pagans. The best known of these is the fish, the Greek word for which, ICHTHYS, was read as an acronym for the corresponding Greek words that mean “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.”

Caracalla Baths

The red-brick ruins of the Baths of Caracalla are situated southeast of ancient Rome's center. The baths were enormous buildings, with huge frescoed vaults covering the large rooms. This huge 27 acre complex (11 hectares) housed bathing facilities with seats for more than 1600 people. At a time when Rome's crowded tenements had few sanitary facilities, the more than 50 baths in Imperial Rome played an important part in the lives of the Roman citizens. The ritual of bathing was a long process, starting with a hot bath in the calidarium. Next up was the lukewarm tepidarium, followed by the cold frigidarium. Then followed a swim in the natatio, an open air swimming pool. The complex was actually a multifunctional leisure center and also housed gymnasiums, libraries, gardens, art galleries, restaurants and even brothels. The Baths of Caracalla were known for its rich interior which featured marble seats, mosaic covered walls and floors as well as fountains and statues.

Designed by