DAY 1

PRIVILEGED ENTRANCES - DURATION 7 HOURS

Visit the Vatican City, enclosing the world's richest art collection, to discover the highlights of the Museums, including Raphael's Rooms, the ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, the Renaissance Tapestries, the Gallery of Maps with views of the Gardens, the Sistine Chapel home to Michelangelo's awesome frescoes and Last Judgement. Enjoy anecdotes and accounts of famous artists and popes giving you a fuller understanding and appreciation of the renaissance spirit which heralded great changes in thoughts, art, architecture, music and human conditions. Then see the colossal Basilica and Square of St. Peter to marvel at its overwhelming Dome and structure, the sublime and touching Pietà, Bernini's glorious and mystical baroque Canopy, and the burial-site of St. Peter with the monumental tombs of Popes. Hear about the Papal Swiss Guards and the making of Vatican City State through the centuries.

Stroll at sunset through a maze of fascinating medieval streets and narrow alleys accompanied by intriguing stories and legends recounted by our friendly guides to discover Rome, in the cool and away from the usual tourist itineraries to capture the unforgettable sensual atmospheres of charming squares like Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona and Santa Maria della Pace, romantic and mysterious.

Magical sensations produced by splashes of the Trevi Fountain, the lazy and silent flow of the Tiber river and the elongated shadows cast on cobblestones by the Pantheon's unique Dome will reveal the bewitching air of the Eternal City as we visit hidden renaissance and baroque treasures. Our promenade will continue to Emperor Hadrian's Mausoleum and legendary St. Angel's Bridge to enjoy a fantastic sight of the Pope's imposing Castle-Fortress and to enjoy an insuperable view of St. Peter's and its Colonnaded Square elegantly illuminated.

Your guide will be delighted to pass-on good suggestions on restaurants, wine-bars and other useful information.

 DAY 2

PRIVILEGED ENTRANCES - DURATION 7 HOURS

Enter the impressive symbol of Rome, the Coliseum and hear vivid details  of the ferocious gladiator combats, wild animal hunting scenes and the many varied spectacular events held there. Visit the Palatine Hill and see breathtaking views of ht Emperors' residences. Stroll along the "Via Sacra" just as Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus and Hadrian did when they paraded their victorious legions to the Roman Forum, centre of political, religious and commercial life in ancient Rome. See the interior of the old Senate, Temple of Vesta, dwellings of the Vestal Virgins and Triumphal Arches of Titus and Septimius Severus. Our storyteller guides will bring history alive describing the architecture, superstitions, traditions and myths of the sprawling roman populace and the incredible extravagancies of the imperial court when the city was capital of an unrivalled empire. Our exploration will lead us up to Capitoline Hill to observe the suggestive and evocative ruins of the millenarian Latin civilization and then to discover the Michelangelo-designed elegant renaissance square with its bronze statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. End the morning tour perhaps relaxing and enjoying one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Rome from the "Caffarelli" terraced-café.

Stop to explore the mysterious Catacombs situated along the old Appian Way, totalling some 150 kilometres of underground tunnels and galleries used as cemeteries by early Christians under roman persecutions. See the tracks of the vast Circus Maximus where 180 thousand inflamed spectators could fervently incite their favourite heroes to victory and view the sprawling Emperors' Palaces on Palatine Hill. Courageously dare placing your hand in the oldest “lie detector” in the world,  the famous “Mouth of Truth”  and then continue your walk to admire the well-preserved Temples of Hercules and of Portunus situated on the banks of the Tiber. Discover the most recent archaeological excavation-site in Rome  to visit the  Portico D’Ottavia, Theatre of Marcellus and the nearby old Jewish Ghetto . Conclude your  tour at the authentic spot of  Julius Caesar’s assassination  on the Ides of March,  44 B.C. and now refuge to thousands of street-cats.

Return to your hotel and end of tour.

RATES

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