From Berlini’s magnificent Piazza San Pietro to Michelangelo’s Pietà and his breathtaking frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. The tour includes the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of Maps, The Gallery of Candelabras, the Raphael Rooms, and of course St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. Ancient or Classical Rome (choose between one or the other), and enjoy hearing the history behind the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps.
Our 1 day Vatican visit and walking tour of Rome has been specially designed to offer guests the opportunity of visiting The Eternal City’s best loved buildings and monuments and immerse themselves in the unique culture and history of this beautiful city. Rome is vast, chaotic, unique and unspeakably beautiful. However, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by so much history and culture, and that’s why a personal guide is a must. Our Roman guides are experienced English-speaking experts on all that is Roman, and your day spent with them will reveal a wealth of fascinating information, helping you to absorb the city’s unique atmosphere. Meet up in the morning for an unforgettable visit to the Vatican City that you will cherish for years to come, and where you will see some of the world’s most important works of art, from Berlini’s magnificent Piazza San Pietro to Michelangelo’s Pietà and his breathtaking frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. The tour includes the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of Maps, The Gallery of Candelabras, the Raphael Rooms, and of course St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. After the Vatican, lunch in a typical trattoria, perhaps trying Rome’s famous fried artichokes, a plate of pasta alla matriciana or some local suckling lamb, then off on a walking trip of Ancient or Classical Rome (choose between one or the other), and enjoy hearing the history behind the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. Whichever trip you take, however, enjoy the city’s spectacular beauty, robust flavors, and romance. Life has always been lived passionately here and visitors can’t help but be swept up in the Eternal City's vibrant energy. Modern Rome blends in with the city’s centuries-old architecture, as Vespas hurry by and busy Italians of all ages chatter on their cell phones. A traveler who experiences Rome, experiences La Dolce Vita (the sweet life) - whether they are admiring the view from one of its Seven Hills, discovering a trattoria in a quiet alley, rubbing elbows with the fashion set on Via Condotti, lingering in a café near a gushing Baroque fountain, standing awestruck before a masterpiece in a church, or enjoying a delicious gelato.
‘Methinks I will not die quite as happy without having seen something of that Rome of which I have read so much.’
How many people have felt the same irresistible pull that Sir Walter Scott expressed with these words, a heartfelt magnetism exerted from afar that draws us to Rome? And what is it exactly that lures us to this beguiling, chaotic, noisy and impossibly beautiful city? Truly a city that wears its history on its sleeve, Rome is a veritable open air museum of monuments, architectural masterpieces and works of art that risk overwhelming the unsuspecting visitor. Every corner, every alleyway, every hidden piazza is home to a piece of history, and what is visible above ground is a mere drop in the ocean that is the world of Rome. While it is undeniably vibrant and hectically busy, it is always possible to find a quiet corner by heading down a narrow side street where, more often than not, you’ll find yourself in a tiny piazza or alleyway with quiet cafés and bars where you can sit and watch the world go by: groups of chattering children wandering home from school, local housewives out doing their daily shopping, old women heading off for morning mass. Rome is all of this and more.
Rome is the capital city of Italy, and the country’s largest and most populous city. It is unmatched for its history, art, culture and architecture and is one of the most popular tourist destinations worldwide. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church which controls the sovereign city state of the Vatican City, the smallest independent state in the world. But Rome is also known for its artists and their works and its celebrated visitors: Michelangelo, Raphael, Goethe, Shelley, Byron and thousands of others who have come to soak up Rome’s unique atmosphere in search of inspiration.
Legend has it that Rome was founded by twins Romulus and Remus in 753 BC, and many archaeologists argue that it was indeed founded in the 8th century BC, growing up as a small hillside settlement on the Palantine Hill. What is certain, however, is that Rome grew and flourished until it became known as the Roman Kingdom and subsequently as the Roman Empire. For centuries Rome continued to expand its boundaries, arriving as far north as Scotland and as far south as Egypt, and reaching out to comprise Spain, Portugal and the Persian Gulf, and establishing itself as the most powerful city in the Western World. After the fall of the Roman Empire, and the succession of Constantinople as the Capital of the Empire, Rome’s population, previously near the one million mark, dwindled extraordinarily to just a few thousand inhabitants in the early Middle Ages. It was later in the 8th and 9th centuries as a Papal center that Rome regained a little of its previous status and power, but it would take until the 14th century and the return of the Papacy to Rome for the city to flourish and thrive once more. The Renaissance and Baroque periods brought the glorious artistic works of Michelangelo, Raphael, Bramante, Botticelli and Perugino, and the architectural masterpieces of Borromini and Bernini, ensuring that today, Rome is home to an unequaled historic and artistic patrimony that can be seen in the open air as well as in the city’s countless museums and, of course, the Vatican.
The Vatican City is a sovereign city state that is the seat of the Roman Catholic Church whose head of state and head of government is the Bishop of Rome - the Pope. It has officially existed since 1929 and comprises approximately 110 acres of land in Rome’s historic center. Between 800 and 1,000 people live here including clergy, officials and diplomats, and the Swiss Guard. Among other things, the trapezium shaped Vatican City houses St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Papal Apartments, a college and numerous museums, along with a bank, the Vatican Radio and the barracks of the Swiss Guards. There are also well appointed gardens (complete with heliport), that can be visited via organized tours and that are well worth while seeing.
‘You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church.’
These words that Christ spoke to the Apostle Peter are inscribed around the base of the dome of Saint Peters’ Basilica.
Arguably the world’s most important holy site, the Basilica di San Pietro is the heart of the Roman Catholic faith and was, until recently, the largest church ever built. The original basilica was built over the tomb of San Pietro in the 4th century under orders from the Emperor Constantine, and in 1506, the building of the present structure commenced under Pope Julius II. Here the architects Bramante and Berlini and the artist Michelangelo (to name but a few), gave their best to the project, often working against their own better judgment. Michelangelo, for example, considered himself a sculptor rather than a fresco artist or architect and looked on his work on Saint Peter’s as a distraction from the sculptures he had been concentrating on for years previously. Again and again in his lifetime, he was recalled to the basilica to complete old works and start new ones, in what was, ironically, the art for which he was to become most famous. The basilica was completed in 1626, 62 years after Michelangelo’s death.
Today, Saint Peter’s Basilica attracts both religious pilgrims and art lovers from all over the world. A visit to Saint Peter’s begins in Piazza San Pietro, designed by Bernini, with its obelisk, two beautiful fountains and its striking sweep of colonnades topped with 140 statues of saints. Inside, the spectacular dome of the basilica, designed by Michelangelo, pulls the visitor’s eye heavenwards, and creates an atmosphere of inimitable majesty. The Papal altar, a plain slab of marble, is to be found within Bernini’s magnificent Baldacchino, a canpoy of gilded bronze supported on ornate spiral columns. All around the walls are impossibly beautiful mosaics, and near the entrance is the Michelangelo’s unique marble sculpture depicting maternal grief: La Pietà, a work he completed, incredibly, when he was only 25. In every corner there is a reason to stop, study and breath in the incredible atmosphere, knowing that millions have done the same before you. For those who are fitter, a trip up into to the dome is a must in order to enjoy the priceless views over Piazza San Pietro and the Vatican City.
Commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV in 1475, the Sistine Chapel was designed to be the Pope’s chapel. (It is also the site of papal elections, the meeting place for the Papal Conclave, the ceremony by which a new Pope is selected.) An illustrious group of painters, including Botticelli and Perugino, was called upon to work on frescoes depicting scenes from the Old and the New Testaments narrating episodes from the lives of Christ and Moses and resulting in frescoes of the caliber of ‘The Temptations of Christ’ and ‘Punishment of The Rebels’ among others. The original ceiling fresco was painted by Piero Matteo d'Amelia. These works were completed very quickly - within a year or so. However, Michelangelo was later called to repaint the ceiling, the request being to paint the Twelve Apostles and a few other details on the chapel ceiling. Whilst he was not particularly happy to comply (at least at first), Michelangelo went on to paint over 300 different figures in a glorious work of art depicting the Creation of the World and The Fall of Man, surrounded by figures from the Old and New Testaments with a technique that involved lying prostrate on wooden scaffolding and painting upside down in cramped conditions for four years, over which period his eyesight would become irrevocably damaged. Over 20 years later, he returned to the Sistine Chapel to paint The Last Judgment, a work of incredible beauty depicting the second coming of Christ and the Apocalypse that he finished shortly before his death. The Sistine Chapel remains one of the most striking and memorable of all religious buildings and is a true showcase of works from some of the world’s finest artists.
This gallery is situated at the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard and displays a series of topographical maps of Italy painted on the walls by friar and topographer Ignazio Danti of Perugia. There are over 40 different panels depicting mountains, seas and cities, that took the artist over three years to complete.
In this gallery hangs a series of Flemish tapestries based on designs by the famous artist Raphael and realized by Pieter van Aelst’s School in Brussels and made their first appearance in the Sistine Chapel in 1531.
This gallery was originally an open loggia, but towards the end of the 1700s during the pontificate of Pius VI, it was closed off. The space is now home to a collection of Roman copies of Hellenistic candelabra (3rd – 2nd century BC) along with some fine examples from Otricoli from the 2nd century AD. The frescoed ceilings are also of interest.
9:00 am meet-up with your personal English-speaking guide.
This unforgettable day begins with a trip to the Vatican. Your guide will lead you through the Gallery of Tapestries, the Gallery of Maps, The Gallery of Candelabras, the Raphael Rooms, and of course St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. While you could wander through on your own, the presence of a knowledgeable guide really is the only way to fully appreciate the monumental artistic and religious significance of all that surrounds you. Learn which Popes ordered the construction of which rooms, and called on the world’s finest artists to decorate this unique holy site. Cast your gaze over the magnificent Piazza San Pietro designed by Bernini as a fittingly grand entrance to the Basilica. Gaze up into the basilica’s monumental dome and imagine the extraordinary vision it must have taken to conceive of and build such a space. And turn your eye heavenwards to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and ask yourself what kind of artist Michelangelo must have been to spend 4 years of his life lying upside down on scaffolding to create what is arguably one of the world’s most important works of art.
1:00 pm: Leave the Vatican and head off for a traditional full course Roman lunch with your guide in our favorite trattoria. (Special food needs to be communicated in advance, wine not include.) Your guide will explain specialties of the Roman table.
2:30 pm: Walking Tour of Rome. With your guide, visit the highlights of Ancient or Classical Rome. The Ancient Rome tour takes you to the Colosseum, the Forum, the Palantine Hill, Piazza Venezia and Capitol Hill. The Classical Rome tour includes the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.
5:00 – 6:00 pm: Tour finishes. Arriverderci e a presto!
$895 per group (1 to 20 people), for full day tour and certified professional guide. No line wait at Sistine, Vistine Chapel & Colosseo. Includes all taxes and Italian VAT.
Museum tickets and full course Roman lunch (wine not included) $225 per person.
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