Rome Group Trip Itinerary
Can be modified for smaller groups and families
Day of Arrival
Arrival
A Transfer will be organized to your hotel.
You may have hotel arrangements or I could find ones first near the Vatican area.
Check in, Rest and Refreshment.
Tour of Campo Marzio
Splendid Orientation Tour of Historic Center of Rome with its famous piazzas
A walk through centro storico that is full of surprises, large and small. The tour includes Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Capitol Hill, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps and much more or whatever is possible.
Romes' piazzas unveil not only its history but also the lifestyle of the people yesterday and today. The piazzas are incomparably different, fun to be in and historic - a good way to familiarise yourself with the centre of Rome, even for a leisurely walk later on your own.
During or after the tour it will be possible to have a good gelato, slice of pizza or an aperitivo (a drink with some samples of Italian delights) depending on the hour!
Return for the afternoon or evening depending on your arrival time.
Light dinner together
Day Two
Ancient Rome Tour
An amazing tour that lays out a macro and micro overview of Roman History that encompasses its origins, legends, Republican heroes, unusual customs, crazy emperors and pervasive empire. We will visit the Colosseum, the Roman and Imperial Forums, the downtown area of ancient Rome, and Palatine Hill where Rome was founded.
Duration: 4 hours
Starting time: 8:30 or 8:45 am
Lunch at a special Restaurant
Afternoon and Evening free
Day Three
Vatican City Tour
Comprises the Sistine Chapel, highlights of the Vatican Museum and the largest and, considered by many, one of the most beautiful basilicas in the world, appropriately safeguarding Michelangelo's Pieta.
First, we tour St. Peter's Basilica, then we have a respite at a cafe where while you replenish yourselves, I will explain the Sistine Chapel since we cannot do it inside the chapel. After that we head to the Vatican Museums to see its highlights, on the way to the Sistine Chapel.
Duration: 4 to 5 hours - included is a break at a cafe for a snack or drink where I also explain the Sistine Chapel.
Entrance fees: Adults 20 euros, students 8 euros
Time: Morning
Tickets must be purchased in advance, once a day and time are agreed upon.
Binoculars are helpful for the Vatican and many sites - giving you a closer inspection.
Shoulders should be covered and garments close to the knees for most churches, especially the Vatican.
Late afternoon free
Tasting of wine, cheese and cured meats followed by light dinner.
Day Four
Off the Beaten Path Tour
Catacombs - The first underground Christian burial sites, the cradle of Christianity, situated along the old Appian Way.
Saint Clement - an amazing site that I would rather you discover than reveal in advance.
Michelangelo's masterpiece - Moses
A Roman Pastime - The Baths of Caracalla
Entrance fees: range from 32 to 24 euros depending on the sites we enter and ages of participants. The tour requires private transport as the sites are spread out. What would normally take 2 days to see we can visit in 4 hours. Thus, there will be an additional charge for the transport.
Starting time: Morning
Free Lunch Break for at least two hours
Borghese Galleries
Called 'The queen of private collections' and known as 'Italy's greatest treasures' are the appropriate accolades for the Borghese galleries created by the first modern private collector in the 16th century, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Firstly, the Gallery is famous for burgeoning the career of one of the greatest sculptors in history, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Mesmerized by the masterpieces commissioned by the cardinal are we all. Secondly, and appropriately we proceed to the next floor, where the medium alters to painting. Again captivated are we by Raphael's Deposition, Titian's Sacred and Profane, Caravaggio's David and Goliath, and by less known, but nevertheless scintillating canvases of Correggio, Domenichino, Ruben, Tintoretto and many more Baroque works of art.
Duration: 2 hours
Walk through the park towards an organized dinner near Via Veneto
Day Five
Free Day
A free day to reflect, gather one's thoughts and do something not so mentally engaging... like a cooking class together in the evening.
Day Six
Trastevere and Ghetto Tour - traversing centuries of art, history and culture
This cocktail type of tour, mixed with tangy flavours, is wonderful also because of the charm of the streets we traverse, the originality of locations and the characteristic beauty in each of them.
Starting with where Julius Caesar was assassinated, we proceed towards the Ghetto to see the most charming fountain in Rome, maybe even in Italy.
The Roman Ghetto (a very safe place) is immensely significant as it preserves, in its confined quarters, an unknown and fascinating window into Rome's history, the flip side: revealing rigorous challenges endured by Jews in bygone days and displaying its uniquely Roman character, with some Kosher delicacies.
Tiber Island endows Rome with a rarely found landscape that simultaneously literally reflects its legendary history.
Trastevere is a medieval neighborhood - the only surviving one in Rome. Crossing the river onto the other bank opens a different side of Rome, in fact a character known for its pride, piety and customary yet innovative peasantry. Apart from the charm of cobbled streets and medieval palazzos featured are some of its immemorial highlights: The Basilica of St. Cecilia, built upon the house where the saint lived and died; the confining cell of St. Benedict where he was inspired to start a religious order; S. Maria in Trastevere, the oldest church in Rome, parading extraordinary mosaics, frescoes, tombs and chapels, a visual passing of Roman art and architecture over time.
Gianicolo Hill - is a picturesque peak with a panoramic view of Rome. With style and stature the hill celebrates in an impressive layout Italy's modern victories, no less conclusive with a surprise at noon.
Duration: 4 hours
Free lunch break
Two Art Galleries that inspire and manifest the Renaissance
Villa Farnesina - This gallery lying along the Tiber river in Trastevere is a gemstone of Renaissance art. It houses works painted by none other than Raphael Sanzio, and Baldassare Peruzzi (the architect) among others. The model Renaissance villa was built by Agostino Chigi, the richest man in the Western world in the 15th century. The walls, ceilings and upper panels are beautifully and purposefully decorated with 'most-pleasing to the eye' frescoes - It's like savouring a dessert after a good meal.
Central Montemartini an ex thermal-power plant, exhibits elegant Roman statues from Temples, villas and gardens. The age range of the exhibit dates from 3rd BC to the 3rd AD. It also includes a mosaic of hunting scenes that can be seen from above – magnificent. ‘Gods and Machines’ a title that encapsulates the character of this museum.
Duration: 3.5 hours
Free for dinner on your own
Day Seven
Major and Minor Basilica Tour - a spiritual journey
St. John Lateran - the Cathedral of Rome, 2nd most important basilica after St. Peters
Saint Mary Maggiore - largest basilica dedicated to Mary
Holy Steps - holds the steps that Jesus climbed in Jerusalem
Holy Cross in Jerusalem - where the relics of Christ's passion reside
Santa Prassede - where the column of Christ's flagellation stands
Church of Alphonsus Liguori - beholds the original icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Duration: 4 hours
Meeting point: Saint Maria Major or Maggiore, in front of the church, after a quick security check, facing the basilica on the left side.
Designated Lunch Place
Free time to return to the Churches to pray and meditate
Day Eight
Day Trip outside Rome
A day trip to Castel Gandolfo, where lies the Pope's summer residence on the summit of a hill overlooking a crater lake embellishing us with a spectacular experience especially when one lunches over it. Included is an exclusive visit to the holiday residence and private gardens of the Pope.
With public or private transport we can venture to Nemi, a mysterious lake where the Roman Emperors rested on a palace boat. Explicit explanations are provided in a quick museum visit, so that we can surmount the hill treasuring the tiny village of Nemi famous for its fragolini (tiny tasty strawberries), cured meats, aromatic dried mushrooms not to mention its splendid views along its' main quarter of mile axis garnished by artistic shops!
Ending the day in Frascati either with a drive seeing many homes from the outside or a visit inside one of the aristocratic homes then savouring Fraschettas of the Castelli Romani region, local game and wines, meats, cheeses and breads.
Day Nine
St. Paul's Tour
We will visit three different sites: the Basilica of St. Paul, three commemorative churches in a citadel and a grotto where Mary interceded for verified miracles. In the Basilica built over his tomb unveiled is St. Paul's life in art that leaves behind a concrete legacy. At Tre Fontane, we walk the path that St. Paul stepped to his final end, subsequently inspiring religious communities to reside, thus becoming a place where other miraculous relics were conserved to cure the sick and scatter demons. In honour of the apostle of Gentiles, a converted Jew, Mary graced herself to a sinner in a grotto nearby, providentially providing people a quiet and meditative space that makes it worth discovering and experiencing.
Duration: 3 to 4 hours
We can use public transport, but private transport with a car or minivan certainly reduces the duration of the tour to 3 hours.
Free Lunch Break
Life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, St. Philip Neri and Saint Catherine of Siena
Can be traced through the center of Rome by seeing where they lived, preached, and left indelible physical structures for generations to come of their ardent faith in Christ by heroic lives. In brief, the life of saints unfolds as we weave through the streets of the very center of Rome, climaxing the tour with a surprise.
Duration: 3 hours
Meeting Point: At the end of Via della Conciliazione by the traffic lights, the opposite end of St. Peter's Basilica and Piazza.
Free dinner
Day Ten
A Day in Assisi by Train
A town made famous by two gigantic saints having rigorously embraced radical poverty, making it a sought after pilgrim destination, for those keen to discover the life of St. Francis and St. Clare, whose lives were demonstrated by the art of Giotto and the architecture of the hierarchical and faithful Church respectively.
Day Eleven
Free Day
A completely Free Day to yourselves to shop, revisit sites and to pack!