Religious Studies: Italy

Step inside the Colosseum with a licensed guide, once the stage for gladiators, naval battles, and wild beast hunts, and explore the underground chambers where animals were kept. Continue to the Forum Romanum, the hub of Roman politics, religion, and commerce. Conclude at Piazza Venezia, framed by its grand palaces and the striking Victor Emmanuel Monument.

Enjoy views of Trajan’s Column and Trajan’s Market, completed in 113 AD as a monument to Emperor Trajan. The column is best known for its detailed spiral bas-relief and stands beside the market, the ancient equivalent of a shopping center with more than 150 shops and offices. From here, stroll past the Victor Emmanuel Monument, built to honor Italy’s first king after unification.

See the Mamertine Prison, originally created as a cistern for a spring. It later became a prison reserved for high-profile prisoners who posed a threat to Rome’s security, including its most famous inmate, Saint Peter.

Rome’s best-preserved ancient monument, the Pantheon is a masterpiece of engineering, best known for its massive hemispherical dome. Inside are the tombs of Italy’s kings as well as the burial place of the artist Raphael.

Visit St. Peter’s Basilica, with its vast colonnades that seem to embrace the world. Inside, admire Michelangelo’s soaring dome, rising 452 feet above the ground, and his renowned Pietà. Then step into the Sistine Chapel, where the artist reluctantly painted frescoes that today stand among the world’s greatest masterpieces.

Once a capital to rival Florence, Siena is arguably Italy’s prettiest medieval town, and still possesses the grandeur of the age when it was at its peak.

A guided sightseeing tour highlights the historic city of Siena and its rich artistic and spiritual heritage. It includes a Duomo visit, known for its distinctive striped marble interior, plus the Piccolomini Library, created to house illuminated manuscripts and decorated with frescoes depicting key moments in the life of Pope Pius II. The tour also includes the Sanctuary of St. Catherine, once home to St. Catherine of Siena, one of Christianity’s most influential mystics and a key figure in Church history.

This guided excursion introduces Florence, often called the “Cradle of the Renaissance” for its central role in art and literature. Walk through peaceful piazzas to see the architecture and sculpture that shaped this artistic capital. Highlights include time near the Florence Cathedral, a visit to Piazza della Signoria, once the political heart of Renaissance Florence, and a stop at Piazzale Michelangelo for sweeping views of the city skyline.

A small town of narrow streets and medieval walls, Assisi might never have been famous had it not been the birthplace of St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order. Today it is a major destination for religious pilgrims and art lovers alike. You’ll explore the Basilica of St. Francis, built in the 13th century to hold the saint’s body. Ironically, the body was hidden so well in the basilica that it took 600 years of digging to find it.

The medieval town of Assisi is closely tied to the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi. Carefully restored after the 1997 earthquake, Assisi’s narrow streets, hillside views, and lively piazzas reflect its lasting spiritual character. The guided tour includes visits to the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, built in the 13th century to house the saint’s remains; the Basilica of Saint Clare, home to St. Clare’s tomb and St. Francis’s crucifix; and the Portiuncula, where the Franciscan movement began.

Built in 312 BC, the Appia Antica, or Appian Way, was the most famous road leading to Rome. It eventually stretched to the port of Brindisi, serving as a key route for trade with Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. Explore the road’s earliest stretch in Rome, lined with ancient tombs and monuments built by prominent Roman families.

Visit the small Church of Domine Quo Vadis, located along the Appian Way. Tradition holds that after fleeing Rome to escape persecution, Saint Peter experienced a vision of Jesus here, which led him to return to Rome and face martyrdom.

Visit the enormous St. Paul Outside the Walls, built over the traditional tomb of Saint Paul. Then descend into nearby early Christian catacombs dating from the 1st to 4th centuries, where thousands of Christians were once buried. Inside, see lasting signs of early Christianity, including frescoes of fish and doves and inscriptions carved into the tombs. Above runs the Appian Way, the world’s first true highway, stretching more than 350 miles from Rome.

Founded in the 5th century, San Pietro in Vincoli was built to house the chains believed to have bound Saint Peter in Palestine, now preserved under glass. The visit also includes the tomb of Pope Julius II, crowned by Michelangelo’s renowned sculpture, "Moses."

As the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano holds a central place in the Catholic Church. The interior was redesigned by Borromini, and remains believed to have been painted by Giotto have also been discovered within the basilica.

Step inside the Victorian-Gothic Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The shrine preserves a famous Marian icon first venerated in Rome in 1499, believed to have originated on the island of Crete and saved during periods of conflict.

Dating to the 5th century, Santa Maria Maggiore is one of Rome’s four major basilicas. Known for its Baroque interior and Romanesque bell tower, the church also features remarkable 5th-century mosaics decorating the nave and arch with biblical scenes.

Housed in a former mansion, the Borghese Gallery was first opened in the 1600s by the nephew of Pope Paul V. The museum contains an exceptional collection of priceless artworks, some dating back to the 1st century AD.