Rome – The Eternal City

Our 24-hour Tour Director will meet us at the airport and remain with us until our final airport departure. We will have use of a private coach and driver, while touring for the next seven days.

Known to many as the "Eternal City," Rome is the capital of Italy, with an uninterrupted history spanning two and a half thousand years. As one of the founding cities of western civilization, Rome is filled with incredible historical sites. It is a city with many faces, encompassing medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and modern.

Visit the Pantheon, one of the grandest and best-preserved Roman monuments, and the oldest large- scale dome in Rome. The Pantheon has been in continuous use throughout its history and today houses many tombs, including those of Italian kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, and painters Caracci and Raphael.

For the next six evening(s) we will enjoy the convenience of our centrally-located Rome hotel, where daily breakfast will be included.

This evening we will dine in the Piazza Navona area. Built on the foundations of Domitian's Circus, this magnificent square was designed by Borromini in 17th century. It is full of life and is highlighted by one of Rome's most spectacular fountains, the Four Rivers designed by Bernini. The square is often filled with local artists. The surrounding neighborhood is also one of the best places in Rome to get a tasty tartufo or gelato ice cream.

Enjoy a specialist-guided tour, through the spectacular remains of the Roman Empire. On our tour we will see:

It is considered to be the greatest symbol of Ancient Rome’s power and glory, was completed under Titus in 80 A.D. The Colosseum could hold 55,000 spectators, on a par with many of today’s modern sports stadiums.

Among the sights included is the Arch of Constantine, a triumphal arch finished in 315 A.D., commemorating the victory of Constantine I over Maxentius in the year 312 A.D.

We will also tour the ruins and excavations of the Roman Forum, which features the remains of magnificent temples, basilicas, and triumphal arches that once formed the heart of the Empire.

Completed in 113 AD as a monument to the Emperor Trajan, the column is most famous for its spiral bas-relief. Also view the Victor Emmanuel Monument, a giant building created to honor the first king of a unified Italy.

Climb the long, sloping steps created by Michelangelo to Piazza del Campidoglio. Notice how it is a perfectly proportioned square highlighted by a bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in the center.

Visit the Capitoline Museums, which house one of the greatest collections of classical sculpture in the world. Our visit includes the Picture Gallery, containing works from the 16th and 17th centuries by Caravaggio, Rubens, and Titian, among others.

This evening, dinner will be provided in a local restaurant.

Experience a specialist-guided tour of the Vatican Museums, home to one of the world’s most impressive collections of art. Our tour includes the map tapestry rooms, the magnificent Raphael Rooms, and the spectacular Sistine Chapel, highlighted by Michelangelo’s ceiling and his Last Judgment.

We will continue into St. Peter’s Square to visit St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the western world and the center of Catholicism. Highlights of our visit include Michelangelo’s Pieta and Bernini’s magnificent Baldacchino Over the High Altar. Those who wish may also make a Roof Ascent, via elevator, for magnificent views over St. Peter’s Square.

This evening, dinner will be provided in a local restaurant.

Our concert performance in Rome will be today. Venues options include singing mass in St. Peter's Basilica, which is the ultimate experience for many groups. Other sacred settings include the Trinità dei Monti, which sits atop the Spanish Steps, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, San Lorenzo in Damaso, the Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere, and the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere. Sant’Anselmo is a smaller setting that allows groups to attend Gregorian Vespers, have supper with the monks in their refectory, and give a concert in the late evening with full repertoire. We may also perform in the Monastery Chapel of the American University of Rome. Secular venues include the American Overseas School, where you can interact with the students, the US Embassy in the Vatican City, and the Piazza Navona.

Visit Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, one of the greatest estates ever erected. Hadrian designed the villa to recreate the architectural wonders that had impressed him during his travels. A patron of the arts, a lover of beauty, and something of an architect himself, Hadrian did not merely wish to replicate rooms or palaces he’d seen; rather, he reconstructed entire valleys, complete with the temples that had made them famous.

Visit the Catacombs of St. Callixtus, funerary tunnels which represent the first known cemetery of the Christian community of Rome. There are many sepulchral chambers and almost half a million tombs of early Christians, along with paintings, sculptures, and epigraphs that provide invaluable material for the study of their life and customs.

This evening, dinner will be provided in a local restaurant.

Our concert performance in Rome will be today. Venues options include singing mass in St. Peter's Basilica, which is the ultimate experience for many groups. Other sacred settings include the Trinità dei Monti, which sits atop the Spanish Steps, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, San Lorenzo in Damaso, the Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere, and the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere. Sant’Anselmo is a smaller setting that allows groups to attend Gregorian Vespers, have supper with the monks in their refectory, and give a concert in the late evening with full repertoire. We may also perform in the Monastery Chapel of the American University of Rome. Secular venues include the American Overseas School, where you can interact with the students, the US Embassy in the Vatican City, and the Piazza Navona.

Visit the Circus Maximus, Ancient Rome’s major chariot-racing venue, now ringed by several lanes of traffic. With a bit of imagination, we can visualize the flat base of the long, grassy basin as the racetrack, and the sloping sides as the stadium stands.

Visit the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, famous for the Mouth of Truth set into the wall of the portico. This is a circular slab of marble with an engraved face and a slot for its mouth. Legend has it that, if a perjurer put his hand in the mouth and told a lie, his fingers would be bitten off!

Explore the different buildings that make up the Museo Nazionale Romano. This includes:

Classical statues, frescoes, stuccoes, and mosaics discovered during 19th-century excavations.

A branch of the National Roman Museum housed in a 15th-century palace, which is the home of the famous Ludovisi Collection of Greek and Roman sculpture;

The most extensive in Rome and which now hold a marvelous collection of funereal artworks.

Which occupies the southwest corner of the central building.

This evening dinner will be provided in a local restaurant.

Visit the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral church of the diocese of Rome. The interior is credited to Borromini, and remains believed to have been painted by Giotto have also been discovered.

This evening we will dine near the spectacular Trevi Fountain where it is traditional to toss a coin into the fountain to ensure a safe return to The Eternal City.

Spend time at Rome’s meeting place, the Piazza di Spagna, home of the famous Spanish Steps. The piazza and steps are both named in reference to a 16th century Spanish ambassador who lived here. English poet John Keats lived and died in the house to the right of the steps, which is now a memorial.

According to the Catholic tradition, they are the steps leading up to the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem on which Jesus Christ stepped on his way to trial during the events known as the Passion.The stairs were, reputedly, brought to Rome by St. Helena in the fourth century. For centuries, the Scala Santa has attracted Christian pilgrims who wish to honor the Passion of Jesus.

Our concert performance in Rome will be today. Venues options include singing mass in St. Peter's Basilica, which is the ultimate experience for many groups. Other sacred settings include the Trinità dei Monti, which sits atop the Spanish Steps, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, San Lorenzo in Damaso, the Basilica Santa Maria in Trastevere, and the Basilica di San Nicola in Carcere. Sant’Anselmo is a smaller setting that allows groups to attend Gregorian Vespers, have supper with the monks in their refectory, and give a concert in the late evening with full repertoire. We may also perform in the Monastery Chapel of the American University of Rome. Secular venues include the American Overseas School, where you can interact with the students, the US Embassy in the Vatican City, and the Piazza Navona.

Our rewarding and enjoyable tour comes to an end as our Tour Director accompanies us to the airport on our final day.