Social tours and visits program

PANORAMIC VISIT OF ROME (10 April 2007)

The most exciting panoramic views of Rome: Gianicolo, Pincio, Fungo dell'Eur, and Monte Mario. Private bus service included. Half day.

The perfect starter for getting acquainted with the highlights and landmarks of the eternal city.

VILLA ADRIANA and VILLA D'ESTE (11 April 2007)

The two Villas in Tivoli, 25 km from Rome: the roman Villa Adriana and the Villa D'Este from the Renaissance period. Private bus service included. Full day.

Villa Adriana, the dream of emperor Hadrian used as his retreat from the city life. The Villa was the greatest roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape. It included palaces, several thermae, theatre, temples, libraries, and quarters for courtiers, praetorians and slaves. Walking though the site, it is still possible today to experience the skillful architectural forms and the variety of settings conceived by Hadrian and his architect.
Villa d'Este, listed as UNESCO world heritage site, is a masterpiece of italian architecture and especially of garden design. It was commissioned in 1550 by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este to the architect Pirro Logorio, who created a palatial setting surrounded by a fabulous terraced garden in the late-Renaissance mannerist style. He took full advantage of the dramatic slope but needed several technical innovations for bringing a a sufficient water supply, which was employed in cascades, water tanks, pools, fountains, and water plays ("giochi d'acqua").

APPIA ANTICA (11 April 2007)

A walk through the Appia Antica, the most beautiful ancient roman road. Private bus service included. Half day.

The Via Appia, the "queen of the long roads", led from Roma to Capua and Brindisi (in the southest end of Italy). It was initiated by Consul Appius Claudius Caecus and completed in 312 B.C. Built as a high-quality road (with layers of cemented stone over a layer of small stones, drainage ditches on either side, low retaining walls on sunken portions, and so on), it was the first to feature the use of lime cement. Original sections of the Via still exist, paved with volcanic rock material, along which monuments of all periods are aligned. Like other roads leaving Rome, the first miles quickly became a necropolis, as burials were forbidden within the city walls. You will explore the Via Appia on foot, from the church of Domine Quo Vadis, coasting the Circus of Maxentius, up to the tomb of Caecilia Metella, and will visit also one of the Christian catacombs. Rests of roman aqueducts and family tombs are mixed with cypress and pine trees in a superb landscape.

ROME BY NIGHT (11 April 2007)

Visiting the city monuments and landmarks with the new lightning. Private bus service included. Evening.

VATICAN CITY (12 April 2007)

Visit to Piazza San Pietro, the Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Half day.

A city within the city and the smallest state of the world. The open space in front of the Basilica was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and built between 1656 and 1667 under the direction of Pope Alexander VII, as an appropriate forecourt "so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing" embraced by the powerful colonnade in doric style. The Basilica is the largest christian church, covering an area of 2.3 ha and with a capacity of over 60,000 people. The construction of the current Basilica began on 18 April 1506 and was completed in 1626.
The Vatican Museums, founded by Pope Julius II in the 16th century, house magnificent collections accumulated over the centuries: among others, Egyptian and Ancient Roman Art, Greek statuary, and Renaissance paintings. The (necessarily limited) visit reaches a peak in the Sistine Chapel, where the paintings of Michelangelo's vault recovered their original beauty after a restoration. The museums received more than four millions visitors in 2006.

CAMPIDOGLIO and CAPITOLIN MUSEUMS (12 April 2007)

Visiting the area around Piazza Venezia, the Campidoglio (Capitolin Hill), and the Musei Capitolini. Close to the conferente site. Half day.

You will mount on top of the Vittoriano, overlooking the Roman Forum and Palatino, visit the ancient Santa Maria in Ara Coeli, still the designated church of the italian senate and the roman people (Senatus Populusque Romanus), stroll through the elliptical plaza designed by Michelangelo on the Campidoglio, with the equestral statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius at the center (this is a copy, the bronze original is inside few steps away) and visit the Capitolin Museums. These museums, founded in 1471, house findings and artworks that tell us about the history of Rome, from the antique sculptures, statues, and bas-reliefs portraying the acts of the emperors to the paintings on show in the Picture Gallery.

BAROQUE ART (13 April 2007)

A walk through the Baroque Art of Rome, visiting the most representative monuments, churches and squares in the heart of the city. Half day.

In the 17th century, Rome florished under the intent of stating the catholic majesty and triumph expressed in all arts. Baroque architects, painters, sculptors, and urban planners were called to magnify and renew the classical and ecclesiastical traditions of the city. The Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona were built or renovated during this period. These places have fascinated visitors and artists over the centuries, providing a source of inspiration throughout the western world.

ROMAN FORUM and COLOSSEUM (14 April 2007)

Visit of the most famous Roman ruins and walk through the Colosseum. Close to the conferente site. Half day.

The Roman Forum, located at the foot of the Campidoglio, was the civic area around which ancient Rome developed. It was the commerce and political centre of the republican period, the place where to meet, perform religious events or administrate justice. The Forum is filled with temples and fully preserved triumphal arches dedicated to emperors for celebration of their war victories. Among the many ruins, the original travertine paving of the Augustus period is still visible.
The Amphitheatrum Flavium (or Colosseum) is a giant landmark of Rome. Its construction started between 70 and 72 A.C. under the emperor Vespasian and was completed under Titus eight years after. Capable of seating about 50,000 spectators, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public, sometimes horrible, spectacles.

ARA PACIS MUSEUM

https://en.arapacis.it

BARBERINI GALLERY

https://www.galleriaborghese.it/barberini/en/einfo.htm

BORGHESE GALLERY

https://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

CASTEL SANT'ANGELO

https://www.galleriaborghese.it/castello/it/default.htm (in Italian)

SCUDERIE DEL QUIRINALE – ALBRECHT DÜRER'S EXHIBITION

https://english.scuderiequirinale.it

VATICAN MUSEUMS AND SISTINE CHAPEL

https://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html