Colosseum Tour

The Colosseum tour starts off from Piazza Venezia, we can climb the steps that lead us to the top of Capitol Hill, one of the famous seven hills. It was the political and religious center of ancient Rome. It’s today the seat of the City Hall. The square was laid out by Michelangelo in 16th century and decorated with testate of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (the same emperor that in the movie Gladiator with Russel Crowe was killed by his son Commodus)

A walk down the hill takes us to the Forum. It was the most important square of Ancient Rome used as daily market place and meeting-point. Around this square, the Romans constructed the most important buildings, temples and palaces as the Roman Senate where the senators met and decided the destiny of the known world and Titus Arch built to celebrate the Roman Empire victory over the Jews.

We can walk along the Victory’s road in the Forum, leading us to the Colosseum, the ancient world’s largest amphitheater. Even though centuries have gone by, you are no doubt familiar with the sights and sounds of the Colosseum. Gladiators, animals and spectacles entertained the thousands of Romans who gathered, free of charge.

Tour length: 2/3 hours

Sistine Chapel Tour

Our Sistine chapel tour will focus on the most famous and grandiose religious monument hidden in the heart of the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo.

The Sistine Chapel is located inside the Vatican museums that are among the most visited museums in the world.

Over 7 millions tourists flock to discover the splendor of these 12 museums annually. The museums are compromised of no less than five galleries and 1.400 rooms, inaugurated in 1771. They consist of an extraordinary collection of works of art, mainly paintings and sculptures, collected over the centuries by the popes.

After visiting the Sistine Chapel , we will pass through a door (for tour guides only) that will get us directly to St. Peter's Basilica. The tickets, purchased for this tour, will allow us to skip the lines. This will give us more time to enjoying exploring this memorable sight together.

Saint Peter is the largest basilica in the world. Construction began in 1506, but was not completed until 1626. It contains wonderful masterpieces like the Pietà by Michelangelo or the canopy over the main altar by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Upon entering the church, you will overwhelmed by the beauty of its hundreds of giant mosaics and the atmosphere that reigns in this amazing house of worship.

Tour length: 2/3 hours.

Suggestions: Vatican dress code – no bare shoulders, skirts and shorts under the knees, no weapons ad no big bags or backpacks.

Rome Jewish Ghetto Tour

We will start the Rome Jewish Ghetto Tour crossing an ancient Roman bridge connecting the charming Tiber Island to the left bank where Rome's main Jewish Synagogue is situated; it was completed in 1904 in the area that was once Rome's Jewish Ghetto, the small enclave where the Roman Jews were confined to live from 1555 to 1870.

We will walk through the remaining areas of the former Jewish Ghetto and down the old lanes of first century b.c. Portico d’Ottavia, a Roman library transformed into a church where the Jews were forced to attend mass.

At the end, we’ll stop at the Kosher Bakery to taste the famous Pizza Giudia or if it is the right season we can eat the delicious Jewish artichokes.

Jewish Artichoke — THE FAMOUS JEWISH ARTICHOKES

Papal Audience Free Tickets

Papal Audience free Tickets

I will be glad to get for you, your family and friends free tickets for Papal audience.

What is Papal audience?

Papal audience also called the General Audience is when the Holy Father addresses the crowd, usually in different languages in Saint Peter’s square

It’s not a mass but the Pope gives a themed speech, followed by prayers, a homily, and some singing.

At the end of the ceremony, the Pope will bless religious articles. If you have arrived in Rome with a rosary or bible or other object that you want blessed, bring it with you.

Or, you can buy these objects in many places in Rome, especially around the Vatican, and certainly inside the many gift shops you will find throughout the Vatican.

The whole audience lasts around 1.5 hours, so it should end by around 11 a.m..

The General Audience is held (nearly) every Wednesday at 9h30 , when the Pope is in Rome.

Most of the time, the Papal Audience is held in Saint Peter’s Square, which can accommodate around 80,000 people.

During the cold winter months, , or if it’s raining hard , then the General Audience will be in Paul VI Audience Hall, which is to the left of Saint Peter’s Basilica. This space can only accommodate around 6000 people.

If the Pope is in Rome, but on summer holiday, there will not be any Papal Audiences at the Vatican. It can be in July or August.

Other chances to see the Pope in Rome

The other opportunity to see the Pope is on a Sunday at 12 noon when he is in Rome.

He will appear from the window of his apartment where he gives a short speech followed by the Angelus and ending with a blessing.

He may also greet the crowds in various languages and the whole event usually lasts around 15-20mins.

He will impart the Apostolic Blessing at the end of the prayer.

You DO NOT need tickets for the Sunday Angelus.

Rome day trip

Here a couple of suggestions. I have put together for those who have a limited time in Rome and want to see as much they can on a guided tour!

Option 1

Vatican museums (Sixtine Chapel), St. Peter's basilica, Colosseum, Forum

Option 2

Trevi Fountain, Colonna Square, Pantheon| Ghetto, Teatro di Marcello, Capitol Square, Forum, Colosseum

Downtown Rome Tour

Plenty of surprises!!!!

This walking tour begins at Trevi Fountain. This is known as Rome's "wish fountain", where a small coin dropped into the Trevi's waters assures your return to Rome. We will then then continue along the side streets of Old Rome, the city's historic center. We will pass near Colonna Square where in the middle of the square, you can see a 90 feet high second century a.d. Roman Column dedicated to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (the same emperor you saw in the movie Gladiator with Russell Crowe).

Just around the corner a narrow street will lead us to a wonderful church St. Ignatius is well known for its moving ceiling!!!!

We will pass in front of the and we stop inside to marvel at the concrete dome the ancient Romans poured in the 2nd century AD.We will admire the light streaming in through the opening at the center of the dome. Seeing the Pantheon for the first time leaves even modern architects amazed at how it was built by the ancient Romans. In this square, we will have a break for a delicious cappuccino. One block away from Pantheon, we can even visit St. Louis of French church if it is open at the time of our tour. This church houses three wonderful paintings of Matthew’s life by the famous Italian painter Caravaggio.

Our tour will end in piazza Campo de' fiori, with its animated market. The colorful stalls of Campo de' Fiori's fruit and vegetable vendors displaying their bountiful produce will be a feast for your eyes. You may also want to pop into Campo de' Fiori's famous bakery ("forno") to sample, stand-up, a slice of the exquisite thin crust Roman pizza fresh from the oven.

Before the conclusion of the tour, I will show you the off beaten track spot where J. Caesar was killed.

Your Travel and Tours pictures

Pictures of your tours

I am not a professional photographer but I do love taking pictures.

It’s my passion!

Aaron Siskind once said “Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything”.

For this reason I will so glad to take pictures of you, family and friends during the tours with my camera.

I will try to immortalize the best moments of your stay in Italy.

It will be like a little souvenir to bring home.

The service is complimentary.

Rome Cruise Tour

Are you coming to Rome on a Cruise?... and you have only one day to visit the city?
This tour is what you're looking for!

I will take you on a fun and interesting tour of the highlights of Ancient, Renaissance Rome and Vatican.

Your shore excursion to Rome will start with pick up dockside at your cruise ship in Civitavecchia (1 hour and half from Rome), where a professional driver and a comfortable limo or minivan will be waiting for you and will lead you to Rome.

At the conclusion of your Rome guided day tour, the driver will take you back to your cruise ship, dockside, in Civitavecchia.

We will visit Vatican museums (Sistine Chapel), St. Peter's Basilica, Fountain, Colosseum, Forum.

Suggestions: dress code at the Vatican - no bare shoulders, skirts and shorts under the knees

Capitoline Museums Tour

Visiting these museums will help you give face, form and expression to the gods and to the key personalities who inhabited the squares, temples and houses of the ancient city. You can see the splendid gilded bronze statue of Hercules, the formidable statue of Mars in full military dress, the Drunken Faun carved from ancient red marble, and dozens of other extraordinary sculptures.

Above all, you can admire the perfection of the original bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, with its minute attention to detail apparent in the emperor’s beard, veins and rather incredible sandals. You’ll come across the very famous remains of the colossal statue of the Emperor Constantine, his head, hand and foot all etched with their long history. The Dying Gaul will touch you with his pained expression and show of courage. The mosaics of the Doves and the Theatrical Masks are immortal symbols that all of us have seen in our school books.

As no doubt is the case with the legendary statue of the She-wolf, symbol of the city. The museum also houses the busts of Cicero, Julius Caesar, Nero, Homer, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. The two buildings of the museum are linked trough a tunnel built by Mussolini that runs underneath the City Hall (former Roman Archives) from which you can enjoy an overwhelming view over the Forum valley with all its vestiges of ancient glory.

Not to be missed!!!

Vatican Mosaic Tour

Have you ever marveled at a mosaic in a church and wondered “how do they do it?”

Prepare to find out! After our tour of Saint Peter‘s, we will tour the school where they created the mosaics on display in the basilica. This school opened in the 18th century and still makes the most important and beautiful mosaics adoring churches, convents, villas and private collections all over the world.

The mosaic artists use a secret technique invented by Venetian artists in the 17th century. We’ll visit their school and see the mosaic masters in progress – and even learn their trade secrets!