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Free booking and cancellationFree payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free
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Hi! My name is Samuel and I was born in Rome. I’m half American (my American father is an art historian) and I study art history at university. Having grown up in Rome with a passion for its art and monuments, I can show you the very best places.
The tour covers places that cannot be missed on a trip to Rome!
We’ll start in San Pietro in Vincoli on the Oppian Hill and look at Michelangelo’s monument for Pope Julius II and its celebrated Moses (as well as Rachel & Leah, the last statues Michelangelo finished).
From there we’ll do a 5 minute walk to the Colosseum (explained from the outside) and continue along the Imperial Fora (Nerva, Augustus, Julius Caesar, Trajan). This was Michelangelo’s neighbourhood!
We’ll go into the Capitoline Square which he designed for Paul III Farnese. Then we’ll cross Piazza Venezia, past the papal palace built for Paul II in the 1400s (beneath whose balcony the famous Carnival races finished, although many remember it for Mussolini’s speeches) and walk over to the Trevi Fountain, an 18th Century masterpiece, and one of several monumental papal fountains.
After this we’ll go to the Spanish Steps—designed by an Italian architect for a French patron but named for its proximity to the Spanish Embassy.
I will be in front of the steps on the right side of the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, near the ramp.
-A 5th century basilica with spolia: ancient columns with Doric capitals, restored in 15th century by Sixtus IV della Rovere -The relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter in Jerusalem, a gift from Empress Eudoxia, wife of Theodosius III, to Pope Leo I. -The monumental tomb of Julius II della Rovere designed by Michelangelo. Moses the Lawgiver. Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob, symbols of the Active and Contemplative Lives in Dante.
-The site of the Golden House of Nero -The gift of Vespasian, finished by Titus and Domitian, paid with spoils of Jewish conquest Gladiatorial combats -The famous facade: Etruscan arch and Greek post-and-lintel -A sacred site for Catholic Church: martyrs and the Way of the Cross on Good Friday
-The center of Ancient Rome -The seat of municipal government since the 12th century -Paul III Farnese decides to renew in 16th century following the visit of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V: chooses Michelangelo to carry out the task -The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (original in museum): from the Lateran to here -The genius of Michelangelo: trapezoidal area, oval of design of pavement, focus on the palace of the senate. The influence of the architecture (Colossal Order).
-Papal fountains in the Renaissance and Baroque -Clement XII Corsini has a competition: Nicola Salvi the winner -The program of the fountain: the inscriptions, the statues, and the reliefs -Coins and movies
The Spanish Steps -An Italian architect, a French patron, but named for the proximity to the Spanish Embassy -The Barcaccia fountain by Gian Lorenzo & Pietro Bernini -The house where Keats died
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).
