-
Free booking and cancellationFree payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free
×
Hi, I first came to Rome to research my Ph.D. in art history for New York University. For years I've immersed myself in the many layers of the city. I’ve published and been interviewed on History Channel. I look forward to showing you the most fascinatingly beautiful city in the world.
In about two hours we walk through some two thousand years of history: the Colosseum, the Fora built by the emperors, the Capitoline Square designed by the great Michelangelo, the imposing Altare della Patria that dominates Piazza Venezia, the elegant 18th century Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps, whose subtle sophistication still astonishes visitors.
The Colosseum
We begin at the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as The Colosseum, built by Vespasian and his sons Titus and Domitian for the imperial capital following the chaotic and self-indulgent rule of Nero. Built with the profits from the conquest of Jerusalem, this is the most famous monument in the city. We'll view it from the outside and talk more about why Vespasian constructed it, how it is constructed (another miracle of Roman engineering), where the different social classes were seated, how the gladiator games were conducted, and how over time the site became revered as a sacred place (the Pope still comes here every year on Good Friday).
We'll walk by the Temple of Peace, inaugurated by Vespasian in the year 75. This temple celebrated the stability and peace established by Vespasian. Here he provided ancient Romans with gardens refreshed by elegant fountains as well as a library and works of art, including plunder from Jerusalem, such as the gold Menorah taken the Temple.
From here we will continue down through the imperial fora, and look at the Forum of Augustus, which commemorated his victory over the conspirators who killed Julius Caesar and was inaugurated in the year 2 BC. Augustus bragged that he found Rome brick and left it marble. We will also look at the ingenious Markets of Trajan and the Forum of Trajan, the largest of the imperial fora, designed by Apollodorus of Damascus and inaugurated in the year 112 AD. We'll also look at the extraordinary Column of Trajan that visually recounts, with over 2600 figures, Trajan's two wars against the Dacians. This monument is only meters away from where Michelangelo lived on Via Macel de' Corvi until his death in 1564.
We'll then ascend the Capitoline Hill. In 1536 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V passed through Rome to celebrate a military conquest in Tunis. His triumphal parade went through the Roman Forum but around the Capitoline Hill--it was far too rustic and neglected to visit. Pope Paul III asked Michelangelo, then in his early 60s, to design a more elegant square. So Michelangelo drew up the plans for the extraordinary Capitoline Square with its three elegant palaces, one of which is the oldest public museum in the world (The Capitoline Museum opened in 1734). We'll look at this creative and influential square as well as the bronze copy of Marcus Aurelius, the great emperor and Stoic philosopher.
Descending the cordonata, we pass through Piazza Venezia, looking at the papal palace made for Paul II in the 1460s. From this balcony the pope watched the finish of the famous Barbary horse Carnival race, and much later Mussolini declared war on France and Great Britain in 1940. We'll look at the imposing and at times controversial Altare della Patria with its bright botticino marble. It celebrates Italian unity and freedom as well as the leadership of King Victor Emmanuel II.
From there we’ll continue to the elegant 18th century Trevi Fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi for Pope Clement XII in the 1730s, and I'll explain its beautiful program of statues and reliefs that celebrates the water flowing from the ancient Roman aqueduct, the Aqua Virgo. This fountain is one of the most iconic sights in the city and many movies have scenes here, such as Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Woody Allen's To Rome with Love (2012).
We’ll then finish at the Spanish Steps, designed by an Italian architect for a French patron but called the Spanish Steps for its proximity to the Spanish embassy. 300 years old, it perfectly fulfils its purpose as an elegant and leisurely transition to the Pincian Hill. We'll look at the Barcaccia fountain, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. We will see the house where John Keats, celebrated British Romantic poet, died from tuberculosis at the age of twenty-five.
Look closely where the red dot is. We will meet at the Colosseum beside the 5 stone posts (one of tour pictures), where it is much less crowded. I will have a small maroon pack (with a water bottle inside).
We'll discuss how Vespasian had the artificial lake of Nero drained and then raised a magnificent amphitheater on a scale the world had not seen before and intended to rival other ancient wonders. How were the games conducted? Why is the site considered a sacred site by many?
Inaugurated by Vespasian in the year 75, the Temple of Peace celebrated the stability and peace Vespasian established. Here he also provided ancient Romans with gardens, a library, and works of art, including plunder from Jerusalem, such as the gold Menorah taken the Temple. The physician Galen argued here with his peers, and he left many manuscripts for safekeeping, only to see them destroyed in a fire in 191.
We'll discuss how Augustus vowed to construct this Forum and its Temple to Mars the Avenger. Inaugurated in 2 BC,it broadcast a powerful message to legitimise his reign, and how the site changes over the centuries.
Inaugurated in 112 AD, the largest and most magnificent of the imperial fora was designed by Apollodorus of Damascus for the emperor Trajan. We'll also look at the Markets of Trajan and the extraordinary Column that recounts Trajan's two wars against the Dacians. This Column overshadowed the palace in which the della Rovere gave to Michelangelo on Via Macel de' Corvi. The palace was demolished in the late 19th century to clear the space for the Altare della Patria.
Designed by Michelangelo for Pope Paul III in the 1530s, this square is a rare jewel of Renaissance architecture and has at its center the celebrated statue of Marcus Aurelius, the great Stoic emperor. What makes the square, which is almost 500 years old, so special?
One of the most imposing monuments in the city, the Altare della Patria commemorates Italian unity and the first king of modern Italy, Victor Emanuel II. We'll look at how it celebrates the Italian people and their king. We'll also look briefly at the 15th century palace, known as Palazzo Venezia, made for the Venetian Pope Paul II.
Designed by Nicola Salvi for Pope Clement XII in the early 1730s, and one of a series of monumental papal fountains, the Trevi Fountain is an elegant and erudite celebration of water. We'll look at the design of the fountain and its beautiful sculptures.
Designed by an Italian architect for a French patron but called the Spanish Steps for their proximity to the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, this is the most beautiful public staircase in the city. We'll talk about the history of the Steps, which were inaugurated in 1725, and what makes them so elegant and beautiful. We'll also look at the Barcaccia fountain designed by Bernini in the 1620s as well as the house where the great English Romantic poet John Keats died in 1821.
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).
