Rome (Roma): My Private Services

Enjoy your magnificent private guided walking tour of the eternal city’s most fascinating ancient monuments. You’ll start this tour at your hotel, where your English-speaking local expert guide will meet you. Together you’ll transfer to the Coliseum, where in imperial times thousands of Romans gathered to watch gladiators fight for their lives, or for the emperor. Gladiators once fought each other to the death, or against wild animals. Visit inside the Coliseum, then cross over into the ancient Roman Forum where you’ll learn of its intriguing history & temples. Though only ruins are left of it, The Roman Forum was once the central marketplace of the Ancient Roman Empire, where traders and shopkeepers sold their goods. It is still a famous site for Romans today, who enjoy seeing such a famous symbol of the city and walking on the ancient cobblestone streets.

During the tour you will also see the Monument of the Unknown Soldier from Piazza Venezia. The Circus Maximus which was once an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium / mass entertainment venue, and the Arch of Constantine.

OPTIONAL: +1 Hour: Coliseum Upper Tiers or The Belvedere of the Coliseum

OPTIONAL: (New!) Child Friendly Version w/Treasure Hunt & Child Friendly Guide!

Inclusions:

Entry Tickets & Advanced Reservations

Private expert English speaking local guide

Meet with your local expert guide at your hotel today, and together you’ll transfer over to the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums contain the extensive artistic heritage collected by all the Popes throughout the centuries: consisting of ancient art sculptures, to breathtaking works of the masters, to the galleries of Candelabra, Tapestry and Geographical Maps. See the Papal Apartments of Pope Giulio II, with the famous ‘Raphael Rooms’ (rooms decorated by Raphael), and then admire the magnificent Sistine Chapel with its incomparable paintings by Michelangelo. & If open to the public you’ll visit the majestic St. Peter's Basilica to view Michelangelo's "Pietà" and its famous Piazza.

Optional:

An Early Morning Entry to the Vatican Museums (8:30AM) with American Breakfast Included

Or

Vatican by Night (Does not allow for visiting St. Peters Basilica)

OPTIONAL: (New!) Child Friendly Version w/Treasure Hunt & Child Friendly Guide!

Please Note:

If the Basilica is in use for a religious service, entry is not permitted.

The Vatican does not advise in advance specific dates or times when religious services are scheduled.

Inclusions:

Advanced reservations/Entry Tickets

Private English-speaking local expert guide

Today on our Classical Rome walking tour you’ll see the traditional piazzas, fountains and classical works that make Rome famous. These include the Fontana di Trevi, Piazza della Spagna, Pantheon, Via del Corso, Piazza del Popolo and more. We also visit the main piazza of Rome, the Piazza Navona, where you will visit the remains of the underground stadium of Domitian, located underneath the Piazza Navona and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your private English-speaking guide will help you understand the significance and history of these locations and sites throughout your tour today.

Inclusions: Private English-speaking local expert guide

[Transportation costs additional: I can arrange for a private transfer to/from hotel with guide, or have a private driver for entire tour, or you can pay for a taxi to take you and the guide to the start of the tour from the hotel]

Enjoy this unique private guided tour today to see the subterranean catacombs of Rome. You’ll find many saints and several early Popes are buried. You’ll visit the church of San Clemente the houses three underground levels of which two are catacombs. You tour today with your driver & guide will also include visits to additional catacombs. Domitille which is Rome’s largest catacombs consist of an underground basilica and around 80 painted tombs. San Callisto which has beautiful wall frescos, and San Sabastiano where you’ll find ancient graffiti invoking St. Peter & St. Paul, who at one time were thought to have been buried here.

Inclusions:

Local Expert English guide, driver & all transportation

The impressive Baths of Caracalla are your destination today, as you’ll head out of Rome with your private driver and local English-speaking guide. The baths were the complex of ancient Rome that could accommodate 1600 bathers. Providing sanitization facilities & opportunity to socialize. The complex was made up a cold pool, a warm pool, and a hot pool, in addition to two libraries and gardens. The baths were public and as massive as they were, they were only the second largest baths in Rome.

Also, today we will visit The Park of the Appia Antica, which includes the first 16km of the once ancient consular road south out of Rome through the Caffarella Valley. The Appian Way was celebrated by Horace and Statius, who called it longarum regina viarum, or “queen of long-distance roads.” As the main highway to the seaports of southeastern Italy, and thus to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean, the Appian Way was so important that during the empire it was administered by a curator of praetorian rank. Along the way we will see the archaeological Tombs of the Via Latina, and the remains of seven Roman aqueducts dating back to the Roman Republic & Imperial age.

Inclusions: Private English-speaking local expert guide & driver, with all transportation.

Love art & sculpture? Been to the Vatican, but want to see more? Then The Galleria Borghese is for you. Inside are housed a collection of ancient sculptures, bas-reliefs, mosaics, and masterpiece paintings from the 15ht to the 19^th century. While the Borghese is open to all, it limits how many visitors are allowed in per hour at once, and so advanced reservations are a must to avoid long lines.

Today with your local expert art guide you’ll see these masterpieces of the collection. The original nucleus of the collection goes back to Cardinal Scipione. These include works by Caravaggio, Raphael, Titian, Correggio, Antonello da Messina & Giovanni Bellini. In addition to the best sculptures of the time these include incredible pieces by Bernini & Canova. Among which you’ll find Bernini’s David, his Pluto & Persephone, and his Apollo & Daphene, so beautiful. The Borghese is truly an art lover’s paradise in Rome.

Inclusions:

Entry Tickets & Advanced Reservations

Private expert English speaking local guide

The Etruscans were one of the most powerful civilizations before the founding of the Roman Empire. Their civilization, now a vanished culture whose achievements set the stage not only for the development of ancient Roman art and culture but for the Italian Renaissance as well. Their civilization is believed to have peaked in Italy in 6bc. Though you may not have heard of them, the Etruscans were the first "superpower" of the Western Mediterranean who, alongside the Greeks, developed the earliest true cities in Europe. They were so successful, in fact, that the most important cities in modern Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, and Siena to name a few) were first established by the Etruscans and have been continuously inhabited since then.

Today’s private tour includes important sites to the Etruscans. As we first travel down the ancient Roman Via Aurelia, where with your private English-speaking guide you’ll visit the Etruscan ruins. As the tour progresses, you’ll visit Pitigliano, known as ‘Little Jerusalem’, an ancient city perched on a hill and dug into the tuff, located in the countryside of Grosseto. Then it is on to Sorano, a village carved literally into the rocks, here you be able to explore the alleys, niches, and cellars. Next, we visit Sovana. A smaller town but has preserved its charm & magic. The landscapes, the food, wine and seeing the incredible Archaeological Park Citta del Tufo will surely leave you speechless. Last, we will visit the ancient site of Vitozza, and incredible opportunity for you to see this old town where early Etruscans lived for several hundred years.

Inclusions:

Private English-speaking local expert guide & driver, and all transportation

Pickup: Any Hotel in Rome

Enjoy a full day private experience today. Your driver will meet & pick you up from your hotel in Rome this morning, as you head south out of Rome down to spend a day on Amalfi Coast. Along the way you’ll stop in Pompeii, where you’ll be introduced to your private local expert guide for a walking tour of the ancient site of Pompeii. Pompeii (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) with a local expert English guide. Pompeii was made immortal by the violent eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. & walking through the streets you will be able to imagine how it was to live in this great city in imperial times. Your guide will explain how the town was destroyed in 79 AD & In the same place where daily life used to unfold, you can now see how people were killed because of the volcano's eruption. The heart of Pompeii is the ancient forum, a vast space surrounded by stone columns and embellished with marble statues, of which today only pedestals remain. Walk through ancient households & villas with beautifully preserved & restored frescos. As well as see the public baths, amphitheater and even a local bar.

After your visit of Pompeii, you’ll reconnect with your driver who will drive you down to Sorrento, where you’ll have free time to explore this charming town perched over the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvius across the bay. Then it’s over to the Amalfi Coast Drive, one the worlds most incredible coastal drives. Along the drive you’ll visit the picture-perfect towns of Positano and Amalfi, with free time in each on own. You will admire the breathtaking landscapes & coastal sea views. At conclusion of day your driver will complete your private service by driving you back up to Rome to your accommodations.

Inclusions:

Private driver & all transportation for the day

Your driver will take you to the archeological site of Pompeii, where at the entrance you will meet with your local expert private English-speaking guide.

You will visit Pompeii (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) with your local expert English guide. Pompeii was made immortal by the violent eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. & walking through the streets you can imagine how it was to live in this great city in imperial times. Your guide will explain how the town was destroyed in 79 AD & in the same place where daily life used to unfold, you can now see how people were killed because of the volcano's eruption. The heart of Pompeii is the ancient forum, a vast space surrounded by stone columns and embellished with marble statues, of which today only pedestals remain. Walk through ancient households & villas with beautifully preserved & restored frescos. In addition, see the public baths, amphitheater and even a local bar.

Inclusions:

Entry Tickets/Reservations

Local Expert English guide, driver & all transportation

Today with your local expert walking guide, you will trace the Jewish community in Rome, the oldest in all of Europe, we begin the tour in Trastevere, where Jews first settled in Rome.

You will visit the Jewish cemetery on Aventine Hill, and then the Arch of Titus, erected to celebrate the victory of Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus in Judea in 70 A.D., which lead to the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of Herod's temple. Visit the church of St. Peter in Chains to admire the famous Moses with Horns, a masterpiece by Michelangelo.

We will walk through Campo de‘Fiori, where the burning of the Talmud in 1553 started the oppression of the Jewish culture. Finally, stroll the charming narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter to visit the Jewish Museum and the modern Synagogue.

Inclusions:

Private English-speaking local expert guide

One of the monument symbols of the Eternal City, is the imposing and majestic Castel Sant’Angelo. Originally built as the tomb for Emperor Hadrian and has over the centuries become used for many different functions such as defensive purposes, prison, residence of the popes who connected it via a corridor to the Vatican & St. Peters, and now today a museum.

Castel Sant'Angelo offers visitors a journey into the past. Within its towering walls, visitors can uncover and learn about the castle's impressive history as well as the surrounding area's history and legacy. Additionally, it offers beautiful gardens which showcase centuries-old plants. Visitors can enjoy a tranquil visit to the castle's well-appointed rooms, which include many elegant details such as inlaid furniture, vintage decor, and ornate frescos. The complex is a maze of rooms and corridors of paintings, sculptures, archaeological finds, and historic weapons.

Inclusions:

Advanced Reservations/Entry Tickets

Private English-speaking local expert guide

Your private driver will meet you at your hotel in Rome this morning, and along with your private English-speaking guide, you’ll head out of Rome down the Via Cassia, where you will visit the Etruscan ruins. The sites available for your day in the Viterbo area are of plenty, and include Viterbo itself, Sutri, Caprarola, Villa Lante and more. It will be determined by us to select two of the sites based on the availability for visitation. Etruscan and medieval history come together in this multi-faceted territory. In Sutri you’ll see the Etruscan necropolis with dozens of rock-cut tombs. Villa Lante while not Etruscan is a worthy visit. It was commissioned in the 1500’s by a cardinal, and Villa Lante’s beautiful gardens, stunning views and elaborate nautically themed fountains is like discovering a little unexpected treasure in this region.

Along the route today you will be able to admire the local countryside, which is a blend of classical and rural Roman countryside and a mix f Southern Tuscany.

Inclusions:

Local Expert English guide, driver & all transportation

25km outside of Rome lies two incredible UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are your destinations for today. After being picked up at your hotel by your driver, and guide, you’ll first visit Adrian’s Villa. It was built by the Emperor Hadrian as an imperial palace outside of Rome. It is today the most extensive ancient Roman villa, covering an area the size of Pompeii. Remnants of this magnificent palace still stand today and have withstood the test of time. We then move on to visit the magnificent gardens & fountains complex of Villa d’Este. Villa d’Este is such a unique example of a 16^th century Italian garden. It has impressive fountains, grottos, nymphs, water plays and music. It is one of the most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined and was the model of future palaces and gardens that came after.

Inclusions:

Local Expert English guide, driver & all transportation