VIP Rome Tours

Palatine Hill

The term palace itself stems from Palatium, which was the home of the Roman emperors during the time of the great Roman civilisation.  The ruins of the palaces of Tiberius and Domitian can still be seen, as well as Augustus who also built a temple to Apollo here, beside his house.  The whole area surrounding the Palatium was once the centre for Rome’s elite and many powerful and wealthy Romans lived close to the Palatine Hill.  The Palatine Hill is the centremost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city with recent excavations showing that people have lived there since approximately 1000 BC.  At the top of the hill, overlooking the Forum, are the great Orti Farnesiani of the Renaissance architect Vignola. The Orti Farnesiani, were created for a member of one of the great papal families, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese.  The Palatine Hill, along with the Roman Forum beneath it, is now a large open-air museum and is ideal for an excursion together with the Colosseum.  Both of these sites are extremely important monuments to the ancient city of Rome and must be visited in order to fully appreciate the magnificent feat of their construction.

The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, the name coming from the family name, Flavius, of the emperors Vespasian and Titus.  It took around ten years to build and construction spanned the reign of both of these great emperors.  The Colosseum is in the shape of an ellipse and is situated in the centre of the city (near to the Palatine Hill).  It is the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire and is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering in the entire city.  The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests in front of up to 50,000 spectators and it has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.  Other public spectacles, such as dramas based on Classical mythology, re-enactments of famous battles, animal hunts and even executions, were also held in this magnificent venue. The building’s use as a venue for entertainment ended in the early medieval era but the Colosseum was later reused as housing, quarters for a religious order, a fortress and a Christian shrine.  The Colosseum is now partially ruined due to earthquake damage and stone-robbers, but it is undoubtedly an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and a symbol for the city and the nation, appearing on the Italian version of the five-cent Euro coin.  Today, the Colosseum still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, with the Pope Benedict XVI leading a torch-lit "Way of the Cross" procession to the amphitheatre each year on Good Friday.

The Roman Forum was the major hub of the ancient city of Rome as well as being considered the centre of the Empire as a whole.  It was the dominant economic, political and spiritual site in Rome, housing the Regia, or royal residency, the formal Comitium where the senate and Republican government began, as well as numerous temples to Roman deities, such as Venus and Saturn, and emperors such as Caesar, Vespasian and Titus.  This original Forum was recognised as being so socially important by Roman emperors that many more would be built throughout the city in its honour.  The Forum Romanum is situated between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, starting close to the Colosseum and continuing all the way to Piazza Venezia.  The Roman Forum is a fascinating site for an excursion due to its complexity and size but is now mostly in ruins and so requires some reading to understand most of what is there.  One of the best preserved structures in the Roman Forum is the Arch of Septimius Severus, which contains the remains of an inscription to Septimius and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta. Another major attraction worth exploring is The Rostra, a platform used for public speaking, and the place where Mark Anthony delivered his famous speech following Julius Caesar’s assassination. Overlooking the Forum Romanum is the Flavian Palace which extends across the Palatine Hill and looks out over the Circus Maximus, at a truly stunning location at the heart of the city.

The Catacombs of Rome originated as places of burial for Christians wishing to preserve their bodies to be resurrected when the time came.  Due to laws in ancient Rome, it was forbidden to be buried within the walls of the city.  Most Romans did not have enough land to be buried near their property so some wealthy Romans allowed for ordinary people to be buried on their land in what were known as Catacombs.  The Catacombs were designed so as to maximise the number of Christians buried on the land and so were built in a deep, tunnel structure which allowed for many bodies to be interred in each Catacomb.  There are many examples of early Christian symbolism, including the fish, whose name, when taken in Greek, gives the initials of ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour”.  Most of the Catacombs have a similar structure and design but one of the best remaining examples is the San Sebastiano Catacomb, located on the Appian Way. This displays all of the characteristics of the Catacombs, as well as being fronted by the magnificent San Sebastiano Fuori le Mura, façade.  Other important Catacombs in Rome include the Catacomb of San Callisto, Santa Domitilla and Santa Agnese, which is probably one of the most remarkable for its position because it is adjacent to one of the greatest mausoleums of Rome: the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, the burial place of the daughter of Constantine.

Located on the Appian Way, Cecilia Metella's Mausoleum is one of the best preserved and most well-known funeral monuments in the Appian Way.  Cecilia Metella was the wife of Marco Crasso and it is her tomb which was the beginning of the Cecilia Metella Mausoleum.  Crasso was the the son of Marco Licino Crasso, one of the first Triumvirato members along with Cesar and Pompeo.  The link to Cecilia Metella is provided by an archaeological discovery of an inscription on the marble lapide posted on the high part of the mausoleum, where the following words are written: "Caeciliae Q. Cretici F(iliae) Maetellae Crassi".  In the middle ages, the Cecilia Metella Mausoleum was transformed into a fortress and battlements were added.  The ownership of the mausoleum was contested by many families because of its location in an exceptional strategic position.  As a result of these quarrels, the Cecilia Metella was destroyed near the beginning of the 14th century but was then restored around 1850-1853, making this a historical sight of interest to be visited when enjoying an excursion to the Appian Way.

The Sistine Chapel forms part of the Vatican Museums and it is well worth passing through the other 53 collections within the museum in order to reach this unique display of renaissance architecture and art.  The ceiling is, of course, the famous masterpiece of Michelangelo which was commissioned by Pope Julius II and took him four years to complete, finishing in 1512.  It is arguably the most iconic example of the artistic tradition of the renaissance and includes the image of the Hand of God giving life to Adam.  Michelangelo also produced the controversial Last Judgement about 25 years later which was greeted with a censorship campaign (known as the "Fig-Leaf Campaign") lead by Carafa and Monsignor Sernini.  The genitalia in the fresco, which were deemed obscene and immoral by some in the Papal community, were later covered by the artist Daniele da Volterra who earned the rather unflattering nickname "Il Braghettone" ("the breeches-painter").  Some of the other notable artists who have painted frescos inside The Sistine Chapel are Perugino, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Sandro Botticelli.  The Sistine Chapel is not only recognised for its stunning frescos inside the building, but also for its typical, renaissance and mediaeval façade, which leaves the exterior unadorned with decorative details.  Its proximity to St. Peter’s Square and its connection to the Vatican Museums, make the Sistine Chapel a must-see attraction for all tourists to the Vatican City.

The Trajan Column is located in Trajan's Forum, north of the Roman Forum.  It was erected in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate.  The structure is about 30 meters, or 98 ft, in height and the fact that the shaft is made from twenty Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 40 tons, gives an idea of the scale of the column and its importance.  The sights of the city can be enjoyed from a viewing platform at the top of the Trajan Column, which is accessible from a spiral staircase of 185 stairs inside the shaft.  Several statues have stood atop the Trajan Column since it was built.  Ancient coins show a statue of a bird, probably an eagle, at the top of the column and later a majestic statue of a nude Trajan.  This disappeared in the middle ages and since 1587, the column has supported a bronze figure of St. Peter, courtesy of Pope Sixtus V.  The Trajan Column is famous for its spiral shape which commemorates Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars.  The column was completed in 113 AD, before Trajan’s death in 117 AD, and has inspired numerous victory columns throughout the world, both ancient and modern, like the Monument in London and the column of the Bastille in Paris.

As you reach the end of via del Babuino you will be greeted by the impressive Piazza del Popolo. During the neoclassic period of the 1800s, Giuseppe Valadier turned Popolo Square into one of the biggest neoclassical squares in the world. In the centre you can admire one of the many obelisks of the city which links the Square to the Spanish Steps and the Vatican City to help direct pilgrims entering Rome from the Appian Way. The obelisco Flaminio from Ramesses II of Heliopolis is one of the most recognizable landmarks of this famous square.  It stands at 24m and was placed in Popolo Square by Domenico Fontana under the pope Sixtus V in 1589.  Piazza del Popolo is also well known for the old Roman gate but even more so for the church of Santa Maria del Popolo.  In this important Roman church, you can see examples of the great work of Caravaggio, also known as Michelangelo Merisi, as well as the work of Raffaello. In Popolo Square you have the unique chance of trying a coffee at the Rosati Café, used in the ’60s  La Dolce Vita.  Looking ahead of you, you will be able to see Via del Corso which today is the main shopping street in Rome.  Via del Corso, is home to commercial shops as well as prestigious department stores like la Rinascente, Galleria del Corso with the bookshop la Feltrinelli. Via del Corso competes with sites like Oxford Street as one of Europe’s top shopping destinations.

Villa Borghese and Galleria Borghese are very easy to reach if you are staying in Via Veneto, the road which featured heavily in La Dolce Vita.  The area around Via Veneto still has a reputation as one of the trendiest parts of Rome with outfitter to the stars Brioni and the renowned shoemaker Gatto producing fine, artisanal shoes, only a short distance from the main street. As well as important hotels like the Excelsior, Regina Baglioni, and the Eden Hotel, the American Embassy is also located on this famous road. In Via Veneto you will have the feeling of the La Dolce Vita where a host of stars such as Sophia Loren, Liz Taylor, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and especially Federico Fellini have spent time at the Café de Paris, fighting with the paparazzi to avoid the gossip columns.  Amongst the famous paparazzi who have photographed the stars in this part of the city are Tazio Secchiaroli and Marcello Geppetti, turning the Rome of the late ‘50s into “Hollywood on the Tiber”.

Villa Borghese

From Piazza del Popolo you can also access Villa Borghese, one of the greatest villas, or parks, in the world. Villa Borghese is the chic, Roman answer to London’s Regent’s Park or le Jarden de Luxemburg in Paris, and pretty often you can see VIPs such as the Agnelli family, the owners of the Fiat car company, in the early morning enjoying the park.  The Villa Borghese is a special corner of the city where the beauty of a garden and the culture of Rome meet.  Inside the Villa Borghese there is Borghese Gallery where you can visit the great work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Caravaggio, Raffaello and Correggio. Visiting the Villa Borghese you can gain a real feeling of understanding of how the Prince and Princess Borghese in Rome used to live.  Once you are inside the Galleria Borghese, you will be able to see works from some of the Italy’s greatest artists.

Jacopo Bassano: The Last Supper
Bernini: Apollo and Daphne, David, Pluto and Proserpina, Truth unveiled by Time,
Canova: Pauline Bonaparte
Caravaggio: Madonna of the Palafrenieri, David with the Head of Goliath
Correggio: Danäe
Cranach: Venus and Cupid
Domenichino: Diana
Dosso Dossi: Circe or Melissa
Lorenzo Lotto: Madonna and Child with Saints
Antonello da Messina: Portrait of a Man
Raphael: The Deposition
Rubens: The Deposition     
Savoldo: Tobias and the Angel
Titian: Sacred and Profane Love

The guided tour normally lasts about two hours and is divided into two parts: the first hour spent in the sculpture collection, and the second spent viewing the paintings. A reservation to see these marvelous works is recommended.