ROME SURROUNDINGS
PRIVATE
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Depart from Rome with your guide passing the old Ostiense
Gate, the ancient city walls erected by Emperor Aurelian in
270 AD and the huge marble Pyramid of Caio Cestius dating from
1st century BC. After 12 miles reach Ostia Antica Excavations situated
at the mouth of the River Tiber on the Mediterranean coast and
visit the maritime port of ancient Rome. Only rediscovered in
the 19th century and excavated largely form 1920s to 1940s, Ostia was founded
probably in the 7th century BC for salt extraction from marshy swamps but later
in the 4th century BC it became a military and naval port protecting the Tiber
access to Rome. With Rome's growing power it turned into a thriving and vital
commercial port which for centuries imported wheat, grain, foodstuffs,
luxurious exotic goods, spices, multicoloured marbles, Egyptian obelisks and
innumerable wild  animals for the
amphitheatre games from Africa and Asia. The inhabitants were traders,
shipbuilders, mariners, warehouse workmen, slaves, public officials and wealthy
patrician families all busily engaged in intensive commerce and transportation
over sea, river and land. Many of the freedman and slaves were of different
origins, languages and religions: Greeks, Phoenicians, Iberians, Gallic,
Egyptians, Frisians and recently a Synagogue dating from 1st
century BC was unearthed. The superb typical Mediterranean setting of the
excavations, covered with majestic umbrella-pines and cypresses, is as
fascinating as Pompeii but without crowds and just 20 minutes out of Rome. 34
hectares have been excavated from the time it suddenly became a ghost town when
an epochal flood changed the course of the Tiber.  With
intriguing and entertaining explanations recounted by your erudite guide you
will experience how life was in this ancient sea-port, discovering various
types of dwellings and tenement-flats (insulae) of the middle and lower classes
and visit residences of the wealthy during your stroll along the network of
intact streets. Explore the interiors of temples, roman baths, shops, mills,
taverns and public cloakrooms all with vivid mosaic floors, frescoed walls,
stuccoed decorations and statues, rendering to the traveller a full idea of the
teeming frenetic life of the port. Return to Rome by swift highway. 4 hour
duration.
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At
Tivoli see by the huge quarries, where in antiquity,
thousands of slaves and prisoners toiled in dangerous and brutal conditions to
excavate large travertine lime-stone blocks used for constructing the
Colosseum,
the
Theatre of Marcellus, numerous
aqueducts and
bridges, all still surviving in Rome today.
Proceed to the close by
Villa of Hadrian, erected between 118AD and 125AD, a fabulous
imperial dwelling-complex, quite probably designed by this highly
sophisticated, intelligent and art-loving sovereign, which sprawls over low
valleys and slopes shaded by magnificent umbrella pines, olive tress and
cypresses. The extraordinary variety of edifices, loose adaptations of
prestigious monuments which inspired Hadrian during his extensive voyages
throughout the vast territories of the Roman Empire were partially unearthed in
the Renaissance.
Its buildings
influenced many great architects like
L.B. Alberti, Bramante, Michelangelo,
Raphael and later, in the baroque age, fascinated
Bernini
and
Borromini . Some 500 beautiful
ancient Greek and Roman
statues were dug out in the grounds and are now in the Vatican and
Capitoline Museums and other prestigious European Museums. Your expert but
entertaining guide will unravel and show the grounds, bringing alive the
imperial court's daily life under Hadrian, a capable emperor, who though often
indulged in dissolute and licentious activities. See the
Maritime Theatre,
Greek and
Latin Libraries where the emperor
enjoyed intellectual discussions in the company of philosophers, poets and
artists, the
Throne Room, Imperial Palace Wings, Palaestra, Poikile, the
Stadium, Greater and
Smaller Roman Baths and the
famous
Canopo Water-Canal surrounded by arcades and ancient
statues where high visiting political dignitaries were entertained and which
was named after a branch of the Nile river in which Antinous, an adored
youthful companion, tragically drowned in mysterious circumstances.
Then visit Villa
D'Este a dream-like fairytale renaissance palace with gorgeously
sculptered gardens which belonged to Cardinal Ippolito II, son
of Lucrezia Borgia menber of one of the most infamous families
in the history of the papacy. Specifically created to console this cardinal
after his unsuccessful attempt at being elected pope in the 1550 conclave. You
will witness the opulent way of living of one of the wealthiest men of his time
and stroll through the gardens filled with fountains of cascading gurgling
waters, with hundreds of hissing jets, 
a setting worthy of
kings,popes and princes who were regular guests of the cardinal's splendid
court. One of the very first Italian renaissance styled gardens, it was laid
out by a great antiquarian Pirro Ligorio who retraced descriptions and
documentation on the "Ars Topiaria" (landscape gardening)
developed by the ancient Romans in republican and imperial times. The ingenious
hydraulic systems invented by Ligorio to funnel the huge volumes of water from
Tivoli's Aniene river to feed all fountains and to produce the strong pressures
needed for the jets of water are astonishing even today. Be enveloped by the
fragrances, cool sprays and inebriating scents of the lush and relaxing
vegetation and feel what it was like to live as renaissance prince and discover
how Franz Litzt was bemused and stimulated into composing his "Fountains of
Villa D'Este". Search out the distant dome of St.Peter's on the
horizon before returning to Rome. Duration 4 hours.
Following the long
sequences of mighty archers running through Rome's outskirts and countryside,
we will visit the
Aqueduct Archaeological Park to see the
massive aqueducts which have powerfully withstood time and to hear detailed
accounts of the hydraulic engineering abilities attained by the ancients to
canalize huge amounts of water to Rome. In antiquity 11 aqueducts furnished
quality water to thousands of public baths, fountains, homes, imperial and
patrician gardens and to the population's needs. Continue your way to
Castelli
Romani area celebrated for landscapes beloved by poets, painters
and writers of the 19th century Romantic Era, to see the
Pope's 
Summer Palace
perched on the slopes of an extinct volcano whose crater holds a superb lake.
Visit charming
Castelgandolfo where the Pope meets pilgrims in
summer and then
Nemi with its medieval castle overlooking a
smaller enchanting lake where
Emperors Caligula and
Nero
used to orchestrate refined sumptuous banquets and feasts on luxuriously rigged
rafts to entertain and surprise visiting foreign dignitaries. This famed area
is considered one of the most beautiful spots in Italy and is the bronze-age
cradle of the Latin peoples and language who later were to found Rome on the
banks of the Tiber river. Renaissance popes and cardinals dotted these lush
landscapes
with splendid country palaces and estates and after passing
Grottaferrata
and
Marino where during the October Wine Festival all public
fountains spout, instead of water, jets of wine, we descend to picturesque
Frascati, a delightful hill-town. Here, taste the famous local white wines
produced on the surrounding mineral-rich and fertile volcanic soils which give
them a particular component supposedly excellent for nerves. Visit
Cardinal
Aldobrandini's Villa, begun in 1598, a monumental country
palace-estate with baroque sculptured gardens and art-work and after an
opportunity of pleasantly mingling with the natives of
Frascati
to enjoy the warm and communicative Italian village way of life, maybe shop for
a traditional
"Pupazze" ,a woman-shaped symbol of fertility
with three breasts. After which head back to Rome by rapid highway. Duration 4
hours.
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Meeting point
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At your hotel or other agreed spot in Rome.
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Meeting time
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Any time chosen by you
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Group size
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That of your party (Tour suitable for children)
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Rates
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| RATES PER PERSON IN AIR-CONDITIONED LIMOUSINE OR MINIVAN INCLUDING
GUIDE, DRIVER AND TAX
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| LIMOUSINE HAS UP TO 3 PASSENGERS PLUS GUIDE AND DRIVER
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FOR MORE THAN 3 PASSENGERS A MINIVAN WILL BE USED
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| 2 persons |
3 persons |
4 persons |
5 persons |
6 persons |
7 persons |
| € 210,00 |
€ 154,00 |
€ 125,00 |
€ 110,00 |
€ 100,00 |
€ 90,00 |
Pre-booking required. BOOK HERE