Day Trips: When in Rome

Enjoy having your home base in Rome and still see it all! When in Rome is for those of you who like the continuity of beginning your day and ending your day in the same spot. Rome is a central location from which you can see the sights of ancient history, art, castles, local markets and the countryside in 10 days. Walk the real roads of the Rome, see castles, palaces and museums, tour Vatican City and visit Umbria. Drive the countryside to Lake Bracciano and see the Odescalchi Castle, the center of cultural happenings and hi profile weddings. See the tombs of the Etruscans in Ceveteri. Explore the ruins of Pompeii. Day Trips: When in Rome is a journey in which adventure awaits you around every corner.

Day 1 – Rome
Arrive in Rome where you will be met and driven to your lovely accommodations.

Day 2 – Rome
After breakfast explore Ancient Rome – Coliseum, Forum, Palitine Hill, Capitoline Hill and more!

Heading towards the Coliseum from Piazza Venezia, you see the Roman Forum on your right and Trajan’s Forum and Market on the left. To the right of the Coliseum is the Arch of Constantine and the beginning of the Palatine Hill, which will eventually lead you to ruins of the Flavian Palace.

Rome’s history spans over two and half thousand years, from a small Latin village to the center of a vast empire, through the founding of Catholicism, and into the capital of today’s Italy. Rome’s history is long. Rome is thought to have been founded by the mythical twins Romulus and Remus, who were abandoned as infants in the Tiber River and raised by a mother wolf before being found by a shepherd who raised them as his own sons. Rome was founded as a village in the 8th century BC surrounding the Palatine Hill, including the area where the Roman Forum is found. The village’s position at a ford on the Tiber River, made Rome a crossroads of traffic and trade.

Day 3 – Vatican Tour
Embark on a private tour of Vatican City. This walled city is home to some of the most famous art in the world. St. Peter’s Basilica, whose architects include Michaelangelo and Bramante is a reknowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel, famous for its frescos, as well as the Last judgement by Michaelangelo. The library and museum are of significant historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added as a world Heritage Site. Vatican City is home to the Pope.

Day 4 – Real Rome Tour
Take the back roads only locals use through bustling markets and cafes on this walking tour. Explore shops of pasta makers, cheese vendors and bakeries. Drink coffee and have lunch where the locals eat.

Day 5– Assisi & Orvieto
Today, drive to Umbria, where the Umbrians defended themselves against the Etruscans from 700 to 500 BC. Visit the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208. See its two famous medieval castles. Travel onward to see the Duomo of Orvieto, the main sight in this town. Constructed in the 13th and 14th centuries, the black and white striped building bearing both Romanesque and Gothic styles, is one of the world’s greatest cathedrals. Its setting, on the Orvieto hill, makes it visible from miles away in the Umbrian countryside.

Day 6 – Barberini Palace Museum tour & Borghese Gallery Tour
After breakfast, tour the Barberini Palace Museum which houses the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, one of the most important painting collections in Italy. It includes, among many others, such as Raphael’s portrait La Fornarina and Holbein’s portrait of Henry VIII
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The Borghese Gallery is an art gallery in housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. It is a building that was known for its gardens, nowadays considered quite separately as the Villa Borghese Gardens. The Galleria houses a substantial part of the Borghese Collection of paintings, sculptures and antiquities.

Day 7 – Lake Bracciano
Today see the Orsini – Odescalchi Castle and the Etruscan Necropolis in Cerveteri. The castle is located on the southern shore of Lake Bracciano and was built in the 15th century. It is one of the largest and best-maintained castles in Italy and also houses a museum. Odescalchi Castle is a center of cultural events and has hosted some very high profile weddings such as the marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Cerveteri is most famous for its Necropolis which has been declared a World Heritage Site. These tombs of the Etruscans date from the 9th century BC to 3rd century BC. The most ancient ones are in the shape of a pit, in which the ashes of the dead were housed. There are two types of tombs: the mounds and the so-called “dice”, the latter being simple square tombs built in long rows.

Day 8 – Leisure day-Rome
Today is free for you to relax or explore as you wish.

Day 9 – Pompeii
Visit the ruins of Pompeii. The city of Pompeii is a partially buried town near Naples. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the the volcano Mount Vesuvius which lasted two days in 79AD.

Day 10 – Depart Rome
Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

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