With a private guide, how you spend your time is completely up to you.
On our private tours, you have the ability to see the city as you would like with the help of a certified scholar and historian to lead your way. We have cataloged itineraries below based on our experience as tour guides and historians. These private tours offer flexibility in terms of what time we start, sites and most importantly, your personal interests and the schematics of your group. Should you wish to create your own tour, let us know what you would like to see and we will suggest the best ways to execute your desires. We want our clients to experience Rome with a guide and scholar who is knowledgeable on the topics you prefer, who can interact with on a personal level. Our private tours can begin in the lobby of your hotel (if located in city center).
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We never want visitors to leave Rome feeling as if they have missed something. All too many times we hear of those who prefer to “play it by ear”. Even though this is a lovely way to travel, as soon as these travelers enter the gates into the Eternal City the chaotic nature of her streets seem to overwhelm those casual plans. In order to experience Rome properly, a good plan is in order. During this hour orientation, one of our Roman experts will meet you to help plan your stay in the Eternal City. We will help you by letting you know the best times to see the sites you most want to visit, make advanced ticket reservations for you, and let you know the easiest way to get to and from these sites. Your expert will also make restaurant reservations, suggest other sites and help you avoid wasting time and money…
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Sites: Roman Forum, Colosseum, Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain
Sometimes a day is all you have to see the Eternal City. This tour visits the most essential sites for any visitor coming to Rome. Starting under the silhouette of the Colosseum this tour begins by venturing through one of the 76 ancient portals into the interior of the Flavian Amphitheater, where men faced their glory or their demise at the center of 50,000 spectators. After leaving the Colosseum, you will wind your way through the ancient Roman Forum, the apex of all public commerce and bureaucracy with a history as old as the 8th century BCE. As you weave your way through…
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A Day to Rome for Cruise Passengers (with transportation to/from Civitavecchia)
Sites: Roman Forum, Colosseum, Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and Square, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, and (time permitting) Trevi Fountain
Sailing the Mediterranean is a luxury and this tour helps those arriving via Civitavecchia visit the most essential sites during their short visit to the Eternal City. Start the morning with a private car and driver waiting as your disembark your cruise ship to take you into central Rome in order to meet your guide. This tour starts under the silhouette of the Colosseum venturing through one of the 76 ancient portals into the interior of the Flavian Amphitheater, where men faced…
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Sites: Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Palatine Hill
There, in the distance stands an apparition of the former glory of Rome. Haunting the modern city with her arched arcades and slowly decaying frame, providing a lucid if not melancholy testament to the society that once invaded her hollows on a daily basis. Standing under the silhouette of the Colosseum creates a profound memory for all who enter Rome. The Flavian Amphitheater stands almost 2,000 years after its inception to beckon those who dream of entering the gates of an ancient city. On this tour your guide will take you deep into the history of both an empire and her emblematic monuments, one where men fought both mortal and beast with ruthless abandon all for a few…
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Under the Colosseum (PLEASE NOTE THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED)
Sites: Roman Forum, Colosseum including the underground and third tier sections
Description Coming Soon!
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Sites: Vatican Museums including the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica and Square
Start your day in Vatican City by escaping the long lines into the Vatican Museums and entering through the VIP entrance into the residence of the world’s most illustrious pieces of artwork. Once settled inside the Vatican, you and your guide will explore the culture and history of the Master Renaissance painters, their struggles and frustrations along with their triumphs and glories. Starting from a exterior piazza inside the museums with an incredible view of St. Peter’s Basilica, your guide will describe how humble beginnings has lead to what lie before you. As you make your way through the various chambers of the museum, including the Belvedere…
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St. Peter’s Basilica and Square
Sites: St. Peter’s Basilica and Square
An excavation during the 1950′s revealed archeological evidence that sent those in the Catholic Church into a glorified celebration, confirming beliefs that had long been buried. In the hallows of the earth, under the largest basilica in the world, a 1st century necropolis was discovered. Discovered in one of the tombs were the bones of a man, about 61 years of age, widely believed to be the Catholic faith’s first Pope, Peter. Eighteen years later, Pope Paul IV announced with absolute certainty that these remains were in fact, of the apostle Peter. Now the Basilica of St. Peter’s, sitting just west of the Tiber River can claim its right as the burial sites…
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Vatican City and Papal Audience
Sites: Vatican Museums including Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica and Square with a visit to the Papal Audience
Description Coming Soon!
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Sites: Casa di Goethe, Antico Caffe Greco, Keats-Shelley Memorial House, Spanish Steps, Protestant Cemetery
Rome, with its ancient glories at every corner and thousands of masterpieces suspended upon every museum wall developed a reputation for hosting a plethora of artists, philosophical thinkers and poets in the late 17th century. Romantic authors, such as John Keats, Wolfgang von Goethe and Percy Shelly abruptly left their native countries in order to pursue a greater understanding of Classical Art and the culture of Italy. Taking part in what later became known as the “Grand Tour” thousands of elite Europeans came to Rome and for a few brief years called the Eternal City home. In some instances, such as in Keats and Shelley’s case, they still call…
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Sites: Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo di Fiori
Rome is enchanting at night. As the street lamps start to flicker and the city starts to become embraced in the darkness of night, shadows begin to accentuate the curves of every surface. Starting in the ancient flower market of Campo di Fiori under the hooded statue of Giordano Bruno, this tour weaves through the narrow cobblestoned streets of Renaissance and Baroque Rome. From there you will stroll to Piazza Navona where Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers taunts the facade of the church which looms over it, designed by Bernini’s principal rival, the melancholic architect Borromini. Then you will arrive at the foot of…
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The Foundations of Christianity
Sites: Basilica of San Clemente, Saint John in Lateran, Scala Sancta, Santa Maria Maggiore
Transformed over the centuries from a private home where clandestine Christian worship once took place, hidden below the foundations in the underbelly of the earth, the Basilica of San Clemente lies atop a dynamic layered past. Much of Rome’s Christian faith, so apparent on her streets today evolved slowly as the religion gained acceptance and was finally lawful in 313 CE under the Emperor Constantine. On this tour you will move through the various sites essential to the establishment of the Christian faith. In San Giovanni in Laterano (Saint John in Lateran) you will explore the site of the first papal….
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Sites: Jewish Ghetto, Fontana delle Tartarughe, Portico of Octavia, Teatro Marcello, Great Synagogue of Rome, Isola Tiberina and Ponte dei Quattro Capi, neighborhood of Trastevere, Santa Maria della Trastevere
Directly off the eastern banks of the Tiber River, in an area notorious for its consistent floods, a society was forced together by religious and cultural deduction creating what would become the largest community of Jewish inhabitants across Europe. Ordered by the Papal bull, Cum nimis absurdum of 1555, Roman Jews were required to limit all of their commerce and inhabitation into a 7-acre space known today as the “Jewish Ghetto”. Segregated from the turbulent Christian society of the era, the construction of a wall, with only three entrance gates, was welcomed…
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Sites: Galleria Borghese and Villa Borghese Gardens
In the summer of 1608, a gang of aristocratic footmen entered into the small chapel of San Francesco al Prato in Perugia veiled in papal safety. Pope Paul V’s nephew, a fervent art collector, coveted the church’s altarpiece executed by a young painter named Raffaello Urbino, and desired to add it to his growing collection in Rome. The acquisition of Raphael’s Deposition is just one example of the ruthless means an affluent man such as Scipione Borghese would take in order to acquire his collection. Whether obtained through controversy or not, today Cardinal Borghese’s spectacular assemblage is displayed within the ornate walls of a gallery built in honor of his collection. …
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Sites: Catacombs of San Sebastiano or San Callisto
How a society chooses to bury their deceased has long given historians a view into the more enigmatic characteristics of a culture. Just outside the ancient gates, the catacombs of Rome reside, up to four layers deep, playing a central role in Rome’s macabre appeal. As ancient custom dictated, the recently departed had to be buried outside the city walls resulting in statues, epigraphs and portraits cluttering the sides of the roads just outside the city walls into Rome. At a time when pagan burials were evolving into Christian, a religious sect unable to openly practice until 313 AD, the need for larger burial sites grew rapidly. What resulted was the practice of subterranean burial…
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Sites: You decide
Perhaps it is your second time around in the Eternal City- you have seen the major sites and would like to divulge a little deeper into the history and culture of this great city, past the obvious tourist attractions into areas saved for only those who have searched before you. Our guides have extensive and often times particular specialties, such as aristocratic residences or an expert’s knowledge of Fascist Italian history. Whatever your interest, we most likely have a guide who specializes in that area. This tour can also be set up for those who want to re-arrange site on our other tours. Let us know what you are interested in and we will tailor a tour personalized just for you…
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