Day Tours of Rome

Day Tours of Rome

Passage to Roma 2010

Passage To Productions

Published by Passage To Productions

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Passage To Productions

All Rights Reserved

Day Tours of Rome - Passage to Roma 2010

written by David Williams

with additional information by Fr. Joseph Tylenda, S.J.

Author The Pilgrim's Guide to Rome's Principal Churches

Angelus Press 2010

Photography by

David Williams

Regina Benedict

Lucaya Luckey-Bethany

Logan Luckey

Piranesi Drawings with permission

of the University of Tokyo

Mapping provided by

Open Map Project.org

Passage To Productions

517 E Mirror Lake Drive

Fruitland Park, Florida, USA 34731

http://www.passagetoroma.com

Be certain to visit our website, www.passagetoroma.com , for the associated DVD set that goes along with this guide. You can save over 40% by buying directly from us. This 3 ½ hour, two DVD set, takes you to every place we visit in the guide. Produced in stunning HD, you will be able to see exactly what we are describing in this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction Day Tours of Rome – Passage to Roma 2010

Chapter2Tour1

The Colosseum – Position 0

Arch of Constantine – Position 1

Temple of Venus and Rome

Leaving the Colosseum to the Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill

Exit from the Palatine – Position 4

Arch of Titus – Position 5

The Foro Romano or the Roman Forum

Basilica of Constantine – Position 6

Temple of Antonio and Faustina – Church of San Lorenzo – Position 7

Altar of Julius Caesar – Position 8

Temple and House of the Vestal Virgins – Position 9

Temple of Castor and Pollux – Position 10

Basilica of Julia – Position 11

Temple of Saturn – Position 12

Arch of Septimius Severus – Position 13

The Curia – Position 14

Exiting the Forum

Piazza del Campidoglio – Position 15

Tour 2 - The Time Tunnel Tour Introduction

Vittorio Emanuele II Monument – Position 0

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli – Position 1

Teatro Marcello – Position 3

Portico d'Octavia – Position 4

Leaving Octavia

Ponte Rotto and the Cloaca Maxima – Positions 5 and 6

Foro Boarium – Position 7

Santa Maria in Cosmedin and the Boca della Verita – Position 8

Leaving Cosmedin

Circus Maximus – Position 9

Leaving the Circus

Front of San Giovanni in Laterano – Position 10

Lateran Baptistry

Leaving San Giovanni

Basilica of San Clemente – Position 11

End of Tour 2

Tour 3 - The Waterworld Tour Introduction

Piazza del Popolo – Position 0

Ramses II Obelisk – Position 1

Santa Maria del Popolo – Position 2

The Twin Churches for Mary – Position 3

Leaving Popolo

Ara Pacis Museum – Position 4

Mausoleum of Augustus – Position 5

Church of Saints Ambrogio and Carlo – Position 6

Via dei Condotti – Position 7

Antico Caffe Greco – Position 8

Spanish Steps and Piazza di Spagna – Position 9

Trinita dei Monti – Position 10

Keats-Shelley House – Position 11

Colonna Immacolata – Position 12

Church of Sant'Andrea della Fratte – Position 13

Leaving Sant'Andrea

Trevi Fountain

End of Tour 3

Tour 4 - The Good, the Bad and the Really Bizarre Tour -Introduction

Terme de Diocletian – Position 0

Leaving the Baths

Piazza Republica – Position 1

Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martyres – Position 2

Leaving the basilica

Santa Maria Vittoria – Position 3

Santa Susanna – Position 4

Leaving Susanna

Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capuccini – Position 5

Capuchin Crypts

Leaving Concezione

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane – Position 6

Sant’Andrea al Quirinale – Position 7

Palazzo del Quirinale – Position 8

End of Tour 4

Tour 5 - The Flavor of Rome Tour Introduction

Castel Sant'Angelo – Position 1

Ponte Sant'Angelo - Bridge of Angels – Position 2

Leaving Ponte Sant'Angelo

Museo Napoleonico – Position 3

Palazzo Altemps Museum – Position 4

Piazza Navona – Position 5

Sant' Agnese in Agone – Position 6

Pasquino the talking statue – Position 7

Leaving Navona

San Luigi dei Francesi – Position 8

Santa Maria ad Martyres, The Pantheon – Position 9

Piazza della Rotonda and Gelato

Piazza Minerva and Santa Maria sopra Minerva – Position 10

Santa Maria sopra Minerva

Leaving Pantheon

Palazzo Montecitorio – Position 11

Leaving Montecittorio

The Temple of Hadrian – Position 12

Colonna Marcellus – Position 13

End of Tour 5

Tour 5 Side Trip

Tour 6 - The All Things Great and Small Tour Introduction

Santa Maria Maggiore – Position 1

Leaving Maggiore

Santa Prassede – Position 2

Leaving Prassede

Santa Pudenziana – Position 3

Leaving Pudenziana

San Pietro in Vincoli – Position 4

Leaving Vincoli and alternate directions to Vincoli

Imperial Forums Overview – Position 6

Forum of Nerva

Forum of Augustus

Julius Caesar's Forum

Trajan's Forum and Market

End of Tour 6

Tour 6 Side Trip

Series End

Chapter 1 Introduction - Day Tours of Rome – Passage to Roma 2010

Welcome to Rome!

This is one of our favorite cities and we want to share it with you.

From millenia old arenas, to modern museums, Rome is a city of contrasts.

Ancient empires became modern democracies.

Christian churches were built inside pagan temples.

It is a study of the conqueror and the conquered.

It is a city that surrounds a nation. The smallest nation on earth, the Vatican.

It is a city that embraces art and beauty on a grand scale. Although there are controversies as to what constitutes art and expression.

Rome is a city built through a complex and sometimes troubled history. But it is a city that is always changing.

We want to invite you to join us on some very special tours of this very special place. We will see the sites that everyone hopes to visit, but I'll also show you some amazing places that few tourists know about.

We will show you how to see a lot, how to get to easily get around and how to save money.

So what do you say?

Let's Go!!!

This is the 2010 version of Passage to Roma. In physical size, Rome is not a very big city and walking is an easy and enjoyable way to tour the city.

In this book we have provided a series of six walking tours around Rome. We have provided maps and turn-by-turn directions to help you easily negotiate the tours. By following these tours you will get to see not only essentially every major site in Rome, but also many places that few tourists know about or visit.

Each tour is designed to take between four to six hours to complete. We have attempted to make the vast majority of the walks downhill. There are places where you have the option of taking public transportation, and these are noted.

Many of the places detailed here do not require an entry fee, but where a fee is required, we provide you with information on how to obtain reduced prices on tickets and how to bypass ticket lines.

We will be visiting a great number of churches and basilicas during these tours. While Rome holds some of the world's great museums, the majority of Rome's history, artwork and architecture is held in the churches. The churches are free, but you should consider giving a small donation when you visit to help maintain these amazing places. Be aware that most, but not all, churches in Rome open about 9am, then will close between about noon and 4pm. They will then re-open until about 7 pm.

In addition, you should carry around a pocket full of 50 cent and 1 euro coins. The reason is that many of the churches have what are called lighting boxes, where you pay a small fee and a chapel or entire area is then lit, making photography and viewing much easier.

Be certain to visit our website at www.passagetoroma.com for GoogleMaps of the tour routes, for more information on Rome and the vicinity around the Eternal City.

Chapter 2 Tour 1 - The Agony and the Ecstasy Tour

In this tour we will walk in the footsteps of the emperors and stand with Michelangelo. We will visit some of the most famous, ancient sites in Rome and best of all, we will do it with only one entrance fee. On this tour we will visit the following sites:

The Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

Palatine Hill

Arch of Titus

Roman Forum

Piazza del Campidoglio

The tour will take about one-half day. It is about 2 kilometers or 1.4 miles in length. It is best done on a day without rain, as many parts of it will be done in a natural environment, so it could get a little muddy at times.

We will start at the Colosseum, from here we will travel past the Arch of Constantine and on to the Palatine Hill, the home of many of ancient Romes most powerful and affluent families. From the Palatine, we will walk down into the Roman Forum, visiting the locations that supported Imperial Roman power. We will end the tour in Piazza Campidoglio, Michelangelo's design masterpiece, that he actually had little to do with in its actual construction.

The Colosseum – Position 0

Everyone who comes to Rome wants to come here, and I mean everyone. After all, it is Il Colosseo. To get here you can take the Rome Metro B line, two stops from Termini station in the direction of Laurentina. There are also many buses that stop here. The 87 is one of my favorites.

Most of the time you will see a very long line. The line is to buy tickets. Most days it takes an hour or more to get through it. But just like in the days of the Emperors some people have to wait and some people have their special entrance. Want to be special? It is really easy. You see, the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum are now all part of the same ticket. What the people standing in line do not know is that you do not have to buy your ticket here, instead you can go to any of the ticket locations for any of the three sites.

If you go down Via San Gregorio to the entrance to the Palatine Hill, down about 200 meters past the Arch of Constantine, you can purchase your ticket there. You can also purchase the ticket at the entrance to the Roman Forum, about mid-way between the Vittorio Emanuele Monument and the Colosseum on Via dei Fori Imperiali. These site tickets are good for a single entrance into each of the three sites and you have 48 hours from the time you first use it to visit all three sites.

You also have the option to purchase the Roma Pass. This three day pass combines free access into any two of its listed sites, substantial discounts into all other listed sites and three days of unlimited travel on the Rome public transportation system. As an