The Rome Tour from the Colosseum to the Orange Gardens is a fascinating journey through the city’s birth, which soon became the undisputed Caput Mundi. Myths, legends, and historical testimonies will intertwine in the stories of your Private Guide. Ancient monuments and Roman ruins recall a glorious past when the city was already the center of western civilization. Its highly vital port on the Tiber was a trade center and meeting place between different populations. The tour includes other top things to see in Rome like the Circus Maximus, Teatro Marcello, and the Mouth of Truth.
Included in the tour
- Professional, Certified Guide
- COVID 19 safety measures: face mask and hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff (social distancing from other visitors enforced: temperature checks for everybody entering museums and archaeological sites).
Meeting details
Meet your private, professional guide at 9:00 am or 3:00 pm at the Colosseum underground station’s exit (ground level close to the green stall). The guide will hold a sign with your name.
Rome Tour top site: the Coliseum (outside)
The Colosseum is the world’s largest theater. Built by Vespasian to accommodate all the Roman people, it wanted to symbolize the emperor’s greatness. Here there were fights between gladiators and between enslaved people and ferocious animals and shows representing simulations of naval battles, the famous naumachia.
Via dei Fori Imperiali and Capitoline Hill
You reach Campidoglio hill along Via Dei Fori Imperiali, which crosses the most extensive archaeological area globally. In the 16th century, Michelangelo designed the harmonious square we admire today. With its imposing statue of Marcus Aurelius, it is one of the top attractions in Rome. Campidoglio is is the most important of Rome’s seven hills, and its terrace offers an unmissable panoramic point on the Roman Forums.
Your guide will explain the fascinating origin of the word “Capitoline.” Here sits the town hall seat.
Teatro Marcello & Portico d’Ottavia
You will walk down the monumental staircase, also designed by Michelangelo, to reach Teatro Marcello, built by Emperor Augustus in honor of his nephew, son of Octavia. Three emperors dedicated a temple to here, the remains of which, full of stories to tell, bear the name of “Portico d’Ottavia.” From this point, the imperial history testimonies give way to the more recent ones of the Jewish Ghetto. But this is another tour.
San Nicola in Carcere & Mouth of Truth
The Roman Empire tour will continue with a stop outside the church of San Nicola ( from outside ), which stands on the foundations of three temples, still identifiable. The bureaux de change offices are still visible in the basement, testifying the commercial area created around the ancient river port. In effect, the square where you will admire three beautiful little temples, two Republicans and one dating back to the 4th century B. C. was the ancient Forum Boarium. Today we call it Piazza Bocca Della Verità from the mask placed under the porch of the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. His mouth, legend has it, will sever the hand of those who will tell a lie after introducing it into its slot. Because of the tale, the mask became one of the most famous Rome highlights.
Circus Maximus & Orange Gardens
Finally, you will reach the place of one of the main events to which the Roman people’s birth is due, the Circus Maximus. Indeed it was the largest circus of antiquity, where carts pulled by mighty horses darted dangerously. In this valley, Romulus organized the rape of the Sabine women. Your guide will tell you the details of this story, or is it a legend?
The last stage of our walking tour of Rome is on the Aventine Hill. The Giardino Degli Aranci is the legendary place that saw Romulus and Remus juxtaposed for the small city’s government that would become a vast Empire. You can enjoy an alternative view of the Tiber river from its terrace.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Roman history is much older than Romulus legend! In short, the Latins and Sabine overthrew the Etruscan in 500 B.C. You will visit the Foro Boario area (livestock market) that was a vital trading center with its docks on the river Tiber. This age preserves its visible remains like Temples dedicated to Italics gods protecting the area. This tour is perfect for children who can Listen to numerous facts and anecdotes. Did you know that January is named after Janus, the important Roman god depicted with two faces? The columns of the Temple of Janus embedded into the church’s external wall are included in our itinerary.
Check out the other tours organized in the city too!