This is the perfect solution to any traveler’s specific needs or problems, when trying to come up with the ideal way to make the most of your time in Rome.

Length of the tour depends on the itinerary requested, though we can provide expert advice on how to make your dreams come true in the Eternal City.

This tour offers all the most desired sites of Rome, in addition to a selection of lesser, though very important, things to see for the traveler looking for a more comprehensive experience of what the Eternal City has to offer.

The  sequence of visits may be altered to accomodate travelers itineraries and museum closings, etc., though typically is organized accordingly:

Day I Classical Rome: Forum, Colosseum, Palatine, as well as the Capitoline Museums and the Pantheon

DayII Papal Rome: Vatican Museum, St. Peter’s Basilica and Castel’Sant Angelo and the major fountains and piazzas of the city.

Duration: 7hrs per day with lunch break

Visit the essential highlights of Rome in a day!

For the hurried traveler this tour offers all the most desired Roman sites from the Forum and Colosseum, to the Vatican Musums, St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as a walk through the principle piazzas and fountains of the Eternal City.

Duration: 7 hours with lunch break

A walking tour that offers a unique experience of seeing Rome from above and below during the most exhilerating and suggestive time of day!

Time: approximately 3 hrs.

We begin from the Pincio hill above Piazza del Popolo, which offers one of the most scenic views of old Rome’s skyline, with its unmistakable aray of church domes and belltowers, as well as its colorful palazzos and verdant hilltops. Then its a walk along the Pincio’s ridge toward the majestic Palazzo Medici and elegant Spanish Steps. Down we go to Piazza di Spagna with its marvelous sunken barge fountain, across the flat Campus Martius (Mars’ Field) to the spectacular Trevi Fountain.  Onward to the Pantheon, the best preserved ancient Roman pagan temple which has come down to us: an architectural wonder of ancient Roman engineering and design. From the Pantheon it’s just a few passes to Piazza Navona, a superb ornamental triumph of Baroque city planing and not only. Finally we climb Michelangelo’s Cordonato staircase to arrive at the civic seat of Rome, the Campidoglio, which is also the famous Capitaline Hill. Through a narrow passageway, we arrive at a precipice that offers the best view of the ancient Roman Forum.

While your mind is dazzled trying to take in so much beauty and history, we sooth the soul with a glass of wine in a traditional Roman wine bar at Campo dei Fiori, just a short walk further on, a site which is teaming with Roman nightlife. It is also possible to sit down for dinner at one of the many local eateries nearby.

A perfect way to end a perfect day in Rome!

Enjoy a delightful day in the Castelli Romani, the famous DOC Frascati wine growing region, just south of Rome in the beautiful Alban Hills that were so intimately connected to the early history, legends and Latin tribal origins of Rome.

See the gorgeous lakes, of vulcanic origin and thus crater formed, of Albano and Nemi…

We start by visiting the charming medieval village of Castel Gandolfo on a ridge above Lake Albano offering spectacular views, where the papal summer residence is to be found, but that is believed to have originally been the site of the mythical Alba Longa founded by Anchises (or Iulus), son of the Trojan hero Aeneas, whom the ancient Romans believed was the father of their stirp. Then it’s on to the nearby Nemi, with its scenic promenades which offer panoramic views of the somewhat smaller lake of the same name, where, in ancient times, the sanctuary of a mysterius underworld cult was located: that of Diana Nemorensis.  Lake Nemi is also the site where the pleasure barge of the delinquent Emperor Caligula was found, though which has been tragically destroyed during  WWII bombings! Then, after a delicious meal in one of the characteristic trattorias of Nemi, proceed onward to nearby Tusculum high above Frascati, an acheological site with remains of the ancient Latin villiage where the famous Roman orator and statesman Cicero had a villa. The views of the surrounding mountainous topography will surely excite! In the end there’s time to see Frascati, home of the famous fraschetta, the Italian version of a Bavarian beer hall, though where of course the local wine is served.

Transportation and guide provided.

Time: approximately 7 hrs.

Enjoy the beautiful northern Lazio countryside, with its gently rolling terrain, vulcanic lakes and hazelnut groves. Visit the fascinating ancient and medieval sites of Sutri (ancient Sutrium), with its Roman amphitheter; Caprarola on an impressive tufa rock formation near Lake Vico with its famous XVI century Renaissance estate, the enormous Palazzo Farnese; and walk the charming medieval streets of Viterbo, the Citta’ dei Papi (“City of the Popes”), with its papal residence (one of the best expressions of Italian Gothic architecture) and exceptionally well preserved medieval quarter (Quartiere di San Pellegrino) and defensive walls. There’s of course time for a delicious lunch in one of the many delightful local trattorie!

Transportation and guide is provided.

Time: Approximately 8 hrs.

A Historical Overview of the Via Cassia

The Via Cassia was built by the ancient Romans in the second century BC, to romanize the recently conquered Etruscan territory in what is today norhtern Lazio and Tuscany. It began at the Milvian Bridge (also of the II century BC) just north of Rome along the Tiber River, which still survives, and was famous as the battle site of Emperor Constantine’s victory over his rival Maxentius in 312 AD. From there the Via Cassia proceeded north toward Viterbo and then further on until reaching Siena and Florence in Tuscany.

During the Middle Ages the Via Cassia was the last stretch of a famous Christian pilgrimage route, which began in Canterbury England and traversed the whole of France (for which the road got its new name, Via Francigena - image above), before crossing the Alps to reach Italy. We have testimony of what such a medieval pilgramage was like in the travel diary of Sigery, Bishop of Canterbury, who made the voyage in 990 AD. Though so too, along the central Italian stretch, did Dante Aligheri, the famous Italian author of the Divine Comedy. Whereas the contemporary lyrical poet Petrarch had been assaulted by brigands along the Via Cassia, whilst attempting to return to the then Avignon located Papal Court in Southern France, after having recieved the honor of Poet Lauriate in Rome in the year AD 1341. Such is why the Via Cassia was described by contemporaries as where “nests” of armed brigands abounded, a perilous situation for the wayward voyager that continued down to the XIX century.

Experience an outing, therefore, where the voyage itself is a veritable treck through the annals of a lively and anecdotal history!

Visit the famous Baths of Caracalla and then relax in a Roman hammam. View the towering ruins of the most spectacular imperial Roman baths ever…Try to imagine the sounds of splashing bathers disporting in the acquaduct fed pools! Hear the grunts of massagers, as once did Seneca, and those of the wrestlers in the palestra! Smell the sents of exotic perfumed oils from the orient…Then be awed by the splendor of the art which surrounds you: Hercules by Lyssipus, Dirce and the Bull by the Rhodian artists Apollonius of Tralles and his brother Tauriscus. Afterwards be bathed and relax in luxury at a truly beautiful Roman hammam, where pleasure and comfort remove all of life’s cares…

Time: Approximately 5 hrs.

…”One recognizes the bathing houses immediatly: they are without windows and in the form of small mosques, surmounted by a dome with many chimney stacks which perpetually emit smoke. I timidly entered and found myself in a great hall that left me momentarily uncertain as to whether or not a theater or hospital. I seemed to be in an underwater temple. I saw vaguely through a white vail of vapor the opposite marble walls, the columns, the archways and the curviture of a windowed dome from which descended rays of  sunlight of redish, blueish and greenish glare. White phantasms move back and forth along the walls. In the middle of the space I saw seminude men lying on the floor like cadavers, over which other seminude men were positioned like doctors performing an autopsy.”

Thus did Edmondo De Amicis describe his stupor at having for the very first time in his life stepped inside a hammam, from the author’s fascinating travel log during a sojourn to Istanbul in 1877.

Hammam

means the public baths of the Turkish, Arabic and North African cultures, however their legacy goes directly back to the ancient Hellenistic and Roman baths of classical antiquity. After the Western Roman Empire fell in the late V century AD, the Eastern Greek speaking parts of the empire continued to exist down through the Middle Ages under a new guize as the Byzantine State. At the time of Mohamet in the Middle East, the bathing practice of classical culture had already spread to the Arab world vis-a-vis Byzantium, with the muslim faith elevating the custum to a religious significance having to do with bodily purification.  In 1453 the one thousand year old capital of Byzantium, Constantinople, fell to the Turks, who gave the city its new name Istanbul. The luxurious Greco-Roman bathing tradition which had persisted in post-classical Byzantine times and which had so thoroughly penetrated into the Arab culture was now, at former Constantinople, adopted by the Turkish conquerers as well, who have kept it alive to this very day. Thus the nearest experience we moderns can have of a day at the ancient Roman baths is to visit a hammam, even if the imperial baths of ancient Rome were much, much grander and opulant in their displayed artworks. Consequently  we think it absolutely necessary and fun to first tour the most famous ruins of ancient baths in Rome, those built by Emperor Caracalla who reigned in the early III century AD.

A Concise History of Roman Baths

The ancient Greeks had had modest baths, which were also asociated with exercise facilities called a gymnasium. The oldest public baths in Roman Italy go back probably to the V century BC, as parts of the Stabian Baths of Pompeii attest, which were built before the Roman conquest of Campania.

The first bathing facilities in Rome were private beginning in the II century BC; whereas the first large public baths called therme came into being under the reign of the first emperor Augustus and were constructed by his son-in-law, Marcus Agrippa, in the late first century BC. Subsequently Nero also furnished classical Rome with his own baths, which were followed by the baths of Emperor Titus. However, it was not until Trajan’s reign (98-117 AD) that the first truly colossal baths were realized. The emperor’s architect was the innovative Greek designer, Apollodorus of Damascus, who envisioned an architectural plan which called for an axial alignment of cold (frigidarium) sometimes called a “basilica”, warm (tepidarium) and hot (caldarium) baths that were symetrically surounded by a series of halls for changing, having a sauna, a massage and exercising. The entire complex was to be built in part on the remains of the popularly despised Domus Aurea (Nero’s “Golden House”) and was further surrounded by gardens called xyxsti, which were themselves contained within a large set of precinct walls. These baths, which were the first fully executed example of  the Imperial therme, were also furnished with libraries and audience halls. Trajan’s magnificent baths, in addition, became canonical in terms of the axial arangement of the spaces and thus the designs of later imperial public bathing facilities, such as the famous Baths of Caracalla, were inspired from them.

Something on the Baths of Caracalla

The Baths of Caracalla, also known as the Antonnine Baths, were built between 212-216 AD during the reign of Emperor Caracalla south of the Aventine Hill and near the Via Appia Antica. Covering approxametly 33 acres, the massive complex was sumptuously decorated with colored marbles from all over the empire, huge Corinthian columns, dazzling mosaics and statuary, at times also of colossal proportions, of Hellenistic inspiration. In short, they were the most sumptuous and inspired Roman baths ever built, which could accomodate nearly 3000 bathers simultaniously and gave the public in the lavishly rich decorated monumental spaces something akin to paradise on earth for both hygiene and recreational pleasure.

Even today the hulking brick and concrete ruins of piers, walls and exedrae provide the visiter with an overwhelming sense of imperial grandeur. How much more spectacular would they have seemed in antiquity! Only the later built Baths of Diocletian were somewhat larger, though, however, were less opulent.

The Grotto of Emperor Tiberius and Sperlonga

with Lunch at Gli Archi

Escape to the delightful and gorgeous white, stone seaside village of Sperlonga on the coast of southern Lazio just a couple hours from Rome.

Visit the incredibly alluring Grotto of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who used this natural rock cavern along the sea as a magnificent banquet hall, which was decorated with splendid statues (visible in the nearby archaeological museum) of famous protagonists and episodes from Homer’s The Odyssey.

Then have lunch at the charming “Gli Archi” restaurant at the Sperlonga village and sample the mouth-watering array of local fish dishes, prepared with loving care by the expert kitchen staff. And taste a delicious wine or two in the eatery’s well stocked wine cellar.

Transportation and guide provided.

Time: Approximately 8 hrs.

Contact HabitatRome to make your reservation

Traditional flavors of old, but still contemporary, at a local trattoria (family-run restaurant) in the fascinating Testaccio quarter of Rome.

Habitatrome will accompany you to eat the authentic Roman dishes that have made Rome’s modern cuisine among the most “working class,” though truly exciting, of all of Italy. Let us guide you along the path, therefore, to a truly exceptional culinary adventure!

Contact HabitatRome to make your reservation

The Way Modern Roman Cuisine Came About

Today’s Roman cuisine has been born out of most humble ingredients, the quinto quarto (“fifth quarter”) as the locals say, referring to the less prestigious parts of the “quartered” cattle. Paltry paid workers at the Mattatoio, or slaughterhouse, opened in 1890 (though relocated in 1975) in the Testaccio quarter, then Rome’s industrial and commercial center, were allowed to take home the innards and less desirable cuts such as tongue and tail as part of their retribution. The workers wives would then sautè them with artichokes or stew them in wine, tomatoes and celery. These housewives’ dishes soon made their way into the local eaters. Modern Roman cuisine was thus born.

 Imagine a day’s escape to Tivoli and visit Hadrian’s Villa in the morning, then Villa d’Este in the afternoon. Both these incredible sites are UN World Heritage Monuments.

Transportation and guide provided.

 Time: Approximately 7 hrs.

Tivoli

The ancient Roman poet Horace spoke of the enchanting “dark woods of Tibur” nearly two-thousand years ago. Tibur is how the ancient Romans once called Tivoli, a hilltown of Sabine origin about twenty miles to the east of Rome.

Hadrian’s Villa

The beautiful setting of Tivoli has thus been praised since classical antiquity and is the reason the town had attracted Emperor Hadrian, in the second century AD, to realize his spectacular and immense villa in its environs. The complex had some thirty buildings – including baths, a theater and banquet facilities – developed throughout circa 120 acres of undulating terrain.

Villa d’Este

Tivoli is also the site of the world famous garden estate of Cardinal Ippolito d’Este, with its stunning Renaissance era plan and magnificent fountains. Nothing quite like it’s luxurious kind, is to be found anywhere else in the world.