13 Oct
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Civitavecchia to Rome Tour

This tour is designed for tourists who have arrived by boat at the port of Civitavecchia and have only one day to visit Rome’s most famous monuments and landmarks.

Departure is at 8.00 am from the port of Civitavecchia, where you’ll find a driver ready to welcome you in the splendid car you have rented.

You will travel on the A12 in the direction of Rome and during the drive you can stop at a service station for a coffee break.

Once in Rome, you will visit the area of the Fori Imperiali to see one of the most representative monuments of Rome: the Coliseum founded in 75 AD by Emperor Vespasian. This monumental amphitheater measures 22,000 square meters and was formerly in the Flavian Amphitheatre (the real name of the Coliseum). It held gladiatorial games, and naval battles when the whole structure was filled with water. Another interesting aspect to the history of the Coliseum was that a huge velarium or a sheet was erected to protect the public from the sun. The structure is open to the public and guides and audio guides will provide more detailed information during the visit.

The second leg of your tour will be the unforgettable Trevi Fountain. Located in the square of the same name, this spectacular Baroque fountain of travertine marble was designed by Nicholas Salvi and completed in 1762. At the center you can admire the monumental statue of the Ocean, surrounded by other mythical figures related to the marine world. Throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain has become a rite of good luck and a promise to return to Rome.

Later you visit the nearby Piazza di Spagna, another location of international reputation, both for artistic and cultural reasons as a symbol of Italian fashion. The most famous fashion shows in the world are held on theSpanish Steps and in the nearby streets, including Via dei Condotti, you will find boutiques of the most famous Italian and foreign fashion houses. The square owes its name to the Palace of Spain, the Iberian State’s Embassy to the Holy City of the Vatican. At the bottom of the stairway of Trinità dei Monti (the Spanish Steps) you can see the famous Fontana della Barcaccia carved in the baroque period by Pietro Bernini and his son, the more famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Your next stop will be Piazza della Rotonda, where you’ll find another of Rome’s landmark buildings: thePantheon. Built in 27 BC during the reign of Emperor Augustus, it was twice destroyed by lightning and rebuilt by Hadrian between 118 and 125. The temple with its characteristic hemispherical dome, with a diameter of 43 meters and a skylight of nine meters, was dedicated to all the gods. In time it became a Christian church, but is now disused. It houses the tombs of famous Italians, including Raphael, Queen Margaret, the king of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I.

You will now have an hour break for lunch, which you can eat at a snack bar, or one of Rome’s characteristic taverns or pizzerias.

In the afternoon the tour continues with St. Peter’s and the Vatican Museums. Inside the Basilica, the center of Christianity, you can see “La Pietà” by Michelangelo, the Baldacchino – the gilded bronze canopy by Bernini, and other important works of art. You can visit the graves of famous people, popes and the tomb of Saint Peter, preserved in the Vatican Grottoes.

Your tour continues at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, home to the Vatican Museums. The first part of the museum was established by Pope Julius II (1503-1513), who gathered several masterpieces of classical sculpture in the courtyard of Palazzo del Belvedere, including the famous “Lacoon”, a work from the 1st century BC, the Apollo Belvedere and the Venus of Cnidus. Over the centuries, the museum has expanded to include various collections, such as the Gregorian Egyptian Museum, the Ethnological Missionary Museum, the Museum of Modern Religious Art, commissioned by Pope Paul VI and the Carriage Pavilion, which houses the “popemobile”, the cars used by the popes. You can enjoy audio guides or take guided tours with experts. You will find many shops where you can buy souvenirs, books and postcards. Inside the Gallery you will see important examples of Italian art, including the Deposizione (1604) by Caravaggio, l’Incoronazione della Vergine (1503) and the Trasfigurazione (1520) both works by Raphael, and San Girolamo (1480) by Leonardo da Vinci. During your visit to the Vatican Museums you will see what is considered the greatest masterpiece of painting of all time: the Sistine Chapel. In 1506 Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo’s monumental fresco. The work took four years, from 1508 to 1512, to complete. On the ceiling of the vault, which covers 520 meters, nine episodes from Genesis are depicted, the most famous of which is the story of the Creation of Man. The numerous figures of prophets and biblical sibyls cover an additional 500 square feet. From 1536 to 1541 Michelangelo painted theLast Judgment, the huge fresco on the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The work, on 226 square meters of wall, has 314 characters, including Michelangelo depicted as St. Bartholomew located near to Christ.

If you do not wish to visit the Vatican Museums, the Civitavecchia to Rome tour will begin by taking you to theBasilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the second basilica in size after St. Peter’s Basilica. It is situated near the bank of the Tiber on the Via Ostiense, about two kilometers outside the Aurelian walls of the Porta San Paolo, hence its name. According to tradition, the basilica stands on the burial place of the apostle Paul, whose grave was then placed under the main altar or “Papal.” At the center of the courtyard is a marble statue of the saint, by Giuseppe Obici Carrara. Worthy of note are the beautiful mosaics that decorate the facade, made between 1854 and 1874, based on designs by Agricola and Consoni and inspired by the original tenth-century decorations. The basilica is divided into five naves separated by four rows of 20 monolithic columns of granite. The nave and transept are decorated with medallions containing portraits of all the Popes from St. Peter to the current Pope Benedict XVI.

After visiting the Basilica of St. Paul, the tour will continue to Fori Imperiali, the Coliseum, continuing with the previously proposed route to finish in the Piazza Navona, which is dominated by its famous fountain: Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) by Bernini (1651) at the center of square. It represents the personifications of the four major rivers that were known in the seventeenth century, the Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Plate. There is also the Fontana del Moro (the Moor Fountain, 1576) designed by Giacomo della Porta which derives its name from an Ethiopian who had been sculpted by Antonio Mari in 1654, based on a sketch by Bernini, and finally the Neptune Fountain.

Your driver will then return you to Civitavecchia or to hotel accommodation in Rome.

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13 Oct
Uncategorized

Ancient Ostia Tour

To fully understand the Roman civilization you have to go and visit Ancient Ostia, its first colony.

Reaching it from Rome is extremely easy. You just have to get on a little train, and the journey takes a bit more than thirty minutes. From here, getting to the center of the excavations is just five minutes by foot. The Ancient Ostia tour can be also done in a half day, but it’s recommended to stay some hours more, to have a better view even of the less well-known places.

This site, founded according to the tradition by the king Ancus Marcius, seems to date back to the 4th century BC. Born to protect the many salt pans scattered along the coast, it became very soon the port of the Urbe, in which continuously arrived various and different kinds of goods from all the provinces.

Its inhabitants were mostly merchants, ship-owners, craftsmen, workmen and people employed for fluvial and terrestrial transports.

Unfortunately, this place followed the decline of Rome and was slowly abandoned around the 9th century.

For this reason, all of the buildings, houses, baths, temples, frescoes, mosaics, sculptures and, because of the presence of many foreigners, even many sanctuaries dedicated to various oriental cults, disappeared for hundreds of years buried under the sand and the earth.

That’s why the visit to Ancient Ostia is unique in its kind: it gives the opportunity to see a photograph of the Rome of the past, because nothing got overlapped to its ancient ruins.

By visiting it, we can understand what was the appearance of Rome in the past, since Ostia was built with the same architectural and material criteria.

If you choose the shorter Ancient Ostia tour, you will only need about three/four hours. In fact, this is enough time for visiting the main places of the site, such as the Via Ostiensis and the Decumanus Maximus, the main road of the ancient colony, more than a kilometer long and that leads to the sea. Also not to miss are the wonderful mosaics portraying the god of the sea, nymphs and marine subjects of the Baths of Neptune, the Firemen’s Barracks, the Theater and the Forum of Corporations, in the middle of which stands a temple. The three fullonicae are characteristic, small workshops where fabrics and wool were washed and treated. The Mithraeum of Felicissimus, the Domus of the Fortuna Annonaria, the Forum with its baths, the public latrines, the Thermopolium, the Via di Diana and the Molini can then conclude the visit.

Having a whole day available, it is possible to extend the Ancient Ostia tour, and in addition discover the market, the Temple of Hercules, the House of Cupid and Psyche, the underground Mythraeum, the Insula of the Aurighi, the Bath of the Seven Sages, the Garden Houses, the Synagogue, the Cardo and the Temple of Cybele.

Finally, we suggest a visit to the Museo Ostiense, located on the ground floor of a building known as “Casone del Sale”, because related with the use of the near salt pans by the Pontifical government, which under the guidance of Pius IX turned it into a museum in the second half of the 19th century.

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13 Oct
Uncategorized

History of Rome Tour

The History of Rome tour is an unforgettable tour to discover the most beautiful and important monuments of the Italian Capital City. Departure from Rome-Fiumicino Airport, your hotel or any other previously agreed location. During the car transfer toward the center of Rome there will be a stop for a coffee break on your request.

During the tour you’ll be able to admire the precious artistic and cultural remains of the glorious period of the Roman Empire, but that’s not all; in fact it’s important to remember that all the best artists of the 15th and 16th centuries lived in Rome, leaving here their most significant traces. First among all, Michelangelo. The artist designed Piazza del Campidoglio, where he placed the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, which originally stood in the Lateran Palace. The Capitoline Hill is the most important of the seven hills of Rome. Here you’ll start your tour.

On the left you’ll find the steep staircase that leads to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli (Saint Mary of the Altar of Heaven) (1348). Behind the Campidoglio, on a slope of the Capitoline Hill, stands the huge monument celebrating the Italian Unification: the Vittoriano or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland). The work, inspired by Hellenistic references, dates back to the end of the 19th century. In the center of the monument, on top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, you’ll be able to admire the Equestrian Statue of Victor Emmanuel II King of Italy (1888-1901), a work by the sculptor Enrico Chiaradia. On the right of the Vittoriano there’s the Forum of Trajan, with the historiated column that celebrates the conquer of Dacia by the Romans. In front of the Altare della Patria stands Palazzo Venezia, built between 1455 and 1467 following the design of Leon Battista Alberti. It’s the first Renaissance work built in Rome. The ancient building, residence of the popes until 1564, and then of the ambassadors of the Republic of Venice, is now a museum. The History of Rome tour carries on in Via dei Fori Imperiali. In the background you will notice the most famous monument in Rome, which has become a symbol of the city: the Flavian Amphitheater (75 AD), or the Colosseum. On the left you’ll be able to admire the great Forum of Augustus, the ruins of the Temple of Mars Ultor and the Forum of Nerva. Instead, on the right you’ll find the Roman Forum, which is accessed from Via Salaria Vecchia. The complex was formerly the center of Rome’s political, commercial and judicial life. Worthy of mention are the Arch of Septimius Severus, the ruins of the Temple of Saturn, the Basilica of Maxentius and the Arch of Titus, which commemorated the victory over the Judeans and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Once arrived at the Colosseum, you can choose whether to visit the structure inside it or continue the History tour in Rome. Near the amphitheater you will find the Arch of Constantine, built in 316 AD and dedicated by the Roman Senate to the emperor for his victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge in 313. With this victory Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the State.

After the lunch break, you’ll be taken by your Transfers Rome chauffeur near Piazza Fontana di Trevi, dominated by the scenographic Baroque fountain made of tuff and travertine (1762, designed by Niccolò Salvi). Throwing a little coin in the fountain’s water brings good luck and it’s a promise to return.

You will then move to Piazza della Rotonda, where you will find the Pantheon. Built in 27 BC under the Empire of Augustus, it was destroyed twice by lightnings and rebuilt by Hadrian between 118 and 125. During the Christian era it became a church, now desecrated, but which still preserves the tombs of illustrious Italians, among which Raphael, the Kings of Italy Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I, the Queen Margherita of Savoy.

Behind the Pantheon there’s Piazza della Minerva, popular for its 2500-year-old Egyptian Obelisk supported by an elephant created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It’s the smallest monument in Rome, known as the “pulcino della Minerva”. In Piazza Navona you’ll be able to take some pictures of the wonderful Roman fountains, such as the Fontana dei Fiumi (Fountain of the Rivers) by Bernini (1651), with the personifications of the four major rivers know in the 17th century.

At the end of the History of Rome tour overnight stay in a hotel in Rome or return journey to the airport.

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13 Oct
Transfers

Rome to Siena Transfer

The NCC (chauffeur driven car hire) service offered by Transfers Rome lets you reach in a short amount of time the beautiful city of Siena, leaving from any part of the Italian capital city, from the hotel, from the airport of from the near Civitavecchia Port. During the motorway journey there will be in any case a stop in an autogrill motorway café for a coffee break. On the luxury car taken from our selection of vehicles, chosen by you at the time of reservation, you’ll travel on the Autostrada del Sole or A1, that goes right through the heart of Italy, showing some of the most charming landscapes in the world. While admiring the Colli Laziali scattered with villas and ancient buildings, you’ll pass through the green Valle del Tevere and you’ll be able to admire from your windscreen the high tufa cliff from which Orte stands. Once arrived in Umbria, looking at the defensive buildings standing on the nearby heights, you’ll be able to see the city of Orvieto, another beautiful destination of our transfers by private car or limousine. Continuing your journey, you’ll go into the land once populated by the Etruschi, reaching the Val di Chiana and being able to admire a hilly landscape of rare beauty. Here stand the cities of Chiusi, Chianciano, Sarteano, Citta’ della Pieve and not very far from these the ones of Castiglione del Lago, Pienza and Montepulciano. In a short time you’ll arrive in the land of the Chianti, where Siena stands. The city looks like a wide terracotta colored stain, spaced by campanili and enclosed by majestic walls. We remind you that the main event in the city takes place during the summer: it’s the Palio of Siena (2nd July and 16th August), an excellent occasion to choose the Transfers Rome NCC service.

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13 Oct
Uncategorized

Rome by night Tour

 The Rome by night tour is a romantic and exciting tour in a luxury Transfers Rome private car, in the most spectacular places in the city under the stars. Departure from your hotel, Rome-Fiumicino “Leonardo da Vinci” Airport or other previously agreed location. A chauffeur of our NCC (limousine service) company will be ready to welcome and accompany you, maybe in a limousine, to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The tour is particularly suggested if you are on a honeymoon and you desire to amaze your loved one.

Before beginning this exceptional night trip around the Capital, you can decide to be accompanied to a tavern or a refined Italian restaurant for a dinner of local wine and food specialties. During the booking process or with your chauffeur, you can consult with us to decide the place best suited for you.

A must-see stop of all the Rome tours by night is the Janiculum Hill, the location of the first sequence of the Academy Award-winning movie “The Great Beauty” by Paolo Sorrentino. From the panoramic terrace, dominated by the monument dedicated to Garibaldi, you will be able to admire an unforgettable panorama: Rome illuminated by the Moon, by the stars and by the countless lights that make its monuments shine. St. Peter’s Cathedral and Castel Sant’Angelo, with their imposing architecture, statues of saints and archangels, are even more spectacular by night.

In a limousine you’ll be able to follow the Lungotevere (the Tiber Waterfront) and see Roman buildings mirror themselves in the waters of the Tiber. Once in Piazza Navona, you will be enchanted by the beauty of the Baroque fountains designed by Bernini, made even more exceptional by the play of light reflected by jets of water. Not far from the large piazza you will find another illuminated important building: the Pantheon, the Roman temple dedicated to all the gods and converted into a church in the 7th century. If you have seen “The Da Vinci Code” (2006), directed by Ron Howard and adapted from Dan Brown’s best-seller of the same name, you will find many locations where the movie was shot, among which the ancient temple.

Another place of exceptional beauty, related to the film world and that you will certainly visit during your Rome by night tour, is the Piazza of the Trevi Fountain, in which Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg have a swim in a famous scene from the movie “La Dolce Vita” (1960) by Federico Fellini.

Then you will reach the beating heart of Rome by night: Piazza di Spagna with its famous Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the Old Boat) and the steep stairway that leads to Trinità dei Monti. The piazza is always crowded, both by day and by night, and going up to the church you’ll be able to admire a wonderful view of the city. You’ll have the possibility to walk through Via dei Condotti and admire the illuminated shop windows. There are also many venues that have night openings, where one can listen to live music, have a drink or eat some delicacies.

Your night tour will carry on in the area of the Imperial Fora.

You will admire the Vittoriano, a massive monument commemorating the Italian Unification, pass through Via dei Fori Imperiali entirely illuminated, as well as the ruins of the ancient Roman buildings, until you will arrive in front of the Colosseum. You won’t resist the temptation to take some photographs of such a beautiful scene.

At the end of the Rome by night tour, return journey to the hotel/airport or transfer to another destination in Rome.

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13 Oct
Uncategorized

Villa d’Este Tour

Your driver will be waiting for you at Rome’s Fiumicino airport “Leonardo da Vinci”, your hotel or other agreed starting point to take you to Tivoli, near Rome, where you will visit the wonderful Villa d ‘Este.

On the way, if you wish, you can stop at a bar for a coffee break.

You will travel along Via Tiburtina that leads to Tivoli, which was the famous summer resort for the papal nobility, more than five centuries ago. Villa d’Este is the most beautiful villa remaining from that period. Originally it was a Benedictine monastery.

In the second half of the sixteenth century Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, who was appointed Governor of Tivoli by Pope Julius III, decided to turn it into a luxurious residence. The construction of the spectacular architectural complex took two decades which ended in 1570. It involved the court architect Alberto Galvani, the architect Pirro Logorio and talented artists of the late Roman Mannerism period, such as Durante Alberti, Federico Zuccari and Livio Agresti.

In 1605 Cardinal Alessandro d’Este restored the house and repaired the damage that had been done to the vegetation and the hydraulic system, as well as creating numerous innovative and decorative fountains. In 1660 – 70 additional work was performed and Gianlorenzo Bernini became involved. After a period of serious decline, it was completely restored and brought back to its former glory in 1920 as Villa d’Este. Today it is aUNESCO World Heritage Site.

The most interesting part of the villa is the Italian garden, which descends along the slope of the hill and is similar to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world. The unique landscape in which it is immersed contributes to the beauty of the garden that has been much copied by Europe’s largest villas.

The spectacular design of the park is due to Pirro Logorio, who built a system of pipes and a long tunnel about six hundred meters below the town of Tivoli, to carry water directly from the Aniene to a tank in the villa. Three hundred liters of well water were transported per second and this allowed for the construction of the park’sbeautiful fountains, which employ the same system today without the need to use power.

Descending down the villa’s monumental double staircase to a short covered porch, we reach the mezzanine of the Vialone, the first and largest path in the garden, which stretches for about two hundred meters between the Fontana Europe and the Gran Loggia. The latter was built between 1568 and 1569 and was clearly inspired by the Roman triumphal arches. Descending from the villa, on the left of the driveway, you will find the Grotto of Diana, richly decorated with mosaics, stucco and high-reliefs, and enamel decorations.

In the lower part of the garden, on the main axis, near the original entrance to the Palace on the Via del Colle, you can admire the so-called Rotonda dei Cipressi, in the shape of an “exedra”, a semicircular hollow topped by a cupola that is surrounded by giant trees that soar upwards to the sky.

Continuing your tour of the park, you can also see: the Viale delle Cento Fontane, a path of a hundred meters that connects the Fontana dell’Ovato, also called the Tivoli, with the Rometta, the Bicchierone fountain or “Giglio “created by Bernini in 1661, under the Loggia di Pandora and the extraordinary Fontana dell’Ovato, which owes its name to the amazing water mechanism inside, which produces a sound like a water organ, the spectacular Fontana dei Draghi o della Girandola, located in the heart of the park, and finally the Fountain of Neptune, the largest and most recent construction, built in 1927 by Attilio Rossi, with the collaboration of  the engineer Emo Salvi.

In the square is the Fontana dell’Ovato, named for its unusual shape with a central semi-circular “esedra” at the center of the large pool in which water flowed in ancient times. You can then visit the Laboratorio Museo Didattico del Libro Antico. It is home to international conferences, seminars and educational activities designed to deepen and tell the history, secrets and technologies for the study and conservation of antiquarian books

There is also a restaurant-bar-cafeteria inside the Villa d’Este where you can enjoy typical Roman dishes.

After the tour ends out driver will return you to your hotel or to the airport at Rome.

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13 Oct
Transfers

Rome to Pisa Transfer

The Rome to Pisa transfer service offered by our company allows a fast, safe and comfortable transport from the Italian capital to the city of the Leaning Tower. Your Transfers Rome private driver will be waiting for you at Civitavecchia Port, Fiumicino or Ciampino Ariport, or in any other point of interest of your desire. The journey from Rome to Pisa will take about 3 and a half hours. On client’s request there’ll be a stop at a roadside restaurant. To reach Pisa by car there are two alternative routes, depending whether  you prefer travelling faster on a highway (A1 from Rome to Florence and A11 from Florence to Pisa), or you desire to admire the Tyrrhenian coast, taking about 30 minutes more. If for your fast transfers you’re interested in the first option, please consult the page relative to the transfer to Florence, in which it’s described this stretch of the Autostrada del Sole. On the contrary, if you’re interested in the second journey, you’ll travel in a wonderful car or limousine, through the SS 1 or Via Aurelia, built following the consular road formerly planned by the Romans to go from the Urbe to France. You’ll be able to admire from your car window some of the best Italian landscape views. In the Latial Maremma, on the top of a hill about 132 meters high you’ll be able to see Tarquinia, an ancient Etruscan settlement. Once in Tuscany, looking toward the right you’ll find many towns perched on heights surrounded by the countryside, such as Capalbio and Montepescali, while looking toward west you’ll be able to see some stretches of the Tyrrhenian Sea that touch the coast. From the windows of the luxury car rented for the Transfer Rome to Pisa you’ll be able to admire the Lagoon of Orbetello. You’ll sight the city of Grosseto, the wide Maremman countryside till Follonica and the Etruscan Coast. Here you’ll find famous places such as Bolgheri, made famous by its super tuscan wines. After Cecina and Rosignano, you’ll arrive in Livorno, the city of Modigliani, Mascagni and Fattori. From the road overlooking the sea you’ll enjoy a wonderful panoramic view. The journey following the Via Aurelia will carry on along the American military base of Camp Darby. Finally you’ll sight the city of Pisa, unmistakable for its soaring Leaning Tower. You’ll be accompanied to the “Galileo Galilei” Airport, your hotel or any other destination chosen during the booking process. With the Rome to Pisa transfer it is possible to combine the tour to Pisa, to discover the beauties that this Tuscan city has to offer, having at your disposal your chauffeur-driven car hire service for the whole day.

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13 Oct
Uncategorized

Hadrian’s Villa Tour

Your driver will be waiting at Rome’s Fiumicino airport “Leonardo da Vinci”, your hotel or other agreed starting point, to take you to Tivoli, one of the most popular resorts of the province of Rome, where you will visit the great archaeological complex of Villa Adriana.

On the way, if you wish, you can stop at a bar for a coffee break.

Villa Adriana was built between 118 to 134 AD by Emperor Hadrian as his imperial residence outside of Rome. It covers an area of 100 hectares, and is the largest and most important surviving Roman villa. Over the centuries many artists, including Andrea Palladio, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Borrormini, Piranesi and Antonio Canova da Sangallo, visited the ruins of the Villa for inspiration, copying its forms and attempting to discover the technical secrets that made this ancient structure so durable. We know from reliable historical sources that it was the same Hadrian who chose the location and design of his villa between the Via Prenestina and Via Tiburtina on the vast plain of Tivoli, at the foot of the Tiburtini mountains, only 17 miles from Rome. The area had rich quarries, and still does, of materials such as travertine, pozzolana and tufo that were used in the construction of the Villa. In addition during that period four aqueducts (Anio Vetus Anio Novus, Aqua Marcia and Aqua Claudia) converged to provide sources of water for drinking, a sewage system and the baths of the Maritime Theatre. The Maritime Theater was one of the first buildings to be constructed near the villa and was particularly unique. One floor contained a portico, of which nothing remains today, but traces of mosaic floors can be seen at the threshold of the atrium. Inside is a circular portico with Ionic columns, which overlooks a canal and at whose center lies a small island of 45 meters in diameter which was accessible by a causeway.

The first archaeological excavations of Villa Adriana were ordered in the second half of the sixteenth century by Cardinal Ippolito II d’Este, lord and governor of the Tivoli Villa d’Este. This can be visited during another of our tours devoted entirely to the villa.

Slabs of marble from various locations of the Mediterranean, completely covered the floor and walls up to the ceiling of this magnificent Roman villa. Unfortunately, only a few traces remain today because many valuable decorations were removed over the centuries, especially during the Middle Ages, and later in the eighteenth century, when Villa Adriana was a favorite destination of the wealthy English nobles on the Grand Tour.

About 400 statues, mainly Roman copies of Greek originals, adorn the interiors and exteriors of this grand residence, and some are preserved today in the biggest museums of Rome and the world, such as the famous “Myron’s Discus Thrower” which can now be seen in the Vatican Museums. These beautiful sculptures, inspired by Greek and Egyptian originals, were reflected in the waters of the attractive basin known as Canopus. It ended with a semicircular architectural Ninfeo, which was used as the triclinium (dining room) during summer and was conceived as a cave-shaped shell, a wall divided into nine niches and originally covered by an enormous vault. At the heart of one of the long sides of the channel four Caryatids can be seen, copies of famous statues of the Erechtheion in Athens, along with two Sileni. The originals are now preserved in the adjacent museum, which contains a collection of sculptures found in this area, including copies of the Amazon of Fidia and the Amazon of Phidias Policleto as well as a copy of the fourth century BC Venus of Cnidus.

Several other interesting architectural remains can be seen inside the Villa Adriana. These include the Piccole Terme, decorated with great wealth and used by the imperial family, and, in addition, the Grande Terme used by the Villa’s staff. Villa Adriana was structured as a fortress, surrounded by high walls. It was divided into areas that were allocated to the various inhabitants of the building based on their social class. Using the large branching network of underground paths slaves could move from one building to another without being seen.

Of particular note is the large square known as Pecile, a reconstruction of the famous “painted porch” of the agora of Athens, a city loved by Hadrian. Indeed the emperor conceived the suburban residence of Tivoli as an exclusive collection of all the knowledge of art he had accumulated during his travels in the ancient world.

You will be pleasantly surprised by the exceptional nature of Villa Adriana and in and around the archaeological site you will find many restaurants where you can enjoy typical Roman culinary specialties.

After the tour our driver will return you to your hotel or the airport at Rome Fiumicino.

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13 Oct
Rome Tours

Villa Borghese Tour

The Villa Borghese tour includes a private car transfer to the Villa Borghese Gardens, the third largest public park in Rome after the ones of Villa Doria-Pamphili and Villa Ada. The estate, already a property of the Borghese family, was expanded during the 17th century by Cardinal Scipione, and later by his heirs, with the intent to create the largest gardens in the Urbe. In 1901 the whole complex become property of the Italian State, which gave it to the Municipality of Rome two years later. This huge, green park, which has 9 entrances, hosts important buildings and includes many attractions that represent a wide range of choice for visitors, who can decide to customize the tour following their preferences and interests. For example, if you love nature and have children with you, we suggest you include in your tour the Bioparco, Rome’s large zoo; if you love art, don’t forget to book a visit to the museum of the Borghese Gallery, which preserves some of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art and more.

The Tour can start from Rome Fiumicino Airport, the Port of Civitavecchia or any other previously agreed location. Here a Transfers Rome private driver will be waiting to take you, in a limousine or sedan, to the Pinciano District, where you will find the Villa Borghese Gardens. From the Pincio hill, you will be able to admire and immortalize in some pictures the whole city of Rome. You will then be accompanied to the entrance of the Borghese Gallery, which hosts the rich art collection of the Roman family, prepared by Prince Camillo at the beginning of the 19th century. Among the works on display: “Apollo and Daphne”, a masterpiece by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the famous marble portrait of Paolina Borghese, sculpted by Antonio Canova, and the “Madonna dei Palafrenieri” painted by Caravaggio. Another alternative is to visit the Bioparco, the Capital’s zoological garden that hosts over 200 animal species that include mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibia coming from the five continents.

After the visit, you will be taken by your Transfers Rome driver to a restaurant in the capital to taste typical Roman dishes. In the afternoon you’ll be able to carry on the Villa Borghese tour by visiting Villa Giulia, seat of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco (National Etruscan Museum). Alternatively, you could have a walk to discover the many wonders of Villa Borghese, such as the Orologio ad Acqua (Water Clock) and the Giardino del Lago (Lake Garden). The particular pendulum clock, built in 1873 following the design of father Giovanni Battista Embriaco, is activated by the underneath water, which charges its movement and sound through the alternate filling of two basins. The Giardino del Lago, originally in an English style and then transformed into a “garden à la mode”, is rich in Neoclassical elements, such as the well-known Temple of Aesculapius that mirrors itself in the waters of the small lake. In the Villa Borghese Gardens you’ll also be able to visit the Silvano Toti Globe Theater, a reconstruction of London’s famous circular theater, where William Shakespeare’s playing company performed. Every year, at Rome’s Globe Theater, directed by the director and actor Gigi Proietti, are presented some of the greatest Shakespearean masterpieces (for further information please visit the dedicated page).

At the end of the Villa Borghese tour: transfer back to the hotel or return to the airport/port.

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