Tours

All tours can be pre-booked via the Registration page.  As usual, all tours have to be confirmed 15 days prior to the congress.  After this, any bookings will depend on availability of guides and 'skip the line' tickets!

TOUR A - 14th June - Full day (between 6-7 hours) tour, 130 euros

Tivoli, Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa 

Includes guide, tickets (skip the line), headsets, transportation and lunch

Our guide will show you two residences from very different eras, Hadrian's Villa and the Renaissance Villa of Cardinal d'Este.  Hadrian's Villa was built in 117AD and is the most important and greatest example of a Roman Villa.  This Villa was Hadrian's attempt to recreate famous places from the ancient worlds of Greece and Egypt.  The Cardinal's Villa too shows a reverence for all things classical, and the famous gardens with its fountains and cascades were a model for many other Mannerist and Baroque gardens throughout Europe.

TOUR B - 14th June - Full Day (6-7 hours) Tour - 130 euros

Vatican Museum, San Peter and Castel Sant'Angelo

Includes guide, tickets (skip the line), headsets, pick-up and lunch

You will be taken on a guided tour of the spectacular and rich papal collections.  This includes papal collections of Greek and Roman Statues, the Raphael Rooms, the Sistine Chapel and the Borgia Apartment among many other highlights.  You will then be shown the Pinacoteca Vaticana where you will see  world famous masterpieces by Giotto, Raphael, Leonardo, Titian and Caravaggio.  There will then be a visit to St Peter's  where one of the highlights is the Pieta by Michelangelo and the Baldacchino by Bernini.  After lunch you will visit the Castel Sant'Angelo where you will be taken through the long and dramatic history of the building from its Roman foundation in AD130, through its transformation to papal apartments, and then to prison and military barracks.  On the 5th Floor you will enjoy a wonderful view of Rome from the Castle's Terrace.

TOUR C - MORNING 15th June (2-3 hours) - 50 euros

MAXXI - MUSEO NATIONALE DELLE ARTI DEL XXI SECULO

Includes guide, tickets (skip the line), headsets, transportation from Auditorium

Built by Zaha Hadid, the MAXXI , the National Museum of XXI Century Arts, is the first Italian national institution devoted to comporary art.  The museum is located in the Flaminio area of the City contains collections encompassing both contemporary art and architecture.

TOUR D - MORNING 15th June (2-3 hours) - 75 euros

ANCIENT ROME - COLOSSEUM, FORUM AND PALATINE

Includes guide, tickets (skip the line), headsets and pickup

You will be met by our guide at the copy of the statue of Marcus Aurelius in the centre of Michelangelo's Capitoline Hill Square.  From the Terrace you will have a marvellous view of Ancient Rome.  You will then enter the Roman Forum and be able to see the most important monuments of Ancient Rome such as the Arch of Septimus Severus, the Arch of Titus, the Trajan Market, the Curia, Temples and Basilicas.  At the end of this walk  there will be a short break on the roof Garden of the Hotel Gladiatori where you can have a drink and admire an incredible view of the Colosseum.  After that you will go for a tour of the Colosseum, the most famous Roman Amphitheatre in the world.  Lastly, you will be taken to the Arch of Constantine, and take a walk up to Rome's most famous hill, the Palatine.  It is said that it was here that Romulus, the first king of Rome, founded the city.

Tour E -  Afternoon  15 June 2012 (2/3 hours) - 40 euros

ROME'S PIAZZAS AND FOUNTAINS

Includes guide, tickest, headsets and pick-up

Our guide will introduce you to the beauty and wonder of Rome's Piazzas.  You will see the elegant Spanish Steps and the Church of Trinita dei Monti.  You can also admire the famous Fontana della Barcaccia by Bernini, the Column of the Immacolata and Spanish Embassy to the Holy See.  You will visit the Trevi Fountain built in 1700 by Niccolo Salvi which is considered one of the most famous fountains in the world (have you seen Fellini's La Dolce Vita?).  You will have the chance to throw a coin into the Fountain and make your wish.  After that you will go on to the Pantheon, Romes most incredible Roman Temple built by Hadrian in the second century BC.  Next you will visit the Piazza Navona which was built on the ruins of the ancient Stadium of Domitian.  Here you can admire Borromini's Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone and Bernini's spectacular Fountain of the Four Rivers.  Finally, from there you will walk to Piazza Campo de'Fiori, famous for its fruit and vegetable market, and then to Piazza Farnese which is famous for the Palazzo Farnese designed by Michelangelo.

Tour F - Afternoon 15 June 2012  (2/3 hours ) - 50 euros

Caravaggio's Rome

Includes: guide, headsets and pick-up

You will be met by our guide at the Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo and you will then be taken on a tour of the three famous churches where you can see masterpieces by Caravaggio.  The first church will be Santa Maria del Popolo where you can see The Crucifixion of St Peter and The Conversion of St Paul in the Cerasi Chapel.  Then after a short walk through the centre of Rome you will visit the Church Sant'Agostino where you will see the incredible Madonna di Loreto.  Finally you will admire the Contarelli Chapel in the San Luigi dei Francesi church where there are three marvelous Caravaggio paintings: The Calling of St Matthew, The Martyrdom of St Matthew and St Matthew and the Angel.