If you wait long enough, a city will show you its heart. I waited outside the Colosseum 30 minutes before nightfall. I wanted to take photographs. I stood on the huge cobblestones laid by slaves more than 2,000 years ago. Today the stones are rounded from crown to seam. When you walk on them you feel their hardness with each step. The cracks want to hold onto your shoes. I saw many trips and a few falls today walking along the via di San Gregorio between Circus Maximus and here.
Soon the lights within the Colosseum turned on. Purple and amber lights. The darkening sky framed the ancient military playground and death arena. The rising moon gave the backlighting I wanted tonight. I took some test photos with my back against the fence that surrounded the Roman Forum. There was no way to get the entire Colosseum into the frame.
No one—or thing—replaced the people. What remained was the aura of Rome. It was on the streets, it surrounded me, it moved through the Colosseum arches and echoed off the bricks in the Forum. The city’s history, if you let it, will bring you back to its day with only a little imagination. Sure, today modern buildings rose upward just across the street. The balconies of an apartment building overlooked the Colosseum. That morning I had stood on the curb outside the “Colloseo” metro station and wondered how much one of those apartments cost, and, “Had ancient Romans lived on that spot and talked of how nice life was with such a great view?” Why not? Life wasn’t so different as it is today: people worked, raised children, traveled if they had money, retired to the country even, and then they died.
When I was a teen I had read Ben-Hur, seen Sparticus at the cinema, and Julius Caesar performed on stage. Rome was in all of them, therefore I had been to Rome long before I set foot on these stones. The city has that kind of rapture when you use art to smooth the cracks running across its ancient façades. Art and history are intertwined, and this perhaps is no better evident than in Rome—or any of the ancient cities which yet stand.
Twilight hid the faces of the people who walked by. The moon seemed to sit on the Colosseum’s shoulder. The light was perfect now. I began to take pictures to record this perspective of the great building. Inside, music began to play. There was a twilight performance that I could have attended, but that would have only brought me closer to the present, where I did not want to be back to just now.
Rome has dozens of museums, but I think the best by far is the Vatican Museum. It takes you through long (looooong!) halls with paintings and sculptures from Rome’s earliest history to modern works. The galleries are so large there is actually four colored-coded itineraries to chose from. Along the way you’ll find book stalls featuring coffee table books detailing that particular section, the whole of the Vatican, or the Sistine Chapel. Whichever route you take, the end point is the Sistine Chapel. I first saw the frescoes in 1982, long before the restoration process began. I felt at the time as though someone had painted over the walls with maple syrup, that was how dirty and grime covered the walls and ceiling had become. Today that brown layer has been lifted, and you can see colors found nowhere else in art. Don’t waste time trying to take photographs because they simply don’t come out well (even if you don’t get yelled at by one of the circulating guards); instead, buy a coffee table book—softcover versions are less than $10 and tell the Sistine Chapel story and the story behind the frescoes.
City of World History
Amongst ageing medieval and renaissance structures, the chaotic streets and the calm cooling splashing of fountains; the heart of the Roman Empire still beats. With a history that covers an astounding two and a half thousand years, it comes to no surprise that the ‘Eternal City’ of Rome is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Italy’s most visited destinations.
St. Peter's
Rome really lives up to its reputation as Italy’s capital city. It’s modern and progressive and yet at the same time it retains its awe inspiring history, crawling in romantic ruins, sacred temples and secret pockets of timeless beauty.
Such magnificence can be found in its grand Colosseum, the largest existing site of Roman history. Upon standing in this great amphitheatre, one can really imagine the roar of the crowds as bloody gladiatorial battles ensued.
Rome also contains the Vatican City, an independent state which is run solely by the Catholic Church. Within is St Peter’s Basilica which has the largest interior of all the Christian churches in the world with works by the grand masters Michelangelo and Bernini.
As well as being high on history and culture, Rome also possess a wonderful collection of restaurants, cafes, lively streets and a buzzing nightlife, making this a must see metropolis for all.
People today take shorter holidays and need to be able to maximize their time by seeing more sights in a shorter period of time. That's why I thought the solution to this was to create a new way of touring Rome. With a lifetime of experience living in this great city I knew I could provide an extensive and knowledgeable tour of Rome by minibus, from the Vatican and the enterprises of Michelangelo, to the water fountains of Bernini (one of the most famous is the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona), to the sparkling squares of Rome or the Roman Forum. And thus Rome-Tours.org was born.
I will meet you for your private tour of Rome at your hotel, at the airport, or at the docks of Civitavecchia. Together we will customize your tour to include the sites that are most important to you, so that you don’t waste time and money on sights that are of little interest to you. As we tour Rome you will relax in my luxurious Mercedes touring van. No matter where you sit, the Mercedes is very comfortable, is great fun to ride in, and will give you an absolutely unforgettable experience!
Being an English speaking driver guiding visitors through Rome is an easy job for me because I absolutely love what I do, and Rome is my greatest passion.
Rome-tours.org private tours and transfers will also allow you to have more time at your disposal visiting the city of Rome or the countryside localities around the Eternal City, having the permission to drive on special express lines.
No stress or worries with buses, taxis or trains, from and to your cruise port or airport: with Rome-tours.org you can be sure to get to your destination in time, relaxed and before the departure either of your ship, or of your plane.
Believe me when I say that the capital of Italy deserves noble sentiments, love and passion from all of us. By the end of our time together, I’m sure you will love this great city as much as I do. You will surely have more information visiting our web page about services and rates, with a reservation form at your disposal.
I look forward to meeting you soon in Rome to escort you personally through the magnificent sights of our Eternal City.
