VATICAN CITY
The world’s smallest country is home to one of its finest collections of art, the largest archeological collection, and to the world’s largest church. Negotiating the labyrinth of the Vatican Museums we will weave a narrative which begins with the martyrdom of St. Peter in the Vatican field, and which takes us through Constantine’s legalization of Christianity, through the violence of the Middle Ages, and into the glorious reign of Julius II, the building of new St Peter’s, and into the theatricality of the Baroque.
ANCIENT ROME
From the legend of the city’s foundation by Romulus, to the expansion of Rome across the Mediterranean and beyond, and ultimately the implosion of Empire, traces of the city’s history lurk around every corner. Explore Rome’s ancient history with these itineraries. Explore sites which are both world famous and those which are less well known, all of which offer a fascinating insight into the thousand years and more which we call “Ancient Rome”.
VATICAN CITY
The world’s smallest country is home to one of its finest collections of art, the largest archeological collection, and to the world’s largest church. Negotiating the labyrinth of the Vatican Museums we will weave a narrative which begins with the martyrdom of St. Peter in the Vatican field, and which takes us through Constantine’s legalization of Christianity, through the violence of the Middle Ages, and into the glorious reign of Julius II, the building of new St Peter’s, and into the theatricality of the Baroque.
ANCIENT ROME
From the legend of the city’s foundation by Romulus, to the expansion of Rome across the Mediterranean and beyond, and ultimately the implosion of Empire, traces of the city’s history lurk around every corner. Explore Rome’s ancient history with these itineraries. Explore sites which are both world famous and those which are less well known, all of which offer a fascinating insight into the thousand years and more which we call “Ancient Rome”.
MEDIEVAL ROME
Unravel the history of Jewish Rome with a visit to the Jewish Ghetto and walk the medieval streets of Trastevere to visit the medieval churches of Santa Cecilia and Santa Maria in Trastevere, and their gleaming mosaics.
RENAISSANCE & BAROQUE ROME
The Galleria Borghese is an elegant jewel box filled to bursting with gems of ancient, Renaissance and Baroque art. Works by Raphael, Bernini, and Caravaggio exemplify the decadence of Rome's Renaissance and Baroque past.
OUT OF TOWN
From Tivoli to the ancient port of Ostia Antica, voyage outside of Rome to explore all that Lazio has to offer. Whether a full-day excursion or half-day visit, these tours are perfect for first time and repeat visitors.
Stravinsky’s Coffin and the Uncertain Seminarian
A couple of weekends ago La Repubblica published an excellent article (in Italian, paywall) about Igor Stravinsky’s funeral which took place fifty years ago this week, on 15 April 1971. Stravinsky yearned for Italy, but by all accounts felt safer with his doctors in...
2020, or the Consolations of Art
Well. There we are then. So long 2020, the year in which the world turned on its head, and in which so many people's lives were cut short or irreparably altered. The Ruccellai Madonna, Duccio di Buoninsegna, c.1285.Uffizi Galleries, 15 October 2020, 5pm On a personal...
Cocci e Castagne, online. A live-streamed autumnal wander and chat through Testaccio with Agnes Crawford and Rachel Roddy. Thursday 19 November, 2020 at 3.30pm Rome time.
Rome was famously founded on seven hills. Just outside the boundary of the most ancient incarnation of the city, beyond these hills, my geological map of the city shows a curious area of cross-hatching. A hill made not of the volcanic detritus of the seven, but...