ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

Join your private guide on an off-the-beaten-track excursion and enjoy an unforgettable stroll along what was once the Regina Viarum – Queen of Roads. Located just 10 kilometres from the Colosseum, the Ancient Appian Way offers visitors a breath of fresh air in the lush green area outside the centre as well as a unique opportunity to plunge into the capital’s centuries-old history.

As the Latin expression goes Omnes viae Romam ducunt – meaning “all roads lead to Rome”. Have you ever wondered how this saying originated? This is where it all began. Running from Rome to the port of Brindisi, the Via Appia Antica was the earliest, widest and strategically most important road in the ancient Roman Republic. Flanked by extraordinary monuments, including mausoleums, ruins of patrician villas and traces of a thermal complex, today this 2,300-year-old cobblestone path continues to impress visitors and is known to be the best-preserved surviving Roman road. As you amble through the ages, down a time-worn route, your guide will bring the ancient city back to life, conjuring up the epic figures who once travelled along this street. Imagine chariots whizzing by and the Equites, the ancient Roman knights, galloping off to defend the borders of far-flung corners of the Empire.

You will then enjoy an exciting descent into the underground maze of a catacomb and take a peek at the early centuries of Christian faith. Dating back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, catacombs are human-made subterranean tunnels and cubicles used as burial places by Rome’s first Christian communities. Located outside the city, as it was illegal to inter a dead body within the walls, the catacombs were also used for memorial services and religious ceremonies. Your guide will lead you through dimly-lit labyrinthine passageways, past eerie funerary chambers and explain the meaning of the paintings, carved symbols and inscriptions that decorate the walls. You will listen to stories of martyrs, saints and persecutions and discover how Christianity managed to survive and thrive in Pagan Rome.

Top off your tour with a visit to the Baths of Caracalla, one of the largest and most imposing monuments of the ancient city. Built in the 3rd century AD at the request of Emperor Caracalla, these fascinating remains were once a public bathing facility and popular entertainment venue. What you see today is still sensational and evidence of the Romans’ brilliant construction skills and innovation in the fields of architecture and hydraulic engineering. Your guide will throw light on the history behind these spectacular buildings and fill you in on how citizens used to spend their leisure time. You will find out, for example, that within these walls ancient Romans used to swim in an “olympic” pool, while boxing, wrestling and ball games were just as popular as they are today.