• Civitavecchia Port - Pickup at Civitavecchia Port at 8 am
• Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura - Founded by Roman Emperor Constantine I over St. Paul’s burial site, where his followers built a memorial after his execution. The first basilica was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324.

In 386, Emperor Theodosius I began constructing a larger basilica with a nave, four aisles, and a transept, likely consecrated around 402 by Pope Innocent I. The work, including mosaics, was completed during Leo I’s pontificate (440–461). In the 5th century, it was larger than the Old St. Peter’s Basilica. The Christian poet Prudentius described its splendor during Emperor Honorius’s time (395–423).

Under Leo I, extensive repairs were made after the roof collapsed due to fire or lightning. The transept was elevated, and a new main altar and presbytery were installed. This was likely the first time an altar was placed over St. Paul’s tomb, which remained largely underground. Leo also fixed the triumphal arch and restored a fountain in the courtyard.

Pope St. Gregory the Great (590–604) extensively modified the main altar and presbytery, raising the transept pavement and placing a new altar directly over St. Paul’s sarcophagus.

Two monasteries existed near the basilica: St. Aristus’s for men and St. Stefano’s for women. Masses were celebrated by clerics instituted by Pope Simplicius. Over time, the monasteries and clergy declined; Pope St. Gregory II restored the monasteries and entrusted the monks with the basilica’s care.

Located outside the Aurelian Walls, the basilica was damaged during a 9th-century Saracen raid. Pope John VIII (872–82) fortified the basilica, monastery, and peasant dwellings, forming the town of Johannispolis (Italian: Giovannipoli), which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1348.

In 937, Saint Odo of Cluny was entrusted with the monastery and basilica by Alberic II of Spoleto. Pope Gregory VII was abbot of the monastery, and during his time, Pantaleone, a wealthy merchant from Amalfi, donated bronze doors made by Constantinopolitan artists. Pope Martin V later entrusted the basilica to the monks of the Congregation of Monte Cassino, making it an abbey nullius with jurisdiction over Civitella San Paolo, Leprignano, and Nazzano.

• Circus Maximus - Rome’s largest venue for ludi, public games linked to Roman religious festivals. Sponsored by leading Romans or the state, ludi were held annually or to fulfill religious vows, such as triumph celebrations. The earliest triumphal ludi at the Circus were vowed by Tarquin the Proud to Jupiter in the late Regal era for his victory over Pometia.

Ludi varied in duration and scope, from one-day events to multi-day celebrations with religious ceremonies, public feasts, horse and chariot racing, athletics, plays, recitals, beast-hunts, and gladiator fights. Some included public executions. Greater ludi began with a parade (pompa circensis), similar to a triumphal procession, marking the games’ purpose and introducing participants.

During the Republican era, aediles organized the games. The most costly and complex ludi showcased an aedile’s competence, generosity, and fitness for higher office. Some Circus events were small and intimate, while others were grand and expensive. In 167 BC, performers used a temporary stage between central seating banks. In 169 BC, a venatio employed 63 leopards, 40 bears, and elephants, with spectators protected by a substantial barrier.

• Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta - Located on a rise overlooking the Tiber and the Roman Pons Sublicius, the site was a fortified Benedictine monastery in the 10th century. It passed to the Templars and then to the Knights Hospitallers, predecessors of the Order of Malta. Radical rebuilding occurred from the 15th to 17th centuries. The villa gained extraterritoriality in 1869. The piano nobile houses portraits of the Order’s Grand Masters.
• Piazza del Campidoglio - The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of Rome’s Seven Hills. Initially known as Mons Saturnius, it was dedicated to Saturn. Capitolium first referred to the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus and later to the entire hill and other temples of Jupiter, thus Mons Capitolinus. Ancient sources link the name to caput (“head”, “summit”), with tales of a man’s head found during the temple’s foundation. The Capitolium symbolized eternity to the Romans.
• Complesso del Vittoriano - The Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, also known as Il Vittoriano or Altare della Patria, is a monument in Rome honoring Victor Emmanuel II, Italy’s first king. Located between Piazza Venezia and Capitoline Hill, it is managed by the Polo Museale del Lazio, the Italian Ministry of Defense, and the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento Italiano.

Designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885, the eclectic structure features sculptures by Leonardo Bistolfi and Angelo Zanelli. It was inaugurated on June 4, 1911, and completed in 1935. The neoclassical design includes stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel II, and statues of Victoria on quadrigas. The base houses the museum of Italian Unification, and a panoramic lift added in 2007 offers 360-degree views of Rome. The structure is 135 m wide and 70 m high, reaching 81 m with the quadrigae and winged victories, and covers 17,550 square meters.

The monument is a national symbol of Italy, celebrating the Italian Risorgimento and hosting annual national celebrations like Liberation Day (April 25), Republic Day (June 2), and Armed Forces Day (November 4). During these events, the Italian President and top officials lay a laurel wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

• Trevi Fountain - Located at the junction of three roads (tre vie), the fountain marks the endpoint of the revived Aqua Virgo aqueduct, which supplied ancient Rome with water. In 19 BC, Roman technicians, with a virgin’s help, found a pure water source 13 km from the city. The aqueduct, 22 km long, led water to the Baths of Agrippa and served Rome for over 400 years.

In 1629, Pope Urban VIII asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to redesign the earlier fountain, but the project was abandoned after the pope’s death. Bernini’s influence remains in the current fountain. Pope Clement XII organized a contest in 1730, awarding the commission to Nicola Salvi after public outcry over the initial winner, Alessandro Galilei. Work began in 1732.

Salvi died in 1751, leaving the work unfinished. He ensured a barber’s sign was hidden behind a sculpted vase, the “Ace of Cups”. Four sculptors completed the decorations: Pietro Bracci (Oceanus statue), Filippo della Valle, Giovanni Grossi, and Andrea Bergondi. Giuseppe Pannini finished the fountain in 1762, replacing planned sculptures with allegories. Pope Clement XIII inaugurated it on May 22.

The fountain is made of Travertine stone from Tivoli, 35 km east of Rome.

• Pantheon - The Pantheon, a former Roman temple now a church, is in Rome, Italy. It was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during Augustus’s reign (27 BC – 14 AD). Emperor Hadrian completed it around 126 AD, retaining Agrippa’s inscription from the older temple that had burned down.

The circular building has a portico with large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the front row and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule connects the porch to the rotunda, which has a coffered concrete dome with a central oculus. The Pantheon’s dome remains the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, with a height and diameter of 43 meters.

• Roman Forum - The Roman Forum, or Forum Romanum, is a rectangular plaza surrounded by ancient government building ruins in central Rome. Originally a marketplace, it was known as the Forum Magnum or simply the Forum by ancient Romans.
• Colosseum - The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an oval amphitheatre in central Rome. Made of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. Located just east of the Roman Forum, construction began under Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 by his successor, Titus. Further modifications were made during Domitian’s reign (81–96).
• Terrazza del Gianicolo - The Janiculum (Italian: Gianicolo) is a hill in western Rome. Although the second-tallest hill in modern Rome, it is not among the Seven Hills of Rome, being west of the Tiber and outside the ancient city’s boundaries.
• St. Peter’s Basilica - The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, or St. Peter’s Basilica, is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome.

• Informative live commentary from the driver
• Personal English-speaking driver with in-depth knowledge
• Convenient pick-up/drop-off directly under the ship
• Customizable flexible itinerary to suit your interests
• Travel in comfort with fully equipped Mercedes vehicles

• Official Guide
• Food and drinks
• Gratuities at your leisure if enjoyed the service.
• Tickets Entrance