Archaeology of Ancient Rome (6 Days) 

     Group flights London to Rome (arriving mid afternoon) OR meet at hotel in Rome. Introductory evening lecture.

     Morning walk through the Field of Mars, originally an open area lying just outside Rome’s earliest defence - the Servian Wall. It was used first as a military training area and for meetings of public assemblies, then gradually monumentalized to provide a new zone of civic buildings to serve Rome’s growing population. The modern street system is still largely that of the Roman and later periods. We shall visit the newly re-opened Ara Pacis, monument to the achievements of Augustus, and his mausoleum nearby; the Pantheon whose domed span was the largest in the world for almost 2000 years, and now contains the tomb of Raphael; the column of Marcus Aurelius with its reliefs of the emperor’s victories over the Germans and Sarmations; and the Stadium of Domitian, now better known as the Piazza Navona. Our walk will end at the Trevi Fountain.

The afternoon will be left free for private exploration. This might be the time to explore along the bank of the Tiber, to see the temples in the Forum Boarium (the meat market); to walk the length of the Circus Maximus; and climb the hill of the Campidoglio to look over the forum and visit the Campidoglio Museum.

     By coach to Tivoli, and Hadrian’s remarkable villa, actually a vast estate of temples, statues, architectural designs and landscaped gardens inspired by his travels. Afternoon free time to explore the Villa d’Este, the remarkable gardens of which were created in the 16th century for the wealthy patron of the arts, Cardinal Ippolito d’Este.

     During the morning we shall walk through the ancient centre of Rome to see the Theatre of Marcellus, preserved by its conversion into medieval tenements; the Forum Romanum and Senate House, the political heart of the capital; the Palace of Domitian, located on the adjacent Palatine Hill; the later Fora, built by Caesar, Augustus, Vespasian and Trajan, the last including the 40 metre high Column of Trajan, built to commemorate his wars in Dacia; the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known as the Colosseum, the largest amphitheatre in Italy; and the splendidly sculpted triumphal Arch of Constantine.

In the afternoon, we shall visit, if possible, Nero’s Golden House (recently closed for restoration, but at the time of posting some limited access is possible - this will be confirmed nearer the time. Alternative visits will be arranged if this is inaccessible).

     Free day in Rome. There is much to choose from! Those interested may see some of the finds from ancient Rome in the National Roman Museum, located in the former Baths of Diocletian - or St Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums (open only during the mornings) - Hadrian’s mausoleum, now renamed the Castel S. Angelo, or catch a local bus to visit the Christian catacombs along the Appian Way.

     During the morning we shall leave Rome by coach to travel to Ostia Antica, the ancient harbour city of Rome close to the mouth of the Tiber. Originally Rome’s first colony, it became a thriving port, handling the transshipment of goods and foodstuffs from sea-going vessels to river barges in new harbours provided by Claudius and Trajan. Ostia still has the atmosphere of a seaport, with its docks, warehouses, apartment blocks, theatre and temples to a range of foreign and Roman deities. It is well-preserved, thanks to rising water levels in the late Roman period and lack of subsequent building, and it has been extensively excavated.

From Ostia Antica we continue to the nearby Leonardo da Vinci airport at Fiumicino for a late afternoon flight home.