2 Days: Coliseum, Vatican Museums, Catacombs and Tivoli Highlights Private Tours

Then your driver will take you to the smallest country of the world: the Vatican City State. The Vatican draws millions of pilgrims and art lovers to St. Peter Basilica, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. Made up of hundreds of lavishly decorated rooms within the collection of palaces, galleries, chapels, and apartments, the Vatican Museums are home to over 4 miles of exhibitions. In addition to Michelangelo’s famous frescoes “The Last Judgement” and the “Creation of Adam” within the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican has a notable treasure-chest of splendid masterpieces.

The word “cemetery” comes from an Ancient Greek word which meant “place of rest”. The catacombs of Rome provided a resting place for the first generations of Christians, awaiting their resurrection and salvation in their tombs, deep beneath the ground on the outskirts of Rome. From martyrs to farmers, hundreds of thousands of early Christians ended up in the catacombs, buried close together in a maze of underground tunnels beside the Appian Way. The catacombs are so extensive that you could easily get lost and never find your way out again – a good reason to go with a tour guide! For many visitors to Rome, a trip to the catacombs is one of the most moving and memorable parts of their holiday. While a visit to the Appian Way is worthwhile in itself – as you walk along the ancient cobblestones past vast tombstones and spectacular countryside you feel as though you’ve been transported back in time – a tour of the catacombs is undoubtedly the main highlight. Venture deep underground to explore the incredible tunnels that were dug out by hand nearly 2,000 years ago and learn all about the very beginning of Christianity. This is a side of Rome you’ve never seen before. The catacombs of the Appian Way are essentially the underground graveyards of the first Christians in Rome, who had to bury their dead outside of the city. Even as early as the 5th century BC, burials within the city walls were forbidden, so tombs were built on the outskirts of Rome. As an important consular road connecting Rome with the south, the Appian Way was a popular spot for burials. While many Romans built elaborate tombs by the roadside, the Christians buried their dead in labyrinthine catacombs. Miles of underground tunnels were built by digging through the soft tufa stone, providing burial space for saints and martyrs as well as countless ordinary Christians.

Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana) in Tivoli witnesses to the grandeur of the Roman Empire. It is one of the best kept and most visited archaeological sites in Italy. This is why it has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. The Villa, was built by Roman Emperor Hadrian at the foot of the Tiburtine Hills between 118 and 138 AD. The vast residential complex extends over an area of about 120 hectares (about 300 acres) and looks very much like an ancient Roman city. The site includes buildings, baths, temples, barracks, theatres, gardens, fountains and nymphaeum halls. The Villa itself was designed on two levels: the upper floor, quiet and welcoming, was reserved for the Emperor and his official use, while the lower floor was noisy and bustled with working slaves.

Tivoli is a small town, located approximately 30 minutes drive from Rome and is the home of Villa d’Este, the masterpiece of the Italian Gardens, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. With its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music, it constitutes a replica model for European gardens in the mannerism and baroque styles. The garden is generally considered within the larger and altogether extraordinary context of Tivoli itself: its landscape, art and history, which includes the important ruins of ancient villas such as the Villa Adriana, as well as a zone wealthy in caves and waterfalls, displaying the unending battle between water and stone. The grandiose constructions and the series of terraces above terraces, bring to mind the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world. The addition of water, including an aqueduct tunneling beneath the city, evoking the engineering skill which the Romans themselves had.