When planning our time in Rome, Ann Taylor and I recognized that the city is far too large to explore on our own, and that, without a guide, our orientation would focus on the gelaterias and pizzerias within walking distance of our hotel. Having experienced a few different types of European city tours — car, bus, boat, bike (my favorite) — I knew that it would be best to look for a walking tour, where we focused on a few key sites, rather than trying to see all of Rome in one day. As every Roman tour guide seems to joke, if Rome wasn’t built in a day, it certainly can’t be seen in a day. While we did not care about a private tour, we did want to avoid the twenty-five to fifty person tours that follow a small umbrella, with a guide that we could not hear or see very well. Fortunately, we found Context Tours, which provides walking tours led by “docents” that are experts in their field (e.g., archeology, art history, architecture, etc.). After I was outvoted on the Catacombs Excursion, we signed up for two four hour tours: Roma Antica in the morning, and Classical Rome in the afternoon. We checked the forecast in the morning, and, after translating from Celsius to Fahrenheit, realized that it would be quite warm all day. Lathering on the sunscreen, we stopped at one of the hotel restaurants for a full breakfast before setting out for the Colosseum, and our first tour of the day.
The Context Tour groups have a maximum size of six, and we met our docent, Livia, and the other touring couple. The pair, from North Carolina, were actually celebrating their honeymoon, too, although they had already been married for ten years. Our tour began at the Colosseum, and we explored each of the levels, learning a mix of history, archeology and culture. I had not realized just how much of the Colosseum had been restored by Mussolini during the 1940s, but the difference in stone made it quite easy to see. Livia also carried a large binder of images, many of which contrasted the current state of the site(s), with how the site(s) may have looked at the height of Ancient Rome. I certainly won’t be able to give justice to the history and scale of the areas that we visited, or the information that Livia shared, but we thoroughly enjoyed the tour. After the Colosseum, we moved to the Palatine Hill, which is where the first Roman civilizations were believed to have been formed. We learned the legends, and the facts, about the founding of Rome — truthfully, it felt like Ann Taylor and I were participating in a university history course. The sun was quite hot by late morning, but we found the ancient fountains (refitted with modern plumbing, of course) to be quite refreshing, and Livia did a great job of keeping us in the shade, as much as possible.
Leaving the Palatine Hill, we walked down to the Forum, and learned more about the daily life of ancient Romans. One of the most impressive sites was the senate house, which was almost entirely intact, and maintains the original floors from two millennia ago. At the conclusion of our tour (around 1pm), we made our way down Via del Teatro Marcello to find a spot for lunch and to locate the start of our second tour (around 3pm). When we didn’t find anything to eat near the Temple of Hercules Victor, we crossed the Tiber River and settled on La Ciurma del Pescatore. The food may not have been the best that we have eaten on the trip, but the spaghetti, two bottles of cold water, and the air conditioning definitely hit the spot. Feeling refreshed, we walked back to the Temple of Hercules Victor, where we met our Diane (our docent) and the small family from San Francisco that would join our tour. The Classical Rome tour focused on understanding the layered history of the city, from ancient times, through the Renaissance until present day. We spent a good portion of the tour in and around San Nicola in Carcere, which was built using part of three ancient and medieval structures. At the Theatre of Marcellus, we saw an early prototype for the Colosseum that now has modern apartments on its tallest level. Our favorite building of the afternoon was the Pantheon, and we easily could have spent several more hours exploring the interior.
Unfortunately, the tour came to an end as we made our way back up to Trevi Fountain. After eight hours of walking under the Roman sun, we stopped for gelato on the way back to our hotel, freshened up and then went out to dinner. Only a five minute walk from the hotel — the most important quality when looking for tonight’s dinner spot — Ristorante Alessio offered a convenient and delicious meal. Ann Taylor ordered the grilled sliced beef with vegetables, while I had roasted spring lamb. This was some of the first non-sauce red meat that we had eaten in Italy, and it was quite tasty. In honor of my youngest sister, we ordered tartufo and tiramisu. Although the tartufo was different than what we would typically expect, we had no trouble finishing both desserts. We are both looking forward to sleeping late, and an unplanned and relaxing day tomorrow, as we continue to enjoy our Roman holiday.
Take care,
– Dan