Rome tours and day trips to Florence and Naples
Destinations near Rome and in Latium
GRASSINI BUS carries out Roman tours (ancient Rome tours, baroque Rome tours), daily trips to Tivoli, (Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana), Ostia Antica, Frascati (Castelli Romani), Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Florence, Siena, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento (Amalfitan coast), etc.
ANCIENT ROME TOUR
MONDAY – WEDNESDAY – FRIDAY
ameeting point at 10.00 am in PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA (bus parking)
Starting from the beautiful Trajan column, architectural treasure and sculpture of Apollorodo di Damasco, one continues towards Via dei Fori Imperiali, the Fori which were erected by the great Roman emperors as an everlasting reminder of their power. Visit the Trajan forum, the greatest and most majestic, which, with its markets offered the Roman citizen any kind of goods that could be found at the time, true precursors of the modern commercial malls. By climbing up the stairs one will reach the Capitoline Hill, at the time of political and religious center of the city, whereas today it is the center of the Roman municipality. This stairs will lead you to the very top of the hill, to the Piazza del Campidoglio, the magnificent result of a single project of the Michelangelo with at its center the copy of the most famous equestrian monument in the world, the statue of Marcus Aurelius.
In front of the Campidoglio one can find in natural terrace facing the Valley of the Roman forum and the Palatine Hill. It is possible to admire the greatness of Rome with its most important buildings along the valley of the forum; the Curia, seat of the Senate, the state archive, the basilicas, the halls of justice, the Temple of Vesta, the house of the Vestal virgins, the priestesses appointed to maintain the sacred fire, and all around temples, columns and triumphant arches erected to honor the gods and the men of Roman history. Continuing you will arrive at the place where Rome first began: the Palatine. Here Romulus founded the city in 753 BC and beginning with Augustus the Roman emperors began to rule from this very spot. From the valley of the forum you will be able to admire the Tiberine Domus that has only been partially explored, and the ruins of the imperial residences.
Not so far away you will find the arch of Constantine, erected to commemorate the victory of the Emperor over Maxentius in the fourth century AD, and the Coliseum, eternal symbol of the greatness of Rome, vital center for the Romans and stadium for the historical battles of the gladiators.
BAROQUE ROME TOUR
TUESDAY – THURSDAY – SATURDAY
meeting point at 10.00 am in PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA (bus parking)
The tour will begin with a visit to sixteenth century Rome, starting from the Isola Tiberina (the characteristic shape of a ship's bow) there is the church of St Bartholomew dedicate to him which is on the Island with the legend of the ship and the sanctuary of Asclepius. Moving on the left bank of the river Tiber you will arrive at the Ghetto which was established in Rome by Pope Paul IV Carafa in 1555 which was dismantled in the mid-nineteenth century under Pope Pius IX. Continuing on, you arrive in Piazza Mattei, famous for the Fountain of the Turtles revisited in the seventeenth century by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a few meters away is the famous Campo de 'Fiori, the oldest fruit and vegetable market in Rome known as Roman square, with its beautiful flower stallse. Near Campo de 'Fiori is Piazza Farnese is a majestic palace that today is used as the French Embassy. Following is the Piazza Navona with sculptural and architectural elements such masters as Gian Lorenzo Bernini (the Fountain of the Four Rivers in the center of the square, which is the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile and the Rio de la Plata, the four corners of the Earth) , Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi (St. Agnes in Agony, Bernini fountain in front of) and Pietro da Cortona (author of the frescoes of the gallery of the Palazzo Pamphili).
Going to St. Louis of France, we will enjoy the memorable works of Caravaggio, perhaps the best known of its prestigious catalog. Then the Pantheon temples round excellence, a model for generations of architects, ancient and modern. The Pantheon surprises viewers for the perfection of the forms and extent of its vast internal spaces. Continuing our walk we will visit St. Ignatius, the second Jesuit church in Rome which keeps a frescoed vault of rare perfection of perspective, which gives the visitor throughout the suggestion optical illusionism. Not far from Piazza Colonna with the aristocratic Palazzo Chigi, is the seat of the Presidency of the Council: at the center of the square of the Column of Marcus Aurelius. You will then be able to witness the famous Roman fountain, Fontana di Trevi. To finish the Quirinal (hill): The Popes' Palace, now home to the President of the Republic and the center of the square the imposing obelisk between the two Dioscuri.
