Due to the fact that in its millenary life Rome was often destroyed and rebuilt in the same place, we can say that the modern Rome is built on top of the ancient one.
Everywhere we walk in the city put our feet above the remains of previous human activities: mosaic floors, fresco paintings, statues, columns, inscriptions, tombs. We don’t see them, but they are there, buried beneath the sediment of the time.

Below I listed a few archeological sites, excavated last century, which show very well evidence of the hidden growth of the city. You can pick two or three of them and do an incredible journey back in time through the centuries!

The S. Clemens’ basilica, a church upon a church upon pagan buildings;
The Catacomb of S. Sebastian, where you can see the switchover from a pagan necropolis to a christian cemetery;
The Catacomb of S. Callisto, the first official christian cemetery where a few of the early popes were buried;
The Crypt of the Capuchin Friars, known for its decorations made from the bones of more than 3,700 deceased;
The Roman houses, stage of martyrdom of two saints and for that foundation of the church of SS Giovanni e Paolo;
The Vicus Caprarius, an underground lagoon where is possible to touch Rome’s millennial stratification;
The Domus Aurea, a small gorgeous sample of the residence of the emperor Nero.

The Trastevere district looks like a medieval village with authentic folksy atmosphere that fascinate for the variety of colors, sounds and shapes.
It’s a picturesque area that combines the beauty of the humble architecture to the variety of the little shops in the streets and where pizza places, restaurants and coffee bars follow up likewise a merry go round.

Besides the magical atmosphere of the neighborhood we are going to see also extraordinary least-visited masterpieces of art by entering churches and noble mansions: the Galatea by Raphael, the Tempietto by Bramante, the basilica of S. Maria in Trastevere.

The Janiculum hill will be included in our tour as well: plenty of several patriotic monuments, the romantic view from the top encompasses all of the historic center of Rome and it’s one of the most breathtaking of the Eternal City.

A special tour off the beaten path, dedicated to a different Rome, less majestic, more intimate, very human.

We’ll visit three main basilicas which relevance is second only to S. Peter in the Vatican: St. Paul outside the wall, St. John in the Lateran, St. Mary the Major.

They were built long time ago with imposing architecture and with precious materials, and still today are splendid churches where art and faith are visibly interlaced.

We start exploring St. Paul outside the wall: for centuries it had been the largest roman basilica. The holy tomb of Saint Paul, who was never a pope, is preserved under the main altar surrounded by medallions with the portraits of all the popes to this day.

Soon after we enter the basilica of St. John in the Lateran, this was the official pope’s church for a millennium and is considered the mother church of all churches in the world; the most beautiful statues of the apostles ever carved in marble are here.

Last but not least St. Mary the Major, the main basilica in Rome dedicated to worship Mary Mother of God: it was built 431 A.D., its interior is one of the richest and best preserved in Rome.

Rome’s Jews first arrived in Rome in the second century B.C., but, although they are the oldest Jewish community in the world outside the Holy Land, because of various events happened most of all last century nowadays the visible memories of their bi-millennial presence in Rome are mainly concentrated in the area around “Via del Portico d’Ottavia” where in 1555 the “Ghetto” was set and still today many Roman Jews live and meet.
Over the years the area has grown into a beautiful neighborhood that combines jewish culture with the grandeur of Roman architecture.
To re-enact the long history of the Rome’s Jews we’ll take a walk in this area focusing on the signs and evidences of the Jewish past and present and in order to learn more we’ll visit the beautiful Great Synagogue: of orthodox cult, built in eclectic style in 1905, it includes the small but very rich Museum that houses many memories of the hebraic tradition, art and artisans.