The Colosseum

The saying “All roads lead to Rome’ is not just a figure of speech as in the ancient world all routes did radiate from Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire. Rome is now the capital city of Italy and is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber river. Rome is widely regarded as one of the world's most beautiful ancient cities. It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Rome's history as a city spans over two and a half thousand years, as one of the founding and most powerful cities of Western Civilisation. It was the centre of the Roman Empire, which dominated Europe, North Africa and the Middle East for over four hundred years from the 1st Century BC until the 4th Century AD, and during the Ancient Roman era, the city was the most powerful in Europe. Rome has a significant place in Christianity and is the present day home of the Roman Catholic Church and the site of the Vatican City, an independent city-state run by the Catholic Church.

Modern Rome is a bustling cosmopolitan metropolis, and is Italy's capital of politics, economy, and media. Rome is a city rich in history, art and culture, and the vastity of its priceless monuments and treasures lead it to have many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Its global influence in politics, literature, culture, music, religion, education, fashion, cinema and cuisine lead it to being an Alpha- world city, according to Loughborough University and GaWC in 2008, and, is the only Alpha global city in Italy, except Milan. The city is home to the Cinecittà Studios, which are the largest film and television production facilities in continental Europe, and famous classic films, such as "La Dolce Vita" and "Ben Hur" have been filmed in the city. Currently, and since the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the metropolis serves as one of Europe's major political centers.

St. Peter's Basilica from the River Tiber.

The cost of this 5 day 4 night trip is £TBC per person and includes Bed and Breakfast  and evening meal. Our accommodation will be  based  in the center of the city and near the main train station. This will be in a twin room on a shared basis with en-suite including breakfast and evening meal. The cost of the holiday excludes the cost of the flight, visas, insurance, airport transfer, local transport, entrance fees any additional hotel expenses.  Booking deadline TBC. This trip is currently limited to 10 people.

On our tour we will visiting, St Peters, Vatican Museums,  we will be escorted on a guided tour of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. We can wander through the Palatine where the lower slopes are shaded in pine, see Domitian's huge palace built at the end of the first century. Visit the Pantheon in the Piazza della Rotonda one of the great buildings in European history. Enjoy a coffee or two in the Piazza Navona. Take a photo of the fine views of the city from the top of the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna  and then walk through Rome's most famous shopping street Via Condotti. We will travel to the Catacombe of San Callisto where the early Christians buried their dead and as a result of this they have become shrines and places of pilgrimages. These vast Catacombs are on four different levels and only partially explored. The most important rooms of these Catacombs were decorated.