Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Roman Forum

The Flavian Amphitheater or Colosseum

We will start our Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill tour in one of the most representative destinations in Rome: the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater. It was the very heart of entertainment for the roman people. In the Colosseum many shows took place: gladiator’s fight, battleships, fight against beasts, huntings and representations of the most important military victories of the Roman legions and theirs commanders.
During the guided tour of the Colosseum, we will admire the magnificent architecture of the Amphitheater, discovering its secrets and how its physiognomy is changed during the centuries until its actual shape.

The Arch of Constantine

The magnificent Arch of Constantine, in the nearby of the Colosseum, will be the second step of our tour.
It is a huge marble arch, made for the will of the Roman Senate to celebrate the military campaign led by the emperor Constantine against Maxentius, and his victory at the Battle of Ponte Milvio.
We will admire the inscriptions and reliefs that describe the battle and the victory of the Roman emperor against the enemy of the Republic Maxentius. Then, after a short break, we will move forward to the Palatine Hill.

The Palatine Hill

After a short break under the Arch of Constantine, the guided tour will continue to the Palatine Hill, the most important and famous hill of Rome. The legend says that on this hill Romulus founded the city in the 753 BC. And on this hill the emperors built their residences.
We will visit a significant example of the imperial greatness, the remains of the residence of Domitian, the Domus Augustana, the emperor’s private residence on two levels which overlook the Circux Maximus, with the Domus Flavia, the Cenatio Iovis, the Peristilio and the Aula Regia.
We will continue the guided tour of the Palatine Hill by admiring the recent past of the hill and vestiges of the medieval and Renaissance architecture, including the church of St. Sebastian, in the place where the saint was killed, and the church of St. Bonaventure and its convent.
Descending from the Palatine Hill, we will continue the guided tour with its last stop: the Roman Forum.

The Roman Forum and the Via Sacra

The Roman Forum, last step of the tour, was the very heart of Roman political and economical power.
We will pass through centuries of Roman history, by visiting the Comitium, the Rostra and all the places were the Roman Senate used to meet foreign delegations. We will walk through the “Via Sacra“, where Roman Legions marched while they returned victorious from the military campaigns. Then, we will end the tour with a visit to the Arches of Titus and Septimius Severus and the most recent monument in the Roman Forum: the Column of Phocas, built for the will of Pope Boniface in 608 A.D.