José F. Grave de Peralta
I T A L Y
The name ROME and the word CLASSICAL are in many ways synonymous, yet few travel guides in the city attempt to make this connection clear.
Join me, José Grave de Peralta, visual artist and graduate of the prestigious U.S.-based St. John's College and its Great Books Program in the Classics, and Official Licensed Guide (2017) for Rome and the Lazio Region ... for a unique series of walking tours of Rome and environs, highlighting the region's art, architecture, and ideas.
At first sight, to the tourist, the appearance of the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are as daunting as the names, dates, and references that many tour guides then "pile on top" of the archaeology as part of their "explanations"! . In my approach, a brief introduction to some key names and concepts rapidly helps the visitor understand what he is seeing -- and connect it to familiar names like Julius Caesar, the Senate, or the myths of the She-Wolf and Romulus and Remus.
Below are listed some of the TOUR OPTIONS I can offer. All tours are led in English, Spanish, Italian, or French, and they are limited to small groups (6-8 persons). Please wear comfortable footwear and, especially, appropriate dress for itineraries including churches:
1) Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum
2) The life and footprints of Julius CAESAR in Rome
3) TIVOLI: Hadrian's Villa and Villa D'Este
4) Tiber Island and the Jewish Ghetto
5) Campidoglio and the Capitoline Museums
6) The early Basilicas of Santa Cecilia and Santa Maria in Trastevere
7) Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica
8) Caravaggio, the Painter who revolutionized Baroque Art
9) Raphael's frescoes in the Villa Farnesina
10) The Pantheon and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
11) Rome's FORO BOARIO (or Cattle Market) and the myths of Hercules
12) The older churches of Rome: San Clemente, SS. Giovanni e Paulo, Santo Stefano Rotondo, Santi Quattro Coronati, and the Scala Santa
Baptistry and the first Christian Basilica of St. John Lateran, plus the nearby Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (houses the relic of the True Cross and the Sacred Thorn and Nail of the Crucifixion)
13) The Priorate of the Knights of Malta on the Aventine (the Gardens designed by PIRANESI)
14) The catacombs and basilica of St. Agnese, including the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, and the catacombs of PRISCILLA
15) Bernini vs. Borromini: Masters of the Roman Baroque style
16) The magical MERIDIAN solar "clock" inside the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli: Astrology inside a Catholic church
17) Galleria Borghese
18) Roman aqueducts (Aqueduct Park, Porta Maggiore)
19) Via Appia Antica (Tomb of Cecilia Metella and Stadium of Maxentius)
20) FREEHAND Sketching in Rome (indoor or outdoor site chosen depending on level of expertise)
21) TOSCA Tour: a "musical" walking visit to the THREE places where Puccini's famous OPERA takes place in the Rome of Napoleon
22) Day trips to Pompeii and Naples (including a visit to the National Archaeological Museum)
23) Day Trip to visit the painted Etruscan Tombs in Tarquinia
24) The frescoes of Piero della Francesca (2-3 day itinerary, including Perugia, Arezzo, Urbino, and Rimini)
25) The Basilica and Place of Martyrdom of St. Paul (San Paolo fuori le Mura and San Paolo alle Tre Fontane)
26) P A E S T U M (overnight trip) and its Greek Temples (6th century B.C.)
