The biggest surprise from the Appian Way isn’t the age of the location, it’s peace and quiet.
It’s beyond comprehension just how peaceful and free of commotion and noise the Via Appia Antica is. That you’re still very much in the heart of Rome is bewildering and as you’re strolling along staring into the green-green grass and flowers that line the route, you can’t think for one second of anywhere else you’d rather be.
For its history and beauty, the first 10 miles of the Appian Way are now a part of a regional park, Parco dell’Appia Antica, where the road and the monuments that surround it are protected.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS:
Licensed English speaking guide
English speaking tour leader who will assist you during the tour
Small group of 15 pax or fewer
Private bus for roud trip transportation from city centre
Tickets to the Catacombs of St Sebastian
Walk along Appian Way
The Circus of Maxentius
Aqueduct Park
Headset so you can always hear your guide
Insurance
Visit at a mineral water spring “Do as the Romans do” signature
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US:
WhatsApp infoline +393801944534
booking@iviaggidialuve.com
doastheromansdo@gmail.com
TOUR DETAILS:
The tour comes with an English-speaking guide and with a comfortable private bus and explores the importance of the Appian Way as well as the meaning and function of the monuments along its path. We will meet in the city centre, at Circus Maximus and, passing the Bath of Caracalla (see our tour) and one of the ancient door of the massive city walls – Porta San Sebastiano, we will head to the Basilica of Saint Sebastian and its Catacombs. next, go see the largest aqueducts of the Roman Empire at the magnificent Aqueduct Park.
It’s time now to walk the same route of so many legions of Romans before us.
VIA APPIA ANTICA – REGINA VIARUM
It’s a tour focusing on the astonishing engineering achievements of the Ancient Romans. A way to escape Rome’s busy centre and to explore the Roman countryside which surrounds the city. You’ll enjoy a scenic drive and walk along the Appian Way or Appia Antica, an impressive road spanned across the Italian peninsula, connecting Rome with Brindisi (more or less 560km/340 miles). The road became a gateway to Italy and eventually the entire Roman Empire, and it defined Rome’s urban development and city planning for centuries. Dating back to the fourth century BC, the via Appia is the oldest and most prestigious of Roman roads. The regina viarum—queen of all roads—was named after the Roman censor Appius Claudius.
Today, this tree-lined road immersed in greenery is considered one of the most picturesque in Rome. Walk along the Via Appia and you can see the marks of chariot wheels from the Roman Republic.
CATACOMBS OF SAINT SEBASTIAN
It’s on to the Catacombs of St Sebastian. Extending beneath the Basilica di San Sebastiano, these underground burial chambers were heavily developed from the 1st century and during the persecutory reign of Vespasian they provided a safe haven for the remains of Saints Peter and Paul. Although the Roman tradition was to burn the bodies of their dead, there came a time where preserving the body after death became standard religious practice; however, burials within the boundary of Rome was forbidden. To rectify this many of the earlier Christians found that these areas were both cheap and easy to use as an area for the dead to be set to rest. Over the centuries the catacombs around Rome shifted from being a cheap area in which the poor would inter their deceased, to a place where the rich would pay to have their bodies placed after death in the hope that it would increase the chances of their going to heaven.
THE CIRCUS OF MAXENTIUS
Back on the Appian Way, think as you walk or ride along the road that you’re stepping on the same stones on which people also did so many centuries ago: is mind-blowing.
Near the beginning of where we start our walk it’s our first sighting of an ancient monument sticking out amongst the green of the grass. It’is the former ‘Circus of Maxentius’, the second largest Roman circus that you can still see today. The Circus of Maxentius was built during the fourth century and is – without exaggeration – the best preserved of all Roman circuses. It was part of an imperial villa that was (probably) never used. Of course, the complex was splendidly decorated. There are several interesting details to be mentioned. One of them is that it was made of the usual materials (bricks and occasionally natural stone) but that, to keep the structure as light and elegant as possible, old amphoras were recycled in the structure. We also known that there was an obelisk on the raised median, the spina. The obelisk now stands at Rome’s famous Piazza Navona.
THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT
Next, it’s time to see the largest aqueducts of the Roman Empire at the magnificent Aqueduct Park. See an aqueduct that still supplies water to this day, and gaze at the aqueduct arches as they stretch over miles. The Roman aqueducts stand today, more than two thousand years later, as a testament to the engineering genius of the ancient Romans. These massive structures are still a modern marvel. In fact, some aqueducts remain operational to this day. Walking through the modern city of Rome you can notice these monumental arched structures that often cross streets and avenues. The Roman aqueducts not only provided drinking water for the Romans but also supplied the thermal bath houses, where the inhabitants of ancient Rome spent so much of their leisure time.
DO AS THE ROMANS DO SIGNATURE :
You problably know that Italy is home to hundreds of mineral water springs and also in Rome there are several of them. It’s usual for people who live nearby to go to the springs and fill bottles to carry home. During our way to the Aqueduct Park we will male a stop at one of Rome’s mineral water springs, where you can fill your own bottle. You will taste a fresh, un-chemical, pure water and you can choose between still and sparkly. And it’s in the heart of Rome, really close to the Appian Way!
The tour lasts:
4 hours for Appian Way, Saint Sebastian Catacombs, Circus of Maxentius and Aqueduct Park.
1 hour for stop at mineral water spring and coffee break
PRICE PER PERSON: € 65.00
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
Licensed English speaking guide
English speaking tour leader who will assist you during the tour
Small group of 15 pax or fewer
Private bus for roud trip transportation from city centre
Tickets to the Catacombs of St Sebastian
Walk along Appian Way
The Circus of Maxentius
Aqueduct Park
Headset so you can always hear your guide
Insurance
Visit at a Mineral water spring “Do as the Romans do”
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
Shuttle service to and from the Hotel (we can provide extra charge)
Any additional services not previously listed
DRESS CODE: Casual with comfortable shoes
OPERATING ON: Sunday
Please be informed that the tour will take place only if the minimum pax number of 10 will be reached.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US:
WhatsApp infoline +393801944534
booking@iviaggidialuve.com
doastheromansdo@gmail.com