Mosaic is an ancient decorative art; the first mosaics date back to around 2500 BC.
Ancient Greeks and Romans decorated homes and temples with colorful mosaics, made of little pieces of stone, glass and gold. A special tour of Rome’s finest Mosaic art in some of the city’s most beautiful churches such as the Basilicas of San Clemente, Santa Prassede, Santa Maria Maggiore and San Giovanni in Laterano.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Licensed English speaking guide
English speaking tour leader who will assist you during the tour
Small group of 15 pax or fewer
Ticket of the Basilica di San Clemente’s archeological site
Visit of Saint Prassede church
Visit of Saint Mary Major church
Visit of Saint John in Lateran
Headsets so you can always hear your guide
“Apericena” in one of our selected spots to “Do as the Romans do”
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US:
WhatsApp infoline +393801944534
booking@iviaggidialuve.com
doastheromansdo@gmail.com
TOUR DETAILS:
SAN CLEMENTE
By visiting the Basilica of San Clemente, you will be allowed to learn a peculiar aspect of ancient Rome’s history. One of the most fascinating sites in Rome, the Basilica of San Clemente is a Medieval church with a treasure hidden beneath its floor. If you look the church from outside, you never say that under the present time Basilica, dating back to 12th century, there is a 2nd century Mithraeum (the house of a Roman nobleman and a pagan temple) and an ancient lower basilica dating back to the 4th century and decorated with frescoes: visiting San Clemente literally means to travel back in ages. Walking along narrow passages, you will go down up to 200 feet escorted by an expert English-speaking guide, who will lead you to an incredible Roman house buried there from the 2nd century AD. Centuries of art and history waiting to be discovered! Why does a building like this exist? Much of Rome’s history, architecture and art are hidden underground because Romans chose to build on top of existing houses! Think of Rome as a multi-storey building with the oldest one hidden underground and largely inaccessible. That’s absolutely amazing!
SANTA PRASSEDE
Tucked down a side-street a stone’s throw from Santa Maria Maggiore, this hidden gem of a 9th-century church offers some of the very finest medieval mosaics in the city, and the most complete project of its period in the glorious jewel of the Chapel of Saint Zeno. Pope Paschal planned Santa Prassede as small-scale copy of the former Constantinian Basilica of St Peter’s in the Vatican. The mosaics, produced by artists whom Pope Paschal had brought in specially from Byzantium, bear all the hallmarks of their eastern creators, with bold gold backgrounds and a marked Christian symbolism. Both the church and the tiny chapel of Saint Zeno in the right-hand nave were to be decorated in mosaic. The mosaics at Santa Prassede can be considered both as the revival of the ancient art of mosaic, and of its survival, by way of the Byzantine world, the heir to the Eastern Roman Empire; this revival of the Early Christian age in Rome is felt, in part directly from Roman models, in part filtered through the Byzantine Empire. It’s really a treasure what is preserved in the heavily mosaiced Chapel of San Zenone: its entrance gives an idea of the splendid mosaic decorations which lie within. The small cross-vaulted chapel was intended as the funerary chapel for Paschal’s mother Theodora. The Byzantine influence also immediately makes itself felt as one enters the chapel. By putting some coins in the meter by the entrance to the chapel before going in, you will surround by the richly enveloping gloom. As your eyes move around the chapel, you will be amazed by the undulating forms of gilded tiles laid by hands dead for over a millennium.
SAINT MARY MAJOR
One of Rome’s four patriarchal Basilicas, this monumental 5th-century church stands on Esquiline Hill’s summit, on the spot where snow is said to have miraculously fallen in the summer of AD 358. To commemorate the event, every year on 5 August thousands of white petals are released from the basilica’s coffered ceiling. Much altered over the centuries, it’s an architectural hybrid with 14th-century Romanesque belfry, 18th-century baroque facade, largely baroque interior and a series of glorious 5th-century mosaics. Particularly spectacular are the 5th-century mosaics in the triumphal arch and nave, depicting Old Testament scenes. The basilica of Saint Mary Major is best known for its magnificent interior which still resembles that of an ancient basilica. It has a length of almost eighty-six meters and is divided into three naves by thirty-six Ionic columns of marble and granite.
The most famous figure buried in the church of Saint Mary Major is Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the greatest artists in history. Very much aware of his own greatness, Bernini designed a monumental tomb for himself during the last decade of his life. Disappointingly the tomb was never built and a simple gravestone now marks the grave of Bernini and his family members.
In the middle of the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, the square in front of the church, stands a column with a Baroque bronze statue of Mary and child. It was erected in 1614 by pope Paul V in thanksgiving for the remission of the plague. The column was taken from the Basilica of Maxentius at the Roman Forum. The statue was created by the French sculptor Guillaume Berthélot. The obelisk located at the other side of the church, at the Piazza dell’Esquilino, was erected in 1587 by pope Sixtus V as a beacon for pilgrims. It was originally located near the entrance of the Mausoleum of Augustus. A wide staircase behind the obelisk leads to the apse of the church. From here you have a splendid view over the square and its surroundings.
SAINT JOHN IN LATERAN
The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran was the most important church in Christendom for its first thousand years. The Basilica of St. John Lateran has played an important role throughout history; it was here that all popes were enthroned up until 1870. St John in Lateran is the most important of the four major basilicas and it is considered the mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful. Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, had it built in in AD 324 and it has been hosting services almost uninterrupted ever since. In the early part of the fourth century, the Laterani family were stripped of their land as one of their members was accused of conspiring against the Emperor. The land and all the premises were given to the Bishop of Rome in order to build the first Roman basilica.
The Cathedral of Rome is among the most beautiful churches in Rome and is a definite must-see.
Not that it hasn’t needed a bit of refurbishment over the years. The Cathedral has survived sackings, earthquakes, numerous fires, and even a bombing. Unsurprisingly, the church you see today has been extensively refurbished, most notably in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Basilica also houses a baptistery, which for many years was the only baptistery in Rome. The two-story portico on the Basilica’s main façade was constructed during the eighteenth.. On the top part of the façade visitors will see imposing statues of the Apostles and Jesus, also dating from the eighteenth century. The central doors made of bronze were previously used at the Roman Senate House (the Curia Julia) within the Roman Forum. The Basilica’s interior is magnificent with colossal statues, mosaics and frescoes from the ceiling to the ground, with impressive columns. The Archbasilica also features a mosaic floor made in the 15th century and a large, gothic baldachin. At the top of the high altar is a reliquary that may or may not contain the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul – it seems that no one is quite sure if the French took them when they occupied Rome in the 18th century. The high altar itself contains a piece of wood from St. Peter’s communion table. Finally, the Altar of the Holy Sacrament contains a table that is supposed to be the same one used by Jesus during the Last Supper.
THE SCALA SANCTA: The Scala Sancta is a stairway of 28 white marble steps in a building near the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. Although they lead to the first private papal chapel (the Sancta Sanctorum) they’re actually important for a very different reason: according to Catholic tradition, they are the same steps that Jesus Christ walked up on his way to trial with Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. Religious pilgrims in Rome who visit the Holy Staircase ascend each of the 28 steps on their knees in return for a sizable plenary indulgence (forgiveness of past sins) that amounts to 9 years for each step.
THE LATERAN PALACE: The Lateran Palace was the official residence of the Popes for roughly the first thousand years of the Papacy. The 14th century was a bad one for the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. When the Papacy moved to Avignon the Lateran Palace fell into disrepair and suffered two separate fires that caused extensive damage. The Papacy eventually returned to but the Palace and church were deemed too damaged for the Pope to live and worship in. Renovations didn’t begin until he 16th century under Pope Sixtus V. His first act was to move the huge Egyptian obelisk from the Circus Maximus to a spot in front of the Lateran Palace. The Lateran Obelisk was even larger – in fact, it remains the largest standing obelisk in the world.
DO AS THE ROMANS DO
After the walking tour, I Viaggi di Aluvè will be glad to show you “As the Romans do”. The Tour Leader will have the pleasure to bring you to one of the restaurant in Trastevere, where Romans go to an “Apericena”. What’s an Apericena? It’s something related with food and drink and nowadays Romans’ lifestyle. Enjoy …
The tour lasts: 4 hours for churches visits plus 1 houur for the apericena
PRICE PER PERSON: € 65.00
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
Comfortable and private bus
Licensed English speaking guide
English speaking tour leader who will assist you during the tour
Small group of 15 pax or fewer
Tipical “Apericena” at one of Trastevere restaurants
Insurance
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Shuttle service to and from the Hotel (we can provide extra charge)
Any additional services not previously listed
DRESS CODE All the churches are placse of worship; both men and women should wear clothing that covers their shoulders and knees. Casual with comfortable shoes.
OPERATING ON: Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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
Do you wish conitnue visiting Rome with us? Have a look at our morning classi tours:
or if you wish a more exstensive Colosseum visit