Rome
Photo Courtesy of ©iStock-Richard Susanto
I’ve always said that Rome takes centuries to get to know, but until I was asked to be a guest in my hometown, I didn’t realize how true those words were about the Eternal City. Context Travel, The Roman Guy and Rex Tours, three distinctly different tour companies, challenged me to play visitor in a series of specifically tailored itineraries that made me get out of my Rome comfort zone. Here’s the scoop on each tour and why you should check them out:
Known as the team that conquered culture with “highly intellectual walking tours,” Context Travel always has an ace up its sleeve and, in my case, it was the Mythology Workshop, which helps you find fabled images in art and architecture. Billed as a family walking tour, the workshop, which is part walk around Rome and part art lesson, initially had me a bit apprehensive because my nuclear unit includes one of the toughest customers — a first-grader. We met José Grave de Peralta, a man whose handshake comes with a box of colored pencils and a sketchbook, in front of Palazzo Farnese. Right away we were spying architectural detail on every building, from that historic center to Villa Farnesina in Trastevere. Storytelling and Roman history colored the walk, but my daughter was more captivated by de Peralta’s drawing techniques and his eye for pointing out the not so obvious in Raphael’s frescoes. Context walks are known for being easy-going and curiosity-inspiring, and de Peralta’s mythology workshop was made even more so by his clever way of encouraging children to visually tell the tales themselves. With every new detail discovered, I could see my daughter getting more into the subtly infused storytelling. We could’ve continued on the trek long after the two-hour mark had my daughter not remembered that she was hungry. Duration: 2 hours
Exploring Catacombs With The Roman Guy, Photo Courtesy of The Roman Guy
If Context is all about a relaxed pace of storytelling, The Roman Guy tours are all about pampering. Even though I had planned on going on the Catacombs Private Tour, focusing on the Basilica of San Clemente and the Catacombs of Domitilla, the Roman Guy team (which, ironically, is mostly made up of women) made it a point to ask me what I wanted to do, see and eat. Here’s where it could have gotten tricky — I’ve been a Rome resident for 10 years and I’m married to a classical archaeologist whose idea of fun in running around all the ancient sites in our free time. So, I thought I would play dumb this time. Led by archaeologist Nina Appetecchia, the tour allowed me to have a blast walking through the subterranean levels of San Clemente. Appetecchia clearly loves ancient history and effectively conveyed that enthusiasm in every domus, cistern and catacomb she ventured in. She also adores Rome and made sure to make a delicious detour to a bakery so that we could enjoy a typical morning caffè e cornetto (coffee and croissant) as well as make a quick stop on the historic road, Appia Antica. The afternoon’s highlight was walking through the catacombs of Domitilla. Catacombs, as a rule of thumb, require a lot more of your imagination than other underground sites since they are mostly undecorated niches, whose bones have been removed.. This is not really the case when walking through Domitilla on this particular tour. In the late 2000s, Appetecchia was a field director with an Austrian research institute that scanned miles of the catacomb tunnel with lasers for an extensive three-dimensional project. Suffice to say, she knew every nook and cranny. Duration: 3 hours
This last excursion combined three of my favorite things: Rome at night, bike riding and a little healthy sister competition. My younger sibling had stopped by the city for a long weekend, so the company organized a customized Rome by Night Bike Experience to celebrate her birthday. Our objectives were to feel good (Italian-made Torpado trekking bikes with gel seats), learn facts (my sister likes to talk history) and have some fun. Urban planner, architect and bike advocate Lorenzo Caiazza made sure all of that happened by leading us on a 5.5-mile journey that started at Campo de’Fiori and went through historic Rome, around its third-century walls, winding up and down the streets of Trastevere to the Vatican and its medieval Borgo, ending at Piazza Navona. Basically, Caiazza showcased every aspect of Roman city planning, and tied in the hows and whys of the city’s urban design, from antiquity up to the 21st century. He was also great with our not-quite-fast pace and tendencies to change the itinerary on a whim. The tour was exactly what we wanted — entertaining, informative and a bit of a workout. No doubt we earned that glass of Franciacorta at Chiostro del Bramante, our final pit stop near the piazza. Duration: 4 hours
