Imperial Rome Walking Tour Including The Colosseum

Imperial Rome Walking Tour Including The Colosseum Photo #1 of 2 Photo copyright ShoreTrips.com.

Overview

A scholar-led, small-group walking tour of the Colosseum and the Markets of Trajan.

This is not a traditional walking tour company. The people who lead these walks are specialists-- art historians, classicists, archaeologists, architects--who possess a deep knowledge of the city. They lead the walks like professors lead seminar classes, with in-depth conversations about themes and topics related to Rome, using the city itself as a text book. Participants should be prepared for their itineraries to take a variety of different courses, depending on the guide, the tour group members, the season and conditions in the city on any given day. There are no scripts and no guidebook lists of facts.

This company is devoted to sustainable tourism, and a certain part of all their itineraries deals with ways that our participants can help preserve the cultural heritage of the cities where they operate.

This three-hour walking seminar focuses on the history and development of Rome during the Imperial period (roughly from the time of Julius Caesar to the fall of Rome).

Using key monuments from this period as our textbook, including the Colosseum, Imperial Fora, and the Markets of Trajan, we'll discuss the rapid expansion of the city and the empire under the emperors, as well as how Romans lived 2,000 years ago.

We will begin our exploration with the Colosseum, ancient Rome's most visual legacy and a structure emblematic of the ambitious building programs of various emperors. Here we will introduce several key themes in our discussion, including the role of entertainment in society and the ways that power was projected during the Imperial period.

After visiting the amphitheater and discussing its role in Rome, we will continue down the via dei Fori Imperiali, a modern road that looks down over the ruins of several squares, temples, and other structures (collectively, fora) built by such emperors as Augustus and Trajan. We will use this opportunity to talk about the great expansion in the city in the first centuries of the Common Era and the ways in which the old Republican city was transformed.

The second part of the walk will focus on Emperor Trajan and his development of the city, with the markets and the monumental column of Trajan as our focal points.

We will linger among the ruins for a while, examining the fantastic details of the Basilica Ulpia and possibly entering it (the site is open on special occasion).

Our guide will explain the relationship between some of the surrounding Medieval structures and the Imperial buildings, creating a narrative that will link the different historical periods.

There are tens of thousands of fascinating details to focus upon and based on how our conversation has developed to that point, our guide will pick apart a few salient ones to help the group get a perspective on the history of this area.

From Trajan's markets we will continue on to see the Roman houses at the bottom of the Capitoline Hill (Aracoeli), the only remains of Roman apartments visible above ground. This will give a nice addition to all the large-scale public buildings visited earlier in the walk and will provide insight in to the daily life of the Romans.

- This is a shared, small group (2-6 people) walking tour. Unless there are 6 people in your group, you may be touring with other travelers. If you would prefer a private tour, call ShoreTrips.
- Walks are held rain or shine with some variations to accommodate the weather.
- For several reasons, this tour may run a bit longer than planned, and we recommend that you not schedule another activity immediately after this one. This can occur because Rome, in certain seasons, sees large numbers of visitors. In addition, because this tour is tailored to the interests of those taking it, as well as the scholar guide, the itinerary is not always exactly the same.
- Reserved entry tickets to the Colosseum are included in the price of the tour.
- You are responsible for paying entry to Trajan's Markets (€8). You will need to purchase tickets for this during your walk. Your guide will help to facilitate this.

- This tour must depart at the scheduled time due to the new security at the Colosseum.
- This tour is not available March 1st, 4th, 11th, 19th, March 30th – April 7th, April 10-19th, 21st, 25th, and 30th; May 1st, 6th, 10th, 19-21st, 31st; June 1st-4th, 28th, 29th; July 1st, July 21st, July 22nd, August 1st, 5th, 14th-16th; September 2nd, 9th-11th, 20th-30th; October 4th, 7th, 11th-13th; November 1st, 4th; December 1st, 2nd-10th, 12th, 24th-26th, 31st.
- There is a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 6 for this tour.
- The minimum age is 12 years old.
- Dress comfortably for the weather.
- ShoreTrips and our partners do our best to ensure that every stop described is available for your visit. There are some times when a site or building is closed at the last moment with little or no warning. We assume that those in charge make those decisions based on external information and for the visitors’ safety and we apologize when this causes inconvenience and disappointment.

Days offered: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday

Departures:

• 08:30 AM, duration: 3 hours Duration of tour is approximate.