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Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Activity note: Hotel check-in from 12:00 p.m. Transfer from Rome Fiumicino Airport to hotel is 20 miles (50-minute ride). Walking approximately 1 mile.
Lunch: This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions for restaurants, trattoria, and cafés.
Afternoon: Check in and settle in. At 4:30 p.m. we gather in the meeting room for an Orientation session. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will review COVID-19 protocols and will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and requirements throughout the program. Breakfasts will be buffets. Other included meals will be plated and served from a set menu unless indicated otherwise; water is included, other beverages will be available for purchase. Evenings at leisure offer opportunities to make the program more meaningful and memorable through personal independent exploration, attending performances or other events, or simply relaxing and making new friends among fellow participants. The Group Leader will always be happy to offer suggestions. Transportation will be provided primarily by motorcoach and high-speed train. Periods in the schedule designated as "Free time" and "At leisure" offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we will join our Group Leader in a welcome cocktail (or fruit juice).
Dinner: At a local restaurant.
Evening: Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach. Walking up to 5 miles throughout the day with extended periods of standing during site visits; cobblestones, marble flooring, and urban stone sidewalks. Elevator available at the Galleria Borghese. Unavoidable stairs in museum.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: We'll board a motorcoach to the Villa Borghese, green lung of the city, for a reserved entrance to the Borghese Gallery. The highlight of the collection is marble statues by young Gianlorenzo Bernini and paintings by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian and Caravaggio. At the conclusion of the field trip we'll board our motorcoach back to the center of Rome.
Lunch: At a local restaurant.
Afternoon: A local expert will lead our walking field trip to three landmarks in the heart of Rome: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, and the Baroque Trevi Fountain. The Pantheon is the best-preserved monument from ancient Rome. Conventional history says it was commissioned by the Emperor Hadrian to replace two previous buildings and constructed circa 118-125 CE, but more recent studies have suggested it was earlier. The design achievements and original purpose continue to baffle archaeologists, architects, and historians today. The niches along the interior perimeter are illuminated by the sun at different times of the year and day through the oculus in the ceiling, the only source of natural light. We will explore the interior with a local expert. Next we visit the Fontana di Trevi, the largest in the city and one of the most beautiful. The great fountain we see today replaced a number of earlier versions that had served as the terminus of one of Rome's aqueducts. It was completed in 1743. We will learn about its architecture and the meaning of the symbolic figures and gestures. We will end our walk in Piazza Navona where we will learn how the long oval piazza was built by Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) for track and field games. The buildings lining the piazza have the footprint of the bleachers. Now the quintessential Baroque piazza, it is home to artists and performers. Bernini's fountain of the Four Rivers—sits in the middle and Borromini's church of St. Agnes is on the west side. At the end of our visit, we will walk back to the hotel.
Dinner: At a local restaurant.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach. Driving 10 miles, total riding time is approximately 40 minutes. Walking up to 3 miles and extended standing, uneven terrain, steps, inclines, gravel paths and cobblestones.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: In the hotel meeting room a local expert presents the historical background of the foundations of Rome. After a short break, we'll board a coach or vans to the closest drop off point near the Roman Forum where a local expert will spur our imagination to envision the buildings now in ruin. The field trip will continue to the Colosseum where we will hear some interesting anecdotes about Roman entertainment so many centuries ago. Built in the year 80 CE and officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater, the Colosseum was the greatest in the Roman Empire. It measured 620 by 513 feet and could hold more than 50,000 spectators. Architects and researchers are still not sure how the many wonders that have been described were managed. Historical records as well as popular culture in our time have made it an iconic symbol of gladiatorial combat and the sacrifice of untold numbers of slaves, prisoners of war, condemned criminals, and animals from throughout the empire. Those with the energy and stamina are welcome to climb the 10-foot high steps to the upper level.
Lunch: At a local restaurant.
Afternoon: After lunch, our expert-led visit continues to the Forum. Once we finish at the Forum, we walk to the Church of SS Cosma and Damiano to view the mosaics and nativity displays. We will take taxis back to the hotel.
Dinner: On your own to enjoy what you like.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Getting on/off a motorcoach and escalator. Walking up to 4 miles throughout the day with extended periods of standing during site visits; standing in line while museum-issued listening devices are distributed; walking two long corridors (0.5 mile each); marble floors; crowded conditions, no public seating. Unavoidable stairs at sites: one at entrance, one to access corridor to Sistine Chapel, one to enter Sistine Chapel.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: We will be joined in the hotel meeting room by an art historian who will provide background on art treasures of the Vatican in preparation for our field trip. We'll board a motorcoach for the Vatican Museums.
Lunch: At a local restaurant.
Afternoon: Short walk to the Vatican Museums for an expert-led visit. A museum docent will lead our exploration as we see portions of this vast collection of 70 galleries that contain masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and other works of art gathered over centuries. There could be unannounced closings of some galleries, so our docent will make the best use of the time and discuss the most significant works available. We will then move on to the Sistine Chapel, one of the most justly renowned structures in the world, with Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling illustrating scenes from the book of Genesis and the Last Judgment behind the main altar. From there, our expert will lead us down a back staircase down to the Basilica of St. Peter. In a side chapel — now behind protective glass — we can see the famous Pietà, Michelangelo's early masterpiece and the only one he signed. Above the altar stands Gian Lorenzo Bernini's bronze baldacchino (canopy), more than 100 feet high. Stepping out onto the front porch, we will admire the colonnade designed by Bernini, evoking the embracing arms of the Church. We will walk back to our hotel at the end of our visit.
Dinner: On your own to sample the local cuisine.
Evening: Enjoy a musical performance in a local church.
Activity note: Getting on/off motorcoach. Driving 10 miles, approximately 30 minutes riding time. Walking up to 4 miles, uneven terrain, cobblestones, steps. Extended standing.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: We'll board a motorcoach to the Capitoline Museum where a local expert will illustrate highlights of the collection including the Dying Gaul and the original equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
Lunch: On your own to enjoy what you like.
Afternoon: Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. In a classroom session back at the hotel, learn about ancient traditions and modern counterpoint from your Group Leader.
Dinner: At the hotel restaurant.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Getting on/off coach or vans. Walking up to 5 miles throughout the day on inclined road and uneven urban sidewalks paved in stone or cobblestone. Extended standing in the museums.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration. We will board a coach to a gate of the Jewish Quarter where we'll meet a museum docent who will lead our field trip in what was the Jewish Ghetto from the 16th to 19th centuries. Rome had a Jewish population since before the Diaspora, but the ghetto was a creation of the pope in 1555 during the Catholic Counter Reformation. All Jews were forced to reside in an area of only seven acres in the flood zone of the Tiber River — behind a wall! — with most of their rights and privileges removed. They lived this way until the unification of Italy under a secular government in 1870, when their citizenship was restored. Today the neighborhood is vibrant and bustling. In addition to the Jewish Museum of Rome and magnificent Great Synagogue, there are excellent restaurants featuring the traditional Roman Jewish cuisine.
Lunch: At a local restaurant.
Afternoon: Our walk through the Jewish Quarter continues following our lunch. Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Dinner: At a local restaurant.
Evening: At leisure.
Activity note: Getting on/off coach or vans. Up to 2 miles of walking on uneven city sidewalks and cobblestoned streets with some inclines. Extended standing during the cooking lesson.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You can also consult your list of suggested free time activities in your program materials.
Lunch: On your own to sample the local fare.
Afternoon: Free time continues. Later in the afternoon we will walk to a cooking school in the heart of Rome where we will learn how to make a typical Italian dish and dessert.
Dinner: Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner at the cooking school.
Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departures in the morning.
Activity note: Hotel check-out 11:00 a.m. See your program’s travel details regarding transfers.
Breakfast: At the hotel restaurant; for those with early departures, the hotel will prepare a bagged breakfast with a fruit, a roll or pastry, fruit juice, and water to take with you. This concludes our program.
Morning: If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!