A single base and six days to go deep, with archaeologists and art historians who publish on the sites they show. The Forum, the Palatine, San Clemente’s three levels, the Vatican before opening, and the working neighbourhoods that never appear on a first visit.
Arrival and transfer to the hotel in the historic centre, which stays the same for the whole week. The afternoon is free. Welcome dinner in Testaccio, on the hill made of broken amphorae, with a first explanation of how the city stacks up.
Morning at the Forum and the Palatine with an archaeologist who works on the site, entering ahead of the main flow. Independent lunch. Afternoon at the Capitoline Museums, with the bronze she-wolf and the Marcus Aurelius. Evening free.
Early entry to the Vatican Museums, walking the galleries and the Sistine Chapel before public opening, then St Peter’s with an art historian. Independent lunch. The afternoon is free, with an optional visit to Castel Sant’Angelo.
Morning at San Clemente, descending from a twelfth-century church to a fourth-century basilica and a Mithraic temple below that. In the afternoon, the Baths of Caracalla and the Appian Way, with the catacombs for those who want them.
Full day at Ostia Antica, the harbour town that supplied Rome, quieter and easier to read than Pompeii, with streets, warehouses, a theatre and apartment blocks still standing. Lunch on site. Farewell dinner in Trastevere.
Transfer to Fiumicino for onward flights. For later departures, a final morning at the Palazzo Massimo and its frescoed garden room.
Splendido private tours
