Rome & Bay of Naples 2 Centre Location Guide Classics
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ROME & BAY OF NAPLES 2 CENTRE LOCATION GUIDE CLASSICS Exceptional Tours Expertly Delivered Our location guide offers you information on the range of visits available in the Bay of Naples. All visits are selected with your subject and the curriculum in mind, along with the most popular choices for sightseeing, culture and leisure in the area. The information in your location guide has been provided by our partners in the Bay of Naples who have expert on the ground knowledge of the area, combined with advice from education professionals so that the visits and information recommended are the most relevant to meet your learning objectives. Making Life Easier for You This location guide is not a catalogue of opening times. Our Tour Experts will design your itinerary with opening times and location in mind so that you can really maximise your time on tour. Our location guides are designed to give you the information that you really need, including what are the highlights of the visit, location, suitability and educational resources. We’ll give you top tips like when is the best time to go, dress code and extra local knowledge. Peace of Mind So that you don’t need to carry additional money around with you we will state in your initial quote letter, which visits are included within your inclusive tour price and if there is anything that can’t be pre-paid we will advise you of the entrance fees so that you know how much money to take along. You also have the added reassurance that, WST is a member of the STF and our featured visits are all covered as part of our externally verified Safety Management System. ROME STUDY VISITS THE COLOSSEUM This is considered to be one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and is the largest amphitheatre built in the Roman Empire. Top Tip : Audio guides can be rented here although we recommend you take a guided tour which will bring the ruins to life for you. Location: The Ancient City Metro: Colosseo Website: http://www.the-colosseum.net/idx-en.htm ROMAN FORUM This was once the heart of Ancient Rome and the centre of public life. It is the site of public speeches, trials and commercial transactions. Top Tip: Audio guides can be rented here although we recommend you take a guided tour which will bring the ruins to life for you. In the summer months you will find very little shade here so please take plenty water, sun hats and sun cream. Location: The Ancient City Metro: Colosseo Website: www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/colosseum.htm PALATINE HILL According to Roman mythology this is where Rome was founded. Ideally located looking down on to the Roman Forum, this became the home of several Roman Emperors. Top Tip : We recommend you visit Palatine Hill in conjunction with your visit to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum Location: The Ancient City Metro: Colosseo Website: www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/colosseum.htm THE PANTHEON A magnificent ancient temple that was later converted to a church. Dating from AD125 it is the most superb architectural monument to have survived intact from Ancient Rome. Raphael is buried here. Top Tip: We recommend appropriate dress code of no shorts, mini skirts, or bare shoulders. The Pantheon is free to visitors and pre-booking is not necessary. Location: Central Rome Metro: Piazza di Spagna Website: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-pantheon ST PETER’S BASILICA World famous church and the burial site of St Peter. This is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. The tomb of John Paul II is located in the grottoes below the floor of the Basilica and can be visited by the public, although there can be large crowds there. Top Tip: A self guided visit is recommended here and pre-booking is not necessary. Audio guides can be rented if preferred. Visitors must adhere to a strict dress code of no shorts, mini skirts, or bare shoulders. We advise mobile phones are switched off or on silent. Seeing the Pope: If you are visiting on a Sunday, the Pope appears at noon at the second window from the right of the Apostolic Palace, to pray. If you are visiting on a Wednesday, you can attend the Wednesday General Audience held in St Peter’s Square. This is all provided he is in town. Tickets are required. Location: Vatican City Metro : Ottaviano Website: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/monumenti/basilica-di- s-pietro.html VATICAN MUSEUMS AND SISTINE CHAPEL The Vatican Museums occupy part of the palaces built by the Pope and is home to one of the most extensive art collections in the world. The world’s most famous chapel, the Sistine Chapel is housed within the Vatican Museums, where you will see the infamous frescoes by Michaelangelo. Top Tip: We advise renting audio guides here. Noise must be kept to a minimum in the Sistine Chapel and visitors are reminded of this by staff if they are deemed too noisy. No photography or filming is allowed in the Sistine Chapel. Mobile phones must be switched off. Location: Vatican City Metro : Ottaviano Website: mv.vatican.va This website address must by hand typed in to the web address tool bar. THE CATACOMBS You’ll need a coach to visit these ancient Christian burial grounds which lie on the edge of the city. Your site guide will take your underground to explore these large fascinating tombs which were created for Christians who did not have their own land to be buried on in the First Century. We recommend continuing on your coach to visit Ostia Antica or Tivoli. OSTIA ANTICA Like Pompeii it’s an abandoned Roman city, unlike Pompeii it wasn’t the victim of a volcano, so it’s far less well known but provides an excellent visit for Classicists. The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes and impressive mosaics. Ostia’s amphitheatre especially is wonderfully preserved. A visit to Ostia provides an opportunity to explore a Roman city in its entirety, and allows a glimpse of everyday life. This large archaeological site lies approximately 30 km from Rome so requires a coach, and we recommend visiting the Catacombs en-route. TIVOLI The medieval hill town of Tivoli, a popular retreat since ancient times sits 18 miles east of Rome. The main attraction for Classics groups here is Emperor Hadrian's Villa built at the peak of the Roman Empire. From here Hadrian was able to rule from outside but still near the capital city. Hadrian, who ruled from A.D. 117 to 138, sought refuge here from the political complexity of court life in Rome. While here it is worth exploring the grounds of the recently restored Villa d'Este, included in the UNESCO world heritage listings. Your coach could make a catacombs visit en route. BAY OF NAPLES STUDY VISITS EXPERT LOCAL GUIDES One of our expert guides can accompany you when you visit the Classical sites. The guides are highly experienced and know the sites extremely well. We recommended their services for Pompeii, Herculaneum, Solfatara, Paestum, Cumae and Capri. Half and Full day options are available. POMPEII Walking in the footsteps of the Romans it’s easy to imagine the ruins as complete houses again. Walk the same roads, stop and admire the atriums, to try and imagine the upstairs rooms, which had collapsed under the weight of the pumice stones and lava. The preserved town of Pompeii has so much to offer Classics groups starting with the Ampitheatre, you’ll also go on to see thermopolia, temples, baths, theatres, palaestra and a forum. The best possible way to consider ‘City Life in Roman Italy’ and Cambridge Latin Course Groups will be thrilled to take a peek inside Caecilius’s house! HERCULANEUM Life has indeed been suspended in Herculaneum. Smaller than Pompeii but better preserved due to the way the ash fell here, the more detail can be seen as well as the upper floors of houses. Herculaneum was a wealthy town, possessing an extraordinary density of fine houses, and lavish use of coloured marble cladding. The discovery in recent years of some 300 skeletons along the sea shore came as a surprise, as it had been assumed that the town had been evacuated. NAPLES ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM A recommended visit en route to or from the airport, this truly fascinating museum contains a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum. The collection includes works of the highest quality produced in Greek, Roman and renaissance times. It is the most important Italian archaeological museum. PAESTUM The ruins of Paestum are notable for their three ancient Greek Temples which are in a very good state of preservation. The Romans later built on the site and remains of the Roman Forum and Amphitheatre can also be seen today. Paestum Archaeological museum houses the many pieces including a whole room is dedicated to of the “Tomb of the Diver”, dated 450 B.C, and is the only example of Greek painting with figured scenes dating from the Orientalzing, Archaic, or Classical periods to survive in its entirety. We recommend visiting Paestum at the end of a drive down the incredible Amalfi Coastline. POZZUOLI, SOLFATARA AND CUMAE These 3 Classical sites are all in close proximity and so can be visited as part of a full day excursion together. Groups love a visit to the preserved amphitheatre at Pozzuoli. Here, students have a unique opportunity to take steps down and to see the underground corridors where slaves and animals were held in cages before being sent up to fight.