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Day 1: Rome of the Artists Tour On your arrival in Rome, you will be met by a chauffeur on your arrival at the Rome Fiumicino Airport for a private transfer to our boutique hotel in the center of Rome. In the afternoon, we'll meet for a welcome drink, followed by an introductory walk of the city: Rome of the Artists, featuring the highlights from the Baroque and Renaissance Rome, and in the evening, we'll celebrate the Roman way of life and la dolce vita with a welcome dinner. Day 2: Ancient Rome After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we'll join a private historian-led walking tour of ancient Rome, featuring the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. We'll get fascinating insights into Rome's millennia of history, as we stroll from the Colle Oppio with its panoramic view of the Eternal City to the Colosseum where we'll listen to tales of gladiators, mock sea-battles and executions, by the Arch of Constantine, through the Palatine Hill overlooking Nero's Circus Maximus, where chariot races were held, to Via Sacra (the Sacred Way), the main path through the Roman Forum that was used for triumphal processions. After this introduction to the ancient Rome, we'll enjoy a delightful cafe lunch, and the afternoon will be free to explore Rome at your leisure. Day 3: Tivoli After all the history and art, today we'll get a chance to escape Rome and journey to the ancient city of Tivoli to visit Hadrian's Villa, an outstanding Roman site, with impressive ruins of Emperor Hadrian's favorite residence. We'll tour the monumental Marine Theater, walk past the ruins of great libraries, the Heliocaminus thermal baths, and the Golden Square with its gardens and Hadrian's reproduction of a sacred site in the Egyptian city of Canopus. A short drive will take us to Villa d'Este, the magnificent Renaissance villa with beautifully frescoed rooms and the spectacular park with countless fountains, imaginative landscaping and centuries-old olive trees lining the paths. We'll stop for lunch at a restaurant attached to a former acropolis of Tivoli, which offers great food as well as spectacular views over the town and the cascading Aniene River waterfall. Before leaving Tivoli, there will be time to stroll through the town's picturesque street market with colorful stalls and local products. Day 4: Vatican Museums After breakfast, we'll set out for the Vatican City to tour the Vatican Museums, which house over 9 miles of the most extensive collection of art in the world. We'll be able to experience Michelangelo's famous Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel and the School of Athens in Raphael's Rooms, be humbled by the imposing beauty of St. Peter's Basilica, where we'll encounter another Michelangelo masterpiece, La Pietà, and admire the magnificent St. Peter's Square, with Bernini's ingenious use of optical illusion. In the evening, we'll relax over a low-key dinner at a traditional Roman pizzeria. Day 5: Villa and Galleria Borghese Today, we'll visit the Villa and Galleria Borghese, on a tour that is a great journey into the history of art, to discover and appreciate the absolute masterpieces from several epochs, as well as the opportunity to know the artists and the powerful patrons that contributed to their fame. In the splendid setting of Villa Borghese, an architectural masterpiece in itself, we'll get acquainted with the life of Pope Paul V, his princely court and his nephew, Scipione, who played a fundamental role in the gallery's creation. Obviously, the works of art by Bernini will play a central role. In the villa we'll admire his splendid sculptures of Aeneas and Anchises, Truth, Apollo and Daphne, and experience the visions, stories and legends behind them. There are beautiful works by Caravaggio, such as Saint Jerome and a self-portrait in the guise of Bacchus that will help shed light on the great master of chiaroscuro, his adventurous life - to say the least, the murder he committed, and his great artistic talent. In the evening, we'll say good-bye to Rome with a farewell Roman dinner. Day 6: Departures After breakfast at the hotel, you'll have time to enjoy other aspects of Rome before your private transfer to the airport according to your flight's departure time.
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