One of the things firmly top of the ‘to do’ list for many visitors to Rome, is a visit to Colosseum, the Palatine hill and the Roman forum and I don't blame them. I still marvel (after 2 years) at the Colosseum as I go past on my way to work or as part of a Sunday afternoon passeggiata.
It was for this reason that despite having been in the Colosseum many times playing tour guide for various visitors, when given the opportunity to participate in the VIP Caesar's Palace with Roman Forum and Palatine Hill tour with Walks of Italy....I jumped at the chance.
The tour isn’t just your normal giro of the Colosseum/Palatine hill/Forum, but rather an amped up, VIP, big sister version. The tour allows you to take a step off the normal tourist trail, as it culminates in exclusive access to Caesar’s Palace, that is, the home of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus Caesar (nephew of Julius Caesar) and his formidable wife, Empress Livia Drusilla, previously only accessible to archeologists and historians.
The tour started on a bright December morning at the Colosseum, where we were greeted by our Walks of Italy tour guide, Giulietta. Giulietta started off by ‘setting the scene’ giving us a brief recap of ancient Rome, using her creative props and colourful metaphors, such as "Rome is like a lasagna with all of its layers".
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The tour started in the Colosseum and includes skip the line pre-reserved ticketing. I have always said to understand a monument of this importance you need a guide and Giulietta confirmed this. Despite having been inside the Colosseum many times, Giulietta brought the place to life with her vivid explanations and stories. She filled us with interesting facts, new things that I hadn't heard even from doing various tours previously. Did you know for example that the Colosseum was built in only 10 years? Or that wild animals in the Colosseum weren't limited to lions? Animals such as crocodiles, hippopotamus and even one giraffe were fought in the colosseum.
Though we covered quite a bit of history, as well as physical ground, we never felt overwhelmed or rushed, with frequent opportunities to stop, look, and ask questions, Giulietta eloquently answered all of our questions.
There was also plenty time to take pictures and Giulietta recommended the places to get the best shot, the centre of the Colosseum with a great 360° panoramic view of the arena.
The tour continued to the Roman Forum, again by-passing the regular entrance lines.
Although the colossal, impressive ruins are majestic themselves, I know I'm not alone in thinking that the Roman forum can look like a remainder of a lot of old broken ruins if you don’t know the importance and the history behind it, again it was Giulietta who changed this, her in-depth knowledge brought the ruins to life, she also had a book of pictures that truly enhanced what she was saying.
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| Roman Temple, a former church,made of the so called 'onion marble' because of its layers. |
She also strategically chose the highlights of the vast area to give us a broad overview. She didn’t skip on detail though, stopping to show us her personal favourite parts.
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| The Arch of Titus |
After the Roman Forum it was time to step off the touristy trodden trail for the ‘piece de resistance’ of the tour if you will, that is exclusive access to ‘Caesar’s Palace’. Haven't heard about it? That's not surprising considering, admittedly sadly, most people haven't.
For thousands of years, the house of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, nephew of Julius Caesar, and the man who created the ancient Roman Empire and its framework, was tucked away uncovered in the most sacred corner of the Palatine hill. It wasn't until 1961 when excavations on the Palatine revealed a small fragment of a painting that led to the colossal discovery of the house of the Emperor.
Its safe to say that Augustus was a pretty important guy, his influence still reverberating around the world today (after all we still have one of our months after him). The word ‘palace’ itself comes from the Palatine Hill, its modern meaning from the fact that Emperor Augustus built his home here.
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| Views from the Palatine hill |
After years of closure, renovations and restorations and previously only available to archeologists and historians, the lavish houses are now open to explore on the Walks of Italy tour.
The security gates were unlocked for us and the doors swung open to he original caesars palace, the house of the Emperor and his formidable wife Empress Livia Drusilla.
For many years archaeologists and preservationists have been hard at work restoring these ancient treasures, recapturing the colours and details of 2000 year old fresco paintings. So if the colosseum and the ruins in the forum weren't quite ancient enough for you, rest assured the palace will take you 1000 years further back in time, it is even older than the ancient colosseum.
The entrance to the house
Inside, we were greeted by colourful and vibrant ancient mosaics and frescoes, some of the best from the Roman world, and the exact same ones enjoyed by Augustus and Livia 3000 years ago.
We explored the bedrooms of the emperor and his wife, rooms where they would enjoy their meals and Augustus private office.
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| The 'pine room' - Bedroom of Livia |
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| A room in the house of Augustus, 'The room of the masks', theme of theatre. Some say this was the bedroom of Augustus. |
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| A newly designed visitation route through the house which goes through a series of five rooms, two of which were libraries. |
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| “Room of the Perspective Paintings”, has vividly coloured frescoes |
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| Another room with clear theatrical inspiration decoration |
Sources say Augustus, lived and stayed for all his life, using the same bedroom, quite humble for an emperor. The whole house was in fact humble by ancient Rome standards, most of the rooms were small, however it isn't the size of the house or the grandeur of the palace that is striking, rather the intricate, glorious fresco adorned walls.
The “Large Oecus” the room in which elaborate dinner parties were staged.
The frescoes are so well preserved because they were completed covered by earth, preventing them from being damaged by air until they were excavated in the 1960’s. The fragility of the frescoes is the reason that the rooms are limited to a certain number of visitors at a time, the advantage of that however, being that you marvel them almost on your own.
It's breathtaking to be standing in the same spot the Emperor and his wife walked, dined and lived in.
The most refined and elegant decoration of the house can be found in the 'studiolo' or 'study' (pictured above) of Augustus. Small in size and elaborately decorated it was where the Emperor used to retire when he did not want to be disturbed. It is located on the highest level of the house. Today, it is accessed by climbing a modern steel staircase. The study can be viewed by peering through a protective glass where you can imagine Augustus sitting there, holding his secret meetings and consolidating his power while forming the Roman Empire.
House of Livia
Whilst the House of Livia lacks the preposterous vivacity of the frescoes in the House of Augustus, it more than makes up for in its majestic spacious atmosphere, intricate mosaic floors and rich decoration.
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| The left hand room, dining room of the House of Livia. |
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The two-storey house, has been attributed to Livia on the basis of the name IVLIA AVG[VSTA] stamped on a lead pipe on display on the left-hand wall, as seen below.
Livia, wife of Augustus and the first empress of Rome, was an influential and matriarchal figure. Despite being described throughout history as being a "treacherous, avaricious, and power-hungry woman", surviving portraiture confirms her reputation for dignified beauty, womanly virtue and simplicity. Who knows what she was like, she was however for certain undeniably interesting, (she married Caesar whilst pregnant with her previous husband's child) and an extremely ambitious and powerful woman. That being said, who wouldn’t want to have a nosy around her house?
The tour of the houses, as well as being packed with useful information was also littered with Giulietta's anecdotes, stories and perspective on the palace, making it all the more interesting.
Giulietta was such a fabulous wealth of knowledge. Her archeology background clear through her vast knowledge, fascinating facts and perspective imparted so well. Not only was she passionate about her subject, she was tons of fun, her warm and sunny personality and humorous anecdotes kept us interested and smiling for the entire time, even comparing Emperor Nero to a madonna day madonna or lady gaga.
Aside from Giulietta, the entire tour was well organised, entertaining and informative and the three hour duration was given at a nice pace.
Go and do this tour while you can, who knows how long it will be kept open for! The good news is, if you go in the near future, you will be one of the first to explore and experience the site.
Back outside into the reality of 2015, there was just enough time to get some photographs with some stunning views.
and to have a look at the Imperial ramp mostra.
If you're a first time visitor to Rome, a repeat visitor looking for something new, a history or ancient Rome enthusiast or just a curious roman or expat (like me) who wants to explore their own city, this is the tour for you.
All information about the tour can be found HERE
Ciao for now
Zoe
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