connoisseurs' rome

If all roads lead to Rome, not all organised visits open the doors of Rome’s many private palaces and villas! This visit is an exception as it is almost entirely devoted to a series of specially arranged private visits. We shall enjoy extraordinary levels of access to some of the most important palaces, villas and collections in Rome.

How is this possible? Over the years CICERONI Travel has built up an unrivalled series of introductions and contacts in Roman society, both sacred and secular. This allows us to organise what we believe to be the finest tour of its kind available. It is an opportunity which you are cordially invited to participate in as our guests. The overriding theme of the visit will be to allow you to enjoy a level of access to remarkable buildings and their collections, whilst recreating the perspective of an earlier, more privileged world.

These visits will chart the transformation of Rome during the Renaissance and Baroque periods as a succession of remarkable Popes, Cardinals and Princes vied to outdo each other. All the great names of Renaissance and Baroque Rome will be encountered: Raphael, Michelangelo, Bramante, the Carracci family, Caravaggio, Bernini and Borromini - possibly the most exciting chapter in the history of western art?

Your physical comfort is guaranteed: our chosen hotel is the very comfortable 3* Superior Albergo del Senato, just by the Pantheon and situated in the heart of the historic centre of the city. Throughout the visit we shall use a series of Mercedes ‘people carriers’ thus ensuring a truly door-to-door service for all visits.

Day 1: Tuesday 1 November

We fly from Heathrow to Rome’s Fiumicino airport and continue into Rome to our hotel, the 3* Superior Albergo del Senato. Later that evening we have our first dinner in a local restaurant – wine, water and coffee are included with all group lunches and dinners.

Day 2: Wednesday 2 November

We begin our first day as the guests of a noble family visiting their private sixteenth century Palazzo, built by Giacamo della Porta and Carlo Maderno and which contains excellent interiors together with an important collection of remarkable Florentine paintings. The owner, whose family have lived here since the seventeenth century, will be our guide. We continue to nearby San Luigi dei Francesi to see the famous Contarelli Chapel with the cycle of paintings by Caravaggio devoted to the life of St Matthew. We cross the Tiber into Trastevere for a group lunch after which we visit privately the exquisite Villa Farnesina. Built for Agostino Chigi, the rich papal banker and treasurer, it contains some of the finest frescoes of the High Renaissance by Raphael and his contemporaries. We return to our hotel where the evening will be free.

Day 3: Thursday 3 November

The sixteenth century Villa Medici enjoys a spectacular position, looking out from its hilltop towards the Vatican. Now the French Academy in Rome, both the villa and the many delightful follies within its walled gardens are of great interest. Nearby, we shall also visit Villa Ludovisi-Boncompagni, where the current Princess of the family will host our private visit. The villa contains celebrated frescoes, notably Guercino’s Aurora and the only ceiling fresco in oil ever painted by Caravaggio. We continue to the Spanish Steps area where you will have time for lunch, not included. It is likely there will be no formal visits this afternoon and the remainder of the afternoon and evening should be free for private explorations.

Day 4: Friday 4 November

We begin our day with a private visit to one of the major Baroque Palaces in the city. Here, Caravaggio’s most important picture in private hands (in the world) will be seen by very special arrangement. We spend the remainder of the morning to visit privately Palazzo Colonna, the most magnificent of all Roman palaces, where we shall visit both the State and the rarely seen private apartments. Its frescoed spaces display a bewildering array of pictures, decorative arts and furniture of breath-taking quality. These culminate in the grandest of all grand Galleries from eighteenth century Italy. After lunch (not included), we walk the short distance to Palazzo Doria Pamphili, where we shall find the finest art collection in private hands in Italy with works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Bernini and Velazquez to name a few. We end our day at a church normally not accessible to the public, San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi. This is the Flemish Church in Rome, under the protection of the King of the Belgians. It contains William Kent’s only known fresco in Rome, which he carried out before he returned to England. On our return to the hotel, the evening will be free.

Day 5: Saturday 5 November

We drive up to the exclusive Aventine Hill for a private visit to see the Villa of the Knights of Malta, where we visit the remarkable Church designed by Piranesi and the surrounding gardens. After coffee we drive on to the Janiculum Hill to visit San Pietro in Montorio where in the cloister Bramante designed the first building of the Roman High Renaissance, the remarkable Tempietto.  We end the morning with a private visit to the Villa Lante al Gianicolo, with perhaps the finest balcony view looking down on the city? We return to the centre for lunch (not included) and some free time for private explorations. Later in the afternoon, we regroup for our private evening visit to The Vatican Museums to see the Sistine Chapel and other highlights of the papal collections including Raphael’s Stanze after which we have a final group dinner.

Day 6: Sunday 6 November

We begin with Borromini’s masterpiece, San Ivo della Sapienza, rarely available to view but this morning we shall visit it. We end our week at Villa Borghese which contains Rome’s finest art collection, including all of Bernini’s early sculptural masterpieces such as his David, Apollo and Daphne and Pluto and Proserpina. It has marvellous paintings by Raphael, Titian and no less than six major paintings by Caravaggio. After some free time for lunch, not included, we continue to the airport for our return flight to Heathrow.