The Christians In Rome
 6
Days / 5 Nights
Day 1
Arrival in Rome. Accomodation in Hotel. Welcome drink and meeting with our
Tour Excort who will introduce our program. Dinner in local restaurant followed
by an evening walk around Rome's historic center: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon,
Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Farnese.
Day 2
Buffet Breakfast to the Hotel. In the morning Our visit will begin with the
archaeological complex of the church of S. Giovanni & Paolo, including the
house of the two martyrs, where the first Christians met to pray. We then follow
the Via Appia, historically linked to the first Christians. We will linger a
while at the small church Domine Quo Vadis, which is where St. Peter met Christ.
Along the Via Appia, one finds the church of St. Sebastian, under which stretches
one of the larger complexes of catacombs in Rome, where, according to tradition,
the bodies of the Saints were kept here for A period of time. Free time for
lunch. In the afternoon we continue to the Basilica of St Paul's outside the
Walls on the Via Ostiense, which the Emperor Constantine had built over the
Saints' tomb. Free time in Rome center Town. Dinner and Overnight.
Day 3
Buffet Breakfast to the Hotel. In the morning visit to the excavations under
the Basilica of S. Clemente, one of the most interesting archaeological complexes
in Rome. It is a stratification of elements of 3 levels: Roman buildings, an
early basilica of the 4th century and that of the 12th century. At the lowest
level is a mithreum, a place of worship dedicated to Mithras, a divinity from
western Asia. This religion entered Rome from the east as did Christianity and
a rivalry between the two developed. Nearby we will see 5th century S. Stefano
Rotondo, one of the oldest churches in Italy. Circular in shape, this church
contains a string of moving and bloody frescoes, representing the lives of the
Martyrs and Saints.
Free time for lunch. In the afternoon we continue to the Basilica of St. John
Lateran, also of great antiquity, which Constantine built by expropriating all
possessions of the noble Roman family Lateran, who were adverse to Christianity.
We will see the early Christian Baptistery, built by Constantine on a Roman
nympheum, which became the prototype of many baptisteries to follow. Santa Croce
in Gerusalemme, one of the seven churches visited by Pilgrims in Rome holds
the relic of the Cross carried to Rome by St. Helena, mother of Constantine.
The last visit will be to Basilica of S. Lorenzo, also built by Constantine
in 330, on the tomb of S. Lorenzo. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4
Buffet Breakfast to the Hotel. In the morning we will visit St. Peters, the
greatest of all Christian churches. Then a visit to Santa Maria in Trastevere,
one of the earliest churches of Rome, with its early mosaics still in good condition.
Free time for lunch. In the afternoon we will visit some early churches on the
Aventine Hill, the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, which rises in the old
cattle market. The church of Santa Sabina represents the ultimate in Christian
Basilicas of the 5th century. On to San Saba and the oratory of Santa Silvia,
and the church of Santa Balbina, behind the Baths of Caracalla. A great hall
of the Roman Imperial era was used as a plan for this church: the original structure
is still easily recognized. Dinner and overnight.
Day 5
Buffet Breakfast to the Hotel. In the morning we aill visit to S. Martino
ai Monti, a 3rd-century church, which like other early churches, was built on
the site of a private house, converted to an oratory. We shall visit the excavations
beneath the church. The church of S. Pudenziana is one of the oldest churches
in Rome and was built on the site of the house of Senator Pudente, where St.
Peter is said to have been a guest. Continue to the church of S. Prassede, very
interesting for its various early works of art, chiefly mosaics. Free time for
lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit the "Liberiana Basilica," Santa
Maria Maggiore, the fourth of the Patriarchal basilicas of Rome. Along the via
Nomentana, we find the early church of S. Agnese. St. Agnes was martyred n a
brothel next to the Domitian Circus, (the present Piazza Navona) and buried
outside the town walls on the site of the church which bears her name. In the
near can be found the Mausoleum of S. Costanza, Constantine's daughter, with
its beautiful 4th-century mosaics. They are a magnificent example of early Christian
craftsmanship. To end our tour we will visit the Catacombs of Priscilla, one
of the most famous of Rome, with frescoes, painted plaster reliefs and sarcophagi.
Farewell dinner at a Roman restaurant.
Day 6
Departure
|
