A Taste of Ancient Rome: Exploring the intersection of archaeology and Roman food (land tour)

Dates: October 13, 2013 - October 21, 2013 (9 days)
Tour Leader: Elizabeth Bartman

Still-life mosaic from a villa at Tor Marancia, currently on display at the Vatican Museums

• Explore little-visited but fabulous ancient sites in and around Rome in the company of AIA President Elizabeth Bartman, an expert on Greek and Roman art and archaeology with an emphasis on Roman sculpture.
• Discover Rome’s finest outdoor market plus a renowned gourmet food shop, and dine at several superb restaurants with insights on Roman food and wine provided by Maureen Fant, an expert on the gastronomy of ancient and modern Rome.
• Three special day trips are included to the ancient coastal resort area of Terracina and Sperlonga, ancient villas along the ancient Via Appia, and the medieval hill towns of Sabina, where you will enjoy a special cooking demonstration.
• Unpack once and enjoy one of Rome’s most historic and luxurious hotels, located near the Pantheon in the heart of ancient Rome.

Pricing: $7,445 per person double occupancy
Single Supplement: $1,595

Download the Brochure or View Online

View brochure online

View brochure as PDF

Itinerary

(B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner)

Sunday, October 13, 2013
Depart your U.S. gateway city for Rome, Italy..

Monday, October 14
Arrive in Rome this afternoon, where you will be met and transferred to our luxury hotel in the historic center. After time to unpack or rest up from the overnight flight, there will be an introductory talk on ancient Roman dining by Elizabeth Bartman and an introduction to Roman cuisine by Maureen Fant. This evening is free to rest and dine independently or with your leaders. Overnight for seven nights at the five-star Grand Hotel de la Minerve.

Tuesday, October 15
Transfer by motor coach to the Forum Boarium, where it is possible to see the Arco Argentarii, the quadrifons market arch, the remains of the Annona distributions center built into Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and the two newly restored temples of Portunus and Hercules Victor (where Hercules is said to have defeated the monster Cacus). Continue on to the Testaccio quarter and the new site of one of Rome’s best loved fresh produce markets. Maureen Fant will explain the wide variety of seasonal fresh produce and the socio-historical context of the food and market, whose new building stands atop ancient Roman warehouses and across from the ex-Mattatoio, the old slaughterhouse, built in the 1890s. Now restored, it houses, among other things, the splendid Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma (MACRO). We will also examine (and, permission pending, climb) Monte Testaccio, a sizeable hill that is, in fact, an ancient Roman refuse dump composed almost entirely of fragments of broken amphorae. Many amphorae were stamped with labels that shed light on aspects of ancient Roman commerce. Our morning concludes with a special welcome lunch at the historic restaurant Checchino dal 1887, located within Monte Testaccio, where Maureen Fant will provide insights to the menu of traditional Roman specialties. (Although the restaurant is famous for offal, that is only a small part of the menu; even vegetarians will be fine.) Afternoon visits include the famous Protestant cemetery and the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius (pending permission). Coach transfer back to our hotel. Enjoy an evening at leisure and dine independently or with your leaders. (B,L)

Wednesday, October 16
Today we drive two hours south of Rome to a pair of fascinating ancient sites along the beautiful Tyrrhenian Coast. First is Terracina, an important Roman town on the Via Appia, whose forum and ancient temple sanctuary are spectacularly situated on a mountain ridge, dominating the shoreline and sea. After lunch at a seaside restaurant, we take a short drive to the ancient Roman resort of Sperlonga, site of the Emperor Tiberius’s opulent villa, which was lavishly decorated with statuary recounting the deeds of Odysseus. We return to Rome with a stop at a buffalo mozzarella factory for a tasting and to learn about its production. Enjoy an evening at leisure and dine independently or with your leaders. (B,L)

Thursday, October 17
This morning we walk to the unusual Museo Nazionale Romano Crypta Balbi. Originally an ancient theater, it is now a fascinating archaeological and historical museum in a splendid setting. Continue on to the old Ghetto with its monumental Portico of Octavia, the remains of the Temple of Apollo, and the grand Theater of Marcellus. Over lunch at the wonderful and renowned restaurant Piperno, which specializes in traditional Roman Jewish (not kosher) dishes, Maureen Fant will tell us about this influential urban cuisine. After lunch, a short drive takes us to the Museo Centrale Montemartini, one of Rome’s new museums. Housed in the city’s first electrical power station, the contrast between the gleaming turbines and engines of the industrial age and the elegance of the classical statuary creates a very unusual atmosphere. A short drive returns us to our hotel. Enjoy an evening at leisure and dine independently or with your leaders. (B,L)

Friday, October 18
We start the day with short coach transfer back to the Testaccio quarter to one of Rome’s finest gourmet food shops, Volpetti, a Roman institution, to pick up our picnic lunch for later. We can take the opportunity to shop and sample cheese, prosciutto, salami, and various items. Afterward we drive to the Museo delle Mura (The Museum of the Walls), located in the Porta San Sebastiano, one of the largest and best-preserved gates of the Aurelian Walls, which marks the beginning of the Via Appia Antica, the ancient Appian Way. We shall also visit the Villa Massenzio, an enormous 4th-century palace built for the Emperor Maxentius, with the best-preserved chariot-racing circus in the Roman world; and the Catacombs of San Sebastiano, with its beautiful mausoleums and interesting early Christian graffiti. After lunch, we will continue on to the Villa of the Quintilii, the sumptuous private residence of the brothers Sextus Quintilius Condianus Maximus and Sextus Quintilius Valerianus Maximus, both consuls during the 2nd century A.D. Their villa stands high on a hill, its courtyards and public and private rooms nearly all paved with marble. Our last couple of stops of the day will be at the columbarium of Pomponius Hylas (pending permission), a 1st century A.D. Roman burial place near the Porta Latina; and the Tomb of the Scipios, final resting place of the patrician Scipio family during the Roman Republic (pending permission). Enjoy an evening at leisure and dine independently or with your leaders. (B,L)

Saturday, October 19
Today we enjoy another lovely day exploring the countryside around Rome. We leave Rome by the Via Salaria and, after about an hour and fifteen minutes, reach the storied Sabine hills in the province of Rieti. We visit the once-powerful and still magnificent medieval Farfa Abbey, whose church has a fine gate with magnificent floral friezes. An oil tasting and pasta-making demonstration in the early afternoon culminates with a very special lunch with Maureen Fant and Oretta Zanini De Vita at Oretta’s beautiful villa in Scandriglia, in the Sabine countryside. Return to Rome to enjoy an evening at leisure and dine independently or with your leaders. (B,L)

Sunday, October 20
A pleasant morning walk from our hotel brings us to the glorious Pantheon, one of the best-preserved of all ancient Roman buildings. Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Rome, it was rebuilt by the Emperor Hadrian in about A.D. 126. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon still boasts the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. Finally, we pay our respects at the Altar of Augustan Peace housed in the Ara Pacis Museum, designed by the American architect Richard Meier. An independent lunch is followed by a free afternoon, during which you may wish to pack, relax, or shop (some shops in the center are open on Sundays). In the evening, your leaders will host a special farewell dinner. (B,D)

Monday, October 21
Morning transfer to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport for return flights to the U.S. (B)

If you have any additional questions, please email us at aia@studytours.org (and include your full name) or call us toll-free at (800) 748-6262 (toll: 603-756-2884).