Rome & Venice

This holiday is a combination of our one week holiday in Rome and our one week holiday in Venice.

Imagine a day which starts at the Colosseum with the ghosts of the gladiators, then stroll through the Roman Forum in the steps of emperors and vestal virgins. Climb the Capitoline Hill to the Campidoglio Square designed by Michelangelo, then continue up onto the massive monument to Victor Emanuel II, all with Ramble Worldwide. From here Rome lies all around you, from the towers of St John Lateran to the dome of St Peter's.

Rome is a city where you don’t have to seek out art galleries to see the art – it is all around you. Fountains by Bernini, beautiful baroque squares such as the Piazza Navona, and apartment blocks built into Roman theatres. The churches are treasure troves too. 

And then, as if that wasn’t enough, there is the Vatican City, the Pope’s own country. Besides the Sistine Chapel there are Raphael’s Rooms, including the School of Athens, the greatest celebration of how the classical world was reborn in Renaissance Rome. St Peter’s Basilica itself contains Michelangelo’s Pietà and Bernini’s wonderful tomb of Pope Alexander VII.

Rome also offers a taste of the sweet things in life. You can visit the morning market just around the corner from our hotel and pause for a shot of coffee. Stroll the narrow streets around the Pantheon and grab a gelato.  Each evening we will visit local restaurants and enjoy a variety of cuisines.

We will also have the opportunity to take a day or two out of the city, to Tivoli for the water gardens of the Villa d’Este and the ruins of Hadrian’s elaborate villa. Ostia Antica offers a pleasant day out to an Ancient Roman port city. This is perhaps the best place to get an idea of the life or ordinary citizens in Ancient Rome.

Once you have finished in Rome take the train to Venice where the city of water waits to be unmasked...

The great double bend of the Grand Canal is lined with the impressive Palazzi of Venice’s merchants, spanning 800 years and now repurposed. The lesser canals and quiet walkways often evade the day-tripper, but you’ll have time to explore the nooks and crannies, seeing how real Venetians live. The boat journey to the outer islands is an experience in itself. See master craftsmen making the famous Murano glass into flowers, indented leaves, and multi-coloured ornaments. Visit the coloured houses of Burano, home to lace making, and the cathedral on tranquil Torcello. Everything moves by boat—how many different things will you see? Amazon parcels, a grand piano?

This is the city of Titian, Tintoretto, and other Venetian greats whose art can be found in the buildings and churches for which they were painted. Works by Palladio, the great influence on Western Architecture, include San Giorgio and the Redentore churches with their unusual double interlocking triangular pediments.

You will also take the train inland for a day, across the plains of the Veneto to Padua, once part of the Venetian Republic. It is home to one of the first universities, the exotic Basilica of San Antonio with its minaret-like spires and Byzantine domes, the renowned Scrovegni Chapel with its stunning frescoes by Giotto, and much more. The time will pass all too quickly!