Amazing Rome
The most amazing experience to discover Rome!
APPIAN WAY
The Appian Way was nicknamed by the Romans “the Queen of all Roads”. The most famous of all consular roads, it was full of ancient villas, suburban residences, and ancient graves. We will enter a landscape where it feels like time stands still!
Sites Visited
Duration 3 hours
Coffe break Incontro Bar
Colombario P. Hylas
Porta S. Sebastiano
Domine Quo Vadis
Catacombe S. Callisto
Basilica S. Sebastiano
Circo di Massenzio
Mausoleo C. Metella
1. PARCO DEGLI SCIPIONI
2. PORTA S. SEBASTIANO
3. CHIESA DOMINE QUO VADIS
4. CATACOMBE DI S. CALLISTO
5. BASILICA S. SEBASTIANO
6. CIRCO DI MASSENZIO
7. MAUSOLEO DI CECILIA METELLA
Info
Tour
THE COLUMBARIUM OF POMPONIO HYLAS
It is a small columbarium, magnificently decorated in an extraordinary state of preservation. The sepulchral structure dates back to the early decades of the Imperial Age. The rectangular room was excavated in the rock. The complexity of its architecture and decoration of stucco and paint are remarkable.
ST. SEBASTIAN’S GATE
St. Sebastian’s Gate is probably the largest and best-preserved gate of the Aurelian Walls. The former name was Appian Gate because it was crossed by the Appian Way, which started nearby. During the Christian Age, it was renamed because the road led to the Basilica and catacombs of St. Sebastian.
CHURCH OF DOMINE QUO VADIS
The small church of Domine Quo Vadis was built on the site where, according to legend, St. Peter met Jesus while the former was fleeing persecution in Rome. Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" (Domine, quo vadis?). Jesus answered, "I am going to Rome to be crucified again". So Peter went back and faced martyrdom.
CATACOMBS OF CALLIXTUS
The catacombs are among the greatest and most important of Rome. The arcades form part of a complex graveyard that occupies 15 hectares and is almost 20 km long. They are named after the deacon Callixtus who, at the beginning of the third century, was appointed by Pope Zephyrinus as the administrator of the cemetery, and so the catacombs became the official cemetery of the Church of Rome. Here were buried dozens of martyrs, 16 popes, and many Christians.
ST. SEBASTIAN’S BASILICA
The Basilica was built in the first half of the 4th century, though at the time it was still called the Basilica Apostolarum. The reason it was dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul is that they were temporarily buried in the catacombs underneath the church. Around the year 350, all relics pertaining to the popular Roman martyr Saint Sebastian were placed in these catacombs and the name of the Basilica (and of the Catacombs themselves) was changed to Saint Sebastian.
CIRCUS MAXENTIUS
The imposing residential complex known as the Circus Maxentius consists of three monuments: the circus, the palace, and the mausoleum of Romulus. The Circus, built by the emperor Maxentius for the chariot races, is the best preserved of all Roman circuses, and is second only in size to the Circus Maximus in Rome. The Circus was reserved for the imperial family but it was able to accommodate 10,000 spectators.
TOMB OF CECILIA METELLA
The tomb is the most universally known and preserved among the monuments of the Appian Way. An inscription, placed on the upper part of the monument, indicates that here lies the noblewoman Cecilia Metella. The Tomb consists of a cylindrical drum, or rotunda, atop a square podium. At the end of the thirteenth century the mausoleum was incorporated into the fortified castle of the Caetani family.
