Rome Private Tours - Vatican Art Walks.com

Great Performances Part I - Dance

2011-02-28T07:05:00.000-08:00

Too much of a good thing, even Rome, is too much. This week I'm giving some space to great performances that have nothing to do with the Eternal City. The first is a magical dance performance that is truly poetry in motion -- they are Gurdieff's Sacred Dances, set to Thomas Hartman's music. They explore -- and explode, I'd say -- the idea that the human body is tied to space and time. Enjoy.

Site and Blog back online

2011-02-02T07:20:00.001-08:00

The VaticanArtWalks site was hacked, and I am in the process of re-upping everything. Thank you to those of you who wrote with technical advice (and encouragement!), what frustration! I'll get the blog current again in the next phase.

Vatican Museums Free Entrance Sept 27

2009-09-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

If you're in Rome on September 27th go see anything but the Vatican museums!

The museums are home to a huge chunk of the world's great art -- think of them as a "Smithsonian of the ancient world". Etruscan gold jewelry, Greek statues, Egytpian telamones, inscriptions in ancient languages. Not to mention the "recent" wonders like the woven tapestries of Raphael's designs, Caravaggio paintings and, of course, the Sistine Chapel.

But on September 27 the museum entrance is free. The Vatican is participating in the European Heritage days as a way of promoting european culture and will let anyone who shows up see the huge collection for free. It's a great initiative....if you can't afford the 14euro entry ticket. Otherwise, it's a free-for-all that feels more like a human cattledrive than a stroll through art history.

Head the other direction, and go out the Appian Way to the catacombs and a stretch of the most evocative -- and important -- stretch of road in the western world.

Sistine Chapel Street Painting Constest

2009-09-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just came across a fun article on a streetpainting blog. Instead of ruining the sides of buses and monuments these artists got together and used their pastels to compete with each in re-creating Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescos. The results are impressive....even if they didn't spend years on scaffolding, in grim conditions....

Sistine Chapel Tour....at Night?

2009-08-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

The Vatican recently added extended evening hours for visits of the Vatican Museums. Hopefully, this will allow more Romans, scared off by the infamously long lines of tourists during the day, to see the Sistine Chapel. One of the most evocative tours you could treat yourself to is an after-hours visit of the museums -- you get to marvel at Michaelangelo's ceiling all by yourself. Guaranteed to give you goosebumps, even if it isn't easy on the budget!

Here's a New York Times article that might interest you:

A Friday Night Date at the Vatican? You Bet. - Globespotters Blog ... - Dan, perhaps tourists should understand they're visiting sacred ground when they boisterously chat their way through the Sistine Chapel (among other Vatican tour stops). I have visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and I can tell you that ...

2009-08-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a video we just put together from photos sent in by our tourists. There is a little of everything you would expect from the best Vatican tour in Rome ;-)
Everything from the basilica of St Peter and the massive dome of Michaelangelo, to Bernini's magnificent statues and the paintings and statues of the Vatican museums. Enjoy!

Untitled from Leo McGuiness on Vimeo.

2009-08-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

How to Choose the Best Vatican Tour for Your Family
In 5 Easy Steps

Planning a trip to Italy isn't easy -- you need to
find hotels, trains, tours, restaurants and so much
more.

One of the most important highlights in Rome is Vatican City: home
of the pope, St Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the art
collections of the Vatican museums. That's a lot to see with
nothing but a guidebook in your hands, so here's some advice
for picking the right tour for your family.

1. Decide what is most important.

If you have children you'll probably want a guide who
enjoys interacting with children and knows what parts
of the Vatican kids are particularly interested in.

If you are readers then you'll want a guide who has
read a lot of the same books and can discuss what
you read about, as well as recommend other related
books.

And if you have special interests or needs then you
will most likely want to be with someone with that
kind of experience. If you're in a wheelchair, for
example, or want a tour that visits the dome or the
Scavi, then you'll need to plan in advance.

2. Pick your kind of company

Some large companies offer dozens of tours a day,
which keeps the prices low. Smaller companies and
individual tour guides, on the other hand, usually
concentrate on just a few things and have more time
to give you their full attention.

3. Decide if a private or group tour would work better

A tour is private if it is just your family and the guide,
or at most a handful of other people. Group tours are
anywhere from a half dozen people to 50 or more.

The advantage of a group tour is that it costs much less
than a private tour. The biggest disadvantage is that taking
a Vatican tour with a big group often involves delays due to
the number of people involved: handing out headsets,
looking for missing people, collecting fees, waiting
for slow walkers etc eats up a lot of time.

With a private tour you have the guide to yourself and can
ask questions and go more or less at your own pace. The
tour can usually be customized to include what you would
like to focus on, and the amount of time spending waiting
in line or for other members of the group is eliminated.
There is no disadvantage....provided it fits your budget.

4. Pick your guide

In my experience there is really only one factor that
determines the quality of the tour: who is the guide?
Can you understand what they are saying? Are they
enthusiastic? Do they have a sense of humor? Are they
good listeners? Can they "read" you and your family
and tailor their presentation to your interests and
backgrounds?

This is where you need to do a little bit of homework.
The best Vatican tours have testimonials and letters
from past clients that you can read for
insight into how other people felt about their
Vatican tours.

Ask questions by email and see how you
feel about the responses you get. Do you get detailed
answers and friendly responses....or do they only seem
to be interested in selling you what they have to offer?

5. Relax and Enjoy Your Day

The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica
are testimony to the some of the highest artistic and
spiritual achievements of the western world. Enjoy an
unforgettable day!