Tour overview

Our new tour combines Rome, where we will learn more about the workings of Empire, and Sorrento, where the Imperial elite spent their summers. Still impressing visitors two thousand years later, we will explore the heart of the Empire, which by the 3rd Century had become a vast sprawling city spreading over its seven hills. This tour endeavours to show you the very best of Imperial Rome in its heyday before moving south to the glorious Bay of Naples, surely one of the most dramatic and decadent areas of Europe, where we will see how the Romans enjoyed themselves away from the full trappings of State.

Based in Sorrento, perched high above the Bay with views looking out to Capri and Vesuvius, we will visit some magnificent sites including the Poppaea's Villa Oplontis, Herculaneum, and the most perfect grouping of Doric columns at Paestum. We will also be able to see just how normal citizens lived in Pompeii after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD froze them in time.

Tour Lecturer: Dr Neil FaulknerDr Neil Faulkner is one of our most popular and respected tour lecturers and we are delighted that he is able to lead this very special visit to Rome in conjunction with his new book on the Roman Empire ‘Rome: Empire of the Eagles’

Neil Faulkner writes: “In my most recent book I look at the Roman Empire in what many may seem to be a rather provocative manner and one which concentrates the reader’s mind on just how ruthlessly it was managed – the rich and powerful became richer and even more powerful at the expense of the proletariat. Great sites and monuments were to be found in every corner of the vast Empire but the best was saved for Rome itself. The scale and majesty of the city’s ancient buildings was on a massive scale that impressed and intimidated simultaneously. This tour explains just how the Empire functioned both in Rome and around the Bay of Naples, where the Emperors and their entourages spent the summer, in one of the most beautiful regions in Europe.”

Tour itinerary

Day 1
We fly from London to Rome where we stay for five nights at the centrally located 4 star Hotel Marcella Royal on the via Flavia.

Day 2
Our visit begins with ancient Rome’s most superbly preserved monument and one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements - the Pantheon. We will stop at the recently re-opened Ara Pacis, Augustus’s Altar of Peace and see his mausoleum. We will then go to the Capitoline Museum where we see an impressive collection of statues and other artefacts, including the massive foundations of the original Temple of Jupiter, now exposed inside the museum complex before walking through the Forum, the most evocative site in the city.

Day 3
Three great iconic sites are included today starting at the Colosseum, the largest and grandest amphitheatre in the Empire, the Arch of Constantine, embellished and ornate, and the sprawling Baths of Caracalla. Here we find the greatest bath-house in the Roman world whose cavernous spaces were filled with mosaics, frescoes and monumental sculptures. The day ends on the Palatine Hill where a succession of Emperors built their palaces.

Day 4
We leave the centre of Rome for Tivoli where we see Hadrian's Villa, which covers a vast area of beautiful parkland with the Sabine Hills providing a stunning backdrop. Hadrian himself designed this palace which was influenced by the great buildings he saw on his travels throughout the Empire. The Maritime Theatre is a charming complex which encircles a private island to which Hadrian would escape with his lover to forget the burdens of state. Indeed, Hadrian spent the final years of his reign at Tivoli, increasingly embittered by the feeling of enmity towards him caused by his military failures, notably in Palestine. We will see not just the Villa but a number of other buildings and pavilions before returning to Rome where the remainder of the day is free.

Day 5
Our first visit today is to the Baths of Diocletian, beautifully preserved and today a working church, before continuing to the Palazzo Altemps to see one of the finest collections of ancient statuary and frescoes. The collection of great sculptures once owned by Cardinal Altempts is now in the care of the Roman National Museum. The final visit today is to the Trajan Market, built by the Emperor to celebrate his victory over Dacia, modern-day Romania. We will also see the Trajan Column and the Forum, both dedicated to the Emperor.

Day 6
We leave Rome behind this morning and drive south, making a stop in Naples where we will have the opportunity to see a great many finds from around the Bay of Naples at the legendary Archaeological Museum. We will continue on to Sorrento where we spend the next five nights at the 4 star Hotel La Favorita in the centre of the resort.

Day 7
Today we go Herculaneum, an interesting and well preserved site where mud rather than ash protected the buildings for future generations. We will see townhouses and shops in what was probably a middle class residential area. Later we go to the extremely lavish Villa Oplontis, said to be the villa of Poppaea, wife of Nero. Much restoration has revealed exquisite wall paintings and a swimming pool.

Day 8
Today we go to Paestum, driving part of the way along the fabled Amalfi coast road. Paestum was in fact a Greek settlement and has a wonderful group of three impressive Doric columns. The site also has a small museum. The Doric Temples overlook the sea and date back to the 6th Century. They were dedicated to Hera and Athena.

Day 9
We travel by Circumvesuviana railway today from the centre of Sorrento to the gates of Pompeii. Here we see the results of what may be the world's most famous archaeological exploration, Pompeii. We discover tiny houses and grand villas, a temple, a theatre and a forum - the entire Roman Empire encapsulated in one place. You may wish to stay on in the afternoon for independent exploration and return using the regular train service back to Sorrento.

Day 10
Our tour ends with a visit to the lovely island of Capri. Tiberius loved the island so much he ran the Empire from here for ten years from 27 AD. Here we see the superbly preserved Villa Jovis, infamous for the debauchery and violent behaviour which took place here. Anyone incurring the Emperor’s displeasure, was dragged to the infamous Tiberius’s leap and hurled into the blue waters below.

Day 11
We drive to Naples airport for the flight back to London.