Civitavecchia

Archaeology

You will be picked up from Civitavecchia harbor in an air-conditioned van, before being taken to the Vatican Museums. Don't worry about the crowds, as this tour includes exclusive skip-the-line access into the museums. The Vatican Museums are one of the world’s most visited museum complexes and are overflowing with masterpieces by many of the world’s most important Renaissance and Baroque artists. Your guide will lead you through all of the most important galleries providing a fascinating overview of the history and cultural significance. The tour includes visits to the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica and other key museum highlights. After this, you will stop for a light lunch and enjoy some authentic Roman cuisine. You will then head to the Colosseum and once again, will skip the long queues outside. Here, your guide will make the world’s most famous amphitheater come to life, explaining its awe-inspiring structure, and recreating the days when it was filled with the sounds of roaring animals and crowds and the clashing swords of gladiators. After that, you will visit the Roman Forum which was once the ancient city’s social, governmental, economic and religious center. At the end of the day, you will be taken back to Civitavecchia port.

Discover the city of Tarquinia and visit the UNESCO world heritage site of the Etruscan necropolis, containing tombs painted more than 3000 years ago, with the help of your local guide. Learn about the extraordinary artwork in the tombs, which predates the Romans and gives unique insight into the ancient culture and daily lives of the Etruscan people.  Leave the necropolis, and follow your guide to one of the most impressive museums on the Etruscans, located in the spectacular Palazzo Vitelleschi. Continue your discovery of Etruscan life and see items of pottery, arts and crafts which have previously been displayed in New York and Paris.  Finish your time in Tarquinia by relaxing and enjoying an authentic Italian lunch, in a traditional local restaurant. Savor the unique and dazzling flavours of the Lazio region, for the perfect end to your day of discovery. Upgrade the default tour option to also explore the underground city of Etruscopolis and see a massive underground quarry from the 4th-century BC featuring recreations of Etruscan homes and see what life was like in a time before the Romans.

Visit the unique Park of the Monsters, also known as the Garden of Bomarzo. Explore the gardens and their wide terraces, fountains with water games and mannerist sculptures. Discover figures of monsters, dragons, mythological characters and exotic animals. See the blocks of peperino, a crooked house, a funerary temple and obelisk monuments with carved mottos. After the visit, indulge in a traditional Italian lunch at a restaurant in Viterbo city center. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided visit of the old town. Known as the City of the Popes, Viterbo’s spectacular medieval center is worth seeing. Learn about the time of the Holy See and the fighting between the Guelph and Ghibelline families.    

Civita di Bagnoregio is located in Tuscia on the border between Tuscany and Lazio. It is called the "dying city" because the land on which it stands is slowly falling away and will inevitably disappear when the final pieces crumble into the spectacular Valle dei Calanchi below. Knowing this, and knowing that nothing can be done to prevent it makes your visit all the more special, eternal and timeless. This is the feeling that makes it unique and marvelous to the people who have experienced the dying city. Connected to the rest of the world by a three hundred meter bridge, Civita di Bagnoregio is a charming village which will make you feel you are visiting a world that no longer exists. Made up of old houses, narrow streets and surrounded by beautiful landscapes, discover a walk through the scenes and stories of this place and choose the corner that sparks your intrigue the most. You can explore the Romanesque Arch at the entrance to Civita, the Renaissance Palace or the large Piazza (which is the site of donkey races on the first Sunday in June and the second Sunday of September and where all the remaining locals come to socialize in the evenings). After visit the dying city, you will head on to discover the Monster's Park situated in the town of Bomarzo. It is also called "Sacred Wood", and was designed by Prince Vicino Orsini and the great architect Pirro Ligorio in 1552. The park is unique and represents refined Italian style gardens that follow geometric and perspective rationality with embellishments such as wide terraces, fountains with water games and mannerist sculptures. You will also discover here eccentric wood blocks of peperino, emerging from the ground and sculpted into enigmatic figures of monsters, dragons, mythological subjects and exotic animals.

Meet your driver and then travel 20 minutes to Tarquinia, the capital of the Etruscans. An ancient civilization with their own culture and language, the Etruscans were an early adversary of Rome and were ultimately assimilated into the kingdom of Rome. Within the underground city of Etruscopolis however, the ways of this ancient people are once again brought back to life. This historic site contains a museum of recreated artifacts, which were lovingly crafted by the artist Omero, who is known as “the last of the Etruscans.” See tombs, homes, objects, and scenes of daily life. Understand Etruscan culture through objects as well as intricate dioramas. Explore an underground Etruscan quarry from the 4th-century BC which spans 15,000 square meters. Journey into the past, and see recreations of Etruscan homes. See what life was like in a time before the Romans had even conquered all of Italy. Afterward, have lunch at a typical trattoria in Tarquinia’s historic center. 

This private tour is carefully organized for cruisers. It guarantees a good outlook of the city of Rome and its major sites with a pick-up in Civitavecchia. It will be arranged, depending on the number of passengers, in a luxury sedan or minivan. The tour’s route includes stops in sites such as the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, ruins of Caracalla Baths, the Capitol, Piazza Venezia, the Colosseum, the Forum, Trevi fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Vatican and the Basilica of Saint Peter. The order of the tour can vary based on traffic conditions, and the amount of time spent at each stop is based on your interests and time available. In addition to the expected stops, you can decide to stop whenever you want to take photos during your tour. The tour is customizable, and your driver will be available to answer any questions you may have.

See Rome's most significant monuments, the famous piazzas and the Vatican Museums. The tour will start from the Port of Civitavecchia with an easy and comfortable drive to Rome that will take approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes. During this time your private driver will point out various points of interest along the way and answer any questions that you may have about your day. The day trip includes a dedicated personal tour guide to show you all of Rome's highlights as well as ensuring you make it back to the cruise ship at the end of the day.

Travel back to the days of the Etruscans on a full-day shore excursion by private minivan from Civitavecchia. First, transfer to Tarquinia in the province of Viterbo to explore one of the oldest cities of the Etruscan League. Here, a local guide will take you the Necropolis of Monterozzi where some of the 6,000 Etruscan tombs date back to the 7th century BCE. Marvel at chambers carved in rock, erotic frescoes, and mythical scenes of banquets, horse racing, demons and more. Next, stroll the medieval walls of Tarquinia, and go to the romantic 12th-century Church of Santa Maria in Castello. Take in panoramic views of Tuscany and the Tyrrhenian Sea before driving to the seaside for lunch. Enjoy a bracing walk in the Natural Reserve, looking out for flamingos and migratory birds. Transfer to Tuscania, a major trading city during the age of the Etruscans, and one of the first bishopric seats in Italy. Go to the Lateran church of Saint Peter, and the finely decorated church of Santa Maria Maggiore. See ancient sarcophagi at the Etruscan Museum. Then, marvel at the medieval Tower of Lavello, and the fountain of Fontana delle Sette Cannelle. Although one day is not enough to solve the mysteries of the Lords of the Sea, by the time you transfer back to Civitavecchia you will have a good idea how the Etruscan civilization influenced the Ancient Romans.

Get to know Rome on a private, full-day guided tour. Upon disembarking from your cruise ship in Civitavecchia, reach the Shuttle buses Terminal and meet with your guide. Ride the train into Rome, where your adventure will beings! You will start off by visiting many of the city's sites that are free to the public and don't involve waiting in line. See beautiful Byzantine mosaics and masterpieces of many artists like Caravaggio and Michelangelo at churches. Visit the Aurelian Walls and stop by the Circus Maximus, the Palatine and Aventine Hills where Rome was founded. Next, travel to see the outside (upon request inside) of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, as well as the Capitol Hill, the Theatre of Marcellus, the Tiberine Island, the Mouth of Truth, the Temples of Portunus and of Hercules, Piazza Venezia, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the inside of the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Saint Peter’s and the Vatican (upon request and time permitting inside Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel). Along the way, your guide will tell you bits and pieces of history and culture, and you will also be able to customize your trip so that you see what interests you most. Finally, at the end of your whirlwind tour, your guide will take you back to the train station so that you can return to Civitavecchia.

Join this private tour of Rome by minivan led by an English-speaking driver/ guide. Pick-up from the ship will be at 08:30 (or the time you prefer, please make this known). You will find the driver attending with a sign with your name written on it. The proposed itinerary (may be reversed or rearranged as needed). Depart the pier and drive to Rome for about 1.5-hours. Drive to Circus Maximus for a spectacular view of Palatine Hill. Then, reach and visit the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Afterwards, head to Piazza di Spagna and visit the area, continuing to Trevi Fountain and visit the area (make sure to throw in a coin) and then continue for a visit to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. See the Vatican City comprised of St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica. Drive back to the pier in Civitavecchia.