Private Guided Tour of Roman Churches

As the capital of Catholicism, Rome is a church town like no other.

Roman history from the end of the Christian persecutions to the end of papal rule was marked by the building of a profusion of churches in Rome, many of them architectural masterpieces that have stood the test of time.

Regardless of your religious persuasion, if you love art and architecture, painting and sculpture, and resplendently colored mosaics, Rome's famous churches contain extraordinary art treasures and are an integral part of Rome's rich living history spanning the ages.

We can consider Rome a great living museum because some of its most splendid artistic riches are still housed in their original settings - the churches for which, or in which, they were created.

As your licensed personal tour guide of Rome, I will be pleased to guide you and your small group of family and friends on a private guided tour of some of Rome's outstanding churches from the medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. You will experience famous works of art first-hand on architectural and cultural itineraries through some of Old Rome's most beautiful neighborhoods.

Your private guided tour of Roman churches can be made to measure.

Depending on your choice of churches and the number of people in your small group, the Roman church itinerary can be done as a private guided walking tour, private guided limousine tour or private guided minivan tour.

Besides Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and the small Church of Saint Peter in Chains, featuring Michelangelo's celebrated Moses statue, you can choose from among:

The Three Major Basilicas

• Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, the largest church in Rome prior to the building of the present Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, featuring medieval mosaics and cloister and a majestic interior that will give you an idea of what an ancient Roman basilica was like
• Saint John Lateran, mother church of Catholicism as the first church in Rome built by Constantine, featuring medieval mosaics and cloister, Baroque architecture, frescoes and sculpture
• Saint Mary Major, the most important cult place of Mary in Rome, founded in the 4th century after, tradition tells us, a miraculous August snowfall, with medieval mosaics and ornate papal burial chapels

Roman Medieval Churches

A guided tour of some of Rome's beautiful medieval churches can include:

• the Basilica of Saint Mary in Trastevere (Santa Maria in Trastevere - Rome's oldest cult of Mary), with splendid medieval mosaics and architectural elements recycled from ancient Roman ruins, situated in one of Old Rome's most characteristic neighborhoods
• the Basilica of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere (Santa Cecilia in Trastevere) - built above ancient Roman houses, including the place where Cecilia was martyred and where the saint's remains are preserved, featuring rare medieval mosaics (9th century) and medieval fresco paintings (late 13th century) by Pietro Cavallini. The Church of Saint Cecilia is located in one of the most beautiful and quiet areas of Trastevere. A walk through the little streets and lanes around Saint Cecilia's Church will transport you back through time
• the Basilica of San Clemente (on three levels: two medieval churches, one atop the other, featuring splendid medieval mosaics and frescoes, plus the lowest level - ancient Roman ruins and a cult place of Mithra, Christianity's rival in the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Roman Empire - experience with your own eyes "underground Rome" and Rome's "layers of history"
• the Basilica of Santa Prassede and the Basilica of Santa Maria in Domnica, with rare and splendid medieval mosaics
• the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, near the Pantheon, Rome's only Gothic church, containing sculptures by Michelangelo and Bernini, papal tombs, the tomb of the Renaissance painter Fra Angelico, and the remains of the beloved Saint Catherine of Siena

Roman Baroque Churches

Rome's Baroque artists and architects wanted to amaze you, and a guided tour of these churches will show you how (wow!). A tour of some of Rome's exuberant Baroque churches can include:

• the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (Saint Mary of the Victory) near Trevi Fountain, featuring Bernini's marble masterpiece of Saint Teresa in Ecstasy - a feast for the eyes and the heart
• the Church of Saint Ignatius in the heart of Baroque Rome near the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona set in a charming square (Piazza Sant'Ignazio). The Church of Saint Ignatius features extraordinary frescoes that challenge our notions of space and is the final resting place of pope, cardinals and Jesuit saints

Caravaggio's churches in the heart of Baroque Rome near the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo to marvel at the intense paintings by one of Italy's greatest artists:

• the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi (Saint Louis of the French), with Caravaggio's Saint Matthew cycle
• the Church of Sant'Agostino, with Caravaggio's Madonna of the Pilgrims, a humble old couple with dirty feet kneeling before the Madonna and Child
• the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, with Caravaggio's Crucifixion of Saint Peter and Martyrdom of Saint Paul housed in a tiny chapel to either side of the soaring Assumption of the Virgin Mary by the painter Annibale Caracci, Caravaggio's contemporary and rival. This church in Rome's Baroque Piazza del Popolo also features Renaissance frescoes by Pinturicchio and his school and works by Bernini and Raphael (cited in Dan Brown's Angels and Demons)

These small group tours of Roman churches are private tours, exclusively for you, your family and friends, and can be designed to your wishes.