Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere Tour | Private

Tour Description

Your private off the beaten path walking tour takes you through the atmospheric quarters of the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere, visiting fascinating ancient and medieval sites along the way. It offers a chance to get away from the crowds and discover a different Rome, starting in the cobbled medieval neighborhood of Trastevere.

This private tour visits some of the Eternal City’s most alluring neighborhoods, letting you in on the secrets and stories that still resonate from their walls. Your walk through Rome will bring new insight to the history and struggles of Jewish culture and life in the Eternal City.

Meander through Rome with a step off the beaten path 

Wandering down the winding, cobbled streets of Trastevere feels like a step back in time. Though it’s now a bustling bohemian neighborhood full of quirky shops and worldly restaurants, it maintains an organic aesthetic that has gone unchanged for centuries. The unpruned Holly Oaks that engulf entire street corners bring a romance to caffès that thrive beneath. Even the crawling Flinders Rose along the walls of Lungotevere combine natural beauty with the towering marble walls that line the river. 

Traverse the streets of Trastevere with your expert local guide. Listen to the history of Trastevere, where Jewish culture and society intertwined with Rome’s. The neighborhood was once considered outside the city limits of Rome, and inhabited by fishermen and Jews who needed to cross a bridge—the oldest in Rome—to get into the city center. 

Cross the Ponte Fabricio, the oldest bridge in Rome 

Between the west and east banks of the Tiber lies the tiny Tiberina Island. Legend holds that the body of a tyrant, who was loathed by the people of Rome, was tossed into the river and serves as the foundation for this island. Originally, prisoners and the sick were condemned to its shores. However, it slowly converted into a land of healing and has harbored a hospital since 1584—the Fatebenefratelli Hospital. 

A doctor working at this hospital during World War II is said to have “invented” a deadly, highly contagious illness to keep Nazi officers away and protect Jews seeking refuge inside the hospital’s fortress-like walls. 

Experience part of the ancient world and follow your guide across the Ponte Cestio, the bridge connecting Tiber Island to Trastevere on the river’s west bank. It was built in the 1st century BC but dismantled and restored in the 19th century. Continue past Tiber Island and onto the Eternal City’s oldest bridge, the Ponte Fabricio. This impressive landmark is still in its original state and was built just before the previous Ponte Cestio. Cross over into the mainland where you’ll reach the Jewish Ghetto. 

Peruse the Jewish Ghetto 

At the edge of the east bank of the Tiber lies the Jewish Ghetto. Today, the Jewish Ghetto is a picturesque neighborhood rightfully attached to Rome’s historic center. 

The Jewish Ghetto hasn’t always been so calm and pleasant. Your expert tour guide will bring the neighborhood’s unsettling history to life. Down its narrow streets, you can feel the familiarity through proximity the inhabitants must have felt before the walls were torn down in 1888. See the Great Synagogue of Rome, still in use today and one of the only synagogues in the city. It also houses the Jewish Museum, and rightfully so. 

This tiny neighborhood is bursting with Jewish culture and history. Your expert guide tells you historic tales, folklore, and legends as you walk down its narrow streets to Campo de ‘Fiori. 

Walk inside the popular market of Campo de‘ Fiori 

Campo de’ Fiori is another bustling area, much like Trastevere but less trendy. It’s overflowing with performers, market stalls selling anything from handmade leather to local olive oil, and full of locals and tourists alike. But don’t let its friendly atmosphere get shadowed by the billowing storm clouds of this neighborhood’s dark history. It was once the site for executions, publicly displayed.