About Rome
- Rome's Budding Street Art Scene
25 January, 2023 - The Life and Reign of Emperor Claudius
19 January, 2023 - The Baroque Period in Rome
12 January, 2023
Why Choose It?
- Discover Judaic art and symbols within the vast papal collection.
- Contextualize the Old Testament scenes of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
- View Saint Peter's Basilica in a new light with our informative, licensed guide.
Tour Description
Everybody knows the Vatican as the epicenter of Catholicism, the beating heart of the Christian world. Few look beyond its Christian facade and ancient collections to uncover a different side to the Vatican. A side in which the oldest of the Abrahamic traditions takes center stage.
Your private Vatican Tour from a Jewish Perspective walks you through the Vatican’s vast collection, offering a unique lens through which to decode its symbols and discover its treasures. From the Jewish imagery of the Sistine Chapel to the Jewish artifacts of the Vatican Museums and Saint Peter’s Basilica, you and your expert guide will fully explore the Vatican for a perspective most visitors in the Eternal City completely overlook.
Explore the famed halls and galleries of the Vatican Museums
Stepping straight inside the Vatican with special skip-the-line entry, you’ll proceed straight towards the highlights of the Vatican Museums’ renowned collections. Fully explore the marble-coated Gallery of the Candelabra, burnished gold Gallery of Maps, and the intricately detailed Gallery of Tapestries, seeking out the subtle Jewish symbolism hidden away in each.
Stretched across almost 4.5 miles of corridors, the Vatican Museums boasts one of the largest art collections in the world. With the focus of approaching them from an entirely Jewish perspective, your private guide will be able to venture into greater depth as you explore its many highlights.
Discover the secrets of the Jewish Lapidarium
Should its collection be open to the public, your Vatican Tour from a Jewish Perspective will take you through the Jewish Lapidarium: a unique collection showcasing some of the most interesting inscriptions from ancient Rome’s Jewish community.
Hailing from the Jewish Catacomb of Monteverde, near Trastevere, these inscriptions offer fascinating glimpses into the social, religious, and cultural lives of Rome’s Jewish community between the third and fourth centuries AD. Your expert guide will introduce you to the most interesting, bringing you face to face with the ghosts of history.
Get an all-new angle on the Sistine Chapel
If there’s one attraction you can’t miss during your time in the Vatican, it’s the Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo’s undisputed magnum opus and one of the most lasting and influential contributions to western art. Standing beneath its frescoed ceiling with Michelangelo’s Last Judgement stretching up in front of you, you’ll experience the Sistine Chapel like few others, viewing it through a lens many would never stop to think to look through.
Let your private guide regale you with stories of Michelangelo’s immersion in the Talmud, Torah, and Kabbalah – immersion which informed the visual iconography intrinsic to the Sistine Chapel’s famed designs.
Take in the breathtaking Saint Peter’s Basilica
From the Sistine Chapel, you’ll make your way to Saint Peter’s Basilica for the final part of your Vatican Tour from a Jewish Perspective. Your private tour concludes outside in Saint Peter’s Square where, in the shadow of the square’s obelisk, surrounded by Bernini’s perfectly proportioned colonnade, your guide will put together the final pieces of the puzzle in a way that will engage, inform, and most importantly entertain.
Your private guide will direct you inside the storied walls of the basilica. Here you will see Michelangelo’s famous Pietà and Bernini’s Baldachin through new eyes, allowing you to experience Saint Peter’s like so few ever do.
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Itinerary:Vatican Museums highlightsSistine ChapelSaint Peter's Basilica
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Included:Licensed tour guideSkip-the-line entrance
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Important Info:Saint Peter’s basilica is an active religious center and is strongly influenced by liturgical ceremonies and needs: we are therefore not responsible for any inconvenience resulting from sudden closure of the basilica. Umbrellas and backpacks cannot be taken inside, and please cover shoulders and knees.
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Wheelchair accessible:Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to request our private tours.
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Meeting Point:Vatican Museums entrance (under the statue of Michelangelo and Raphael)
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excellent guides
Our guides are fluent in English and have a contagious passion for the inspiring cultural heritage of our Italian cities. Experts in their fields, they will immerse you in the hidden histories and intriguing lives of history's great protagonists. So much to see, so easy to miss out: with the help of our guides, visit the most absorbing sites and uncover the stories that have changed the world. Don't miss this fascinating journey!
Terrific Trastevere Food Tour with Luca! Luca took my wife and myself on a wonderful food tour through Trastevere. The things we saw and ate and learned were excellent. The best part was Luca's friendly nature.... read more
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A must do experience This cooking class was a highlight of our trip. We got to meet a young chef, Sara. She had us decide what to cook. Then we walked through... read more
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Best Food Tour We Took! My fiance and I capped off our first full day in Rome with this lovely food tour. Luca was friendly, excited, and knowledgeable. We got to try a ton of... read more
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Worth every penny. What an evening! This was without a doubt the highlight of my trip. A great evening with plenty of incredible local food and drink and a really good way to meet and... read more
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Delicious food from fabulous foody Luca Boccia was PHENOMENAL!
His knowledge of Italian cuisine was exceptional, especially welcomed because it included more than just the well known dishes. He was funny and friendly, making our... read more -
A Must Do Tour of Sistine Chapel Amazing! This was my third time to the Vatican but this time I took my adult/teen children and wife and we used a tour guide. It was a... read more
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Amazing evening activity in Rome Excellent night with Sara on her birthday!
We drank wine, ate amazing food and capped it with gelato!! -
Amazing walking food tour w Luca B My wife and I had an amazing walking food tour through the Jewish Ghetto and Trastevere. Luca B was extremely informative and accommodating. Would absolutely recommend to anyone!
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Best tour ever. Martha was our guide. She is the best. They way she explained all , answered our questions give us all the information in every place all was wonderful. It was... read more
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Great Food Stroll with Luca We did the Trastevere Food Stroll with Luca B and he was great! Brought us to great authentic locations and provided his expert advice! We would highly recommend this tour... read more
