Christmas Walking Tour in Rome: Magical Atmosphere & Iconic Sights

Highlights

• Local Guide & Small Group
• Festive Christmas Atmosphere
• Iconic Roman Landmarks

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Piazza Navona

   15min

   Navona Square has been defined during the fifteenth century, the Baroque-style Piazza Navona is one of the most charming and popular squares in Rome. The square is built on the former ‘’Stadium of Domitian’’, a horseshoe-shaped arena for foot races built in the 1st century AD. In the square there are three magnificent fountains - Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, the Fontana del Moro, and the Fontana del Nettuno.

2. 2

   Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

   15min

   Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) is a fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome. It was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza as did the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone of which Innocent was the sponsor. The base of the fountain is a basin from the centre of which travertine rocks rise to support four river gods and above them, a copy of an Egyptian obelisk surmounted with the Pamphili family emblem of a dove with an olive twig. Collectively, they represent four major rivers of the four continents through which papal authority had spread: the Nile representing Africa, the Danube representing Europe, the Ganges representing Asia, and the Río de la Plata representing the Americas.

3. 3

   St. Peter's Square

   20min

   St. Peter's Square is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome. At the centre of the square is an ancient Egyptian obelisk, erected at the current site in 1586. Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed the square almost 100 years later, including the massive Doric colonnades,four columns deep, which embrace visitors in "the maternal arms of Mother Church". A granite fountain constructed by Bernini in 1675 matches another fountain designed by Carlo Maderno in 1613.

4. 4

   Via Dei Condotti

   Pass by

   Via Condotti is a busy and fashionable street of Rome. It begins at the foot of the Spanish steps and is named after conduits or channels which carried water to the Baths of Agrippa. In Roman times it was one of the streets that crossed the ancient Via Flaminia and enabled people who transversed the Tiber to reach the Pincio hill.

5. 5

   Terrazza del Pincio

   Pass by

   The Pincian Hill is one of the most romantic and picturesque places in the Capital. It is part of the Villa Borghese and is within the Aurelian Walls. The balcony overlooks the Piazza del Popolo and the Villa Medici. Ancient Romans built villas and gardens (horti) here.

6. 6

   Spanish Steps

   20min

   Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. Nearby is the famed Column of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the middle of the square is the famous Fontana della Barcaccia, dating to the beginning of the baroque period, sculpted by Pietro Bernini and his son, the more famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

7. 7

   Trinita Dei Monti

   30min

   The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti, is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome. It is known for its commanding position above the Spanish Steps which lead down to the Piazza di Spagna. The church and its surrounding area (including the Villa Medici) are a French State property.

8. 8

   Piazza del Popolo

   30min

   Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome designed in neoclassical style between 1811 and 1822 by the architect Giuseppe Valadier. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square". In the northeast corner of the piazza there is the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. For centuries, the Piazza del Popolo was a place for public executions, the last of which took place in 1826.

Before you go

Location