Ancient Rome's Dark Side: Ghosts, Murders & Imperial Blood

Highlights

• Expert Storyteller Guide
• 2-Hour Walking Tour
• Small Group Experience (Max 15)

What's included

Itinerary

1. 1

   Area Sacra di Largo Argentina

   10min

   Stand above the very site where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE. Hear the story of his brutal murder, the chaos that followed, and the chilling legends of his ghost returning to haunt the men who betrayed him.

2. 2

   Teatro di Marcello

   10min

   View the ruins of Rome’s oldest surviving theatre and learn about Livia, the empress accused of eliminating rivals — including her own stepson — to secure the throne for her son. Discover how imperial ambition may have been laced with poison.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   10min

   Look out over the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, once home to emperors like Caligula. Hear how his descent into madness ended in assassination — and how his ghost was said to haunt the palace halls long after his death.

4. 4

   Carcer Tullianum

   10min

   Stand beside the infamous steps where traitors and enemies of the state were executed and left to rot. Visit the entrance to the Tullianum prison, where powerful prisoners were strangled underground and denied a proper burial.

5. 5

   Via dei Fori Imperiali

   10min

   Walk through the area of Domitian’s forum and hear how he tried to escape a prophecy about his death — only to be murdered at the predicted hour. Discover how his name was erased from history and his ghost feared by the servants who survived him.

6. 6

   Monti

   15min

   Enter what was once Rome’s seediest district, the Suburra. Hear the scandalous story of Messalina, the emperor’s wife who allegedly walked these streets at night — and whose ghost is still said to linger in the shadows.

7. 7

   Scalinata dei Borgia

   10min

   Visit the staircase near the ancient Vicus Sceleratus, where a Roman princess drove her chariot over her murdered father’s body. Learn how the Romans believed acts of violence could curse entire streets.

8. 8

   Colosseum

   10min

   Finish the tour with a dramatic view over the Colosseum. Hear how this arena was built from conquest, filled with blood, and possibly haunted by the countless gladiators and prisoners denied burial and peace.

Before you go

Location