Overview

New and Improved for 2019! The Ultimate tour now includes VIP skip-the-line access to the Colosseum.

The Colosseum may have once had a capacity upwards of 70,000 but with the Rogue Historians, you are guaranteed a more intimate experience. Our Semi-Private tours are maxed out at 13 people in order to make this a more enjoyable and personal experience. 

Starting at the arena of death, we head straight into the Colosseum avoiding the long ticket lines (we do still have to wait in security lines which can be up to 20 minutes on extremely busy days, nobody skips these lines no matter what they advertise or promise). 

After the Colosseum, we head to the exterior of the Roman Forum (exterior only, but your Colosseum ticket will allow you to come back later in the day and explore this area at your own pace).

Then it's on to Piazza Venezia, the site of Mussolini's headquarters during World War II and Trajan's Column, before finishing the tour in the Jewish Ghetto.
 

Key Sites

Colosseum: The arena of death! The Colosseum, a monument so vast and imposing, so awe-inspiring and iconic that it many ways it has come encapsulate the Roman Empire. Commisioned by Emperor Vespasian in 72 CE and finished during the reign of Emperor Titus in 80 CE.  With a capacity of over 50,000, it would remain the biggest sporting arena in the world until the 20th Century.

The arena was used to host spectacular public entertainment events such as gladiator fights, wild animal hunts and public executions from 80 CE to 404 CE. It may be over 1500 years since the last gladiator fights but this isn’t a problem for The Rogue Historians. We will take you back in time for a day at the games - blood, guts, gore and more.

The Roman Forum: The Roman Forum or Forum Romanum of ancient Rome was the bustling religious, administrative, legal, and commercial heart of the city from the 7th century BCE onwards. Although wrecked by earthquakes, weathering, pollution, and centuries of architects robbing it of its stones and columns, the Forum Romanum, nevertheless, remains one of the most impressive sites surviving from antiquity and a unique window into the once great glorious world that was Rome. 

Trajan's Column: Trajan’s column was erected in 113 CE, it stands in Trajan's Forum and is a commemorative monument decorated with reliefs illustrating Roman emperor Trajan’s two military campaigns in Dacia (modern Romania). 

Jewish Ghetto: Home to the Jewish community in Rome since it walls were erected in 1555. The ghetto was a walled quarter with its gates locked at night. At the time of Sixtus V (the late 1580s), roughly 3,500 inhabitants were living in inhuman conditions. It would remain this way until the foundation of Italy with Rome as its capital in 1870. It was the last remaining Jewish Ghetto in Europe until their reestablishment under Nazi occupation during WWII.

 

Important Information

The tour duration is three hours at an easy pace, though we do cover a lot of ground, if you have mobility issues please contact us in advance so we can discuss options with you.

The Colosseum has strict security measures. Please leave, long umbrellas, knives, large rucksacks, and SELFIE STICKS at home as they will not be permitted inside and there are no storage facilities. 
 

Schedule for 2019 is currently being updated, please contact us for availability in the meantime.