The birthplace of most of Western civilization and the fountainhead for some of the world’s greatest achievements, Rome has been through myriad political and religious changes in its three thousand year history. It soared during periods of glorious prosperity and survived “Dark Ages” of poverty and despair, emerging as the Caput Mundi, “capital of the known world.” On this sightseeing track, you’ll discover firsthand how the Ancient Roman Empire was recreated in the Middle Ages as the Holy Roman Empire, how Christianity was spread from Rome, and how Rome and the Vatican eventually became the capital of the Roman Catholic Church.


Go inside the ornately decorated Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and be sure to look up at its ethereal gilded dome ceiling


The best place to start is inside one of the four great pilgrimage churches of Rome and the most complete example of an early Christian basilica. (The other major basilicas, including San Giovanni in Laterano and St. Peter’s Basilica, have been completely transformed or rebuilt.) Founded in the 4th century, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is also one of the most beautiful, boasting an elaborate 18th-century facade of Baroque architecture and a golden interior of 5th-century mosaics that portray the first large-scale cycle of Biblical scenes in Rome. Your visit here paves the way for your next stop, an in-depth look at the official cathedral of the diocese of Rome, where the Pope himself comes to celebrate Mass on select holidays.


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