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Roads to Rome: The Via Flaminia - little known treasures along the ancient Roman route
8
days
from
US$5,370
Book today with a deposit from
US$806
25th September 2027 - 2nd October 2027
Tour highlights
- Archaeological, artistic and historical jewels from the port of Rimini on the Adriatic coast, over the Apennine Mountains and down the valley of the Tiber onto the gates of Rome.
- Though largely off the beaten track today, in these delightful towns, rolling hills and wooded mountains see the Roman fortresses, bridges and triumphal arches which marked the expansion of Roman power.
- Follow the imperial highway that has outlived empires: built by Flaminius, traversed by pilgrims, and still carrying travellers today.
The Via Flaminia was built by the Romans in the late third century bc and served to link Rome to the Adriatic. In so doing, it opened up Italy north and south, east and west, not only to the Romans but also to later travellers and invaders, including Early Christians, Byzantines, Lombards, monks, friars, Renaissance artists and Grand Tourists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. We follow the route all the way from the Arco di Augusto in Rimini to the Forum in Rome.
The majority of nights are spent in Spoleto, which stands at one end of the fertile Vale of Umbria and is ringed to the east by the wooded foothills of the high Appenines. For seven hundred years, this delightful city was the capital of a Longobard duchy which controlled a wide swathe of Italy. There is time to explore its winding mediaeval alleys and its blend of Roman, Renaissance and Baroque architecture.
From here we see much of the spectacular scenery of Green Umbria, as well as the villages, towns and cities situated on plains and hilltops or in the shadow of Umbria’s high mountain peaks. Among the towns visited are Narni, Foligno and Terni.
The tour is bookended by nights in Rimini and Rome. Rimini was founded as a Latin colony in 268 BC, its strategic position allowing Rome to garrison the frontier and further project its power into Gallic, later Ligurian, territory. The construction of the Via Flaminia allowed this colony to become the terminus of Rome’s fastest route northwards, developing into a town whose fortunes rose in step with the great highway. To end, there can of course be no better finale to the tour than Rome itself, the ‘Eternal City’ to which all roads lead.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 8.00am from London Heathrow to Bologna. Drive to Rimini where the first night is spent. In the afternoon, visit the Tempio Malatestiano, church and mausoleum of the Renaissance tyrant Sigismondo Malatesta (designed by Alberti, fresco by Piero della Francesca, sculpture by Agostino Duccio), and the Arco di Augusto which marks one end of the Flaminian Way.
Leaving Rimini, drive along the coast to Pesaro to visit the Cathedral complete with beautiful Roman mosaics, and art gallery in Palazzo Mosca. From here, follow the coastline a little further to Fano. The town’s layout still conforms to the Roman plan. There is a 2nd-century triumphal arch here, as well as tombs of the Malatesta dynasty and paintings by Perugino in Santa Maria Nuova. Continue to Spoleto where the next five nights are spent, climbing through spectacular mountain scenery on the way.
Known to the Romans as Fulginium, Foligno lies on the banks of the river Topino. It offers a range of exceptional attractions and yet is little known to tourists. See the cathedral, with a wonderful secondary façade by the builders Binellus and Ridolfus, and the adjacent restored palace of the Trinci family, lords of Foligno, and home to extensive frescoes now known to be the work of the greatest Italian master of International Gothic, Gentile da Fabriano. In the afternoon continue to Bevagna (the Roman Mevania), with one of the most beautiful of all Italian early mediaeval squares and a complete circle of mediaeval walls, built on the line of their Roman predecessors.
See the Rocca Albornoziana, the fourteenth-century fortress built at the command of Cardinal Albornoz to secure the city for the papacy. The museum within has an outstanding collection of mediaeval art. See also the mediaeval aqueduct, famously painted by Turner. Free afternoon in Spoleto.
The tour returns to the New Flaminian Way, made possible by the construction of the bridge over the Nera. An important Roman city, Terni led Umbria’s nineteenth-century industrial revolution, and despite war damage retains attractive and important traces of its Roman, mediaeval, and Renaissance past, as well as an excellent museum (CAOS), with archaeological and fine art displays. The monastery of S. Pietro, in a spot of great beauty, has one of Italy’s most important early fresco cycles.
A morning walk includes the Roman amphitheatre and Casa Romana, and finishes at the cathedral square. One of the most pleasing in Italy, it slopes like an auditorium towards the imposing cathedral façade with its mosaics and rose windows; inside there are frescoes by Pinturicchio and Filippo Lippi. The older branch of the Flaminian Way proceeds via the substantial remains of the magnificently located Roman city of Carsulae, where the Roman road through the town is well preserved.
Narni enjoys a privileged position on the edge of the gorge of the river Nera and was the birthplace of a first-century Roman emperor and the celebrated Renaissance condottiere Gattamelata. See the Ponte di Augusto, a feat of Roman engineering, and works by Ghirlandaio and Benozzo Gozzoli in the Palazzo Eroli. Continue to Rome where the final night is spent.
The Forum Romanum, the civic, religious and social centre of Ancient Rome, has the remains of many structures famed throughout the Empire, and is the end of our road. Fly from Rome Fiumicino to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 5.00pm.
Practicalities
Two sharing: US$5,730 or US$5,370 without flights. Single occupancy: US$6,740 or US$6,380 without flights.
Private coach travel; accommodation as described below; breakfasts, one lunch and five dinners with wine, water and coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer.
Grand Hotel Rimini: An old-world 5-star hotel which has retained most of its comfort and style, perched on the seafront. Hotel San Luca, Spoleto: A comfortable 4-star hotel, located in an elegantly converted former tannery, just within the city walls. Palazzo Ripetta: 5-star hotel in a historic palace dating back to the 1600s, excellently located around the corner from Via del Corso. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
Many of the visits take place in hill towns, with very steep and uneven inclines leading from the coach park to the centre. Spoleto is particularly steep, and the hotel is situated at the bottom of the town. There is a lot of walking, and agility and sure-footedness are particularly essential on this tour. Average distance by coach per day: 80 km.
Typically between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Travel.State.Gov to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
25th September - 2nd October 2027
Speaker:
Mrs Patrizia Sfigliotti
Price:
from US$5,370
(Based on two sharing)Combine with
We are happy to advise on combining this itinerary with another tour or event. Please contact us for information about linking accommodation and transport.
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