Eyes of Rome

We had the most amazing tour visiting some of Rome’s famous places with our tour guide Alessandro. We started off our tour at the famous Colosseum and although we have visited the Colosseum many times before we have never fully appreciated the rich history of the Colosseum until our tour with Alessandro. Alessandro wealth of knowledge was amazing, because not only did he know so many interesting things about the Colosseum he brought along with him his personal experience as an archaeologist. Which was so fascinating, both our children aged 16 and 10 were utterly engaged with the information and wide knowledge shared by Alessandro like the fact it took just 5 years to build the Colosseum something we never knew and had always believed that it must have taken so much longer. Alessandro was enthusiastic and we felt his enthusiasm as he shared more knowledge with us and it made the difference because he was not just a tour guide paid to give us a private tour he actually loves what he does and it made the difference, he made sure my 10 year son was involved in our tour by making him feel what it must have been like to a Rome emperor he gave our son the name Emperor Rocco which our son fully embraced. After our tour of the Colosseum Alessandro took us off the beaten track and showed us some of Rome’s hidden gems which we really enjoyed like sioi societa’ italiana , Sant’ Eustachio and Monti to name a few ( the ones I can remember). In addition he took us to one of the first public notices in Rome which was a public notice for owners of guest houses informing the owners that they needed to inform the authorities of any guests that were ill to stop the spread of any disease, he also showed us another plaque a public notice letting citizens know that they would be a fine for anyone caught littering. It was so interesting, as well as taking us down the amazing side streets of Rome, Alessandro tested us on our Roman Numerals which was so much fun I’m happy to report my children passed with flying colours - true Romans! At the end of our tour Alessandro took us to another hidden gem for lunch and I have to say it was probably the best lunch we have had, as Alessandro said to us to enjoy food in Rome you have to go where the locals go and not where the tourists go! We had the most amazing time with Alessandro and honestly we didn’t want the tour to end, I would highly recommend using this tour company and if possible make sure you book Alessandro you will not be disappointed. Grazie Milie Alessandro Buon Anno!

Perfect tour. Balance of facts, food and fun. Denis is extremely personable and knowledgeable. Our family of four, including two teenagers enjoyed the morning food tour where we visited favorite local shops. Definitely a must do!

Elise was fabulous. Everything ran like clockwork - on time, professional, friendly. Her English was very good indeed. And her knowledge of detail and her delivery were first class - all carried out with courtesy and enthusiasm. I'd highly recommend Elise (and Eyes of Rome)

We participated in tours for the Colosseum and Pompeii. Our guides were very good and professional. The driver for our Pompeii trip, Emanuel, was friendly and hilarious. He made the long commute very entertaining. Thank you!

We had the pleasure of visiting the Vatican on April 2, 2022, with Azzurra Della Seta (Blue) as our personal tour guide. We appreciated her setting the stage for the museums and Sistine chapel before we started the actual tour. She carried with her a tablet which was a photo resource that enriched her stories and her responses to our questions. She is personable, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and a great communicator. She tailored the tour to our interests. It was easy to remain engaged during the 4-hour tour.

Visiting the prison where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, the place he was martyred and St. Pauls Basilica were very important places for us to see and experience when we visited Rome. Our guide Marco was exceptional. Knowledgeable, personable, interesting! We thoroughly enjoyed this tour and highly recommend.

We took the “Private Borghese Gallery Tour with Hotel Pick-up and Drop-off” from Eyes of Rome on December 26. We were picked up on-time at our hotel by the tour’s driver and dropped off at the Villa Borghese and met immediately by our personal guide, Silvia, who greeted us warmly and immediately started setting the context of what we were about to see with the history of the Aurelian wall, Roman life in the 1600s, and the concept of the “villa suburbana,” all of which is quite necessary for a full appreciation of the wonder that is the Galleria Borghese. She explained to us the relation of the Galleria’s founder Cardinal Scipione Borghese and his position as the Cardinal Nephew to Pope Paul V, which gave him political power over the Papal States. Silvia told us of the original plan of the gardens and the vivarium, which housed species from all over the world- plants and birds respectively, which was foundational to understanding the art collection to come. For context, I have twice visited the Galleria Borghese in 1996 and 2010, but it was my husband’s first visit to the Galleria and, in fact, to Rome. Our tour impressed, entertained, and satiated the curiosity of both of us equally– not an easy feat, for sure. We appreciated that Silvia structured the tour as much as possible as the Galleria was meant to be experienced (unwinding, if philosophically, the changes to the sequence of rooms necessitated by current COVID protocols). Silvia was knowledgeable, personable, funny, and very well-versed in the history of the Borghese family, the Papacy as related to it, and the artists (Bernini, Carvaggio, etc.) and their works featured in the museum. Among the highlights for us: *A very informative but also witty and humorous study comparing the depiction (and by extrapolation the characterization) of Venus painted with Cupid by two artists– Cranachi (il vecchio) and Brescianino, an eye-opening discussion about the differing regional attitudes toward women at the time *Revealing the technique but also the humanity of Caravaggio with a thorough education on the ‘Madonna dei Palafrenieri.’ Some of why the painting would have been a shocking portrayal of Mary, Jesus, and St. Anne may be obvious, but understanding all the details– Mary’s plainly visible underskirt– contemporary of the artist’s time, the wrinkled, withered portrayal of St. Anne (the Vatican chapel bearing her name being the intended destination for this work, where it was ultimately rejected), and the still-astounding use of light in darkness was extremely interesting and enriching to our experience *A 360-degree analysis of Bernini’s Baroque masterpiece Apollo and Daphne (starting with Silvia ensuring we averted our eyes to view the sculpture first from the right-hand side, as intended by the artist himself prior to the statue being moved) gave us a complete understanding of this work. Viewing the sculpture– which I had seen before but never from the vantage point encouraged by our guide– this way gives the complete story of Daphne’s encapsulation into the tree depicted here and Apollo’s (non-)reaction. When the delicately carved, paper-thin tree bark was pointed out to us, you could almost feel the heartbeat that Apollo would have felt as his hand grasped it. I appreciated the details of the windswept hair turning into leaves, which also stemmed from her hands, and the roots emanating from her foot, details I had not really fully appreciated before. I would highly recommend Eyes of Rome and specifically our guide Silvia. I cannot enumerate with words how much more I appreciated the Galleria Borghese with her expert and naturally flowing guidance and historical context. We had a fantastic time that we will not soon forget.

Denis was a great host. We loved learning about the city and food with him. The spots he picked were perfect. Highly recommend company and Denis Update: we were lucky enough to go on a Vatican highlights tour with Alessandro. He was great. His knowledge and personality made a visit to a special place, very special.