We will begin at Trajan's columb and make our way through Piazza Venezia before walking up the gently sloping steps to Piazza del Campidoglio to see the marvelous design of the square that was all imagined by the great Michelangelo, and now home to the famous Capitoline Museums.
From here we walk to the Theater of Marcellus, often jokingly referred to as the little Colosseum. Though architecturally similar to the Colosseum, the Theatre of Marcellus is slightly older, dating all the way back to 12BC and it did not house any of the blood sports, and now is home to a few lucky residents who live in the apartments above the theater.
On our walk we will see the many restaurants in the neighborhood and stop for a taste of traditional Kosher gelato. Then we will have a short walk to the magnificent Fontana delle Tartarughe (The Turtle Fountain), a true masterpiece of the late Italian Renaissance, where you will discover how it was famously constructed in just one day.
Constructed in 1555, this is the oldest Jewish Ghetto. The pope revoked all rights granted to the Roman Jews, and barred them from all types of trade and the ability to own real estate. In spite of this, the Jewish community thrived inside developing business trade, a unique and wonderful cuisine inside their walls and even their own dialect of Italian. The Great Synagogue, still the third largest in Europe, functions today as a place of prayer and a vital cultural reference point for the entire Jewish community of Rome.
From here it is a very short walk to the Porticus Octaviae, an enormous structure built by the emperor Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia. From the 15th to early 20th century it was the home to Rome’s fish market. It is from here that we enter the Ghetto itself.
Concluding at Tiber Island where past and present slip seamlessly into one, the island was used by the ancient Romans as a hospital with the river helping them as a natural barrier aiding to stop the spread of disease, and one of Rome’s best hospitals can still be found on that site today. Giving a beautiful view of the river, the island is conveniently placed between the Ghetto and the local neighborhood of Trastevere and is well connected to get back to any part of the city.
Loved it. Jamie was knowledgable, enthusiastic, engaging and entertaining. As someone who is has knows the history was surprised to see how someone could give another perspective. Highly recommend
This was a small group walking tour on a beautiful day. The neighborhood allows the guide to cover a number of Roman, modern, and Jewish Ghetto sights in a short walk. The guide was personable and engaging. And it included a nice gelato stop. I can see why many would enjoy this and find the mix of sights a great way to spend two hours. If that’s all you want, you’ll have a good time. Unfortunately, the tour was riddled with factual errors. Most were minor such as confusing Aleppo and Antioch. Few will notice, hardly anyone will care, but the number of errors were too numerous to name. More troubling than the factual errors was a recurring tendency to romanticize the treatment of Jews by the societies that persecuted them. Some facts were misleading as presented. In other cases, as I can tell certain, stories appear to be made up whole cloth. I really tried hard to research and find support for these anecdotes but as presented the stories are impossible. I understand there are many ways to present the history, but it needs to be historically accurate. The guide did a better job on other aspects and deserves credit for that. However, I was expected a bit more rigor.
We had a wonderful experience on the Jewish Ghetto walking tour with Jamie! He was incredibly informative, engaging and knowledgeable, and we learned so much about the history of the Jewish community in Rome. We really enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Rome. Thank you, Jamie, for such a great experience!
The tour could have been better organized if our young guide had the opportunity to be more experienced in this particular tour. She did try her best but was not the professional we expected to correctly inform us about the information she presented. It would have been very beneficial had our guide been Jewish and more background in the history of the Jewish Ghetto. She was very kind and personal but lacked the expertise that I expected from a Tripadvisor tour guide.
So informative! Jamie was really knowledgeable, personable, and empathetic. We learned so much and appreciated that some general Roman history was also included as we viewed different ruins and sights ahead of the ghetto itself. The included gelato was top-tier as well!
Our tour guide James was a great historian and full of facts and knowledge. Can highly recommend this tour and ask for James - well done. The meeting point is not near the main area of the tour and should be changed
Good experience learning about the Jewish Ghetto but 2/3 of the tour was unrelated. Try to find a shorter tour that is specifically just the Ghetto
A 40-year-old man named James gave us a master course on the history of the Jewish people in Rome as well as lots of other sightseeing information. He knew literally everything we asked. I knew a little something about Jewish ghettos in Poland and sort of poo pooed the Roman ghetto as not as devastating... Wrong! The tour was perhaps 30% about persecution which was the perfect amount -- any more is too much to bear. Honestly, I don't see how it could have been any better. It is infinitely better than a golf cart tour.
We had the absolute best time on this tour. Our guide, Jamie, was so brilliant and knowledgeable. His explanations of history and the sights we were seeing were deeply engaging and enjoyable, and the tour had such a wonderful breadth of emotions and qualities - some very moving moments, some entertaining ones, everything in between. Jamie knit together past and present in fascinating ways. We feel very lucky to have had this experience with him!
Jaime was the best guide we could have asked for. His deep well of knowledge, respect for the history, and engaging demeanor made this tour our favorite experience in Rome. It is absolutely worth the price of admission if you are interested in the history, both the tragic and uplifting. I would not recommend it for young children or those with mobility difficulties. The tour itself lasts a little over 2 hours. It ends right next to the Great Synagogue where you can pick up public transit easily.
She was fantastic. Really knowledgeable and articulate. We enjoyed the tour- unfortunately it was too hot to complete the tour, but she was very understanding and helped us get a cab to our hotel
Jamie was excellent! Very knowledgeable and engaging. We learned and saw so much that we wouldn't have noticed walking through Rome and the ghetto on our own, and he gave us a whole new perspective on the Jewish experience throughout the history of Rome. Highly recommended!
Was an excellent tour despite the heat in Rome. James was well informed, enthusiastic and answered all the questions we may have had. The instructions to meet him were not clear (considering we didn't know the area) due to the construction at Triano 84. Nevertheless, it was a great tour and would highly recommend James.
Our guide Daniel seemed to have some information but lacked a clear way to tell us. The walking portion could have been rearranged and made shorter, especially on such a hot day.
Good tour guide, great experience. Any chance we can get Jamie’s contact information to personal thank him
We did not like our tour, We LOVED it. Looking for a Ghetto Tour, this is the one
What a great tour, with James our excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable, friendly and all in all exactly what we asked for. Thank you James
Daniel was awesome . We learned so much about Roman history and about the Jewish quarter. Totally recommend using this tour group.
James is an exceptionally knowledgeable guide. I highly recommend the tour and James for anyone looking for a great experience.
Great tour and great tour guide Daniel! He was super knowledgeable and interesting and made the history understandable highly recommend
I was very disappointed this tour was canceled with 20 minutes notice. As this was our only day in Rome left we were not able to reschedule.
Very informative and did a great job keeping everyone engaged and attentive throughout the Tour. We also appreciated the restaurant/cafe recommendations.
Our family had a wonderful experience on this tour - we learned a ton but Jamie kept it dynamic, humorous, and didn’t get too bogged down in the weeds. He made great use of our time. It was only us so appreciated the personal experience and ability to ask our questions, and he accommodated the 4 year old in our crew needing to stop a few times. Loved the emphasis on most Romans supporting their Jewish neighbors throughout history. It was heavy at points but also uplifting and he did a great job balancing those themes. Also the gelato was incredible. Highly recommend!
James gave a great tour. Knowledgeable and personable throughout the tour. Thank you.
Great tour & guide. Very knowledgeable and talked about the deep history through the ages starting 100 BCE all the way up to today. Glad to have learnt so much from Paul.
This tour started with a brief history of Rome/Italy. It was a great way get a better understanding of the beginning of the Jewish Ghetto. Our tour guide, Paul, was excellent! He's very knowledgeable and lead the tour at a nice pace.
Great tour guide. Very knowledgeable. Very personable. Even in the rain he had a great attitude. Answered all of our questions! Even treated us to gelato!
It was very thorough and informative! Lots of information. The guide was very interesting and knowledgeable. Even in the rain, we still had a great tour.
Name of local travel agency!!!!!!! Guide Jamie was terrific. But his sign (identity) was “Roman Vacations.” We were looking for Viator or “Jewish Tour” and never connected to Roman Vacations “ Almost gave up on the tour!!! True identity not communicated until email 11 minutes after tour time!!!!
My taxi driver was horrible and would only drop my group at wrong column and gate entrance. He said it was the right address fort the tour. We spent 20 minutes trying to find the guide. Someone tried calling me and I called number back 4 times. No answer. I spoke to several guides and no one knew anything about the Jewish tour. When we were finally told where he might be we were 30 minutes late. It was a very chaotic scene and I am so disappointed coming with friends from Cleveland and Atlanta. A total disaster. I would like my money refunded.
This was an excellent tour that we highly recommend to people of all ages. Our guide, Daniel, was incredibly knowledgeable and provided important and fascinating historical context for our tour of the Jewish Ghetto. If you are interested in the Roman Empire, the middles ages, and/or WWII - you'll love this tour!
Our tour guide, James, met us promptly and gave us an overview of Roman history and how the Jewish people came to settle in Rome. We appreciated all the interesting information he provided about ghetto life and especially appreciated his positive outlook that societies can go through dark and evil times but eventually the goodness of humanity will prevail. Our stop for Kosher gelato was delicious and gave us a bit of relaxing free time before we continued on with our tour. After the tour ended, we decided to visit the Holocaust Museum–very graphic but important to keep the facts and history alive!
Our guide was a true historian. He provided detailed and important information about the area and its importance in documenting the history.
Paul was an amazing tour guide and has an encyclopedia memory of historical facts about Rome - which makes sense since he's a history professor! It was very informative and interesting. Wanted to tour the Jewish ghetto last time we were here but wasn't able to do happy to have had that fantastic experience. We can't forget these tragic events so they don't happen again in our current times.....excellent tour! Also delicious kosher gelato!
We booked the Discover the Jewish Ghetto of Rome. Our tour had a repeat of some of the areas we had already seen. Having said that, our guide, Daniel, was very knowledgeable about the Jewish history during the different eras in Rome. He showed us several areas where the Jewish people lived, how they were treated especially during Natzi time, and how they overcame their obstacles. Very impressed with Daniel, thank you!
Our tour guide Paul was very knowledgeable and easy going. The other family on the tour canceled so we had a private tour which was a bonus. At our request, Paul provided more information on World War 2 and Rome during that time period. The Jewish ghetto was fascinating.
The Guide opened by stating “a lot of this will be boring.” The 2hr tour was delayed by 20+ minutes waiting for 3 late comers. We spent less than 15 minutes at the Ghetto (including unnecessary gelato stop) & all other time wasted at Forum, War Memorial and other non-Jewish tourist locations. Amazingly, we arrived AFTER the Synagogue & Museum closed.
Very interesting and unique experience seeing 1,500-1,800 year old Jewish catacombs with an an excellent and knowledgeable guide
It was a wonderful experience. Our guide James was very knowledgeable, fun and polite. He made our tour interesting, went at a slow pace which is what we wanted.
Angela was amazing and so knowledgeable. She made thousands of years of history make so much sense in such a short amount of time. I enjoyed that our group was small so we were really able to interact and see so much. Highly recommend taking this tour! Also her restaurant recommendations were A+!
Tour guide, Paul, was great. Very knowledgeable and energetic. Would recommend to anyone interested in history generally.
Maria was an amazing guide. She not only showed us the historic Jewish Ghetto, but also have a brief history of the 22 centuries leading up to the "final solution" that the Fascists participated in. We chose a small group tour because of past experiences with larger groups and got extremely lucky when no one else showed up. We were able to have great discussions comparing and contrasting modern times with the past. We highly recommend Maria.
Very interesting narration to go with visualizing the cites. Enjoyed the kosher ice cream and came back after the tour to have dinner
Paul was a wonderful tour guide. He had both the adults and kids engaged and interested. We saw and learned about the history behind the Jewish ghetto, Jews in Italy and the political movements. Our 8 and 9 year olds were fascinated and he made it age appropriate. Ending the tour in delicious kosher gelato was so great! Highly recommend this tour and Paul.
Daniel our guide was very knowledgable and interesting. He was very compassionate telling us the history of the Jewish community. I would recommend this tour
Great place for a morning walk and to have breakfast or lunch. I recommend Barghetto, It's close to the Jewish Temple and Trastevere.
I waited at the place to meet the guide 45 minutes. I walked the entire area there was no guide. I spent $30 for taxis to get there and back I am so angry. Please refund my $98 for 2 people
So glad we opted to do the Walkig tour in the Jewish Getto, guide was well versed, engaging us with every turn. Respectful and passionate in her craft.. highly recommend Roman Vacations to everyone..
This was a bittersweet but wonderful experience. Our guide was one of the best we ever had. He was a product of our modern world, half English, half Welsh, Italian born. He was knowledgeable, passionate, and clearly in love with Italy, Rome, and the community in the Ghetto. A high point for us was when he showed us the hospital on the Tiber Island, gave us its history, including its role in saving many lives from the Nazis, capping it off by telling us that he was born there. After the tour we were free to pursue our own activities. We stopped for a meal in the Ghetto for a wonderful meal. This is a must tour for anyone visiting Rome. It’s not on the usual hit list but the experience is well worth it.
There was so much to see and learn about. Saw many ruins right next to modern day buildings. It was so interesting although sad to learn about the area where Nazis came and took people out of their homes. Seeing those places and how they are memorialized was touching. We should not forget such times and people.
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