Context has announced a major expansion of its archaeological walking tours in Rome, adding two new walks expected to give travelers two ways to engage with the history of Ancient Rome during their visit.
Caesar and Empire, the first of the tours, focuses on the figures of Julius and Augustus Caesar and their program for remaking the city at the dawn of the new millennium. Beginning at the Theater of Marcellus and continuing past the Pantheon, Largo Argentina, and Ara Pacis, the tour focuses on the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire and the stories of Imperial Rome. As with all Context walking seminars, the tour is capped at six participants maximum and led by archaeologists and classical scholars from local universities.
The second tour, Of Cows and Commerce, covers the Foro Boario, an area of central Rome lying adjacent to the Roman Forum and containing a wealth of ancient monuments. Working with the scholars in its network, which includes many archaeologists and historians teaching in Rome, Context developed the walk in part to take visitors away from the crowds at the Colosseum and Forum and expose them to some off the less-well-known parts of the ancient city, including the temple complex along the Tiber River, arch of Janus, Foro Olitoro, and Ponte Rotto.
Both new walks join a series of nearly a dozen different antiquities walks that Context offers in Rome. Both walks will be offered privately or as a shared-group experience.
Context Travel is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals, including art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes, who organize and lead “walking seminars” in 21 world cities, including: Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Paris, London, Edinburgh, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Istanbul, Athens, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Shanghai and Beijing. Context was named one of the fastest growing American companies in 2011 and 2012 by Inc Magazine, and Travel + Leisure has called Context one of the top European tour companies for its approach to travel and the depth of its programs.
