Vatican Tours Online

Roman 'Gladiators' nicked by Undercover Police

2011-10-08T07:23:00.003+02:00

    What we're really talking about here is impact. That a bunch of unscrupulous, unwashed Italian blokes from the rag end of Rome or even Naples if some of the accents are anything to go by, have been scamming tourists for years in front of some of the most spectacular ruins in the World, comes as no surprise. What has been surprising though, is the negative effect their dirty work has had on our own pristine and increasingly popular tours.

    When news broke of fisticuffs between semi-official and totally illegal 'fake gladiators', who prey on unsuspecting tourists for perhaps the most expensive photo op ever - unless you've crossed swords with that Bangladeshi relic who charges plenty for a disgracefully poor polaroid pic of you and your inebriated mates on or close to Campo dei Fiori - it didn't just go local, it went global.

    CNN, BBC, The Guardian, Sky News, all suffering from UK riots burn out, decided to headline a story about undercover police in Rome dressing up as the Praetorian Guard, bin men and tourists to infiltrate groups of cash-crazy fake gladiators. Their aim was to get the lowdown on what is upsetting so many people in such beautiful places when the sun is shining and everyone is out and about enjoying the city. Tourists have been complaining for years about being charged up to thirty euros for a 'gladiator photo', and if they didn't pay up, threats were made and cameras withheld.

    A broad search on Google for 'gladiators rome news' will find hundreds of articles about the dark side of Rome tourism.

   In so far as we are concerned, police intervention against the uniformed touts and the heavy news coverage of what transpired, ergo arrests, compromised our Rome tour sales online, particularly Vatican tour sales. Another broad Google search for 'Vatican tours' unearthed an article in The Guardian about the Rome gladiators scandal on page one, where we reside.

    After flatlining for some 36 hours, bookings picked up. It was as if everyone soon to be visiting or already in Rome really believed that the entire city was set up to rip them off, when in fact the only people intent on doing so are randomly corrupt cab drivers, occasionally twisted restaurant staff, irish pubs and said fake gladiators.

    When in Rome, avoid these people at all costs!

    For the best Vatican tours, Rome tours and shore excursions into Rome from Civitavecchia, visit us at http://www.wheninrometours.com/ to book online.

Vatican City Tours, St. Peter's Basilica and Vatacombs

2011-09-12T09:41:00.004+02:00

Group Walking Vatican tours » Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica & Vatacombs

The best way to skip the Vatican line before taking in all the Vatican Cty highlights! This tour covers the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and the 'Vatacombs' (rarely seen underground tombs of former Popes) in about three hours.

The When In Rome Tours Promise

** WE TAKE CARE OF YOUR VATICAN TICKETS WITH PRIORITY NO LINES ENTRANCE
** 55 Euro per person

No hidden costs.
English speaking guides.
Personalized assistance.
Original articles & top stories from Italy.
Free Rome orientation & maps at our office.

What You Will See

This Vatican City tour covers the highlights of what is arguably the most important art collection in the world, with more than 1,200 rooms. Such highlights include the Rooms of Raphael, the Sistine Chapel, and Ancient Roman and Greek pieces in the Belvedere Courtyard. As the Sistine Chapel is located at the far end of over 1200 galleries, we have outlined the shortest possible path to get you there quickly and without hassles or unnecessary waiting (while still covering the most important masterpieces along the way). Our guides provide a full background on the Sistine Chapel from before it was commissioned to the finishing touches while distinguishing between truth and popular legends promulgated by Hollywood and popular books.

After leaving the Sistine Chapel, you will have direct access to St. Peter's which is allowed only to official guided tours. All other visitors are forced to exit the Vatican, take the long route to St. Peters, and line up to get inside.

Our guide will lead you through the underground level we refer to as "The Vatacombs," a rareley seen area of the Vatican where tombs of the former popes are located. We then head up into St Peter's Basilica, the largest basilica in the world built over what are believed to be the bones of St. Peter. Included in this visit are The Pieta', and famous Dome designed by Michelangelo, the massive Baldacchino sculpted in bronze by Bernini, the Transfiguration by Raphael and other monuments of artistic importance.
Outside the church we cover the history of the Vatican State including its Swiss Guard and the design of St Peter's Square.

Tour Availability

10:30 AM (November to March: 11:00 AM).

Meeting Point

When In Rome Tours office, Via Santamaura 21 as illustrated on the map below.

Tour Duration

3 hours

Pricing

55 Euro per person (skip the line Vatican tickets included). Children 10 and under are free, although children over 6 years will be expected to purchase an entrance to the Vatican Museums.

Current Promotions

Buy three, get one free! With three paying adults, one free guest may join this tour. To take advantage of this offer, simply fill out the booking form, excluding the free guest from the form. For example, if there are four in your party, enter "3" in the booking form. In the remarks section of the form, enter "buy three, get one free". In the event of six paying adults, 2 may go free. Free guests must however pay for their entry ticket to the Vatican Museum.

Exclusions

Guide gratuity (optional).
Transfers to / from the Vatican.
Food, drink, and personal extras.

Additional Information

Once your booking is received, you will receive an automatic email from our website. Within the next 24 hours, a second and more detailed confirmation will be sent to you. There is a strict dress code at the Vatican. Shoulders and knees must be covered for both women and men. Capri pants are permitted, as long as knees are well covered. Sandals are considered appropriate. This tour is conducted as a walking tour, as no vehicles are allowed inside the Vatican. As a significant amount of walking is required, in the event of physical disabilities, we ask that you contact us before booking so that we can assess whether or not a wheelchair is needed.

This tour is a group tour (average 15-20 people).

See our private Vatican tours options for more information on private guide service to the Vatican. Our office is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM for tourist assistance.

Visit Rome Explorer for ideas on what to do in Rome after your Vatican tour!
Book any three (3) of our private or group tours excluding those to Pompeii & Sorrento, and get one (1) Roma Pass free of charge! (Offer cannot be combined with any existing offers and/or discounts advertised on this website). Obviously this is not per person, it is per BOOKING of three or more tours as above, for which you will be offered ONE (1) FREE ROMA PASS.

This Vatican tour detail provided by When In Rome Tours, the leading Vatican tours agency in Rome.

Irish PM Kenny describes the Holy See as arrogant, negligent and above criticism!

2011-07-21T17:48:00.019+02:00

    Pardon the exclamation mark, as none of the above will come as any surprise to those of us who have been following reports of sexual child abuse in the church in County Cork, Ireland. No help has been forthcoming from the Vatican, and Irish bishops claim that they have been somewhat left out in the cold.

    What help they required above and beyond proper implementation of 1996 legislation 'Child Sexual Abuse: Framework for a Church Response', however, is still in need of clarification.

    The latest problem involves the Cloyne Report of July 13th. Findings detail the nefarious activities of Cloyne Bishop John Magee, former secretary to three popes. He paid scant attention to cases of sexual child abuse which landed on his desk as recently as 2008. The report states that in his lengthy communications with government officials, Magee claimed that his diocese was correctly reporting all allegations of clerical child sexual abuse to the civil authorities. In fact he misled an inquiry team and his own advisors. Magee devised a plan to create two separate accounts; one for Vatican officials, another comprising diocesan files relating to his meeting with a friend priest suspected of abusing children, in order to delay an inquiry and 'help' his friend.

    Parliamentary debate and the ensuing judicial report, made public on July 20th, has exposed the Holy See for hindering investigations, therefore allowing the sexual abuse of children in the church in Ireland to continue unchecked. Of course this is not news, it's lack of interest in protecting children anywhere is a celebrated fact. Celebrated in catholic circles at least. Indeed, if child abusers were being cloned in secret laboratories beneath the Vatican city, no one would bat an eyelid. It's as if the watching world has become desensitized to news about the Holy See washing their hands of what has become nothing less than institutionalized sexual child abuse wherever catholic priests ply their trade. Vatican style clericalism has become nothing more than a protective veil for abusers, which in turn leaves victims exposed and vulnerable to further suffering.

    While Vatican spokesman (and Jesuit...) Freddie Lombardi blithers and lies his way through excuse, after excuse after excuse on Vatican Radio, or whatever other media channel he chooses to abuse to protect Pope Benedict XVI and his imperial guard, there's no place to hide anymore for paedophiles in the church.

    To close, whether or not any of this should concern visitors to the Vatican Museums on one of our Vatican tours is debatable, but we are of the opinion that it is important to publish material reminding tourists in Rome that all is not well behind the high walls of the unHoly See.

The whys and wherefores of Vatican Tours

2011-07-12T08:50:00.002+02:00

Vatican tours in Rome during the busy high season of July and August are big business for everyone, ergo legal tour operators, established travel agents and sadly, legions of illegal chancers who gather and guide unsuspecting tourists through what is more often than not the worst holiday experience imaginable. To be led through some of the finest works of art in the World by a backpacking student with an eye for the main chance (your money), recruited by a fly-by-night 'agency' who believe that visitors to the Vatican are nothing more than cash cows, is an ugly fact of Rome tourism which needs to be policed with 100% more conviction.

Almost every street corner around the Vatican Museums is occupied by illegal guides, gatherers and Vatican tour website owners in high season. Vast quantities of euros are handed over by tourists to these characters who are easy to spot. No income tax, no VAT as anyone who grew up in eighties England will tell you. Probably better to stay at home and pick up that Trevor Francis tracksuit. Viva Viale Vaticano!