This is Rome’s only and original nighttime legend & mystery tour – a truly one-of-a-kind way to spend your evening in the Eternal City
When the sun sets on Rome, another side of the city comes to life, an older and more mysterious Rome where fact & fiction are intertwined. The ancient streets of Rome are filled with stories, some of which arrive to us throu gh history and others as tales and legends passed through generations of Romans. Take a journey through these shadowy alleyways, bustling after - hours piazzas and beautifully illuminated monuments in the company of an expert storytelling guide who will bring to life a side of the city you would have never seen otherwise.
This nighttime walk will bring you through locations such as Campo de’ Fiori, a piazza that not only completely transforms from day to night, but that has also undergone a little - known and dramatic transformation through the centuries. Your guide will fill you in on the secret behind the history of this Piazza and the story of the man depicted in the sculpture that stands in its center: a dark, ominous cloaked figure that looms over the pia zza’s evening revelers.
Heading by foot out from the piazza, the streets will seem to become narrower and narrower. Your quest for some of Rome’s lesser - known stories will take you down streets such as Via Giulia, where you’ll encounter a little - known c hurch with an unusual façade, decorated with stone sculptures of human skulls. Your guide will recount the grim role the church played in Rome’s history, and the secret contained to this day in its crypt. Even Rome’s bridges aren’t without their stories. A t Ponte Sisto Bridge keep your eye out for the phantom chariot of the woman who robbed a Pope of his heart, his power and, finally, his fortune.
We’ll pass enchanting, illuminated fountains, dark churches and unassuming residences with sordid tales to te ll. Some are left today with only a plaque standing as a testament to their role in history. We’ll encounter a haunting image of the Virgin Mary that follows you with her eyes and is famous for her many miracles and one of Rome’s most inhumane prisons whic h is now an apartment building. Your guide will bring incredible stories to life as you stand in the real - life locations in which they occurred. You’ll listen, bewildered, as you learn of the ‘witch’ who sold poison to unsatisfied wives to help rid them of their husbands to tales of Rome’s most famous executioner, a man who so loved his job that he left an enthusiastic journal detailing the over 516 gruesome executions he carried out.
Your tour will come to a breathtaking culmination as we emerge from Rome’s winding back - alleys to an incredible view of the illuminated Tiber River, St. Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo. Here your guide will tell the most heart - wrenching tale of all – the tragic tale of a young girl wr onged by her family and by the Pope. The details of her ordeal will leave a lasting final impression as you stand in the very spot where her short life came to a horrific end.
Your guide will introduce you to a Rome known only by a few as he brings the city’s most enthralling historical and supernatural mysteries to life. Dark Heart of Rome is in a highly entertaining and informative tour that is unlike any other, an experience that will stay with you long after it ends