This morning we will visit two places where both Peter and Paul are said to have received hospitality in Rome. First of all the church of St Prisca, said to have been built over the house of Priscilla and Aquila, two important members of the early Christian community. Remains have been discovered under the church of a late 1st century building in which there was a domus ecclesia or house church. We will be visiting these and also the well-preserved Mithraeum where ceremonies of the cult of Mithras took place. Afterwards we will visit the church of St Pudenziana, said to have been built over the house of the Roman senator, Pudens, where Peter stayed during his time in Rome. This afternoon we visit the Basilicas of St Paul Without the Walls where the Saint was buried, then go on to the Catacombs of San Sebastian, burial place for the early Christians. On the way back to our hotel, we visit the Pantheon, the only monument of Ancient Rome to have survived intact.

 

Today we will visit sites associated with the Church after the apostolic age, when, as the numbers of Christians grew, more organisation of the church was needed. We will visit first the church of St Clement, considered to be the third Pope after St Peter and the author of a famous letter written on behalf of the Church in Rome to the Church in Corinth urging an end to the disorders there. Although the later stories of St Clement’s life and martyrdom are fantasy, he was certainly a significant person in the early Roman church and his letter continued to be read in Corinth after every Gospel. Afterwards we drive to the Coelian Hill to see the round church of St Stefano (if it is open). We continue to the Church of St Gregory near the site of the monastery built by the Saint in his own family residence. Our final port of call this afternoon is the Trastevere area where we visit two churches, St Cecilia and St Crisogono, under which are the remains of two “Dumus Ecclesia” or house churches.

This morning we will have a timed visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we leave Rome and drive north with a stop to buy lunch en route. Drive to the Assisi suburb of Santa Maria degli Angeli and visit the Baroque church, which envelops St Francis’ original tiny chapel the Porziuncola, where he realised his mission and where he died. Afterwards check into our hotel for dinner and a two-night stay.

This morning we have a guided tour of the Old Town as St Francis and St Clare would have known it. We visit the basilica of St Clare and see the Crucifix, originally in San Damiano, that told Francis to “Rebuild my church, which stands in ruins.” The highlight of the morning is the twin basilica of St Francis, now fully reopened after the earthquake in 1997. We see the frescoes attributed to Giotto in the Upper Basilica and those by Cimabue and Simone de Martine in the Lower Basilica. This afternoon you can explore Assisi on your own or alternatively join our optional excursion by taxi to two Franciscan sanctuaries on the edge of town (£8): We take a twisting taxi ride to the Hermitage, situated high above Assisi on Monte Subasio, which was a place of retreat and meditation for Francis and his followers and is still an oasis of quiet today. The taxis wait for about forty minutes here before driving down to San Damiano below Assisi, which was where St Francis received the message from the Crucifix to repair God’s church and where, later, St Clare spent her cloistered life and founded her community.

After breakfast we leave Rome and drive south to the Rieti Valley, where St Francis spent much time after being driven from Assisi, and the Sanctuary of Greccio where he devised the first nativity play. Here we make a visit to the sanctuary and have the opportunity for lunch in the town of Greccio (£14 per person) in a local restaurant. We drive to Rome Fiumicino Airport for our return flight to Gatwick.