An Italian Family Adventure

Built by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD, the Colosseum seated about 50,000 spectators and staged all the most blood-thirsty games known to ancient Romans, including gladiatorial combat, man against beast, beast against beast, land battles, sea battles and executions. All were designed to inspire and overawe the citizens at the heart of this mighty empire.

Designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci in 1762, the vast Baroque Trevi Fountain is iconic of Rome, seen in countless films and is perhaps the most famous water feature in the world. Just remember that coins are meant to be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder.

Appropriately attired in togas, wooden sword in hand, learn the basics of hand-to-hand combat at a gladiator school led by members of the Historic Group of Rome. You’ll discover the secrets of Imperial Rome’s infamous gladiator games, get hands-on with ancient history and be shown around the museum on this fun two-hour tour.

If you imagine landing in Venice from the sea, the first thing you see rising out of the water is the unmistakable shape of the Doge’s Palace – the city’s most famous building. Your historical walking tour will then take you through backstreets to the shimmering, mosaic-filled St. Mark’s Basilica. Its architecture is a mixture of Byzantine, Roman and Venetian.

Visit Venice’s most famous islands, Murano, Burano and Torcello. Murano has been known since the 1200s for the art of glass making, and you’ll visit a glass factory. Burano is a picturesque fisherman island known for its brightly-coloured houses and lace school. See the women who still work this antique technique of lace making by hand. The last stop is Torcello, where you will see its beautiful cathedral with its mosaics dating back to the 1100s. 

Discover the beautiful city of Florence with a fun and educational treasure hunt, suitable for children aged between six and 11. They’ll be given an old city map and a compass to guide them through the city, taking in the highlights. The focus of the hunt is Renaissance history and they’ll have fun learning how coded letters were written and deciphering them.

Built on three steep hills and unchanged since medieval times, Siena is one of Tuscany’s most beautiful towns. Admire its major sites like the Piazza del Campo, where the famous horse race takes place every year, as well as explore quieter backstreets to appreciate Siena’s complex and rich history. Continue to San Gimignano, famous for its medieval skyscrapers, high walls and narrow streets that typify the image of a Tuscan hill town.

Handcrafted pasta is definitely something the Campania region can be proud of. Today you’ll enjoy a tour of a local factory that has been producing pasta since 1848. Everything they make is handmade and the pasta is extruded through bronze, a method that has been used for centuries. The resulting rough, porous surface means the pasta holds the sauce well, giving dishes a wonderful flavour. You’ll also visit a local mozzarella cheese factory, the oldest on the Sorrentine peninsula, that also produces the region’s famous limoncello.

In August of 79 AD, Vesuvius had been rumbling for some days and it is estimated that a large part of the population of 20,000 had been evacuated; those that were left were as if suspended in time, as the plaster casts made of the bodies that were found shows. Excavation started in the 18th century and continues to this day. You will get to walk Roman streets, look into bars, stroll into Patrician villas, complete with frescoes and mosaics, there is even a mosaic doormat, saying ‘beware of the dog’.