Where do you run your walking seminars? We run walks in Rome, Paris, Florence, Venice, Naples, London, New York and Istanbul. There are over 170 scholars and specialists in our network. We have physical offices in Philadelphia, Rome, and Paris.
My family and I attended your context tour of the Cloisters today and were very happy to see that you have continued in NYC the high standards we found with Context in Italy. It is always a privilege to be in the presence of such scholars in their element.
 We love Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome just 25 kilometers outside the city. Partly this is because it offers a sustainable alternative to Pompeii for people visiting Rome who may only have a few days to see the sights. Pompeii represents a loooong full-day investment (12 hrs) from Rome and involves lots of time on trains and/or cars. It’s much better visited from Naples. (And, we urge you to seriously consider a visit to Naples itself, staying in the city center. Check out our scholarship student’s take on this amazing city this year.)
Another reason we love Ostia is because it represents an outstanding example of a small, working-class Roman town, well preserved by millennia of river mud. (Pompeii was a little more artistocratic.)
I recently visited Ostia Antica on one of our tours there with my daughter Cleo and a friend and had a magical experience. With few crowds and plenty of warm, Roman sunshine, Cleo was transported back 2000 years. Here are several things that work well for kids at Ostia and make it the perfect place for the under 12 crowd to learn about ancient Rome:
Ruts in the Decumanus Maximus. The main road, or Decumanus Maximus, of Ostia is very well preserved. As we walked along it Livia, an archaeologist who was our guide, pointed out the ruts carved by wagon wheels over 500 years of use. This became a great game—Find the Rut—as we went along and got the kids thinking about traffic, commerce, and the kinds of things that would be coming in and out of this bustling port city.
Well in the Middle? At the end of the Decumanus Maximus there’s a well plopped down in the middle of the street. This was a curious site and led to all sorts of questions. Why would a well be dug in the middle of a street? How would wagons get around it. Turns out it was built in the medieval period when Ostia was in decline, as evidenced by the different stone work. This provided an excellent “play archaeologist” game for the girls.
When we stepped underground the girls gave a gasp.
Underground. The bath complexes at Ostia (there are several) offer a great opportunity to talk about hygiene and social interactions in ancient Roman cities. Since you can get into the under-floor hypocausts and walk in some of the furnace rooms, it’s also a great place to learn about Roman engineering and bath design. But, the best part was slipping underground into the subterranean drainage system. When Livia whipped out her flashlight to show us around a shiver went through the girls. Awesome!
Shop Mosaics. Personally, my favorite spot at Ostia is the Piazzale of the Corporations where shipping magnates set up their offices  and traded everything from grain to marbles coming into Rome from the far reaches of the empire. Why? Because, instead of hanging neon signs outside of their shops the shipping companies created fantastic black and white mosaics showing their wares. The best? Hands down, the exotic animal importer who commissioned a large elephant mosaic for the threshold to his office.
Context runs our Ostia tour regularly as a group or private tour. Although, not a technically set up as a “family tour” in our Family Program, we had one of the docents from that program develop a customized walk just for kids that worked exceptionally well. If your kids like ancient Rome and are curious about how people lived 2000 years ago, I heartily recommend heading to Ostia and taking this route.
Yesterday, I joined Rome docent Rebekah Junkermeier for our Classical Rome walking seminar. Here are a couple of take aways for me:
- The transformation of pagan temples into Christian churches didn’t start occurring until the 6th century. Thus, there was a three-century gap when those temples lay unused in Rome.
- A porticus, like the Porticus of Octavia in the Ghetto, would have included libraries, temples, and other public institutions.
- The granita at Tazzo d’Oro now comes with heaps of fresh cream. Yum.
Here’s a short clip from the experience, in which Rebekah, a scholar of religion, explains the transformation of the Theater of Marcellus.
As the weather heats up here in Rome, we started pondering some of the best outdoor retreats to enjoy in order to get out of the city. Rome is perfectly situated for a myriad of day trips and among one of our favorites is a trip to Tivoli. It’s not just the office staff that are big fans, but also our docents, many of whom lead our full day trip that includes visits to Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este. We decided to get their thoughts on why Tivoli is a great day trip, as well as point out some special summer events that will make it impossible for you to stay away from these incredible sites. Read more »
The British Museum is showing the travelling exhibition Afghanistan. Crossroads of the Ancient World (March 3 – July 17), an amazing collection of artifacts on loan from the National Museum of Afghan, Kabul, which glitter with ancient gold, pearls and war-time intrigue. These are objects from four of the most important archaeological excavations in Afghanistan: Tepe Fullol (Khosh Tapa), Ai Khanum, Begram and Tilla Tepe (‘Hill of Gold’, also know Tillya Tepe), and they range in date from about 2000 BCE to the 1st or 2nd century CE. The pieces of furniture and household decoration, burial goods of princesses, architectural details like capitals and sculpture and lots of gold decoration make clear that Afghanistan was a dynamic multicultural crossroads, long before the medieval Silk Route. Read more »
Today is my final day in Rome. The experience is bitter sweet because I have grown to really love this place, but it is time to go back home. My last day was started with a walk in the Pigneto neighborhood with my final docent Jessica. This walk was focused on, in my opinion, the most diverse part of the city. Read more »
Imagine being in the oldest building in your city that you walk past everyday because it’s not modern. Now imagine not only going in that building but going under it. While you’re under there it feels very cryptic and it’s so cold you can see your own breath when you breathe out. This is what I felt earlier today as I experienced the highlight of my trip the underground Rome. Read more »
Our fascination with Underground Rome is longstanding and was only fortified when Context owner Paul Bennett wrote a story on the topic for National Geographic in 2006. Rome is one of the best cities in the world for exploring underground, secret sites, so much so that we’ve successfully led our Underground Rome walk for many years. While that walk covers some fantastic underground sites that are not often visited, over the years we have also arranged visits to underground archaeological sites that are normally closed to the public. To spark your imagination, we’ve compiled this “Best of Hidden Rome” list. Read more »
Our Family Program is at its fourth year, we are proud to say that it’s a great success and it keeps growing. To celebrate this success and the continuous effort to improve our program, we have asked three of our star docents to tell us more about their work with famlies, their secrets and suggestions for parents traveling with children.
Philippa Ownen is an Art Historian and experienced teacher, she leads many of our family walks in London including the National Gallery walk and our WW2 Blitz walk.
Holding a PhD in Art History focusing on physical forms of devotion shown towards objects in Roman churches, Linda Nolan leads both our art walks and our archaeology walks.
Almudena Cros has recently returned to her hometown Madrid after completing her PhD is art history wnd working with us in Venice and Rome. She heads our Madrid program. Read more »
The towns and villages at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius are home to many fascinating archaeological sites. The volcano’s eruption in 79 A.D. maintained these areas for centuries (most were excavated at the turn of the 20th century) and offer the possibility to explore everyday life as a Roman citizen. For people staying in Naples or the Amalfi Coast, a day spent wandering the ancient streets, in and out of the villas and admiring the vibrant Pompeii-style wall frescoes of Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabia and Boscoreale is an ancient-history enthusiasts dream incarnate. Here are our suggestions for making the most out of an archaeological excursion to the Mt. Vesuvius area.
Naples, with its strategic location on the coast of the Campania region, offers numerous opportunities for day trips. In addition to Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Campi Flegrei (not including the Amalfi Coast- which definitely cannot be done justice with a day trip), countless other sites awash with the ancient history, rich artistic heritage and natural beauty are only quick train trips from Naples’ Central train station (which is undergoing ongoing refurbishment). Solely for sake of space, we choose to highlight three: Caserta, Paestum and Eboli.
 We love Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome just 25 kilometers outside the city. Partly this is because it offers a sustainable alternative to Pompeii for people visiting Rome who may only have a few days to see the sights. Pompeii represents a loooong full-day investment (12 hrs) from Rome and involves lots of time on trains and/or cars. It’s much better visited from Naples. (And, we urge you to seriously consider a visit to Naples itself, staying in the city center. Check out our scholarship student’s take on this amazing city this year.)
