Religious Studies: Italy

Enjoy views of Trajan’s Column and Trajan’s Market, completed in 113 AD as a monument to Emperor Trajan. The column is best known for its detailed spiral bas-relief and stands beside the market, the ancient equivalent of a shopping centre with more than 150 shops and offices. From here, stroll past the Victor Emmanuel Monument, built to honour Italy’s first king after unification.

See the Mamertine Prison, originally created as a cistern for a spring. It later became a prison reserved for high-profile prisoners who posed a threat to Rome’s security, including its most famous inmate, Saint Peter.

Rome’s best-preserved ancient monument, the Pantheon is a masterpiece of engineering, best known for its massive hemispherical dome. Inside are the tombs of Italy’s kings as well as the burial place of the artist Raphael.

Once a capital to rival Florence, Siena is arguably Italy’s prettiest medieval town, and still possesses the grandeur of the age when it was at its peak.

A small town of narrow streets and medieval walls, Assisi might never have been famous had it not been the birthplace of St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order. Today it is a major destination for religious pilgrims and art lovers alike. You’ll explore the Basilica of St. Francis, built in the 13th century to hold the saint’s body. Ironically, the body was hidden so well in the basilica that it took 600 years of digging to find it.

Visit the small Church of Domine Quo Vadis, located along the Appian Way. Tradition holds that after fleeing Rome to escape persecution, Saint Peter experienced a vision of Jesus here, which led him to return to Rome and face martyrdom.

Founded in the 5th century, San Pietro in Vincoli was built to house the chains believed to have bound Saint Peter in Palestine, now preserved under glass. The visit also includes the tomb of Pope Julius II, crowned by Michelangelo’s renowned sculpture, "Moses."

As the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano holds a central place in the Catholic Church. The interior was redesigned by Borromini, and remains believed to have been painted by Giotto have also been discovered within the basilica.

Step inside the Victorian-Gothic Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The shrine preserves a famous Marian icon first venerated in Rome in 1499, believed to have originated on the island of Crete and saved during periods of conflict.

Dating to the 5th century, Santa Maria Maggiore is one of Rome’s four major basilicas. Known for its Baroque interior and Romanesque bell tower, the church also features remarkable 5th-century mosaics decorating the nave and arch with biblical scenes.

Housed in a former mansion, the Borghese Gallery was first opened in the 1600s by the nephew of Pope Paul V. The museum contains an exceptional collection of priceless artworks, some dating back to the 1st century AD.