Social Programme


Optional Tours

All tours depart from, and return to, the Conference Center. All guided tours will take place in English and in Italian. Early booking is recommended, as onsite availability cannot be guaranteed. Tours may be cancelled or subject to modification without previous notice. All fees are per person including bus, guide and entrance fee if any. Lunch or Dinner are included only if specified. For all the tours a minimum of 25 persons is required.

Vaticano - Half Day Morning Tour - 2/9/2014

Departure time:

Morning, 8:00 a.m.

Approximate Duration

4 Hours

Price per person

€50.00

You will visit:

Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica

The popes were among the very first royalty to open their vast art collections to public viewing. Pope Julius II (1443 - 1513) began collecting sculpture during the Renaissance and, ever since, most popes have taken an active interest in art and in commissioning the best artists of their time. Today you can view the Vatican's incredible collection while touring the so-called 'Vatican Museums,' a huge complex of galleries and museums showcasing painting, sculpture, frescoes, tapestries and classical antiquities including Roman, Greek and Egyptian. There are, of course, also collections of religious art, papal portraits and, less obviously, carriages and automobiles. Any visit to the Vatican should also include the famous Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basilica. Leave plenty of time for winding your way through the museums and the narrow connecting corridors and staircases.


Ancient Ostia - Half Day Morning Tour - 6/9/2014

Departure time:

Morning, 8:30 a.m.

Approximate Duration

4 Hours

Price per person

€50.00

You will visit:

Ostia, the Roman City of the Imperial Age

Leaving Rome and following the coast road it takes about 30 minutes to reach Ostia, the Roman City of the Imperial age. Impressive remains of the Roman colony, which was the military garrison for the defence of the entrance to the river.

Ostia was the port city of ancient Rome. Once a thriving city of around 60,000 people, today it gives an excellent look into ancient lives with docks, warehouses, apartments and mansions, shops, baths and temples. Founded around 600 BC as a source for salt to preserve meats, it was conquered by Rome in around 400 BC in order to become the city's fortress and port at the mouth of the Tiber River.

As Rome expanded, it needed a bigger port so Ostia was abandoned. When the Roman Empire fell, Ostia became a ghost town - even the river moved away over time and Ostia became buried under river mud.

Things to see at Ostia Antica include the necropolis, the Baths of Neptune with its mosaic, the grand Square of the Guilds, the warehouses, Via Casa di Diana (a street of apartments and taverns), and the Forum with its temple. The theatre still hosts performances in summer months. There is also a museum housing archeological items.


Baroque Rome - Half Day Evening Tour - 4/9/2014

Departure time:

Evening, 6:30 p.m.

Approximate Duration

4 Hours

Price per person

€70.00

You will visit:

Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Castel Sant’ Angelo with tempting appetizers ,pastas and gelati.

Visit some of the most impressive and renowned monuments in Rome. Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in Rome. Finished in 1762, it is one of the last examples of Roman baroque. The Pantheon, originally a pagan temple and Piazza Navona, is built on the ruins of the Domitian’s Circus.

Castel Sant’ Angelo, built by the Emperor Adrian as a Mausoleum for himself and his successors, was later transformed into a fortress and then into a prison. Today it is an important art and military museum.

You will be able to taste delicious Italian food complimented by the local wine. On your return there will be a stop at the Gianicolo, in order to admire the sites from one the highest and most spectacular viewpoints.


Roman Castles Wine Tasting - Half Day Evening Tour - 5/9/2014

Departure time:

Evening, 6:30 p.m.

Approximate Duration

4 Hours

Price per person

€75.00

You will visit:

Roman Castles: Frascati and Grottaferrata.

Frascati is located 20 kilometres south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. It is famous for its notable villas, which were built from the 16th century onwards by Popes, Cardinals and Roman Nobles as "status symbols" of Roman aristocracy. These country houses were designed for social activities rather than farming. Frascati is renowned for its white wine. It is also an important historical and artistic centre.

Grottaferrata, near Frascati, is also famous for typical villas and residential houses.

Here we will stop for a wine tasting and dinner in a typical wine cellar.




Pre and Post meeting tours

Pompei - Full day tour - 7/9/2014

Departure time:

Evening, 7:30 a.m.

Approximate Duration

12 Hours

Price per person

€130.00

You will visit:

Ruins of Pompei and Naples

Near Naples there is the enigmatic Pompei, the thriving resort town for wealthy Romans that was buried under ash and mud during the devastating eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The vast ruins provide a fascinating insight in how the ancient Romans lived, and include impressive temples, a forum, one of the largest known Roman amphitheatres, luxurious houses with frescoes and mosaics, and streets lined with shops. Short walking tour of Naples and Lunch in a local restaurant are included.




Dinner Excursion

Tivoli Excursion & Conference Dinner - 3/9/2014

Departure time:

Afternoon, 3:00 p.m.

Approximate Duration

8 Hours

Price per person

€90.00

You will visit:

Tivoli and Villa d'Este

Tivoli is a historic town lying east of Rome in the breathtaking Monti Tiburtini hills.

Villa d'Este, in the town of Tivoli east of Rome, is a beautiful garden and palace complex that's listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The villa was built in 1560 and was the vision of Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (who narrowly failed to become a pope). The villa is famous for its magnificent garden of grottoes, fountains, nymphs and water sculpture. Cardinal d'Este died in 1572. By then the work on the garden and the interior painting of the villa was mostly complete.

Over the centuries the Villa d'Este and its gardens have been remodeled, left to decay, renovated, bombed (during World War II) and finally put into the hands of the Italian government, which opened the complex to the public.

The Conference Dinner will take place in a Natural Grotto Terrace from where you can admire a breathtaking view on the Tivoli Waterfall.



Future possible events

Should there be any important cultural or artistic events planned to take place during the Meeting which we could add to our current tours for accompanying persons, we will inform delegates upon registration.