Easter Sunday in Rome

[OneSixtyToOne]

We are booked on the Mediterranean Odyssey in April of 2023. I just noticed we are scheduled to dock in Rome on Easter Sunday. I’m wondering how this impacts the after hours Vatican Museum tour and whether it will be available. Has anyone been to Rome on Easter Sunday? It seems to me that there could be a lot of disruption due to the crowds.

[Cienfuegos]

I believe the Vatican Museums are usually closed on Sundays, other than the last Sunday of the month.   Exceptions apply.  In 2022, the Museums were also closed on Monday, April 18, the day after Easter. 

 

https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/info/tutti-gli-orari.html

[OneSixtyToOne]

On 9/2/2022 at 1:10 PM, Cienfuegos said:

I believe the Vatican Museums are usually closed on Sundays, other than the last Sunday of the month.   Exceptions apply.  In 2022, the Museums were also closed on Monday, April 18, the day after Easter. 

 

https://m.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani-mobile/en/info/tutti-gli-orari.html

Since the Vatican appears to be a “no go” we are looking at two alternate tours: The Etruscan Necropolises of Tarquinia and Picturesque Ostia. Has anyone been on either of these tours?

[Peregrina651]

4 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Since the Vatican appears to be a “no go” we are looking at two alternate tours: The Etruscan Necropolises of Tarquinia and Picturesque Ostia. Has anyone been on either of these tours?

 

 

I have done them both with Viking and loved them both. The Tarquinia tour visits the Monterozzi necropolis, which is part of the National Archeology Museum of Tarquinia (which is also visited as part of the tour).  On our trip, they were both scheduled as morning tours. The only reason we go to do both was that we had two full days in port.

 

If you have been to Pompeii and/or Herculaneum, Ostia is more of the same. The Tarquinia tour is about the Etruscan influence on Roman civilization-- and the necropolises are cool.

 

There is a very good "Great Courses" lecture series on the Etruscans that I listened to before we sailed. Well done, very interesting, put things in perspective before we left. Available as audiobook or video, I got the audio version on Audible but it is also  available from other sources such as Amazon or even better from the library (for free).

 

Still,  it is Easter Sunday and if those sites are closed for the day, the tours will not be offered, even if you do see them on the Viking website.  We were in Naples with Viking on January 1 and there were no tours offered that day.

[Cienfuegos]

Italy has 13 public holidays.  As might be expected given the history, these include both Church initiated days + the day after, and National days such as Liberation Day.

[Peregrina651]

8 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

Italy has 13 public holidays.  As might be expected given the history, these include both Church initiated days + the day after, and National days such as Liberation Day.

 

Just as in the US, not all places close for all of these holidays, so you have to check each place you want to visit. Example, the Archeology Museum in Tarquinia closes on Mondays, Christmas and New Year's Day.

[CILCIANRQTS]

3 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Since the Vatican appears to be a “no go” we are looking at two alternate tours: The Etruscan Necropolises of Tarquinia and Picturesque Ostia. Has anyone been on either of these tours?

Highly recommend Ostia Antiqua tour.

It was the port city for Rome until water bodies changed and the port was abandoned.

OA felt more  authentique than Pompeii, as they left it predominantly as found, rather than trying to fill in all the gaps. It was very easy to imagine an operating port and the various craftsmen plying their trade.

There is great diversity among the types of buildings and plenty of room to spread out, even on the busiest of days.