Jubilee 2016 From Paganism to Christianity

On this day you will be picked up by your local driver and taken to your residence, relax before meeting your local guide at your apartment and starting your tour. Be prepared to immerse yourself into the transformation of Rome, from capital of the greatest Empire of all times, pagan Goddess Rome to capital of Christianity, seat of the Pope, home to saints and pilgrims who built the Church. A Pilgrimage through time, to explore the many changes the eternal city has faced before becoming what we know now. Roman Empire and christianity coexisted for a long time, pagans converted, under the guidance of Peter and Paul: slaves, free men, nobles and finally Emperors. from when the early christians walked in secret to the transformation of the capital of the pagan world into the capital of christianity. You will explore in depth this transformation, and see how the most magnificent symbols of Roman greatness transformed through time, becoming symbols of freedom for christianity, places to commemorate those who fought for their belief. Rome went from capital city to a city of phantoms, invasions, poverty, fires, mined its structure, from its ashes a new city arose. The tour starts with a visit of the Colosseum, once symbol of the power of Rome, it was then transformed into a village, then into the last station of the Holy Cross procession and finally protected for what it once was: an amphitheater, as the Pope wanted us all to remember how the early christians were slaughtered. Next to the Colosseum is the arch of Constantine, the first, who immediately after his election to Emperor, allowed the christians to practice, the first of a series of transformation that brought christianity to our days.
The Forum, once the beating heart of Rome, was abandoned, the city slowly transformed, the signs and the monuments erected to the glory of the pagan gods, turned into churches for the compassion of the local farmers and shepards that needed a place to warship God. Nothing fancy, a shelter for the soul, this is what christians needed. As the transformation of the city went on so did the new religion of hope. The layers of Rome uncover the history of buildings that from private and public transformed into churches, painted and decorated to allow the new converted who were mostly illitterate to understand what Jesus did for us, the sacrifices that common people as well as popes and nobles did to keep the message of hope and mercy that God sent us through his son alive. Slowly christianity structures itself to better serve the local communities, who were in search for a guidance and help to better serve God. This tour will take you back to 2000 years ago up to the heart of the Middle Ages, where christianity bloomed, an age in need of hope, which is what this jubelee is about.