T HE T IBER I SLAND AND
S T. N ICHOLAS IN P RISON
• M IN 2 - M AX 10 P ARTICIPANTS
2
INFORMATION
MEETING POINT :
SAN BARTOLOMEO SQUARE (in Tiber Island)
LOW SEASON • 01/NOV/2015 - 31/MAR/2016.
DEPARTURES EVERY:
SUGGESTED RETAIL RATES:
SUPPL (SUGGESTED RETAIL RATES):
PLEASE ARRIVE 15m BEFORE
THE DEPARTURE TIME
INCLUDING ARCHAEOLOGICAL
GUIDE AND ENTRANCE FEES
WED-FRI 10:30 a.m.
ONE WAY SHARE TRANSFER IN
€ 70,00
€ 10,00 pp
HIGH SEASON • 01/APR/2016 - 31/OCT/2016.
DEPARTURES EVERY:
SUGGESTED RETAIL RATES:
SUPPL (SUGGESTED RETAIL RATES):
PLEASE ARRIVE 15m BEFORE
THE DEPARTURE TIME
INCLUDING ARCHAEOLOGICAL
GUIDE AND ENTRANCE FEES
MON-WED-FRI-SUN 10:30 a.m.
ONE WAY SHARE TRANSFER IN
€ 80,00
€ 10,00 pp
The Tiber Island is one of the two islandsin the Tiber river, which runsthrough
Rome; the other, much larger one is called Isola Sacra and is near the mouth of
the river at Ostia. Tiber island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. The
island is boat-shaped, approximately 270 m long and 67 m wide, and has been
connected with bridges to both sides of the river since antiquity. Being a seat of
the ancient Temple of Asclepius and later a hospital, the island is associated with
medicine and healing. The island has been linked to the rest of Rome by two
bridges since antiquity, and was once called Insula Inter-Duos-Pontes which
means "the island between the two bridges". The Ponte Fabricio, the only original
bridge in Rome, connects the island from the northeast to the Field of Mars in the
rione Sant’Angelo (left bank). The Ponte Cestio, of which only some original parts
survived, connects the island to Trastevere on the south (right bank). There is a
legend which says that after the fall of the hated tyrant Tarquinius Superbus (510
BC), the angry Romansthrew his body into the Tiber. His body then settled onto
the bottom where dirt and silt accumulated around it and eventually formed
Tiber Island. Another version of the legend says that the people gathered up the
wheat and grain of their despised ruler and threw it into the Tiber, where it
eventually became the foundation of the island.In ancient times, before
Christianity spread through Rome, Tiber Island was avoided because of the
negative stories associated with it. Only the worst criminals and the contagiously
ill were condemned there. This however changed when a temple was built on
the island. From the island you will reach an ancient church that hides the
remains of three very ancient temples. It was once thought that these cells could
have been the prison of St. Peter (hence the name “carcere” which means
prison). Then, however, the truth was discovered. A fascinating way to discover
the ancient Rome underneath the cobblestones of the Baroque Rome. An
underground tour for anyone fascinated with mysteries of places ignored by the
“normal” tourists. The church of San Nicola in Carcere (St. Nicholas in Prison) is in
fact absolutely unique in the world. Even at a distance we realize that there are
six imposing columns of an ancient Roman temple built into the side walls of the
church. The church is indeed entirely constructed on three temples of the 3rd
and 2nd centuries BC. Those were probably the temple of Spes (Hope), Juno
Sospita (Junio the Savior and Janus. The temple of Junos Sospita, the central one,
was fully incorporated into the church in the middle ages. What sets apart these
ruins to any other ruins in Rome is that they are Republican-era temples, not
Imperial and therefore probably the most ancient ruins existing in Rome.From the
crypt under the altar, you will descend to the underground level and arrive in the
spaces-at the time open to the sky-between the three temples. You are on the
beaten path of the Romans who for centuries passed this way on their daily
comings and goings to the vegetable and cattle market a few steps away, from
the 5th century BC. The foundations and the massive load-bearing structures of
the temples survived the collapse and devastation of the centuries, wars and
destruction. During the reconstruction, around the 9th century AD, it seemed a
good idea to reuse the strong arms of the temples to anchor a church. On the
inside of the church, among the many historical details, one of the columns
preserves an interesting engraving from the 8th century AD, while the bell in the
medieval tower is still the original one from the end of the 13th century AD.
CLOSED DATES
January 1st • February 11th • March 27th • March 28th • April 25th •
May 1st • August 15th • November 1st • December 8th • December 25th • December 26th