The tour starts from the Basilica Santa Maria in Via Lata, where we will visit the underground crypt that is tied to the memories of Saint Paul's house arrest upon arrival in Rome. As we continue our tour to the summit of the Capitoline hill, we will enter the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, built in the mid 12th century, to pay homage to the "Infant Jesus", a little statue originally carved by a franciscan friar using Olive Wood from the Garden of Gethsemane in the Holy Land and blessed in the waters of the Jordan River. Near the Coliseum we will visit the Basilica of Santa Francesca Romana, built on the spot where Saint Peter was confronted by Simon Magus as he performed his magic arts. Inside the Basilica, we will venerate the oldest marian icon in Rome, from the 5th century. Our visit will end on the Esquiline hill, at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, also known as Our Lady of Snows. Each year the miraculous summer snowfall which designated the place for construction of the Basilica is reenacted.
