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Renaissance Scarlet Ladies Tour: Caravaggio's and Borgia's women | 3 hours

52 Reviews | Rome
From $40.28 per person Lowest Price Guarantee
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Free Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Season 2025
2 Adults x $39.90
$79.80
Approx Total
$79.80

Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • Guided tour
  • Halfway through of the storytelling walking tour, there is chance to make a stop in a Snack Bar but the cost is not included in the tour

Overview

Welcome, to the most scandalous, jaw-dropping, and utterly fascinating walking tour you never knew you needed! Forget the dry history lectures—this is a tour about the women who made Renaissance Italy sizzle. We will dive deep into the world of Renaissance courtesans, scarlet ladies who played a significant role in the politics of Renaissance Europe. Think of them as muses who inspired some of the greatest artists in history. These women weren’t just beautiful; they were resourceful. You will meet seven unforgettable women, each immortalized in paintings by Caravaggio and Raphael. These weren’t just pretty faces—they were trendsetters, intellectuals, poets, and, in some cases, royal game-changers. Their lives were filled with passion, intrigue, and, of course, a little scandal (okay, a lot of scandal). Expect stories of dangerous ambition and a society that couldn’t decide whether to adore or condemn these women—so naturally, it did both. Trust me, history has never been this juicy.

Itinerary

  • Basilica San Marco Evangelista

    The tour begins with a massive statue that in 1477 was named after a famous Courtesan. The statue nowadays is indeed known as "Lady Lucrezia". This XV century woman who lived an incredibly colorful life, is the first story of this storytelling tour

    20 minutes

  • Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

    We make a stop in the courtyard of the Doria Pamphilj, to talk about our second woman named Anna Bianchini, who modeled many times for a famous italian painter known as Caravaggio. Anna was indeed Caravaggio's first model and also the one who modeled for him most of the times

    20 minutes

  • Chiesa Di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva

    We enter a this magnificent church which is full of important and beautiful artworks and tell we tell the story of the most successful courtesan in all of Europe, back in the early XVI Century

    25 minutes

  • Basilica S. Agostino

    Sant'Agostino church is another fantastic site included in this storytelling walking tour. This church is historically related to women, there's so many stories about the women in here and plus, there is the original "Virgin Mary and the Pilgrims" canvas painted by Caravaggio

    20 minutes

  • Via dei Coronari

    On this storytelling walking tour, we walk amongst original XVI and XV century building that back in the day, were owned by Courtesans. This is the Best Way to bing the stories to Life, since we are really able to eye-witness what their daily life was really like

    10 minutes

  • Campo De' Fiori

    Are you a Borgia Family fan? oh well, you will love the story of Vannozza Cattanei, mother of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Her story is incredible and usually is people's favorite story in all of the tour.

    20 minutes

  • Piazza Farnese

    Here in Piazza Farnese, right by the beautiful Palazzo designed by Michelangelo which is the French Embassy today, the tour ends with the sad story of Giulia Farnese. We don't spoil anything but the finale of the tour is really moving...

    20 minutes

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • The itinerary of the tour is 95% accessible to wheelchairs. There's only 2 churches which are hard to get in with a wheelchair but that doesn't manage the content of the tour, since in that case we just tell the story outside of the church

Free Cancellation

October 01100% refund
October 02No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

5.0

52 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    52
  • 4 stars
    0
  • 3 stars
    0
  • 2 stars
    0
  • 1 star
    0

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 52 reviews with 5 stars

Massimo's unique stories- of Roman life.

Published on Jan, 2025

Guide books have pictures and some gathered and easily accessible facts, but on the tour with Massimo we learned so much more, relating to the people and the times and society they lived in. Amongst the restrictions of the times for women, we learned about some amazingly innovative and adaptive, entrepreneurial and successful, as well as sad lives of these people; the tour was comprehensive and beautifully presented. Massimo was very generous with his time and knowledge and I will definitely be doing more tours with him in future visits to Rome.

Engaging and fascinating

Published on Jan, 2025

Massimo was a historian and a storyteller- weaving together the stories of courtesans and street women to explore the grim realities for women living in the 14th-16th centuries. We loved how he went beyond the basic facts to share the experiences of these women who were disrespected in their lives but had a massive influence on the Catholic Church and art world. Women who are so often looked at in famous art, but not remembered for the stories of their lives. Thank you Massimo for an engaging, enjoyable and thought provoking tour!

Fascinating history told by a born storyteller

Published on Dec, 2024

You will walk a fair bit but it's not too much. The tour guide, Massimo, is enthusiastic and a great storyteller and the subject matter fascinating. Highly recommended.

Book this Tour!

Published on Nov, 2024

If you are visiting Rome in the future, booking Massimo's Review of: Renaissance Scarlet Ladies Tour: Caravaggio's and Borgia's Women should be on your "must do" list! It's a different tour in that it's storytelling at it's best. Massimo shared the stories behind the women in the iconic paintings of Caravaggio and during the time the Borgias were in charge of the church and the government. You won't be disappointed if you take this tour! I took the tour with four other friends and we were all enthralled.

Highly entertaining and informative

Published on Nov, 2024

A great tour. We were in Rome 9 days and took a dozen tours and this was our favorite (along with Massimo's other tour). Massimo did a lot of homework and is a great storyteller. The tour was highly informative and entertaining. It may sonud a little seedy (and it is) but it was handled tactfully such that my very conservative wife loved the tour. You will not regret taking this tour.

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