What Is the Scavi Tour ?

[Bassethound]

I've seen about it and heard about it, but what is it and how to get it??:rolleyes:

[CAKER]

Are you asking about the Scandanavian cruise? That's also known as the "Baltic Capitals & St. Petersburg" cruise. It includes Helsinki, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and usually a couple of other stops, like Talinan (Estonia). We took it is our FIRST cruise in August, 2004 on the Celebrity Constellation. It is the trip of a lifetime. We don't expect any other one to match it, but we'll enjoy trying. (We're going on the Millennium Western Mediterannean Venice to Barcelona, 10/17-10/29/2006.)

 

By the way, the Constellation entertainment includes a 45-minute fantastic show -- Cirque d'Soliel !!!

[cadreamer]

The Scavi Tour is a tour of the underground area of the Vatiacan at St. Peter's. You have to reserve ahead and then you pay when you get there. It is not good if you are claustrophobic because you go underground and it is pretty close under there and the air is humid. Here is the link http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_20040112_en.html?GRAB_ID=142\&EXTRA_ARG=\&HOST_ID=42\&PAGE_ID=728832

[Queenk2]

When I was there last summer it was cool and parts were airconditioned. I had a hard time making a reservation..eventually my hotel conceirge did it for us. It was well worth the effort. It was like a private our. Enjoy!

Karen

[nparmelee]

We did the Vaitcan scavi tour in June, it's in the catacombs below St. Peter's. I wouldn't recommend it if you are claustrophobic as a few places are a little tight. One person in our group had to leave early as the mustiness was setting her allergies off and she had a hard time breathing. Very fascinating tour and it was highly worth the $10 per person. Not sure if this link will keep in the posting or not, but I'll try:

<http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/institutions_connected/uffscavi/documents/rc_ic_uffscavi_doc_gen-information_07121999_en.html>

[Hlitner]

It might be helpful to understand that the Italian word "Scavi" can be loosely translated to "excavations." In the case of the Vatican it simply refers to a passageway that has been opened underneath St Peters Basilica. Very limited tours of small numbers (generally no more than 12) are conducted through the passageway in various languages. Because of the size of this area they generally do not allow more than two tours at a time. Personally, we found the tour to be of some linterest, but there is really nothing "earthshattering" or exciting that would make this a highlight of a trip to Rome. Getting a reservation is hit and miss and the nearly impossible for cruise ship passengers who are on a very tight schedule. We were able to schedule the tour while we were in Rome for a few days by sending a fax to the Vatican Scavi office about a month in advance and simply specifying the dates that we would be available in Rome. A couple of weeks later we received an e-mail from the Vatican telling us to report to the Swiss Guard station on the left side of St Peters at a specific time and bring the e-mail. The Vatican picked the actual date and time... and one needs to keep in mind that there are only a few daily tours conducted in English.

 

Hank

[NanciEA]

I won't repeat what the previous posters have said, but my family took the Scavi tour in June and just thought it was "okay". Our tour company based in Rome, booked it for us several months in advance, as we were told it was "not to be missed". A lot of our review is based on our guide. Her English was quite poor and she jumped around a lot in her explainations. The worst part was she showed us the models built to show the various stages of excavation at the end of our tour! It would have been much more helpful to see them before - very confusing. In short, if you don't take this tour, you won't have missed that much.

[cadreamer]

I think your experience was unfortunately badly affected by your guide. We on the other hand had a very personalbe seminary student from the US (Georgia) who was one year away from ordination. He showed us the model first and at the end he got us into the head of the line to see Pope John Paul's burial place. It was very interesting but I would not recomemend doing it if you only have one day in Rome. If you have more days and you get a good guide you will find it fascinating.

[mal's boy]

I think Hank pretty much described it best. "Scavi" means excavations. The other thing to keep in mind that, well, this is the Vatican, so I think you may enjoy it more if you are Catholic. Alot of the history given during the tour relates to the first signs of Christianity used on tombs and burial markers, St Peter's grave, etc. I have always booked this tour through the Scavi Office whenever I travel to Rome with someone that has not done it. They have improved the surroundings and climate control alot since I first did this tour back in the early 80's. I say if you are lucky enough to get a confirmation, go and enjoy the tour. It only last a little over an hour and you will see things most visitors to the Vatican don't even know about.

Michael