Premium Virtual Vatican Visit. The Famous Raphael Rooms: the Philosophy & Theology of it all!

Enjoy a high-quality virtual visit to the treasures of the Vatican.  Rather than traveling thousands of miles, across seas and oceans only to walk thousands of steps to visit the high-traffic areas of the Vatican, now you can make that journey from the comfort of your home!  

Staying safe and staying home, you will enjoy a decade's worth of insights gleaned from leading pilgrims and patrons through the beauitful & compelling drama of sacred beauty. It is also a perfect opportunity to get some real *insider* information with a small group of online friends.

The theme of this virtual visit will focus on the famous paintings of Raphael found in the Papal Apartments of the Vatican.  And we will do our best to explore the philosophy and theology behind the beautiful frecos....and put those deep thoughts right onto your palette through great wine !

Yep, to keep things interesting, we are pairing our virtual visit with REAL wine, or in Italian: vino vero. Giulia, from the Merumalia Winery outside Rome, will select wines that accompany the insights into the lessons of theology & philosophy we will explore on our visit.  For this visit, we are chooing an elegant-yet-light young red vintage, a sort of wine that was not unfamiliar to Raphael in his time.  Giulia will introduce the wine at the beginning of the event, and we encourage all our guests to sip away as we get into the visit.  Let the art & let the philosophy literally SINK IN with your delicious wine as we go about our hour-long visit.

At the end of our virtual visit and wine tasting, our small group participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of both the scholar and the winemaker. Also, following your visit, you will receive a set of 'class notes' that help you to relieve the experience over future glasses of wine, and/or in anticipation of future in-person visits!!

This is not a boring Zoom; this is a highly-interactive and highly-produced virtual cultural experience.

All the virtual walks will take place online, of course.  To participate you will need a computer with a good (fast) internet connection, and Zoom downloaded onto your computer or device. We recommend  that you have WhatsApp installed and working, but this is not necessary. Directions and assistance will be provided to our guests prior to the virtual walk.

Once you register, all the log-in details, instructions, and directions will be sent to you via email. A tour assistant will contact you via text (and WhatsApp) to make sure you are prepared with all the set-up and onboarding assitance you might need.For making the most of the wine tasting, guests will receive an offer on purchasing wine, our boutique impossible-to-get-outside-of-Italy wine, and have it delivered to their homes, in advance of the virtual visit & wine tasting. We will also share with you resources for buying your own wine locally, if you prefer that option.  Finally, in advance of your visit, we will mail you all the links that we will be using and referencing during our tour, in case you want to also access these links from your other devices during our time together.

As a courtesy, if you plan to no longer participate in the virtual tour, we ask you to please provide us with a cancellation notice at least 24 hours before the event. We cannot guarantee refunds for cancellations made with less than 24 hours' notice, though we will endeavor to do our best !