A Roman Event

After a week immersed in the history and culture of Rome and the Vatican, I feel I must confess. I was a self-righteous traveller. I had spent so much time on solo trips that I believed a tour wasn't for me. I thought it couldn't possibly offer a well-seasoned traveller anything they couldn't organise for themselves. I was so very wrong.

On the first day of my Tauck Roman Event, we were taken to a place you weren't likely to read about in guide books - the home of Princess Rita and Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi. Princess Rita is a Texan with a colourful past. Before her marriage to the prince, she was married to former US politician John Jenrette, appeared in movies, including Zombie Island Massacre, and posed for Playboy magazine. She is now focused on preserving and restoring their home in the heart of Rome, and the rare artworks it contains. Villa Aurora is open to small, select groups to raise money for her cause.

The villa was a retreat for artists, musicians, scientists and a select literary crowd in the 16th century. Its frescoes are the standout, including the only mural ever painted by Caravaggio. The Ludovisi family history is dotted with popes and cardinals, and the mark they have left on the home is obvious in the artworks and antiquities.

During our trip, the daily tours were hosted by local guides with an extensive knowledge of the sites we saw. Everyone was given a "whisperer" - a headset channelled into the microphone of our guide for the day. This allowed us to learn about the art, history and architecture of the Eternal City through the eyes of local experts but didn't stop us pausing to take a closer look or photograph.

The benefits of this style of touring became obvious on a walk around the old Jewish quarter. Small plaques outside homes could have been easily missed, but our guide explained that the names on the plates commemorated the women taken from their homes and sent to concentration camps during World War II.

As well as pointing out the not so obvious, our guides added a lot of value to visits to the big tourist destinations: Capitoline Hill, the Colosseum, the Baths of Caracalla, St Peters and many of Rome's churches. Our tours were timed so we arrived at these destinations when they were likely to be less busy. There was no queuing for tickets - they had all been prearranged. Buses dropped us off and picked us up as close to locations as possible. The days still included a lot of walking as we meandered through the sites, but it was nice to know that an air-conditioned bus would deliver us back to the hotel at the end of the day.

Private tours were also included, and these were the highlight of my trip. After learning about the spectacular art inside St Peter's Basilica and becoming morbidly fascinated by the remains of Pope John XXIII at the altar of St Jerome, we were ushered past the Swiss Guards into the Vatican Gardens. Strolling around the grounds, we were given an insight into the lives of the many popes who had wandered there before us. Pope Francis is popular with the people because of his compassion and humility. He refused to live in the Papal Palace as he is "not a king" and instead lives with the priests and bishops in a guesthouse next to the gardens. Our guide proudly told us that Pope Francis makes his way around Rome in a 2007 Ford Focus.

Another day of touring focused on a variety of churches dotted around the city, including a trip to the Scala Santa, where pilgrims climb the stairs on their knees. The stairs lead to the Sancta Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies. This personal chapel of the early popes is considered holier than the Sistine Chapel and, even though it's not open to everyone, our tour group was allowed to enter. Holy relics are kept here, including - rumour has it - the foreskin of Jesus.

After we left the next church, San Giovanni, we were taken underground to the excavations of a Roman neighbourhood. A local archaeologist unlocked the tomb of time and we made our way three storeys below today's street level. It is believed the area was home to soldiers in the second and third centuries, and archaeologists have uncovered the remains of stables, sleeping quarters, storerooms and cooking areas. Parts of murals, and wine and oil jugs, dot the walls and floors.

Unlike the diggings under the Basilica of San Clemente, which are very popular with tourists, we were the only ones climbing among the ruins. Our guide commented that he only gets to see the archaeologists' progress when he's working for Tauck, so exceptional are tours to this site.

Another exceptional experience was a private fashion show, one afternoon at our hotel, the Westin Excelsior Rome. Models showcased the creations of designer Michele Miglionico, black dresses with splashes of red and a little white the feature of this catwalk indulgence.

Apart from one free evening, our nights were filled with a smorgasbord of culture. We were treated to a private performance of Italian opera classics in the hall of the Renaissance Palazzo della Cancelleria, before viewing its vast mural by Giorgio Vasari. The palace is rumoured to have been built on the winnings from a night's gambling. With our cultural senses satiated, we were then escorted to a banquet at L'Archeologia.

Another night, we attended a cocktail party followed by a four-course dinner at the Cinecitta. This filming location was inaugurated by Benito Mussolini in 1937 and was initially used to produce propaganda films. Today it produces a range of movies and TV shows and the remains of sets from the HBO series Rome and the film Gangs of New York can still be seen.

If you're a fan of film, Rome isn't short of big-screen locations. Palazzo Barberini and Palazzo Colonna featured in Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. The Trevi Fountain is close to both, and was made famous in La Dolce Vita. Guided visits to all of these sites were included in the trip.

But the high point of our tour had to be the night at the Vatican Museum. With our "whisperers" on, we were treated to a private tour of the museum. During peak tourist season, 35,000 people a day make their way through the nearly 6.5km of collections on display, but no one obstructed our view as our guide demystified the works of Bellini, Raphael and Michelangelo. This was followed by a private viewing of the Sistine Chapel.

The gripe of many a traveller who comes to see Michelangelo's marvel is that they are squeezed through the chapel at the speed of the tightly packed, moving crowd - not so for us. We slowly moved around the chapel as our guide pointed out the best vantage points to view each section of the roof and explained why Michelangelo had chosen to include various people and objects in his masterpiece.

Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor, not a painter, and three times refused Pope Julius II's request to paint the chapel. Miraculously he kept his head after these refusals and lived to the ripe old age of 88, but he did manage to take out a few of his frustrations in his painting. In the scene where you would expect Eve to be stepping out of the rib of Adam, instead her foot is birthing from a stone - a reference to Michelangelo seeing himself primarily as a sculptor. The fresco, Last Judgment, on the altar wall not only contains a self-portrait but also uses the likeness of a cardinal he disliked to represent the damned.

As if our evening had not been special enough, we were then taken along the deserted Vatican Museum halls to a cocktail reception in at the Cortile Ottagono in the Pio-Clementino Museum before being treated to a sit-down dinner among the sculptures of the Galleria delle Statue. The night was certainly not something a lone traveller would experience.

Tauck has been running tours for nearly 90 years and, over this time, has built up many relationships with organisations that help stage such special events. The company's approach must be working - in the tour group I joined there were couples on their 5th, 7th and 8th trips with Tauck. They loved the ease the tour format offered. The busy but well-organised schedule meant everyone saw and learnt a lot. No one wanted to sit around a hotel when they had access to the jewels of Rome and the Vatican.

I can't say my trip has converted me to a tour-only type of gal but it certainly opened my eyes to the benefits of high-class travel and the perks of having those with the knowledge and connections organise an adventure for you.

• fact file *

·Among Tauck's 2015 itineraries in Rome and Italy is the new six-day World Cities Rome tour, from $4290 per person twin share, including five nights accommodation, airport transfers upon arrival and departure, 10 meals, gratuities to local guides, service charges, taxes and porterage.

·For bookings and more information phone Travel the World on 1300 857 437 or go to traveltheworld.com.au

The gripe of many a traveller who comes to see Michelangelo's marvel is that they are squeezed through the chapel at the speed of the tightly packed crowd - not so for us.

Annelies Gartner was a guest of Tauck and Travel the World.