Rome Day Tours
High Quality Personalized Walking Tours
in Rome and the Vatican
US #: 412-567-6968
Skype Name: RomeDayTours
Mobile #: +39-338-269-4683
About Rome Day Tours Guides, our Logo, Marcus Aurelius and the sun pattern.

About Rome Day Tours
Touring through the Vatican on a very hot summer day, with Rich holding an ice pack!

American Rich Brunn started up this company while finishing up his Masters and teaching Roman Topography (Ancient) and Medieval/ Renaissance Roman and European History at St. Stephen's high school in Rome. To help illustrate some of the dynamism in Rome that you may hear about on any one of his typical Tours in Rome, take a look at an article he wrote during that year on the Arch of Constantine.

Rich has gone on to receive his official touring license as an "Accompagnatore Turistico" and is one of the very few American ex pats to have also passed the official written and oral exams to become a "Guida Turistica di Roma" that is an Officially Licensed Tour Guide of Rome. See the bottom of this page for Rich's Resume/ a bit more on his experiences to make a perfect fit for providing you and your family or friends with the best tours in Rome.

Rich still tries to tour as much as possible, but when necessary his associates are some of the best Licensed Guides he's gotten to know over the years who also speak english very well. They are fun, fluent, friendly and knowledgable about the sites, with an amazing capacity to engage children as well as adults so that the sites you'll see with us come alive!

You can have your very own personalized Guide or even offer to share your private touring experience for reduced rates. Group tours are also available at some of the best rates in Rome to now reach out to a wider audience.

Rome Day Tours Logo
Capitoline Hill

Rich chose the top right gilded equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180) as it is a very rare example of Imperial art and one of the most significant in Rome.

While the majority of ancient images of Emperors, Gods and Goddesses were destroyed, this statue was preserved in front of the Medieval Papal Palace of Rome because it was mistakenly thought to have been of Constantine, in the act of even giving a type of Christian Blessing...
Mosaic from Ostia Antica

Ironically enough though, Marcus Aurelius was not only a philosopher and defender of the borders of the Empire (as portrayed in the beginning of the movie Gladiator), but he was also a persecutor of the Christians...

That original Statue of Marcus Aurelius was moved to the Capitoline Hill in the late 1530's, for which Michelangelo designed an oval sun type pattern (that funny enough wasn't actually put in until the 1940's) that's portrayed on the right.

You can easily enough see the unique quality of this pattern in how each of the intersecting lines visually link up towards the center that the ancient Romans actually first utilized as a "circular" pattern mosaic still quite visible in Ostia Antica (pictured left).

So whether he knew it directly or not “Mr. Renaissance” Michelangelo had himself updated the pattern as an “oval” (and even Christianized with its 12 apostolic points), yet unfortunately since 1981 the original statue was removed for restoration.

The Rome Day Tours "square" reworking of those patterns serves as a convenient sun-like background ("Day" tours) that Rich designed and therefore places atop many of the images that he has personally taken of things he hopes to "shed light" upon contextually for people while touring, especially now centered prominently back upon the original statue of Marcus Aurelius almost 500 years after Michelangelo's designs.

Name

Rich Brunn

Objective

To provide you with the highest quality tours while in Rome.

Education

1990 – 1994         Schenley High School                                  Pittsburgh, PA

International Baccalaureate in English Literature and Thesis in Art History

1994 – 1998         Franciscan University of Steubenville        Steubenville, OH

BA in Psychology + BA in Theology

1998 – 2003         Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas      Rome, Italy

Minor in Philosophy two-year pre-requisite courses

Masters in Theology (historical focus with High Honors- Magna Cum Laude)

Professional experience

Spring 2004- 2010          Rome Day Tours                                     Rome, Italy

    Self Employed Tour Guide

2003-2004                       St. Stephen’s High School                      Rome, Italy

    Teacher in History Faculty 

Spring 2000-2003            Scala Reale: Cultural Association           Rome, Italy

    Tour Guide / Art History + Vatican Specialist 

Spring 2000                         Psycho – Linguistics                              Rome, Italy

     Professional English Teacher

Summer 1998                         Totus Tuus                             Wichita, Kansas

     Team Co-Leader and Teacher

A summer teaching program: Teams of 4 travel throughout Kansas to
teach 1st - 8th grade during the day and 9th – 12th grade in the evening 

Spring 1996–Fall 1997    F.U.S. Telemarketing Relations         Steubenville, OH

     Tele-communicator  

Summer 1996                    Steel City Distribution                          Pittsburgh, PA

     Trainer of Communication Sales Representatives

Awards received

Perseverance Award from the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science for having persevered for the maximum number of six years.  Out of 10 competitions: 5-first place and 5-second place results.

Accompagnatore Turistico and Guida Turistica di Roma (Rome Tour Guide):

Interests

Writing, reading, computer use, video, graphic and website creation, giving tours and presentations, playing the guitar, sports and communicating in Italian (fluent).

Volunteer/
Community
activities

F.U.S.A. (Franciscan University Student Association) Student Body Representative of the Welfare Committee, member of the Kolbe/Claire Hall Council, reader and music ministry, Big Brothers’ program, Treasurer of the Gemelli Society and Household/ Fraternity Coordinator for two semesters, Organizational Head of the 1997 Spring Music Festival and a main character (Longinus) in the 1998 Steubenville Spring Passion Play.

References

Available upon request