Rome with kids: Gladiator school, puppet theater and Segway on the Appian Way

With a thrust of his 2-foot-long sword, a quick parry and then another jab, my teenage son knocked away my weapon and drew back his blade to strike. I gulped, then jumped aside as he lunged at me and tripped.

I managed to pick up my sword and step back as we glared at each other, moved in and continued the battle.

No, this wasn’t some Oedipal nightmare. It was gladiator school on the outskirts of Rome, and we were training with the Historic Group of Rome in an arena off the Appian Way.

Our instructor, who chose the stage name Marcus Aurelius after the Roman philosopher and emperor, shouted at us and growled, “Good, now attack, attack! This is not a dance. Attack! If you don’t fight, I kill you!”

Each year, millions of people visit the famed Colosseum in the middle of the Eternal City. Built in AD 80, it was the site of ferocious gladiatorial combat, mock sea battles, dramas, animal hunts and executions for more than five centuries.

My family toured the 65,000-seat amphitheater, which includes two subterranean floors, last summer. But I yearned for a more authentic experience. And when I asked my 13-year-old son, Anders, if he’d like to attend the Historic Group of Rome’s gladiator school with me, he jumped at the opportunity and said, “That sounds cool, dad.” (My spouse and daughter declined.)

During our time in Rome, we visited many of the city’s lovely fountains, ate delicious gelato and walked through numerous churches.

What my family enjoyed most about our trip, though, was getting off the beaten track to do things such as train at the gladiator school, visit tiny shops with a local and see the bones of thousands of Capuchin monks in a crypt — some of them complete skeletons in their brown robes.

At the gladiator arena, a short bus ride from the Colosseum, we were joined by several other families that included some dads and their adventurous offspring — both boys and girls.

Marcus, our trainer, first walked us through a small museum where many warriors’ weapons, helmets, shields, leather belts and other gear was on display. When the attention of several youngsters flagged, he snarled, “Pay attention or I make you pay with your lives!”

Once in the arena, Marcus showed us the Roman salute that he said indicated we came in peace. Then we dressed in red tunics and belts and got down to the business of learning how to kill each other. After running through an obstacle course and learning how to roll and pop back up if we were knocked down, Marcus showed us how to attack with our blades (he was big on that) and protect ourselves from the thrusts of our opponents.

“Soon you are ready for battle!” he roared.

When our trainer decided we’d mastered (in a manner of speaking) our swordplay and defensive moves, he told us it was time for the “real thing.” Fortunately, we were not given metal weapons.

He then drew a large circle in the arena sand. Two by two, we would-be gladiators dueled with our opponents with wooden swords. I lost out in the third round, and Anders was defeated in the fourth. The winner? A 12-year-old girl from New Jersey with lightning reflexes. (Russell Crowe, watch out.)

Marcus smiled as he held up her hand in victory.

“I train you good!” he barked.

Info: Historic Group of Rome, $62

More kid-friendly options

Museum and Crypt of Capuchins: This macabre chapel on the Via Veneto may be suitable for older kids and teenagers. It could give younger kids (and others easily frightened) nightmares because it houses the remains of nearly 4,000 Capuchin monks whose skulls, femurs and other bones were used to decorate five of its six rooms. Vertebrae were used for chandeliers and full skeletons clad in robes hang from the walls like a scene out of an Edgar Allan Poe novel.

Info: Crypt of the Capuchins, entry fee is about $6.50.

Small markets and shops tour: Oregon native Evan Firestone is practically a Rome native after more than a decade of living in the Eternal City. He knows the city’s backstreets and small markets well and has made friends with shopkeepers during his years here as a guide and student. We walked with him on a three-hour tour that took us from a tiny coffee shop in a narrow alley to the Campo de’ Fiori market — where we bought bread, tomatoes, strawberries and cheese for a lunch — to small pizza, cheese and butcher shops for samples. We finished our tour with a stop at a gelateria. My mango gelato was delicious.

Info: Markets and shops tour, tours about $72 per person.

Segway tours: Once you get the hang of it, taking a Segway tour of Rome’s cultural sites is a fun and adventurous way to explore the city with kids. Various companies offer tours of different lengths both day and night. For something special, rumble along the Appian Way on a Sunday outing, when the ancient road is closed to traffic.

Info: Segway tour, about $77 for a 3½-hour tour.

Catacomb tours: Rome’s catacombs were used as burial plots from the 2nd to the 5th centuries because of the high price of real estate. The subterranean spaces also gave persecuted Christians a clandestine location in which to worship martyrs and prophets and exhibit biblical iconography. Two catacombs, St. Sebastian and St. Callixtus, are on the Appian Way. Both are open to the public, as well as St. Agnes on Via Nomentana, Priscilla on Via Salaria and the Domitilla catacombs on Via delle Sette Chiese. Rome also has two Jewish catacombs open to visitors, including the Vigna Randanini, which dates to the 2nd century and is also on the Appian Way.

Info: Catacomb tours, www.catacombe.org. Admission about $9 for the St. Sebastian Catacomb. For details on other catacombs go to www.lat.ms/romecatacombs

Cycling: If your kids like cycling, riding to the Pantheon, Colosseum, piazzas, famous churches and fountains may be your thing. When my then 14-year-old daughter, Madeline, and I did a bike tour, we rode through uncrowded streets and alleys to get to various sites and learn about Rome’s history from our guide. Alas, no chariots were available.

Info: Bike tours, about $55

Puppet theater: Open-air puppet theater Teatrino di Pulcinella al Giancaolo, north of Piazzale Garibaldi, features the hand-puppet Pulcinella (known to Americans as Punch, of Punch and Judy fame). Half-hour shows of this traditional Italian entertainment take place Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 1, 4 and 7 p.m., beginning in October. The show is free, but watchers are welcome to leave a donation.

Info: Teatrino di Pulcinella al Giancaolo.

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