Santa Maria delle... and other Rome, Italy Off The Beaten Path Tips

Santa Maria delle Concezione--a church on the Via Veneto where they have a crypt decorated with the bones of something like 4,000 monks. My boyfriend likes these morbid things, so he was really into this and bought about a half-dozen postcards. In the final room there's a mummified monk with a sign--'As you are now, I once was. As I am now, so you shall be.'

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Do visit the Domus Aurea (Nero's Golden House). This was a huge mansion the crazy emperor built to his own glory--it covered the Celian hill and overlooked a lake (now the site of the Colosseum). Covered in frescoes and gold decoration, the emperor would entertain and receive visitors there. After Nero's death, the emperor Vespasian was so disgusted with the building that he literally had it covered up with dirt. After decades of digging, archeologists still haven't uncovered it all. Unfortunately the frescoes are pretty much ruined and none of the gold is left...but the sheer size of the place will give you a sense of its grandeur. It's also just fun and kind of eerie to walk around this underground place and try to imagine it as an airy building. It's a good idea to reserve tickets ahead (you either go with a guide or get an audioguide), as it has become pretty popular recently.

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For some reason, the Romans had to bury their dead outside the city limits, so they buried them along this road. Today there are still ruined tombs here and there, but the walk is most enjoyable just because it's lovely. You're still in the city, but there are still sheep wandering about. On the weekends it's closed to traffic and you can rent a bike. You can also visit the famous catacombs, which are nearby.

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If you don't have time to visit Pompeii but would like to see the ruins of an ancient Italian city, Ostia Antica (Ancient Ostia) is only about an hour away from Rome by train. Ostia was the port town of ancient Rome, but it was abandoned after it gradually began silting over. While there aren't as many striking frescoes as at Pompeii, the mud and silt preserved the town's buildings pretty well. There's a big theater and many ruins of baths with pretty tiles. Once my brother and I, poking around a corner in a house, found what must have been the latrine. We didn't use it, however.

If it's warm out you can combine a stop here with a visit to the beach.

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There are a quite a few sections with ruins of baths here, with beautiful tiled mosaics.

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Tivoli is not exactly off the beaten path, but it's a nice outing if the heat and bother of Rome is getting you down. Basically, it's a town some miles out of Rome with a couple of pretty villas. The first, Villa Adriana (Hadrian's Villa), is basically the ruins of the emperor's massive villa. The countryside is really beautiful, and there are some lovely ponds (I'm sure that's not the technical name for them, but you get the idea). Villa d'Este is the other main sight--it dates from much later. Basically, it's the huge home of the Este family. The villa is impressive enough, but what it's known for (and what is really nice on a hot summer day) are its fountains. Scattered throughout a huge garden are more than a dozen ornate fountains. It's nice to jiust stroll around here for a while, or have a aperitif on the terrace of the villa.

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