The Santa Maria Maggiore and other Rome, Italy Things to Do Tips

As I was staying just one block from this stunning church, one of the most important in all of Rome, this became the first attraction I visited in Rome.
The church dates from 420 AD and has had its exterior redesigned in a baroque manner. The interior is of Byzantine design and is mindboggling beautiful. Pity that the facade was covered with scaffolding when I visit the church so I took a photo of the rear instead.

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Directions: Two blocks southwest of the main train terminal.

While it did not actually enthrall me to visit the Spanish Steps, most tourist come here to hang out on the steps that lead up to a 16th century church. The Steps are more a place for locals and tourist alike to socialize than an actual attraction. However it does have interesting shopping in the vicinity and this is the only reason I came here more than once. For your information, the reason they are called the Spanish Steps is that the Spanish Embassy is on this piazza.

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The San Pietro in Vincoli is one of the most visited churches in all of Rome. This is primarily because it houses one of Italy's the most important pieces of art. That would be Michelangelo's Moses. This magnificent sculpture was created by the master as part of the Tomb of Pope Julius II. The work is considered to be one of Michelangelo's masterpieces. Of interest is that the face of Moses was a self portrait of Michelangelo himself. And for those into movie trivia, Charlton Heston was cast as Moses by Cecil B. Demille for the film "The Ten Commandments" because of his resemblence to this image of Moses.
The church itself was founded in the 5th century in honour of location where St. Peter was brought into Rome in chains. The chains that supposedly restrained St. Peter can be seen within the church. In English the name of the church translates as St. Peter in Chains.

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Phone: 06-488-2865
Address: Piazza San Pietro in Vincoli 4A
Directions: Near Via Delgi Annibaldi

This is an amazing piece of engineeing. The Pantheon was built by the Romans in 27AD and rebuilt in 125 AD. It is exactly 43 metres in diameter and in height. There are no columns or arches holding up the dome which was the largest dome on Earth for 400 years. It was turned into a church in the 7th century. Today it is the home of the tombs for Raphael and several Italian royalty. For some reason many of the people I know who have gone to Rome overlooked the Pantheon. For me it is a must see if you go to Rome.
Admission into the Panethon is free. It can be visited from 8:30am to 7:30pm on Monday to Saturday and from 9am to 6pm on Sunday.

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Phone: 06-6830-0230
Address: The Piazza della Rotunda

For many the Roman Forum will prove to be somewhat disappointing. This is because there is little of the Forum that is still standing after centuries of marauders, looters and people just dismantling the old structures for much needed stone and brick. The Arch of Arch of Septimius Severus is probably the one major structure that is still standing more or less in its original state. As for me, my visit to the Roman Forum proved to a decisive turning point in my personal history as it rekindled by keen interest in ancient history. Virtually the first ancient world ruin that I had ever visited, once I left the Forum my imagination was set afire and I wanted to visit more. Ever since, I have been sure to include a tour of an old ruin of some sort during all my journeys around the world.
For my money, I thought that the Roman Forum looked great when I visited. It had been raining all morning. The rain had stopped and the sun came out just minutes before I paid for my ticket at the kiosk at the Forum's entrance. Once I entered the whole place seemed fresh. Even better the morning rain managed to keep away the hordes of tourist that visit the Roman Forum each day.
For those not exactly sure what the Roman Forum is, it was the commercial, political and religious centre of the Roman Republic and Empire. What you see today, was the focal point of the Western Civilization 2,000 years ago. What you see during your visit are temples, arches and buildings dedicated to various spiritual and political figures of the day. During Roman times, shopkeepers and moneychangers would set up between each structure. The place would have had a certain buzz. How much you would have enjoyed depends on how much you would have liked the crowds as the place, like any market, would have been saturated with people going about their business.
As the Empire begin to collapse in the late 3rd century A.D. so did the fortunes of the Roman Forum. Eventually it would be pillaged by the various barbarians on several occasions. .

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Phone: 06-699-0110
Address: Via dei Fori Imperiali

The Palatine Hill is the supposed location of the first settlements in Rome. There are traces of an Iron Age village on the hill to support this theory.
At the time of my visit, the admission price to the Palatine Hill was included with that of the Roman Forum but perhaps I am confused since the Forum is suppose to be free while the Palatine Hill is suppose to charge 6 Euros for admittence. The hill overlooks both the Forum and the Colosseum. In time it became as the Roman Republic rose, the Palatine Hill became prime real estate and many important officals lived here. All that remains today are the ruins of what were at onetime magnificent palaces and bath houses. Probably the most beautiful part of Palatine Hill for me was the Farnese Gardens. This is the first botanical gardens ever in Europe. They do not date from Roman times but were actually laid out by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in the mid-sixteenth century. They include a lovely pavilion and terrace from which there are good view of Rome. The whole place seemed very lush especially so during my visit because it had just rained about one hour before. Also I noticed that few tourists who visit the Roman Forum seem to want to make the effort to climb up the hill. This means the place is actually very peaceful.

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Phone: 06-699-0110
Directions: To reach the Palatine Hill you have to climb up hill from the Roman Forum at the Arch of Titus.

The Colosseum is one of the most famous building in the world and rates high on my list of the most important archeological monuments that I have ever visited. The Colosseum was begun in A.D. 72 when it was originally know as the Flavian Amphitheatre. The Colosseum is known as such for it was built by the three Flavian emperors, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.
When completed the Colosseum must have been a stunning building. It's exterior was highly decorative with, Iconic, Doric and Corinthian columns. The interior seated 60,000 people. The Colosseum could also be canopied to cover the audience on rainy days or from the hot summer sun. The seats, rows and sections were numbered much like they are today in modern stadiums.
The sport that the Colosseum played host to must have been quite exciting for it was here that the gladiators fought. The battles between these gladiators were quite elaborate. Often teams of them would fight each other resulting in a gory bloodbath. The floor of the Colosseum could actually be flooded so that small naval vessels could go to war against each other.
The Colosseum fell into disuse when Rome became Christianized in the 4th century A.D. The walls of the Colosseum began to fall apart, the result of both earthquake, neglect and the need for stones to build the walls that surround Rome. You now can see beneath the wooden floor of the Colosseum where today there is nothing more than a maze of walls and passages.
The Colosseum is a easy place to visit for people of all ages regardless of health. There are elevators that can take you up to upper tiers of the building in case the stairs are too difficult. There is also an audio guide that can be rented for 3.75 Euros. There are also guided tours in English throughout the day. It costs 6.50 Euros to visit the Colosseum. The hours of admission to the Coloseeum is staggered throughout the year but during the height of tourist season, it is open from 9am to 7pm

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Phone: 06-700-4261
Directions: Piazzale del Colosseo, Via dei Fori Imperiali. It is virtually across the street from the Roman Forum

The Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (or St. John in Lateran) is the actual cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. In theory it is an extremely old building dating from 314AD however such is the history of Rome that it had been pillaged and destroyed so many times that little really remains of the original church. Today what you see is most baroque in style.
The church has an 18th century facade that is very decorative, typical of the baroque style. It was damaged by terrorists in 1993 but has since been restored. The interior is very bright and is a feast for the eyes. There is a marvelous organ and the naive is flanks by numerous statues of various saints. The ceiling is magnificantly carved. It is higly recommeded that you visit the cloisters as many critics find that this is the most beautiful part of the complex. This will cost you 2 Euros. The rest of the church is free to visit. It is open from 7am to 7pm.

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Phone: 06-6988-6433
Address: Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano 4

The Castel Sant' Angel is probably for me the most interesting actual castle in all of Italy. With regards to design it is also one of the most unusaul that I have seen anywhere. This is because of the castles orgins as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian back in the 2nd century. During the Middle Ages it was turned into a fortification which when you consider how often Rome has been sacked and pillaged you would think that such a castle was long overdue. The castle was linked by battlements and an underground passage to the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral. This was very much a necessity as the Pope often had to hide out in the castle throughout Rome's violent history. The castle was also used as a prison. Today you can tour the elaborately decorated apartments where the Pope frequently lived during the Renaissance. There are also halls of weaponry and suits of armor from Medieval times. I also recommend that you visit the terrace atop of the castle where you have excellent view of the Vatican and Rome.

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Phone: 06-681-9111
Address: Lungotvere Castello 50
Directions: Near Vatican City

The Vatican Museums is the home of the of greatest and largest collections of art in the world. It is so large that a thorough visit of all the treasures that he serious of museums have to offer, is a very daunting task. For this reason the museums offer for colour coded itineraries. Each is suppose to take a certain amount of time for a tour and is geared to what your interest might be. As the collections are highly varied in interest it is almost certain that most visitors will find that some of the galleries are not for them, so decide before hand which galleries you are most interested in seeing and then choice from the map at the museums entrance which tour will go through these galleries. I took the yellow coded itinerary during my tour and think this covered a fair amount of ground. No matter which itinerary you choice, all of them visit the Sistine Chapel, the most famous room in all of the museums.
Other rooms that you should consider are the Raphael Rooms which of course feature some of the greatest works of Raphael. The Borgia Apartments which were designed for Pope Alexander VI. The Pio Clementino Museum which has an excellect collection of Greek and Roman sculpture. The Pinacoteca features some of the finest works by major Renaissance and Baroque artist as Raphael and Caravaggio. The Collection of Modern Religious Art has religious works by such notables as Chagall, Picasso and most important Rouault whom there is an entire room dedicated to. The Egyptian-Gregorian Museum has a decent collection of ancient Egyptian pieces including mummies
The museums are open from 8:45am to 3:45pm Monday to Friday. On Saturday they are open until 1:45pm. The museums are only open on Sunday on the last Sunday of the month from 8:45am to 1:45pm. Admission is 10 Euros.

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Phone: 06-6988-4341
Directions: The museum is of course located in Vatican City and is a fifteen minutes walk from St Peter's Square. Unfortunately the entrance is on the far side of the museum from the square or it would be a shorter walk.
Website: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html