Dissecting Rome and other Rome, Italy Things to Do Tips

If you are coming to Rome for the first time, you have to realize that you will never see all of Rome in a few days...or week...or month...so what can you do?

Well, one solution is to realize that as an experienced traveler (or soon-to-be), you will be coming to Rome more than once. In that case, it would be sensible to pick a theme for Rome. For example, you may want to visit religious Rome - center of the Roman Catholic Church. You can see St. Peter's, the Vatican Museums, St. John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Paul outside the Walls - umpty-bumpty places.

Or you might choose ancient Rome - the Roman Forum, the Colliseum, the Pantheon, the Circus Maximus, the Palatine Hill, the Museum of the City of Rome in EUR.

Or you might choose to see modern Rome - Piazza di Spagna, shopping all along the Via del Corso, Via Veneto, Piazza Navona.

Or...well, you get the idea. Don't kill yourself seeing Rome for the first time - in the words of the Terminator, tell yourself, "I'll be back."

Bill

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Castel Sant'Angelo - or, "Castle of the Holy Angel" - sits on the bank of the Tibur due east of Vatican City. The Castle began life as the tomb of the Emperor Hadrian, hence the circular shape of the interior. Later, the tomb was converted into a fortress, and the outer walls were added.

There is still a wall that runs from the Vatican to the Castle, so that in times of danger, the Pope can flee Vatican City to the safety of the Castle (hard to imagine John Paul II fleeing anything).

Inside the Castle is a weapons museum, as well as courtyards containing various definsive weapons. One courtyard also contains one of the previous angels that used to sit on top of the Castle; it had been struck by lightening and partially melted. Ooops.

The photo was made on a bright winter day in December, 1972.

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Address: On the Tibur east of Vatican City
Directions: At the north end of the Ponte degl'Angeli or due east of St. Peter's...

The Foro Boario contains two temples that have survived (more or less) from classical times: the Temple of Portunus and the so-called Temple of Vesta.

The Temple of Portunus (tempio di portuno) is a rectangular temple that was converted to a Christian church - hence its survival. It's possible to get up close to this temple, but not inside.

The so-called Temple of Vesta (tempio di vesta) was given this name because it is a circular building, like the orginal Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum. When we last saw this building (in 2000), it was closed and restorers were working in the inside.

This is a great space to visit; the Mouth of Truth (Bocca di Verita') is nearby, as is the Circus Maximus and the Ponte Rotto.

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Address: Just north of the Circus Maximus
Directions: Just north of the Circus Maximus

The Trevi Fountain was mostly unknown by tourists until the success of the film "Three Coins in a Fountain". The fountain was built on to the end of a building.

The piazza that the fountain faces is quite small; the attached photo was taken by standing in a doorway as far as possible from the fountain. It's surely the same photo that every tourist takes ;-)

The piazza is normally full of lots of tourists and Italian men looking for tourists. Oh well, it's actually quite attractive anyway...

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Address: East of Via del Corso

The Roman Forum was THE center of the Roman world. Forums were the places in which public business was conducted.

The Roman Forum is one of many forums in Rome, but it is the oldest and best known.

The attached photo is a different view of the forum. The road is the "Via Sacra", the route that sacred processions took. In the center is the Arch of Septimus Severus. On the right is the reconstructed Senate House. In the background is the Capitoline Hill, one of the 7 hills of Rome, and well-known in ancient Roman history.

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Address: The center of Rome
Directions: North of the Colisseum and south of Piazza Venezia

The Baths of Caracalla were the second largest baths in ancient Rome, built in the 3rd century AD. The baths are in a remarkable state of preservation, compared to some place like the Forum.

I recall the dimensions of the baths being something like one kilometer by two kilometers - a huge complex of buildings whose mosaic floors and vaulted ceilings partially survive today.

The ruins are so large that an opera stage is tucked into a part of the site - traditionally, the opera "Aida" was performed here, complete with elephants on stage.

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Address: southeast of the Circus Maximus
Directions: At the southern end of the Circus Maximus, face away from the Circus. Straight in front of you leads to Viale delle Terme di Caracalla. Follow the Viale away from the Circus, and you will shortly pass in front of the Baths.

The Ara Pacis or "Altar of Peace" was erected in the first century B.C. to commemorate victories by the Emporer Augustus - and probably to be thankful that his rise to the emporership brought an end to a century of civil wars in Rome.

The altar was rebuilt during the Fascist era and is now a prime example of a Roman public monument as seen by the Romans. It is a square wall surrounding an altar. The wall is covered with Roman friezes.

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Address: Not far south of Piazza del Popolo
Directions: When in the Piazza del Popolo, head south on the Via di Ripetta (as opposed to the Via del Babuino and the Via del Corso).

The Fountain of Four Rivers is in the center of Piazza Navona, justifiably one of the more famous piazzas in Rome.

The fountain was designed and built by Bernini in the 17th Century. The fountain has the representations in human form of the four major rivers of the world: the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile, and the Rio della Plata.

It is a delight to walk around the piazza!

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Address: Piazza Navona

In Rome, there are a number of cards or passes that give you access to a number of museums/sites, but there is no single card for all museums...see http://www.rome.info/museums/cards/

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Address: everywhere ;-)
Directions: Ditto
Website: http://www.rome.info/museums/cards/

Suppose you have just one day in Rome. Suppose you are coming on a day in which a lot is not open. Suppose you just want to walk around and see the major sites of the city.

Try this itinerary (heavily slanted towards the Classics)...

OK, get a map and chart out the following list:
1. Piazza del Popolo (Via Flaminia)
2. Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps)
3. Trevi Fountain
4. Via del Corso
5. Piazza Venezia (monument to Victor Emmanuel)
6. Campidoglio/Capitoline
7. Roman Forum (seen from the Capitoline)
8. Via dei Fori Imperiali (forums on both sides)
9. Colisseum
10. Circus Maximus
11. Foro Boario/Temple of Portuno, the so-called Temple of Vesta, and La Bocca di Verita' (Mouth of Truth)
12. Pantheon
13. Piazza Navona
14. Ponte degli Angeli (The Bridge of Angels)
15. Castel Sant'Angelo (Hadrian's Mausoluem)
16. St. Peter's (Vatican City)

On the map, you will see that this starts in the north of Rome, takes you south, brings you back up, and then heads west. This is easily walkable (I did when I was 19), but it will be a long day. At the end of the day, you will have seen about 5% of Rome, but this is as good a 5% as anything else. Plus, most of this stuff is outside, so you will not be affected by museums being closed (as many are on Monday) and whatnot.

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