ROME
What better way to inaugurate my travel guide section than with one of the most touristic cities in the world: the enchanting and beautiful Rome. Before the pandemic, in the year 2019, the city was ranked no. 17 among the 100 most visited cities in the world.
Although COVID-19's effects are still visible within the tourism industry in 2022, year in which Rome received 30% fewer tourists than the pre-pandemic years, very well reflected in the Colosseum's visitors flow (from 25,000 people per day to 15,000), the European city continues to lead the ranking of the most visited places in the world.
Because Rome is ROME in the traveler's collective imagination. The glass held high after years of fantasizing about pizza and a glass of wine on the sidewalk table with red checkered tablecloth, after tirelessly dreaming of riding the famous Vespa around the Colosseum, and imagining yourself walking among the most ancient and famous ruins in the Western World.
Julius Caesar's and Marcus Aurelius's story on the one hand and the Hollywood industry on the other are the responsibles for creating this insanely Roman fervor of ours. Who didn't travel from their house's couch with movies like Eat, Pray, Love or La Dolce Vita or teleported in time with The Gladiator? After such an audiovisual exacerbation, landing in this city (which is Italy's top gateway to the rest of the country) is, for most of the people, an important tick in the travel bucket-list.
That is how I felt when I first arrived to Termini, the city's main train station. We stayed four nights, the European summer had just begun but the 31 degrees already attacked the whole body at 11 AM.
Piazza della Patria. Photo: MW
DAY 1:
VILLA BORGHESE, PIAZZA DEL POPOLO, CASTEL SANT ANGELO AND PRATI QUARTER
After lunch we gained some energy back and walked towards the Villa Borghese, the city's third largest public park. It is huge and has a lot to see, but in my opinion ***spoiler alert*** it's not very worthy to spend time touring around it, but rather to lay in the grass for a while and take a rest, have some shelter from the sun, take an ice cream, and continue for the Terraza del Pincio, located in the same park.
***What I do know is worth visiting if you want to party is Art Cafe, which is located in the middle of the park and considered one of the best night clubs in Rome. During the summer it has an open outside area, surrounded by pools, which is called AX***
As its name says, the Terraza del Pincio is the park's greatest balcony, which looks towards the Piazza del Popolo (town square): it has a spectacular view of the city, which makes it the perfect spot to watch the or the city night lights.
We went down to the piazza, (which in Italy does not refer to a green space, they are urban spaces in a pedestrian zone) which has 16,000 m2 and is known for hosting many celebrations or public events, like the one that was happening that day: a free outdoor concert hosted by a local radio station featuring pop artists.
Villa Borghese. Photo: MW
From there we crossed the Tiber river, which crosses the entire region of Lazio and Umbria over the Regina Margherita bridge, and we arrived at the Castel Sant'Angelo. It wasn't always a castle: at the time of its construction, Emperor Hadrian thought of it as a mausoleum for his family and himself. The popes that came after were the ones who transformed it into a refuge castle with a large fortress and later used it as a prison.
Nowadays it is a museum and it has a very nice bridge, called Sant'Angelo (of course) or Elio, with two rows of angel statues on the sides. The name of the Castle is given after the statue of the archangel Michael, located on top of the roof.
OPENING TIMES: 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. To visit it on the weekend it is mandatory to get the ticket in advance, which is $13 euros for those over 18 years and $1 for minors (except the first Sunday of the month, which is free).
Located at exactly 13 minutes walking distance is the neighborhood of Prati, one of the finest and wealthiest quarter in the city. It's also a very visited area, filled with churches and good bars and restaurants with jazz music. The one we went to was called Dal Papa/Knick, which has its tables and benches on the sidewalk with a very, very nice view of the Saint Peter Basilica.
We went with one goal: to taste the famous roman supplis, which are close cousins to the croquettes or fritters, made of cooked rice, different fillings and, of course, fried breading.
On the way back to our accommodation we visited another city's gem, the famous gelateria called La Romana. All of the flavors are incredible but even more incredible is the chocolate sauce or whipped cream that you can ask to be poured on top of the ice cream.
Gelateria La Romana. Photo: MW
DAY 2:
PIAZZA DI SPAGNA, PIAZZA QUIRINALE, FONTANA DI TREVI, PANTHEON, PIAZZA NAVONA, GIARDINO DEGLI ARANCI, TRASTEVERE QUARTER.
During the day
We started the day with Piazza di Spagna. Again, it is not a park and there aren't any children's playground; it is, in fact, made of concrete (as every piazza in Rome). But this one is one of the most famous in the city and it is definitely worth visiting it. It is named after the Palace of Spain, the country's embassy, located there. It has beautiful fountains and stairs that promise a nice view after climbing its 135 steps.
15 minutes of walking distance from there is located another famous Piazza, the Quirinale one. It has a palace, the Quirinal, which is one of the president's three official residences. Whenever there is a raised flag, it means that the president is inside. Originally it was the residence of Pope Pius IX.
***a fun fact that a guide told me and, of course, my nerd self wrote down is that to be part of the presidential guard you have to measure, at least, 1.95 m.***
Piazza Quirinale. Photo: MW
We arrived at the Via della Stamperia, where the second most famous construction in the city is located (the first one is the Coliseum, of course). To be able to take a decent photo without having an entire family's head in it or the typical outstretched arm of a tourist posing in a:“looooook where am I” way, you have to go either early in the morning or very late at night. We wanted to see it during the day AND during the night, because the Fontana di Trevi is worth seeing from all lights and angles.
Did you know that Fontana di Trevi isn't its original name? Its original name is "The aqueduct of the Virgin fountain" (no wonder why they changed it), after a famous legend where some Roman soldiers found an aqueduct (called the Virgin) thanks to a remarkable person who pointed it out for them and saved them from dying of dehydration .
*** + interesting facts: The fountain's god is Oceanus, hence the word Ocean we use, it is made out of the same material as the Colosseum and, most interestingly, they council takes around $3000 euros per day out of the fountain due to the famous tradition of throwing coins inside it for better luck. The whole amount of is given to charity foundations.***
Fontana di Trevi. Photo: MW
We had lunch a few meters away from the fountain, in ll Ristoro dal Patriota, an incredibly GOOD restaurant to taste the famous carbonara, another typical Roman dish. It wasn't cheap but it did meet our expectations. Perhaps the fact that we also went with friends had something to do with it. Apart from carbonara, other typical pastas in Rome are:
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Carbonara alla gricia (with pecorino [goat] cheese and guanciale, cured pork)
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Carbonara all amatriciana, where tomato sauce is added on top of the pecorino cheese.
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Cacio e pepe pasta: with cheese and pepper. Simple but delicious, a motto that I understood more and more throughout Italy.
Cacio e pepe pasta. Photo: MW
We then continue our way towards the Pantheon, a Roman temple built around the year 126. It is one of the best preserved Ancient Roman buildings and a landmark in the western world architecture. Being considered a sacred and religious place, it is mandatory to cover your back and shoulders. It has a free entrance.
Given that the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona are so close to each other, it looks as if these monuments would have been thought of as the best and closest tourist combo ever. The monument I refer to in piazza Navona is the Four Rivers Fountain, which represents the four great rivers of the world, located in America, Europe, Asia and Africa: these are the Río de la Plata, the Danube, the Ganges and the Nile, respectively. You could stay hours staring at the fountain from all its angles and identifying which statue personifies that river.
***small hint: our river, the American one, has gold coins.***
To finish the day
Two very cool options to wrap up the exhausting (and very hot) days in Rome are: watching the sunset in the Giardino degli Aranci and go for a drink and something to eat in Trastervere, Rome's cool neighborhood, full of bars, nightclubs and a wide variety of restaurants: with a very good price/quality relation, more expensive and fancy, take away type, etc.
I will leave a list of some of the best ones in the area:
Ma che seven venuti a fa
Open Baladin
Freni e frezoni
Mr brown
Pimms
Mechanism
Club Derriere (speakeasy bar)
Jerry Thomas (speakeasy bar)
Fico's Bar
Mons
Salotto 42
Nur Bar
Trastevere. Photo: MW
DAY 3: religious Rome
VATICAN MUSEUM, SISTINE CHAPEL, SAINT PETER'S BASILICA + BELVEDERE DEL GIANICOLO
To be able to see this "other country" within Rome in its fullness, it takes almost a whole day. The Vatican is a sovereign state, the smallest in the world in terms of size and population, and its territory is an enclave. What does this mean? This is the name given to a portion of a territory that is surrounded by another that is not from the same country.
Among its most important tourist attractions is the Vatican Museum, made up of thousands and thousands of art collections valued at I don't know how many millions, that the popes had acquired over the centuries.
Our ticket included the visit to the museum (which excludes audio guide) and the entrance to the Sistine Chapel, where the magnum opus of the painter and sculptor Michelangelo, one of the most influential artist in the Italian art and in the world, is located. He began his fresco paintings (technique's name) in 1508, commissioned by Pope Julius II, and finished his work in 1541 with the painting "The Last Judgment", located on the altar wall.
It is definitely worth paying extra for the audio guide, especially for the Sistine Chapel. We came away stiff-necked from looking up and completely blown away by this masterpiece. The admission price was $17 euro per person.
Both tours can take you around five hours. That's why we didn't have time to go to the Saint Peter's Basilica, right next to the museum. It is the Christian church with the largest interior space in the world: it covers an area of 2.3 hectares. The entrance to the basilica is free, another reason why we couldn't go: the waiting queue practically reached the river. However, going up to the dome does have a cost: $10 euros to the terrace. From there you need to climb 550 steps by foot (there is no other way to get up the top) and $8 to climb the whole way up.
After leaving such places you will need a rest from the visual stimuli and information bombing. The Borgo Birreria, located near the area, is the perfect plan to end the day: an excellent venue to have the famous "aperitivo" away from the massive tourist population.
Vatican museum Photo: MW
Another option to end the day, much more active but also very worthwhile, is in Rome's famous eighth hill, the Gianicolo. From the Basilica it is a 1.5 km walk, about 25 minutes. If you don't feel like walking there is also the bus 115, which leaves you on top of the hill (a very important tip, given that all the hills must be climbed).
It is one of the locals' favorite places in Rome, who enjoy the greenery and the beautiful view of the Belvedere. This is definitely the best place in the city to watch the sunset. It is also known for “il cannone”, a cannon that fires an explosion every day to mark the mezzogiorno (noon time), an ancient tradition that comes from those times where agreeing on the correct time of the day was very difficult.
The Gianicolo's symbol is the fountain of the Acqua Paola, which inspired many Italian artists and singers. The Romans call it the “fontanone”, which means the big fountain.
***interesting fact: Rome has 2,500 public fountains for drinking water. The first weekend of October they put free wine in a specific one as a way of celebration. In 2007 they got the pipe mixed up and instead of going to that particular fountain, the white wine went to the apartments: it came out of the taps. God's true miracle.***
DAY 4: Ancient Rome
TRAJAN'S COLUMN, ROMAN FORUM, PALATINE HILL, COLOSSEUM, PIAZZA VENEZIA AND ALTARE DELLA PATRIA.
And last but not least, the great Ancient Rome of the emperors Julio Cesar, Marco Aurelio, Agusto, Adriano, the years of Rome's foundation, among other important things that happened between five centuries, from the 27 A.C to 476.
To begin with, every part of the “modern” Rome you see today stands 8 meters above the ancient one. The city is a great palimpestus, where the many layers of history are stacked like the lasagna ones, each one of them with something very important to tell. For this reason the entire area of the Roman Forum, where the ruins are, are located in a different ground level with respect to the current one.
(((IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION)))
Obviously, this whole day, like the rest of Rome's attractions and its general overview, deserve tours. Tourist guides that contextualize, that inform about their cities, towns, islands (most of them are locals) better than Wikipedia or any other website. You can find them everywhere and they take the touristic experience to a whole other level. We did two tours in Rome: one for the ancient part and another one at night, where we learnt about specific curiosities and the city's general information. All the information I wrote in this guide was taken from them. It's not my intention to spoil the tours, because nothing replaces the actual possibility of doing them, but I still managed to write down most of the spectacular information they told me and share it for those who enjoy reading about it.
***The tour-guides agencies we used around Europe were Civitatis, Sandemans, New Rome Free Tour, Tale Free Tour, etc. Find the one that interests you the most.***
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This is why, digging a hole deeper than 80 cm without authorization, even if it's in your house's garden, is considered an "illegal excavation". Even today there are many undiscovered archaeological pieces in Rome.
Roman Forum. Photo: MW
We started in the Trajan's Column, a monument erected by the Emperor Trajan himself to celebrate the conquest of Dacia. The cell below it was used as a tomb for the emperor's remains. Both this monument and the rest of those located in the ancient part of the city weren't white as they are today: most of them were colored and marble made, but people stole this material over the years.
After an introduction to all this world we went to the Roman Forum, the true historical scene. Most of the ruins are a consequence of earthquakes activities but also of the people of that time who destroyed them. There are lots of signed walkways to walk throughout the forum. It takes time and, of course, it's outdoors. Be hydrated and cover yourself from the sun, especially in summer.
***the interesting facts continues: All the public buildings of the Roman Empire have the initials SPQR on its fronts: SENATUS, POPULUS, QUE, ROMANUS (senate, popular, of, Rome)***.
Roman Forum and colli of Campidoglio. Photo: MW
Finally, the icing on the cake: the one and only Roman amphitheatre, considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, the famous Colosseum. The last gladiator who fought in there was in 526 AD. These were generally people on death row, prisoners, fighters who knew the risk involved in these savage encounters where a simple cut could be a death sentence because Flemming was still floating somewhere far away in the cosmos. Therefore, even the rule of fighting "until the first drop of blood appeared" was life-threatening at that time.
The highest seats (and most dangerous ones) were exclusively reserved for the working class. The events and fights in the Colosseum lasted between 8 and 9 hours, a whole day. People drank and ate there, another huge risk. To shelter themselves from the sun, a red canvas covered the entire amphitheater.
To visit the three attractions (Roman Forum, Palatinate Hill and Colosseum) you need to buy a single ticket for $18 euros. I recommend at least three hours to visit without rush.
Colosseum by day and by night. Photo: MW
To end these intense days full of emotions, we visited, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the city: the Piazza Venezia and the Altare della Patria, a monstrous sized monument in honor of Vittorio Emmanuele, the former king of Italy who unified the country in 1911. If you get the chance to go anywhere else in Italy you will see his name everywhere: streets, bars, churches, monuments, buildings. The monument also has a terrace for “prendere aperitivi”, a must after so many days with long distance walks.
***Last tip: We may not have “ticked” the famous Vespa ride through the city, as many tourists do, but many of the tours we did were on electric bikes, the trendiest transport these days. The best one is Dott, which has an app and two daily passes of 30 minutes each at 3 euros. Our days in Rome would not have been the same without those amazing bikes.***
AS SOMETHING EXTRA:
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VISIT THE CASTEL GANDOLFO (sooo cute on the outskirts of Rome: the little town is beautiful, it is located on Lake Albano. Ideal to escape the sweltering heat of the concrete)
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TIBURTINE ISLAND: In the heart of the city. There is a restaurant called Sora Lella (Mrs. Ella) who was the chef but also performed in several movies. It represents the typical Italian grandmother.
“Il mondo è un libro, e chi non viaggia ne legge una pagina”