Welcome to ROME!
One of the first things to know when traveling around Italy, is that when it comes to trains, the name explains a lot! Regionale trains are slower moving and take longer because they stop at every little town along the way to their major destination. For example the Rome to Florence Regionale has around 10 stops. Eurorail or Eurostar trains travel at higher speeds, and usually only make one or two stops.
Trenitalia is the Italian train system www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en, and you can buy tickets on their site for any destination within Italy.
Now to the good stuff!
This one is going to take the longest trek to get to, but it’s worth it. The catacombs are the ancient underground cemeteries of Rome, and this one is the largest. They began construction in the second century and were expanded until the first half of the fifth. In the beginning they were used as a burial place, however during Christian persecutions, the catacombs were used as places of refuge for the celebration of the Eucharist. Several popes were buried there along with St. Cecilia.
The frescos alone are worth the entire trip. The feeling you get from being part of the ancient site, even for a small amount of time is amazing. Entrance costs 8 Euros, and comes with a tour guide! The Catacombs are open every day, except Wednesday, from 9am – 12pm and then again from 2pm – 5pm. (You will find most places are closed between 12 and 2 for the Italian lunch break).
How to get there:
From Stazione Termini (the main station in Rome) do one of the following routs:
Option 1) Take Metro A (Anagnina) or bus 714 (Palazzo Sport) to the stop at St. John Lateran Square (Piazza di S. Giovanni in Laterano), then bus 218 (towards Ardeatina) and get off at Fosse Ardeatine.
The entrance to the Catacombs is opposite the stop (number 2 on the map).
Option 2) Take Metro B (Laurentina) to the stop Circo Massimo. Then go to the Terme Caracalla/Porta
Capena but stop. Take bus 118 (Lagonegro) and stop at Catacombe di San Callisto (church, entrance
number 4 on the map).
2. Church of the Cappuccin’s aka Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini
This church is one of my all time favorites in all of Italy and is comprised of several small “chapels”. Once inside, immediately to the right in the archway of the first chapel, you will see the famous painting of The Archangel Michael fighting a demon by Guido Reni. This painting was restored around 2006, I was around to see the before, during, and after care and the difference is outstanding. The other chapels that line the church also have significant paintings as well, most have been restored, or are in the process of restoration.
When you are done with the church, go to the Cappuccin Crypt below.
History says that consecrated ground was brought back from the Holy Land (Jerusalem) and placed in the crypt. There were so many friars that wanted to be buried there (and not a lot of dirt) that each time a friar passed away, the longest buried friar was exhumed to make room for the newly deceased. It was said that “to be buried in ground from the holy land, even for a short period of time was more blessed than to never be buried in it at all.” So each priest went to their death knowing they would be there a short amount of time. The crypt now contains the remains of around 4,000 friars buried between 1500-1870. The underground crypt is divided into five chapels, the crypt walls are decorated with the remains in elaborate fashion. Some of the skeletons are intact and draped with Franciscan habits, but for the most part, individual bones are used to create elaborate ornamental designs.
To get there: take the metro to the Barbarini stop and walk towards the Hard Rock cafe. The church will be on the right hand side of the road. If you are hungry, Bottega Italia is right next to the church. The pizza is dang good. In Italy, pizza is eaten with a knife and fork, so if you want to look like a local, remember to use the silver wear not your hands.
The church is at the cross streets of Via del Cappuccini and Via Vittorio Veneto.
3. The Colosseum/Palatine Hill/ Circo Massimo
Don’t buy your ticket at the Coliseum; the line is usually forever long in the summer months. Walk over to the entrance of Palatine Hill and buy your ticket there. The ticket is good for both Palatine Hill and the Coliseum (which isn’t something that they usually advertise). Palatine Hill is where the Emperors palace used to be. Now all that’s left of it is ruins, but you can still see where all the rooms are and where the gardens used to be. There was even an indoor arena where the emperor could watch private games/wrestling matches.
You can also see the Circo Massimo from Palatine Hill, which is where they held chariot racing and other events.
4. The Forum
This is in the same area as the Coliseum and Palatine hill. It’s the place that all daily Roman life centered around. Walking around, you will see the lard half dome of the Basilica Aemilia, and several temples. The coolest of which (in my opinion) is the Temple of Vesta. It was said that only women were allowed to guard it. There was an eternal flame in it that had to be watched at all times, which was the job of the initiates. If they let the flame go out, they were sacrificed for letting down the goddess.
5. Trevi Fountain
Finding it takes longer than seeing it. When you get there take a coin, make a wish, kiss the coin and throw it over your shoulder into the fountain. When I was living there a local told me that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you are destined to return to Italy. If you throw a 2nd in the fountain, you are destined to live there, and if you throw a 3rd you will find your love there. Considering I’ve thrown 3 coins, and visited, lived, and then met my husband in Italy, I’m prone to believe it!
If you are looking at the fountain the street you are on is Via Del Lavatore and there is an amazing Gelato shop to your left on the corner by the fountain. Eat Gelato as much as you can!!
6. The Spanish Steps
A visit here won’t take more than 5 minutes. The metro ride there is longer than the time you need to see the steps. When you get done with the steps (assuming you are standing at the bottom) I would turn around and start walking along the Via dei Condotti. There will be a lot of really cute boutiques and a TON of amazing if not totally overpriced shops like Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Prada, Versace etc. that are fun to window shop.
7. The Pantheon
![By Roberta Dragan [CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], from Wikimedia Commons](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/4e690d_aafa94ae5a4d49519949fc7fa176aeb9~mv2_d_3455_2133_s_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_605,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/4e690d_aafa94ae5a4d49519949fc7fa176aeb9~mv2_d_3455_2133_s_2.jpg)
The Pantheon was built as a place where people could worship any god they choose. The concrete dome is around two thousand years old and it’s the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. Considering there is a large oculus (aka hole) in the top of the dome, that's pretty impressive! There are also some historical people entombed there, the artist Raphael being the most noted, as well as some Italian Kings.
8. The Vatican & Sistine Chapel
When it comes to the Vatican, the first rule is that if you don’t get there at the crack of dawn, the line to get in is going to be hours long (and by hours I mean like 4 to 6). So get there early and purchase your ticket for the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Here is a map to show you the museum entrance (top part of the map in the white box). I would do this FIRST because it’s going to take the longest and the other two things don’t have as long of a line.
The second is that you have to see the Basilica of Saint Peter, the line won’t be as long that’s why I say do it second. You’ll have to go through a metal detector and all that jazz, but the inside is beautiful. Thirdly once you walk inside the Basilica walk to the far left and the corner that would be closest to the outside. There is a very small museum there that shows off some of the Vatican treasure. I don’t know how often it is open, but the last time I was there I found it, and I would definitely go again. Again, it’s not advertised much, but it’s really interesting and shows a small portion of what’s in the Vatican’s vaults.
9. Castello St. Angelo
You can see it on the map above kind of, it’s the green splotch on the far right of the map. This is the Pope’s castle. In times of war/siege there are tunnels that go from the Vatican to the Castello that the Pope used to escape. It’s his fortified holding place. (Was also in that move Angels and Demons).
10. Piazza Navona
The main attraction in the Piazza is the Fountain of the Four Rivers (also in the move Angels and Demons). The fountain represents the 4 principal rivers of the continents that were known at the time of its building. The Nile represents Africa, the Ganges Asia, the Danube Europe, and Rio de la Plata, the Americas. There are seven animals ranged around the fountain: a horse, a sea monster, a serpent, a dolphin, a crocodile, a lion and a dragon.
You can’t go wrong with any of the restaurant in the Piazza. I’ve eaten at at least 4 of them and every single one was amazing/to die for/mouth watering.
The Piazza Navona is also a great place for art. The streets contain a lot of art galleries and antique shops. Close to Navona you will find Via del Governo Vecchio. Governo Vecchio has a lot of second hand vintage shops, cute boutiques, and a great film and cinema shop which is definitely worth a browse.
BONUS!
Shopping on the Via del Corso
This street is FULL of fun places to shop and they are moderately priced. The Via del Corso is in the very center of Rome, it’s a little over a mile, and if you start in the middle you will most certainly miss something worth buying!
Take Metro Line A to the Flaminio stop (at the top of the map below), then cross over Piazza del Popolo, and Via del Corso is right in front of you, between the two twin churches!
That's all I have for now! Hopefully this will give you a starting point and a few tips to help navigate the eternal city! If you have any questions, let me know!
-Until the next adventure!
*Sadly, the hard drive containing all of my Rome pictures crashed and I lost all of my work. None of the pictures in this post are mine. All have been purchased or linked back to their original source*