Roma
Dealing with (and Avoiding) Problems
Map: Rome’s Public Transportation
Map: Hotels near Termini Station
Map: Hotels & Restaurants near Ancient Rome
Map: Hotels in the Pantheon Neighborhood
Map: Hotels & Restaurants near Vatican City
Map: Restaurants in the Pantheon Neighborhood
In North Rome: Near the Spanish Steps and Ara Pacis
In Ancient Rome: Near the Colosseum and Forum
Map: Restaurants near Termini Station
Rome is magnificent and brutal at the same time. It’s a showcase of Western civilization, with astonishingly ancient sights and a modern vibrancy. But if you’re careless, you’ll be run down or pickpocketed. And with the wrong attitude, you’ll be frustrated by the kind of chaos that only an Italian can understand. On my last visit, a cabbie struggling with the traffic said, “Roma chaos.” I responded, “Bella chaos.” He agreed.
While Paris is an urban garden, Rome is a magnificent tangled forest. If your hotel provides a comfortable refuge; if you pace yourself; if you accept—and even partake in—the siesta plan; if you’re well-organized for sightseeing; and if you protect yourself and your valuables with extra caution and discretion, you’ll love it. (And Rome is much easier to live with if you can avoid the mid-summer heat.)
For me, Rome is in a three-way tie with Paris and London as Europe’s greatest city. Two thousand years ago the word “Rome” meant civilization itself. Everything was either civilized (part of the Roman Empire, Latin- or Greek-speaking) or barbarian. Today, Rome is Italy’s political capital, the capital of Catholicism, and the center of its ancient empire, littered with evocative remains. As you peel through its fascinating and jumbled layers, you’ll find Rome’s buildings, cats, laundry, traffic, and 2.7 million people endlessly entertaining. And then, of course, there are its stupendous sights.
Visit St. Peter’s, the greatest church on Earth, and scale Michelangelo’s 448-foot-tall dome, the world’s tallest. Learn something about eternity by touring the huge Vatican Museum. You’ll find the story of Creation—bright as the day it was painted—in the restored Sistine Chapel. Do the “Caesar Shuffle” through ancient Rome’s Forum and Colosseum. Savor Europe’s most sumptuous building, the Borghese Gallery, and take an early evening Dolce Vita Stroll down Via del Corso with Rome’s beautiful people. Enjoy an after-dark walk from Campo de’ Fiori to the Spanish Steps, lacing together Rome’s Baroque and bubbly nightspots. Dine well at least once.
Rome is wonderful, but it’s huge and exhausting. On a first-time visit, many travelers find that Rome is best done quickly—Italy is more charming elsewhere. But whether you’re here for a day or a week, you won’t be able to see all of these sights, so don’t try—you’ll keep coming back to Rome. After several dozen visits, I still have a healthy list of excuses to return.
Rome in a Day: Some people actually try to “do” Rome in a day. Crazy as that sounds, if all you have is a day, it’s one of the most exciting days Europe has to offer. Start at 8:30 at the Colosseum. Then explore the Forum, hike over Capitoline Hill, and cap your “Caesar Shuffle” with a visit to the Pantheon. After a quick lunch, taxi to the Vatican Museum (the lines usually die down mid-afternoon, or you can reserve a visit online in advance). See the Vatican Museum, then St. Peter’s Basilica (open until 19:00 April-Sept). Taxi back to Campo de’ Fiori to find dinner. Finish your day lacing together all the famous floodlit spots (follow my self-guided “Heart of Rome Walk”). Note: This busy plan is possible only if you ace the line-avoidance tricks mentioned in this chapter.
Rome in Two to Three Days: On the first day, do the “Caesar Shuffle” from the Colosseum to the Forum, then over Capitoline Hill to the Pantheon. After a siesta, join the locals strolling from Piazza del Popolo to the Spanish Steps (follow my self-guided “Dolce Vita Stroll”). On the second day, see Vatican City (St. Peter’s, climb the dome, tour the Vatican Museum). Have dinner on the atmospheric Campo de’ Fiori, and then walk to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (following my “Heart of Rome Walk”). With a third day, add the Borghese Gallery (reservations required) and the Capitoline Museums.
Sprawling Rome actually feels manageable once you get to know it. The old core, with most of the tourist sights, sits in a diamond formed by Termini train station (in the east), the Vatican (west), Villa Borghese Gardens (north), and the Colosseum (south). The Tiber River runs through the diamond from north to south. In the center of the diamond sits Piazza Venezia, a busy square and traffic hub. It takes about an hour to walk from Termini Station to the Vatican.
Think of Rome as a series of neighborhoods, huddling around major landmarks.
Ancient Rome: In ancient times, this was home for the grandest buildings of a city of a million people. Today, the best of the classical sights stand in a line from the Colosseum to the Forum to the Pantheon. Just north of this area, between Via Nazionale and Via Cavour, is the atmospheric and trendy Monti district.
Pantheon Neighborhood: The Pantheon anchors the neighborhood I like to call the “Heart of Rome.” It stretches eastward from the Tiber River through Campo de’ Fiori and Piazza Navona, past the Pantheon to the Trevi Fountain. Between the river and the Pantheon area is the Jewish Ghetto.
Vatican City: Located west of the Tiber, it’s a compact world of its own, with two great, huge sights: St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museum.
North Rome: With the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese Gardens, and trendy shopping streets (Via Veneto and the “shopping triangle”—the area along Via del Corso and between the Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, and Piazza del Popolo), this is a more modern, classy area.
East Rome: This includes the area around Termini Station and Piazza della Repubblica, with many recommended hotels and public-transportation connections. Just to the south and east is the neighborhood I call “Pilgrim’s Rome,” with several prominent churches.
South Rome: South of Vatican City is Trastevere, the colorful, wrong-side-of-the-river neighborhood that provides a look at village Rome. It’s the city at its crustiest—and perhaps most “Roman.” Farther south are the gritty/colorful Testaccio neighborhood, the 1930s suburb of E.U.R., and the Appian Way, home of the catacombs.
Within each of these neighborhoods, you’ll find elements from the many layers of Rome’s 2,000-plus-year history: the marble ruins of ancient times; tangled streets of the medieval world; early Christian churches; grand Renaissance buildings and statues; Baroque fountains and church facades; 19th-century apartments; and 20th-century boulevards choked with traffic.
Since no one is allowed to build taller than St. Peter’s dome, and virtually no buildings have been constructed in the city center since Mussolini got distracted in 1938, central Rome has no modern skyline. The Tiber River is basically ignored—after the last floods (1870), the banks were built up very high, and Rome turned its back on its naughty river.
Rome has two main tourist information offices and several TI kiosks. The TI offices are at the airport (Terminal 3, daily 8:00-19:30) and Termini train station (daily 8:00-19:30, 100 yards down track 24, look for signs). Little kiosks (generally open daily 9:30-19:00) are near the Forum (on Piazza del Tempio della Pace), on Via Nazionale (at Palazzo delle Esposizioni), near Castel Sant’Angelo (at Piazza Pia), near Piazza Navona (at Piazza delle Cinque Lune), and near the Trevi Fountain (at Via del Corso and Via Minghetti). Additionally, an information center is directly across from the Forum entrance, on Via dei Fori Imperiali (see here). The TI’s website is www.turismoroma.it, but most practical information is found at www.060608.it. That’s also the number for Rome’s call center—the best source of up-to-date tourist information, with English speakers on staff (answered daily 9:00-21:00, just dial 06-0608, press 2 for English).
At any TI, ask for a free city map (or pay for a better one). Your hotel will have a freebie map and may also have a booklet with up-to-date listings of the city’s sights and hours. The best map I found is published by Rough Guide (€9 in bookstores).
Several English-oriented websites provide insight into events and daily life in the city: www.inromenow.com (light tourist info on lots of topics), www.wantedinrome.com (events and accommodations), and www.rome.angloinfo.com (on living in and moving to Rome).
Termini, Rome’s main train station, is a buffet of tourist services. However, it’s undergoing renovation, so services might have moved by the time you visit. The customer service and ticket windows in the main hall (out in the big atrium, beyond the head of the tracks) can be jammed with travelers—take a number and wait. For simple questions, several handy red info kiosks are located near the head of the tracks. The ticket machines can also be helpful for checking schedules. Most trains departing from Termini are operated by Italy’s state rail company, Trenitalia; however, privately run Italo will likely begin using the station soon as well (for more on Italo, see “By Train or Bus at Tiburtina Station,” later).
Along track 24, about 100 yards down, you’ll find the TI (daily 8:00-19:30), a hotel booking office, and car rental desks. The baggage storage (deposito bagagli) is downstairs, hiding down the long corridor past the bathrooms, under track 24 and the TI (€6/5 hours, then cheaper, daily 6:00-23:00). The Leonardo Express train to Fiumicino Airport runs from track 24 (see here).
In general, the best places in the station to sit are in one of its eateries. A snack bar and a good self-service cafeteria (Ciao) are perched above the ticket windows, accessible from the side closest to track 24 (daily 11:00-22:30). For good-quality sandwiches to go, try VyTA in the atrium across from track 1.
Near track 1, you’ll find a pharmacy (daily 7:30-22:00); along the same track is an often cramped waiting room and Despar Express, selling groceries and toiletries (daily 7:00-21:30). If you can’t find what you’re looking for there, downstairs is a larger shopping complex that includes the Conad supermarket (daily 6:00-24:00; closest to track 1). Pricey WCs (€1) are also downstairs, just below the main exits on the north or south side.
Elsewhere in the station are ATMs, late-hours banks, and 24-hour thievery. Opposite the ticket windows in the station’s main entrance lobby, Borri Books sells books in English, including popular fiction, Italian history and culture, and kids’ books, plus maps (daily 7:00-23:00).
Termini is also a local transportation hub. Metro lines A and B intersect downstairs at Termini Metro station. Buses (including Rome’s hop-on, hop-off bus tours—see here) leave across the square directly in front of the main station hall. The Metro and bus areas are a work in progress and change frequently—look for signs directing you to the Metro platform or bus stop, or ask at the transit information kiosk just out front (to the right as you leave the main hall). Taxis queue in front and outside exits on both the north and south sides; if there’s a long taxi line in front, try a side exit instead. Avoid con men hawking “express taxi” services in unmarked cars (only use cars marked with the word taxi and a phone number).
From Termini, many of my recommended hotels are easily accessible by foot (for those near this train station) or by Metro (for those in the Colosseum and Vatican neighborhoods).
The station has some sleazy sharks with official-looking business cards; avoid anybody selling anything unless they’re in a legitimate shop at the station. Other shady characters linger around the ticket machines—offers to help usually come with the expectation of a “tip.”
Tiburtina, Rome’s second-largest train station, is located in the city’s northeast corner. Recently rebuilt, it’s a sleek and modern complex but still a work in progress. In general, slower trains (from Milan, Bolzano, Bologna, Udine, and Reggio di Calabria) and some night trains (from Munich, Milan, Venice, Innsbruck, and Udine) use Tiburtina, as does the night bus to Fiumicino Airport. Direct night trains from Vienna use Termini train station instead.
Tiburtina has been redeveloped for high-speed rail, including some Frecce trains and the newer Italo service. This competitor to Trenitalia connects major Italian cities and is comparable to the high-speed Frecce trains in comfort, speed, and price (though it’s often cheaper, if you book well in advance). It doesn’t accept rail passes, but it’s a worthy alternative if you want to buy a point-to-point ticket. Italo serves Tiburtina and Ostiense stations, which are farther away from the center than Termini and have relatively few services (though Italo will likely start using Termini Station as well in the near future). Tiburtina is a better choice than Ostiense, as it has more amenities and provides an interesting look at contemporary Italian architecture. A separate “Casa Italo” area has dedicated service counters, red ticket machines, and a small waiting area (in the upper part of the station, across from track 23). You can also book Italo tickets by phone (tel. 06-0708) or from their user-friendly website (www.italotreno.it).
Tiburtina is also known as a hub for bus service to destinations all across Italy. Buses depart from the piazza in front of the station. Ticket offices are located in the piazza and around the corner on Circonvallazione Nomentana (just beyond the elevated freeway).
Getting Between Tiburtina and Downtown Rome: Tiburtina is on Metro line B, with easy connections to Termini (a straight shot, four stops away) and the entire Metro system (note that when going to Tiburtina, Metro line B splits—you want a train signed Rebibbia). Or take bus #492 from Tiburtina to various city-center stops (such as Piazza Barberini, Piazza Venezia, and Piazza Cavour) and the Vatican neighborhood (as you emerge from the station, the bus stop is to the left).
The Grande Raccordo Anulare circles greater Rome. This ring road has spokes that lead you into the center. Entering from the north, leave the autostrada at the Settebagni exit. Following the ancient Via Salaria (and the black-and-white Centro signs), work your way doggedly into the Roman thick of things. This will take you along the Villa Borghese Gardens and dump you right on Via Veneto in downtown Rome. Avoid rush hour and drive defensively: Roman cars stay in their lanes like rocks in an avalanche.
Parking in Rome is dangerous. Park near a police station or get advice at your hotel. The Villa Borghese underground garage is handy (Metro: Spagna). Garages charge about €24 per day.
Consider this: Your car is a worthless headache in Rome. Avoid a pile of stress and save money by parking at the huge, easy, and relatively safe lot behind the train station in the hill town of Orvieto (follow P signs from autostrada) and catching the train to Rome (hourly, 1-1.5 hours). Or if Rome is the first stop of your trip and you plan to rent a car for the rest of Italy, you could sightsee Rome, then take the train to Orvieto and rent a car there (Hertz and Avis have offices near the base of the funicular).
If you absolutely must drive and park a car in Rome, park your car at Tiburtina Station (€1/hour, www.atac.roma.it) and take a 10-minute ride on the Metro line B into the center.
For more information on car rental and driving in Italy, see here.
For information on Rome’s airports and Civitavecchia’s cruise ship terminal, see the end of this chapter.
Sightseeing Tips: Avid sightseers can save money by buying the Roma Pass (see “Tips on Sightseeing in Rome” sidebar, later), available at TIs and participating sights—buy one before visiting the Colosseum or Forum, and you can skip the long lines there. Another way to bypass lines at the Colosseum and Forum is to buy a ticket online in advance (see here). If you want to see the Borghese Gallery, remember to reserve ahead (see here). To sidestep the long Vatican Museum line, reserve an entry time online (see here for details).
Internet Access: Most hotels have Wi-Fi, but if yours doesn’t, your hotelier can point you to the nearest Internet café.
Bookstores: The following stores sell travel guidebooks, including mine (all open daily except Anglo American and Open Door closed Sun). The first two are chains, while the others have a more personal touch. Borri Books is at Termini Station, and Feltrinelli has two branches (at Largo Argentina 11—see map on here, with a limited English section, and the larger Feltrinelli International, just off Piazza della Repubblica at Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando 78-81—see map on here, tel. 06-487-0171). Anglo American Bookshop has great art and history sections (closed all day Sun and Mon morning, a few blocks south of Spanish Steps at Via della Vite 102—see map on here, tel. 06-679-5222). Libreria Fanucci has a small selection, but is centrally located (a block toward the Pantheon from Piazza Navona at Piazza Madama 8—see map on here, tel. 06-686-1141). In Trastevere, Irishman Dermot at the Almost Corner Bookshop stocks an Italian-interest section (Via del Moro 45, tel. 06-583-6942), and the Open Door Bookshop carries the only used books in English in town (closed Sun, Via della Lungaretta 23, tel. 06-589-6478).
Laundry: Your hotelier can direct you to the nearest launderette. The Ondablu chain usually comes with Internet access (€2/hour); one of their more central locations is near Termini Station (about €8 to wash and dry a 15-pound load, usually open daily 8:00-22:00, Via Principe Amedeo 70b—see map on here, tel. 06-474-4647).
Travel Agencies: You can get train tickets and rail-pass-related reservations and supplements at travel agencies (at little or no additional cost), avoiding a trip to a train station. Your hotelier will know of a convenient agency nearby.
Updates to This Book: For updates to this book, check www.ricksteves.com/update.
Theft Alert: While violent crime is rare in the city center, petty theft is rampant. With sweet-talking con artists meeting you at the station, well-dressed pickpockets on buses, and thieving gangs of children at the ancient sites, Rome is a gauntlet of rip-offs. Pickpockets don’t want to hurt you—they usually just want your money—but green or sloppy tourists will be scammed. Thieves strike when you’re distracted. Don’t trust kind strangers. Keep nothing important in your pockets. If you must carry a backpack, keep it in front. Always use your money belt.
Be most on guard while boarding and leaving buses and subways. Thieves crowd the door, then stop and turn while others crowd and push from behind. You’ll find less crowding and commotion—and less risk—waiting for the end cars of a subway rather than the middle cars. The sneakiest thieves pretend to be well-dressed businessmen (generally with something in their hands) or tourists wearing fanny packs and toting cameras and even Rick Steves guidebooks. Lately a lot of youths and even pregnant mothers are working as pickpockets. Thieves are particularly thick on the Metro and the crowded and made-for-tourists buses #64 and #40.
If you know what to look out for, fast-fingered moms with babies and gangs of children picking the pockets and handbags of naive tourists are not a threat, but an interesting, albeit sad, spectacle. Pickpockets troll through the tourist crowds around the Colosseum, Forum, Vatican, and train and Metro stations. Watch them target tourists who are overloaded with bags or distracted with a camera. The kids look like beggars and hold up newspapers or cardboard signs to confuse their victims. They scram like stray cats if you’re on to them.
Scams abound: Always be clear about what paper money you’re giving someone, demand clear and itemized bills, and count your change. Don’t give your wallet to self-proclaimed “police” who stop you on the street, warn you about counterfeit (or drug) money, and ask to see your cash. If a bank machine eats your ATM card, see if there’s a thin plastic insert with a tongue hanging out that thieves use to extract it.
Reporting Losses: To report lost or stolen items, file a police report (at Termini Station, with polizia at track 11 or with Carabinieri at track 20; offices are also at Piazza Venezia and at the corner of Via Nazionale and Via Genova). You’ll need the report to file an insurance claim for lost gear, and it can help with replacing your passport—first file the police report, then call your embassy to make an appointment (US embassy: tel. 06-46741, www.usembassy.it, Via Vittorio Veneto 121). For information on how to report lost or stolen credit cards, see here.
These tips will help you use your time and money efficiently, making the Eternal City seem less eternal and more entertaining. For general advice on sightseeing, see here.
Roma Pass: Rome offers several sightseeing passes to help you save money. For most visitors, the Roma Pass (www.romapass.it) is the clear winner. The Roma Pass costs €36 and is valid for three days, covering public transportation and free or discounted entry to Roman sights. You get free admission to your first two sights (where you also get to skip the ticket line) and then a discount on the rest within the three-day window. Sights covered (or discounted) by the pass include the following: Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum, Borghese Gallery (though you still must make a reservation), Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant’Angelo, Montemartini Museum, Ara Pacis, Museum of Roman Civilization, Etruscan Museum, Baths of Caracalla, Trajan’s Market, and some of the Appian Way sights. The pass also covers four branches of the National Museum of Rome, considered as a single “sight”: Palazzo Massimo (the most important of the lot), Crypta Balbi (medieval art), Palazzo Altemps (sculpture collection), and Museum of the Bath (ancient inscriptions). The pass does not cover the Vatican Museum (which contains the Sistine Chapel).
If you’ll be using public transportation and visiting any two of the major sights in a three-day period, get the pass. It’s sold at participating sights, TIs, and many tobacco shops and newsstands all over town (look for a Roma Pass sign; all should offer the same price). Try to buy it at a less crowded TI or sight (you can buy it at a sight even if you don’t intend to use it there). Don’t bother ordering it online—you have to physically pick up the pass in Rome, which negates any time-saving advantage.
Validate your Roma Pass by writing your name and validation date on the card. Then insert it directly into the turnstile at your first two (free) sights. At other sights, show it at the ticket office to get your reduced (ridotto) price—about 30 percent off.
To get the most out of your pass, visit the two most expensive sights first—for example, the Colosseum (€12) and the National Museum of Rome (€10). Definitely use it to bypass the long ticket-buying line at the Colosseum. For sights that normally sell a combined ticket (such as the Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum or the National Museum branches), visiting the various sights counts as a single entry.
The Roma Pass comes with a three-day transit pass. Write your name and birthdate on the transit pass, validate it on your first bus or Metro ride by passing it over a sensor at a turnstile or validation machine (look for a yellow circle), and you can take unlimited rides within Rome’s city limits until midnight of the third day.
A cheaper version of the pass (€28) is valid 48 hours with similar coverage, but provides free entry only at the first sight.
A Roma Pass can work well for families. Children under age 18 get into covered sights for free, and they can skip the lines alongside their pass-holding parents.
Combo-Ticket for Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill: A €12 combo-ticket covers these three adjacent sights (no individual tickets are sold). The combo-ticket allows one entry per sight and is valid for two days. Note that these sights are also covered by the Roma Pass. To avoid ticket-buying lines at the Colosseum and Forum, purchase your combo-ticket or Roma Pass at the lesser-visited Palatine Hill, or buy your combo-ticket online in advance (see here).
Museum Reservations: The Borghese Gallery requires reservations in advance (for specifics, see here). You can reserve online to avoid long lines at the Vatican Museum (see here).
Opening Hours: Rome’s sights have notoriously variable hours from season to season. Check each sight’s website in advance. On holidays, expect shorter hours or closures.
Churches: Many churches, which have divine art and free entry, open early (around 7:00-7:30), close for lunch (roughly 12:00-15:00), and close late (about 19:00). Kamikaze tourists maximize their sightseeing hours by visiting churches before 9:00 or late in the day; during the siesta, they see major sights that stay open all day (St. Peter’s, Colosseum, Forum, Capitoline Museums, Pantheon, and National Museum of Rome). Dress modestly for church visits.
Picnic Discreetly: Public drinking and eating is not allowed at major sights, though the ban has proven difficult to enforce. To avoid the risk of being fined, choose an empty piazza for your picnic, or keep a low profile.
Miscellaneous Tips: I carry a water bottle and refill it at Rome’s many public drinking spouts. Because public restrooms are scarce, use toilets at museums, restaurants, and bars.
Emergency Numbers: Police—tel. 113. Ambulance—tel. 118.
Pedestrian Safety: Your main safety concern in Rome is crossing streets without incident. Use extreme caution. Some streets have pedestrian-crossing signals (red means stop—or jaywalk carefully; green means go...also carefully; and yellow means go...extremely carefully, as cars may be whipping around the corner). But just as often, multi-lane streets have crosswalks with no signals at all. And even when there are traffic lights, they are provisional: Scooters don’t need to stop at red lights, and even cars exercise what drivers call the “logical option” of not stopping if they see no oncoming traffic. Each year, as noisy gasoline-powered scooters are replaced by electric ones, the streets get quieter (hooray) but more dangerous for pedestrians.
Follow locals like a shadow when you cross a street (or spend a good part of your visit stranded on curbs). When you do cross alone, don’t be a deer in the headlights. Find a gap in the traffic and walk with confidence while making eye contact with approaching drivers—they won’t hit you if they can tell where you intend to go.
Staying/Getting Healthy: The siesta is a key to survival in summertime Rome. Lie down and contemplate the extraordinary power of gravity in the Eternal City. I drink lots of cold, refreshing water from Rome’s many drinking fountains (the Forum has three).
Every neighborhood has a pharmacy (marked by a green cross). Pharmacies stay open late in Termini Station (daily 7:30-22:00), at Piazza dei Cinquecento 51 (Mon-Fri 7:00-23:30, Sat-Sun 8:00-23:00, next to Termini Station on the corner of Via Cavour—see map on here, tel. 06-488-0019), and in the Pantheon neighborhood (Farmacia Senato, between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon, Mon-Fri 7:30-24:30, Sat 8:30-24:30, Sun 12:00-23:00, Corso del Rinascimento 50—see map on here). There’s also a 24-hour pharmacy several blocks down from Piazza della Repubblica at Via Nazionale 228 (tel. 06-488-4437).
Embassies and hotels can recommend English-speaking doctors. Consider MEDline, a 24-hour home-medical service; doctors speak English and make calls at hotels for €150 (tel. 06-808-0995). Anyone is entitled to free emergency treatment at public hospitals. The hospital closest to Termini Station is Policlinico Umberto 1 (entrance for emergency treatment on Via Lancisi, translators available, Metro: Policlinico). Readers report that the staff at Santa Susanna Church, home of the American Catholic Church in Rome, offers useful advice and medical referrals (see here).
Sightsee on foot, by city bus, by Metro, or by taxi. I’ve grouped your sightseeing into walkable neighborhoods. Make it a point to visit sights in a logical order. Needless backtracking wastes precious time.
The public transportation system, which is cheap and efficient, consists primarily of buses, a few trams, and the two underground subway (Metro) lines. Consider it part of your Roman experience.
Rome Walks has produced an orientation video to Rome’s transportation system; find it on YouTube by searching for “Understanding Rome’s Public Transport.”
For information, visit www.atac.roma.it, which has a useful route planner in English, or call 06-57003. If you have a smartphone and an international data plan, consider downloading the free app “Roma Bus” by Movenda, which also has a route planner and real-time updates on the bus schedule. The ATAC mobile website has similar info (www.muovi.roma.it).
All public transportation uses the same ticket. It costs €1.50 and is valid for one Metro ride—including transfers underground—plus unlimited city buses and trams during a 100-minute period. Passes good on buses and the Metro are sold in increments of one day (€6, good until midnight), three days (€16.50), one week (€24, about the cost of three taxi rides), and one month (€35, valid for a calendar month).
You can purchase tickets and passes at some newsstands, tobacco shops (tabacchi, marked by a black-and-white T sign), and major Metro stations and bus stops, but not on board. It’s smart to stock up on tickets early, or to buy a pass or a Roma Pass (which includes a three-day transit pass—see here). That way, you don’t have to run around searching for an open tobacco shop when you spot your bus approaching. Metro stations rarely have human ticket sellers, and the machines are unreliable (it helps to insert your smallest coin first).
Validate your ticket by sticking it in the Metro turnstile (magnetic-strip-side up, arrow-side first) or in the machine when you board the bus (magnetic-strip-side down, arrow-side first)—watch others and imitate. It’ll return your ticket with your expiration time printed. To get through a Metro turnstile with a transit pass or Roma Pass, use it just like a ticket; on buses and trams, however, you need to validate your pass only if that’s your first time using it.
The Roman subway system (Metropolitana, or “Metro”) is simple, with two clean, cheap, fast lines—A and B—that intersect at Termini Station. The Metro runs from 5:30 to 23:30 (Fri-Sat until 1:30 in the morning). Remember, the subway’s first and last compartments are generally the least crowded, and the least likely to harbor pickpockets.
You’ll notice lots of big holes in the city while a new line is being built to run across town, including through the historic heart. It will likely not be completed until 2020.
While much of Rome is not served by its skimpy subway, the following stops are helpful:
Termini (intersection of lines A and B): Termini Station, shuttle train to airport, National Museum of Rome, and recommended hotels
Repubblica (line A): Baths of Diocletian, Via Nazionale, and recommended hotels
Barberini (line A): Capuchin Crypt, Trevi Fountain, and Villa Borghese
Spagna (line A): Spanish Steps and classy shopping area
Flaminio (line A): Piazza del Popolo, start of my “Dolce Vita Stroll” down Via del Corso, easy buses to the Borghese Gallery
Ottaviano (line A): St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum, and recommended hotels
Tiburtina (line B): Tiburtina train and bus station (direction: Rebibbia; trains going in the direction of Conca d’Oro/Jonio do not stop at Tiburtina)
Colosseo (line B): Colosseum, Roman Forum, bike rental, and recommended hotels
San Giovanni (line B): Church of San Giovanni in Laterano
Piramide (line B): Protestant Cemetery, Testaccio, and trains to Ostia Antica
San Paolo (line B): Church of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls
E.U.R. (line B, three different stops depending on your destination): Mussolini’s futuristic suburb
The Metro is handy, but it won’t get you everywhere—take the bus (or tram). Bus routes are clearly listed at the stops. TIs usually don’t have bus maps, but with some knowledge of major stops, you won’t necessarily need one.
Buses—especially the touristy #40 and #64—are havens for thieves and pickpockets. These two lines in particular can be nose-to-armpit crowded during peak times...and while you’re sniffing that guy’s pit, his other hand could be busily rifling through your pockets. Assume any commotion is a thief-created distraction. If one bus is packed, there’s likely a second one on its tail with far fewer crowds and thieves. Or read the signs posted at stops to see if a different, less crowded bus route can get you to or near your destination.
The tram lines are of limited use for most tourists, but a few lines can save some walking. For all intents and purposes, trams function identically to buses. Once you know the bus/tram system, you’ll find it’s easier than searching for a cab.
Tickets have a barcode and must be stamped on the bus in the yellow box with the digital readout (be sure to retrieve your ticket). Validate your ticket as you board (magnetic-strip-side down, arrow-side first), otherwise you’re cheating. While relatively safe, riding without a stamped ticket on the bus is stressful. Inspectors fine even innocent-looking tourists €50. There’s no need to validate a transit pass or Roma Pass on the bus, unless your pass is new and hasn’t yet been stamped elsewhere in the transit system. Bus etiquette (not always followed) is to board at the front or rear doors and exit at the middle.
Regular bus lines start running at about 5:30, and during the day major routes run every 5-10 minutes. After 23:30, and sometimes earlier (such as on Sundays), buses are less frequent. Night buses are marked with an N and an owl symbol on the bus-stop signs. Frustratingly, the exact frequency of various bus routes is difficult to predict (and not printed at bus stops). At major stops, an electronic board shows the number of minutes until the next buses arrive, but at most stops you’ll never know how long you have to wait. If your phone has Internet access, you can try checking the schedule with the route planner at www.muovi.roma.it.
These are the major bus routes:
Bus #64: This bus cuts across the city, linking Termini Station with the Vatican, stopping at Piazza della Repubblica (sights), Via Nazionale (recommended hotels), Piazza Venezia (near Forum), Largo Argentina (near Pantheon and Campo de’ Fiori), St. Peter’s Basilica (get off just past the tunnel), and San Pietro Station. Ride it for a city overview and to watch pickpockets in action. The #64 can get horribly crowded.
Bus #40: This express bus, which mostly follows the #64 route (but ends near the Castel Sant’Angelo on the Vatican side of the river), is especially helpful—fewer stops and (somewhat) fewer crowds.
The following routes conveniently connect Trastevere with other parts of Rome:
Bus #H: This express bus, linking Termini Station and Trastevere, makes a stop near Piazza Repubblica and at the bottom of Via Nazionale (for Trastevere, get off at Piazza Belli/Sonnino, just after crossing the Tiber River).
Tram #2: Leaving from near the Flaminio Metro stop, this route gives easy access to the Etruscan Museum and MAXXI, Rome’s contemporary art museum.
Tram #8: This tram connects Piazza Venezia and Largo Argentina with Trastevere (get off at Piazza Belli).
Buses #23 and #280: These link the Vatican with Trastevere and Testaccio, stopping at the Vatican Museum (nearest stop is Via Leone IV), Castel Sant’Angelo, Trastevere (Piazza Belli), Porta Portese (Sunday flea market), and Piramide (Metro and gateway to Testaccio).
Other useful routes include:
Bus #16: Termini Station, Santa Maria Maggiore, and San Giovanni in Laterano.
Bus #49: Piazza Cavour/Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Risorgimento (Vatican), and Vatican Museum.
Bus #62: Largo Argentina to St. Peter’s Square.
Bus #81: San Giovanni in Laterano, Largo Argentina, and Piazza Risorgimento (Vatican).
Buses #85 and #87: Piazza Venezia, Forum, Colosseum, San Clemente, and San Giovanni in Laterano.
Bus #492: Travels east-west across the city, connecting Tiburtina (train and bus stations), Largo Santa Susanna (near Piazza della Repubblica), Piazza Barberini, Piazza Venezia, Largo Argentina, Piazza Cavour (Castel Sant’Angelo), and Piazza Risorgimento (St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican).
Bus #714: Termini Station, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Giovanni in Laterano, Terme di Caracalla (Baths of Caracalla), and on to E.U.R.
Tram #3: Zips from the Colosseum to San Giovanni in Laterano in one direction, and to Piramide (Testaccio) in the other.
Buses #660, #118, and #218: These run to/from the Appian Way.
Elettrico Minibuses: Two cute elettrico minibuses that wind through the narrow streets of old and interesting neighborhoods are great for transport or simple joyriding, but may not be running due to budget cuts. Elettrico #116 runs through the medieval core of Rome: Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II (near Castel Sant’Angelo) to Campo de’ Fiori, Pantheon, Piazza Barberini, and the southern edge of the scenic Villa Borghese Gardens. Elettrico #117 connects San Giovanni in Laterano, Colosseo, Via dei Serpenti, Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna, and Piazza del Popolo—and vice versa. Where Via del Corso hits Piazza del Popolo, a #117 is usually parked and ready to go. Riding it from here to the end of the line, San Giovanni in Laterano, makes for a fine joyride that leaves you, conveniently, at a great sight.
I use taxis in Rome more often than in other cities. They’re reasonable and useful for efficient sightseeing in this big, hot metropolis. Taxis start at €3, then charge about €1.50 per kilometer (surcharges: €1.50 on Sun, €3.50 for nighttime hours of 22:00-7:00, one regular suitcase or bag rides free, tip by rounding up to the nearest euro). Sample fares: Termini area to Vatican-€11; Termini area to Colosseum-€7; Termini area to the Borghese Gallery-€8; Colosseum to Trastevere-€8 (or look up your route at www.worldtaximeter.com). Three or four companions with more money than time should taxi almost everywhere.
It’s tough to wave down a taxi in Rome, especially at night. Find the nearest taxi stand by asking a passerby or a clerk in a shop, “Dov’è una fermata dei taxi?” (doh-VEH OO-nah fehr-MAH-tah DEH-ee TAHK-see). Some taxi stands are listed on my maps. To save time and energy, have your hotel or restaurant call a taxi for you; the meter starts when the call is received (generally adding a euro or two to the bill). To call a cab on your own, dial 06-3570, 06-4994, or 06-6645, or use the official city taxi line, 06-0609; they’ll likely ask you for an Italian phone number (if you don’t have one, you can give them your hotel’s). It’s routine for Romans to ask the waiter in a restaurant to call a taxi when they ask for the bill. The waiter will tell you how many minutes you have to enjoy your coffee.
Beware of corrupt taxis. First, make sure the meter (tassametro) is turned on. If it isn’t, get out and hail another cab. Check that the meter is reset to the basic drop charge (should be around €3, or around €5 if you or your hotelier phoned for the taxi). Some meters show both the fare and the time elapsed during the ride, and some tourists—mistaking the time for the fare—end up paying more than the fair meter rate. Keep an eye on the fare on the meter as you near your destination; some cabbies turn the meter off instantly when they stop and tell you a higher price.
When you arrive at the train station or airport, beware of hustlers conning naive visitors into unmarked, rip-off “express taxis.” Only use official taxis, with a taxi sign and phone number marked on the door. By law, they must display a multilingual official price chart; point to the chart and ask the cabbie to explain it if the fare doesn’t seem right. A common cabbie scam is to take your €20 note, drop it, and pick up a €5 note (similar color), claiming that’s what you gave him. To avoid this scam, pay in small bills; if you only have a large bill, show it to the cabbie as you state its face value.
If you encounter any problems with a taxi, making a show of writing down the taxi number (to file a complaint) can motivate a driver to quickly settle the matter.
If you take a Rome city cab from Fiumicino Airport to anywhere in central Rome within the old city walls, the cost should be €48 (covering up to four people and their bags); however, every year some readers report being ripped off. The catch is that cabbies not based in Rome or Fiumicino can charge €70. At the airport, look specifically for a Rome city cab—you’ll see a maroon logo with the words “Roma Capitale” on the door. By law, they can charge only €48 for the ride (still, be sure to establish the price before you get in).
Tired travelers arriving at the airport will likely find it less stressful (and cheaper) to take an airport shuttle van to their hotel, or catch the train to Termini Station and take the Metro or a cheaper taxi from there (see here for details on getting from the airport to downtown Rome via taxi, shuttle, or train).
Biking in the big city of Rome can speed up sightseeing or simply be an enjoyable way to explore. Though Roman traffic can be stressful, Roman drivers are respectful of cyclists. Still, use caution and never assume you have the right of way. The best rides are on small streets in the city center. A bike path along the banks of the Tiber River makes a good 20-minute ride (easily accessed from the ramps at Porta Portese and Ponte Regina Margherita near Piazza del Popolo). Get a bike with a well-padded seat—the little stones that pave Roman streets are unforgiving.
Top Bike Rental and Tours is professionally run by Roman bike enthusiasts who want to show off their city. Your rental comes with a helmet, a lock, and a handy map that suggests a route and indicates less-trafficked streets. They also offer English-only guided tours around the city (4 hours) and the Appian Way (6 hours); check their website for itineraries and schedules (rental: €15/day, €25/day for electric bike, 10 percent discount with this book, best to reserve in advance via email, bring ID for deposit; bike tours start at €45, reservations required; daily 10:00-19:00, Via Labicana 49, Metro: Colosseo—exit left and pass the Colosseum, tel. 06-488-2893, www.topbikerental.com, info@topbikerental.com).
Cool Rent, near the Colosseo Metro stop, is cheaper but less helpful and has more basic bikes (€3/hour, €10/day, daily April-Oct 9:30-20:00, Nov-March 9:30-18:00, driver’s license or other ID for deposit, 10 yards to the right as you exit the Metro). A second outlet is just off Via del Corso (on Largo di Lombardi, near corner of Via del Corso and Via della Croce, mobile 388-695-9303, Sasin).
You can also rent a bike in the Villa Borghese Gardens (see here).
Finding the best guided tours in Rome is challenging. Local guides are good but pricey. Tour companies are cheaper, but quality and organization are unreliable. To sightsee on your own, download my series of free audio tours that illuminate some of Rome’s top sights and neighborhoods (see sidebar on here for details).
If you do hire a private Italian guide, consider organizing a group of four to six people from your hotel to split the cost (around €180 for a three-hour tour); this ends up costing about the same per person as going on a scheduled tour from one of the walking-tour companies listed below (about €25, generally expat guides).
I’ve worked with each of these licensed independent local guides. They’re worth every euro. They speak excellent English and enjoy tailoring tours to your interests. Their prices (roughly €55-60/hour) flex with the day, season, and demand. Arrange your date and price by email.
Francesca Caruso loves to teach and share her appreciation of her city, and has contributed generously to this chapter (www.francescacaruso.com, francescainroma@gmail.com). Popular with my readers, Francesca understandably books up quickly; if she’s busy, she’ll recommend one of her colleagues. Carla Zaia is an engaging expert on all things Roman (carlaromeguide@gmail.com). Cristina Giannicchi has an archaeology background (mobile 338-111-4573, www.crisromanguide.com, crisgiannicchi@gmail.com). Sara Magister, a Roman with doctorates in art history and archaeology, leads tours throughout the city (a.magister@iol.it). Giovanna Terzulli is a personable, knowledgeable art historian (gioterzulli@gmail.com). Alessandra Mazzoccoli is experienced, easygoing, and good with all ages (alemazzoccoli@gmail.com). Italian-American Sean Finelli, known as “The Roman Guy,” offers several walking tours and a trip-planning service (www.theromanguy.com).
Rome has many highly competitive tour companies, each offering a series of themed walks through various slices of Rome. Three-hour guided walks generally cost €25-30 per person. Guides are usually native English speakers, often American expats. Tours are limited to small groups, geared to American tourists, and given in English only. I’ve listed some here, but without a lot of details on their offerings. Before your trip, spend some time on these companies’ websites to get to know your options, as each company has a particular teaching and guiding personality. Some are highbrow, and others are less scholarly. It’s sometimes required, and always smart, to book a spot in advance (easy online). I must add that we get a lot of negative feedback on some tour companies. Readers report that advertising can be misleading, and scheduling mishaps are common. Make sure you know what you are booking and when.
Context Rome’s walking tours are more intellectual than most, designed for travelers with longer-than-average attention spans. They are more expensive than others and are led by “docents” rather than guides (tel. 06-9672-7371, US tel. 800-691-6036, www.contextrome.com). Enjoy Rome offers a number of different walks and a website filled with helpful information (Via Marghera 8a, tel. 06-445-1843, www.enjoyrome.com, info@enjoyrome.com). Rome Walks has put together several particularly creative itineraries (mobile 347-795-5175, www.romewalks.com, info@romewalks.com, Annie). Europe Odyssey gives readers of this book a 10 percent discount off their walks (tel. 06-8854-2416, mobile 328-912-3720, www.europeodyssey.com, Rahul). Through Eternity offers travelers with this book a 10 percent discount off most group tours and a 20 percent discount off its Underground Rome; book through their website (look for “Group Tours Rome”) and enter the promotional code “RICKSTEVES” for the best discount (tel. 06-700-9336, mobile 347-336-5298, www.througheternity.com, office@througheternity.com, Rob). Walks of Italy has fun guides who lead a variety of good walks for groups of no more than 12 people at a time (10 percent discount for readers of this book—if booking online enter the code “10ricksteves” when ordering, US tel. 202/684-6916, Italian mobile 334-974-4274, tel. 06-9558-3331, www.walksofitaly.com, Jason Spiehler). ArtViva also offers a 10 percent discount to my readers (book at www.artviva.com/ricksteves—log in with username “ricksteves” and password “reader”; tel. 055-264-5033 during day or mobile 329-613-2730 from 18:00 to 20:00).
Several different agencies, including the ATAC public bus company, run hop-on, hop-off tours around Rome. These tours are constantly evolving and offer varying combinations of sights. You can grab one (and pay as you board) at any stop; Termini Station and Piazza Venezia are handy hubs. Although the city is perfectly walkable and traffic jams can make the bus dreadfully slow, these open-top bus tours remain popular.
The 110open Bus seems to be the best. Operated by the ATAC city-bus lines, it offers an orientation tour on big red double-decker buses with an open-air upper deck. In less than two hours, you’ll have 80 sights pointed out to you, with a next-to-worthless recorded narration. While you can hop on and off, the service can be erratic (mobbed midday, not ideal in bad weather), and it can be very slow in heavy traffic. It’s best to think of this as a 90-minute quickie orientation with scant information and lots of images. Stops include the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Bocca della Verità (the Mouth of Truth from Roman Holiday fame), Piazza Venezia, St. Peter’s Square, Via del Tritone (Trevi Fountain), and Piazza Barberini. The 110open Bus departs roughly every 20 minutes (less frequent off-season). You can catch it at any stop, including Termini Station. Buy the ticket as you board (runs daily April-Oct 8:30-20:30, Nov-March 8:30-19:00, single tour-€12, 1-day ticket-€15, 48-hour ticket-€20, family tickets available, kids 9 and under ride free, tel. 800-281-281, www.trambusopen.com).
Archeobus is an open-top bus, also operated by ATAC, that runs twice hourly on weekends from Termini Station out to the Appian Way (with stops at the Colosseum, Baths of Caracalla, San Callisto, San Sebastiano, and the Tomb of Cecilia Metella). This is a handy way to see the sights down this ancient Roman road, but it can be frustrating for various reasons—sparse narration, weekend-only service, and not ideal for hopping on and off (single tour-€10, 48-hour ticket-€12, €25 combo-ticket with 110open Bus valid 72 hours, deals for families and children, 1.5-hour loop, bus runs Fri-Sun only April-mid-Oct 9:00-16:30, from Termini Station and Piazza Venezia, tel. 800-281-281, www.trambusopen.com). A similar bus laces together all the Christian sights.
Autoservizi Monti Concezio, run by gentle, capable, and English-speaking Ezio, offers private cars or minibuses with driver/guides (car-€40/hour, minibus-€45/hour, 3-hour minimum for city sightseeing, long rides outside Rome are more expensive, mobile 335-636-5907 or 349-674-5643, www.tourservicemonti.it, info@tourservicemonti.it).
Miles & Miles Private Tours, a family-run company, offers a number of tours, all with good English-speaking driver/guides (descriptions and pricing on their website, mention Rick Steves when booking direct then show the book on the day of service to get a discount, mobile 331-466-4900, www.milesandmiles.net, info@milesandmiles.net, Italian driver/guides and an American-run office). They also provide walking tours, shore excursions (from Civitavecchia, Livorno, Naples, Venice, and other ports), and unguided long-distance transportation; if traveling with a small group or a family from Rome to Florence, the Amalfi Coast, or elsewhere, consider paying extra to turn the trip into a memorable day tour with door-to-door service.
Andy Steves (Rick’s son) runs WSA Europe, offering three-day and longer guided and unguided packages—including accommodations, sightseeing, and unique local experiences—for budget travelers across 11 top European cities, including Rome (from €99, see www.wsaeurope.com for details).
Here are three self-guided walks that give you a moving picture of Rome, an ancient yet modern city. You’ll walk through history (Roman Forum Walk), take a refreshing early-evening walk (Dolce Vita Stroll), and enjoy the thriving local scene, best at night (Heart of Rome Walk).
(See “Roman Forum” map, here.)
The Forum was the political, religious, and commercial center of the city. Rome’s most important temples and halls of justice were here. This was the place for religious processions, political demonstrations, elections, important speeches, and parades by conquering generals. As Rome’s empire expanded, these few acres of land became the center of the civilized world.
Cost: €12 combo-ticket covers both the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill (grouped as one sight for the purposes of the ticket) and the Colosseum; also covered by the Roma Pass. The combo-ticket is valid two consecutive days, but once your ticket is scanned for either the Forum/Palatine Hill or the Colosseum, you can’t re-enter that sight (even the next day).
Hours: The Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and Colosseum are all open daily 8:30 until one hour before sunset: April-Aug until 19:15, Sept until 19:00, Oct until 18:30, Nov-mid-Feb until 16:30, mid-Feb-mid-March until 17:00, mid-March-late March until 17:30; last entry one hour before closing.
Avoiding Lines: See tips on here.
Getting There: The closest Metro stop is Colosseo. Buses #53, #85, #87, and #175 stop along Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum, the Forum, and Piazza Venezia. The Forum has three entrances: directly across from the Colosseum; at the Palatine Hill ticket office on Via di San Gregorio (after buying your ticket, take the path to the right—not up the hill—which leads to the Arch of Titus); and the main entrance along Via dei Fori Imperiali (“Road of the Imperial Forums”), about halfway between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia (from the Colosseo Metro stop, walk away from the Colosseum on Via dei Fori Imperiali to find the low-profile Forum ticket office—look closely—located across the street from the intersection with busy Via Cavour).
Information: The free information center, located across Via dei Fori Imperiali from the Forum’s main entrance, has a TI (which sells the Roma Pass), bookshop, small café, and WCs (daily 9:30-19:00). A bookstore is at the Forum entrance. Vendors outside sell a variety of colorful books with plastic overlays that restore the ruins (official price in bookstore for larger version with DVD is €20, and for smaller version is €10—don’t pay more than these prices). Info office tel. 06-3996-7700, http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en.
Tours: An unexciting yet informative audioguide helps decipher the rubble (€5/2 hours, €7 version includes Palatine Hill and lasts 3 hours, must leave ID), but you’ll have to return it to where you rented it—meaning you may not be able to exit directly to Capitoline Hill or the Colosseum, for example. Official guided tours in English might be available (inquire at ticket office). You can download this walk as a free Rick Steves audio tour (see here).
Length of This Walk: Allow 1.5 hours. If you have less time, end the walk at the Arch of Septimius Severus. Don’t miss the Basilica of Constantine hiding behind the trees.
Services: WCs are at the main entrance, near the Arch of Titus (in the “Soprintendenza” office), and in the middle of the Forum, near #6 on the map.
Plan Ahead: The ancient paving at the Forum is uneven; wear sturdy shoes. I carry a water bottle and refill it at the Forum’s public drinking fountains.
Improvise: Because of ongoing restoration, paths through the Forum are often rerouted. Use this walk as a starting point, but be prepared for a few detours and backtracking.
• Start at the Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito). It’s the white triumphal arch that rises above the rubble on the east end of the Forum (closest to the Colosseum). Stand at the viewpoint alongside the arch and gaze over the valley known as the Forum.
Viewing the Ruins: As you begin this Forum walk, here’s a hint for seeing things with “period eyes.” We imagine the structures in ancient Rome as mostly white, but ornate buildings and monuments like the Arch of Titus were originally more colorful. Through the ages, builders scavenged stone from the Forum, and the finest stone—the colored marble—was cannibalized first. If any was left, it was generally the white stone. Statues that filled the niches were vividly painted, but the organic paint rotted away as statues lay buried for centuries. Lettering was inset bronze and eyes were inset ivory. Even seemingly intact structures, like the Arch of Titus, have been reassembled. Notice the columns are half smooth and half fluted. The fluted halves are original; the smooth parts are reconstructions—intentionally not trying to fake the original.
Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito): The Arch of Titus commemorated the Roman victory over the province of Judaea (Israel) in A.D. 70. The Romans had a reputation as benevolent conquerors who tolerated local customs and rulers. All they required was allegiance to the empire, shown by worshipping the emperor as a god. No problem for most conquered people, who already had half a dozen gods on their prayer lists anyway. But Israelites believed in only one god, and it wasn’t the emperor. Israel revolted. After a short but bitter war, the Romans defeated the rebels, took Jerusalem, destroyed their temple (leaving only a fragment of one wall’s foundation—today’s revered “Wailing Wall”), and brought home 50,000 Jewish slaves...who were forced to build this arch (and the Colosseum).
• Walk down Via Sacra into the Forum. Imagine Roman sandals on these original basalt stones—the oldest street you’ll ever walk. Many of the stones under your feet were walked on by Caesar Augustus 2,000 years ago. After about 50 yards, turn right and follow a path uphill to the three huge arches of the...
Basilica of Constantine (Basilica Maxentius): Yes, these are big arches. But they represent only one-third of the original Basilica of Constantine, a mammoth hall of justice. The arches were matched by a similar set along the Via Sacra side (only a few squat brick piers remain). Between them ran the central hall, which was spanned by a roof 130 feet high—about 55 feet higher than the side arches you see. (The stub of brick you see sticking up began an arch that once spanned the central hall.) The hall itself was as long as a football field, lavishly furnished with colorful inlaid marble, a gilded bronze ceiling, and statues, and filled with strolling Romans. At the far (west) end was an enormous marble statue of Emperor Constantine on a throne. (Pieces of this statue, including a hand the size of a man, are on display in Rome’s Capitoline Museums.)
The basilica was begun by the emperor Maxentius, but after he was trounced in battle (see here), the victor Constantine completed the massive building. No doubt about it, the Romans built monuments on a more epic scale than any previous Europeans, wowing their “barbarian” neighbors.
• Now stroll deeper into the Forum, downhill along Via Sacra, through the trees. Pass by the only original bronze door still swinging on its ancient hinges (the green door at the Tempio di Romolo, the round building on the right—if it happens to be open, peek in). Just past that, 10 columns stand in front of a much newer-looking church. The colonnade was part of the...
Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina: The Senate built this temple to honor Emperor Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161) and his deified wife, Faustina. The 50-foot-tall Corinthian (leafy) columns must have been awe-inspiring to out-of-towners who grew up in thatched huts. Although the temple has been inhabited by a church, you can still see the basic layout—a staircase led to a shaded porch (the columns), which admitted you to the main building (now a church), where the statue of the god sat. Originally, these columns supported a triangular pediment decorated with sculptures.
Picture these columns, with gilded capitals, supporting brightly painted statues in the pediment, and the whole building capped with a gleaming bronze roof. The stately gray rubble of today’s Forum is a faded black-and-white photograph of a 3-D Technicolor era.
The building is a microcosm of many changes that occurred after Rome fell. In medieval times, the temple was pillaged. Note the diagonal cuts high on the marble columns—a failed attempt by scavengers to cut through the pillars to pull them down for their precious stone. (They used vinegar and rope to cut the marble...but because vinegar also eats through rope, they abandoned the attempt.) In 1550, a church was housed inside the ancient temple. The green door shows the street level at the time of Michelangelo. The long staircase was underground until excavated in the 1800s.
• With your back to the colonnade, walk straight ahead—jogging a bit to the right to stay on the path—and head for the three short columns, all that’s left of the...
Temple of Vesta: This is perhaps Rome’s most sacred spot. Rome considered itself one big family, and this temple represented a circular hut, like the kind that Rome’s first families lived in. Inside, a fire burned, just as in a Roman home. And back in the days before lighters and butane, you never wanted your fire to go out. As long as the sacred flame burned, Rome would stand. The flame was tended by priestesses known as Vestal Virgins.
• Just to the left and up the stairs is a big, enclosed field with two rectangular brick pools (just below the hill). This was the courtyard of the...
House of the Vestal Virgins: The Vestal Virgins lived in a two-story building surrounding a long central courtyard with two pools at one end. Rows of statues depicting leading Vestal Virgins flanked the courtyard. This place was the model—both architecturally and sexually—for medieval convents and monasteries.
Chosen from noble families before they reached the age of 10, the six Vestal Virgins served a 30-year term. Honored and revered by the Romans, the Vestals even had their own box opposite the emperor in the Colosseum. The statues that line the courtyard honor dutiful Vestals.
As the name implies, a Vestal took a vow of chastity. If she served her term faithfully—abstaining for 30 years—she was given a huge dowry and allowed to marry. But if they found any Virgin who wasn’t, she was strapped to a funeral car, paraded through the streets of the Forum, taken to a crypt, given a loaf of bread and a lamp...and buried alive. Many women suffered the latter fate.
• Looming just beyond this field is Palatine Hill—the corner of which may have been...
Caligula’s Palace (Palace of Tiberius): Emperor Caligula (ruled A.D. 37-41) had a huge palace on Palatine Hill overlooking the Forum. It actually sprawled down the hill into the Forum (some supporting arches remain in the hillside).
Caligula was not a nice person. He tortured enemies, stole senators’ wives, and parked his chariot in handicap spaces. But Rome’s luxury-loving emperors only added to the glory of the Forum, with each one trying to make his mark on history.
• Continue downhill, passing the three short columns of the Temple of Vesta, and head for the three taller columns just beyond it.
Temple of Castor and Pollux: These three columns—all that remain of a once-prestigious temple—have become the most photographed sight in the Forum. The temple was one of the city’s oldest, built in the fifth century B.C. It commemorated the Roman victory over the Tarquin, the notorious Etruscan king who once oppressed them. As a symbol of Rome’s self-governing Republic, the temple was often used as a meeting place of senators, and its front steps served as a podium for free speech. The three columns are Corinthian style, featuring leafy capitals and fluting. They date from a later incarnation of the temple (first century).
• You’re now standing at the corner of a flat, grassy area.
The Forum’s Main Square: The original Forum, or main square, was this flat patch about the size of a football field, stretching to the foot of Capitoline Hill. Surrounding it were temples, law courts, government buildings, and triumphal arches.
Rome was born right here. According to legend, twin brothers Romulus (Rome) and Remus were orphaned in infancy and raised by a she-wolf on top of Palatine Hill. Growing up, they found it hard to get dates. So they and their cohorts attacked the nearby Sabine tribe and kidnapped their women. After they made peace, this marshy valley became the meeting place and then the trading center for the scattered tribes on the surrounding hillsides.
The square was the busiest and most crowded—and often the seediest—section of town. Besides the senators, politicians, and currency exchangers, there were even sleazier types—souvenir hawkers, pickpockets, fortune-tellers, gamblers, slave marketers, drunks, hookers, lawyers, and tour guides.
Ancient Rome’s population exceeded one million, more than any city until London and Paris in the 19th century. All those Roman masses lived in tiny apartments as we would live in tents at a campsite, basically just to sleep. The public space—their Forum, today’s piazza—is where they did their living. Consider how, to this day, the piazza is still a standard part of any Italian town. Since Roman times, the piazza has reflected and accommodated the gregarious and outgoing nature of the Italian people.
The Forum is now rubble, but imagine it in its prime: blindingly brilliant marble buildings with 40-foot-high columns and shining metal roofs; rows of statues painted in realistic colors; processional chariots rattling down Via Sacra. Mentally replace tourists in T-shirts with tribunes in togas. Imagine the buildings towering and the people buzzing around you while an orator gives a rabble-rousing speech from the Rostrum. If things still look like just a pile of rocks, at least tell yourself, “But Julius Caesar once leaned against these rocks.”
• At the near (east) end of the main square (the Colosseum is to the east) are the foundations of a temple now capped with a peaked wood-and-metal roof.
Temple of Julius Caesar (Tempio del Divo Giulio, or Ara di Cesare: On March 15, in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by political conspirators. After his assassination, Caesar’s body was cremated on this spot (under the metal roof). Afterward, this temple was built to honor him. Peek behind the wall into the small apse area, where a mound of dirt usually has fresh flowers—given to remember the man who, more than any other, personified the greatness of Rome.
Caesar (100-44 B.C.) changed Rome—and the Forum—dramatically. He cleared out many of the wooden market stalls and began to ring the square with even grander buildings. Caesar’s house was located behind the temple, near that clump of trees. He walked right by here on the day he was assassinated (“Beware the Ides of March!” warned a street-corner Etruscan preacher).
Though he was popular with the masses, not everyone liked Caesar’s urban design or his politics. When he assumed dictatorial powers, he was ambushed and stabbed to death by a conspiracy of senators, including his adopted son, Brutus (“Et tu, Brute?”).
The funeral was held here, facing the main square. The citizens gathered, and speeches were made. Mark Antony stood up to say (in Shakespeare’s words), “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” When Caesar’s body was burned, his adoring fans threw anything at hand on the fire, requiring the fire department to come put it out. Later, Emperor Augustus dedicated this temple in his name, making Caesar the first Roman to become a god.
• Continue past the Temple of Julius Caesar, to the open area between the columns of the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina (which we passed earlier) and the boxy brick building (the Curia). You can view these ruins of the Basilica Aemilia from a ramp next to the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, or find the entrance near the Curia (if it’s not closed for archaeological work).
Basilica Aemilia: A basilica was a covered public forum, often serving as a Roman hall of justice. In a society that was as legal-minded as America is today, you needed a lot of lawyers—and a big place to put them. Citizens came here to work out matters such as inheritances and building permits, or to sue somebody.
Notice the layout. It was a long, rectangular building. The stubby columns all in a row form one long, central hall flanked by two side aisles. Medieval Christians required a larger meeting hall for their worship services than Roman temples provided, so they used the spacious Roman basilica as the model for their churches. Cathedrals from France to Spain to England, from Romanesque to Gothic to Renaissance, all have the same basic floor plan as a Roman basilica.
• Now head for the big, well-preserved brick building (just beyond the basilica ruins) with the triangular roof—the Curia. (Ongoing archaeological work may restrict access to the Curia, as well as the Arch of Septimius Severus—described later—and the exit to Capitoline Hill.)
The Curia (Senate House): The Curia was the most important political building in the Forum. While the present building dates from A.D. 283, this was the site of Rome’s official center of government since the birth of the republic. Three hundred senators, elected by the citizens of Rome, met here to debate and create the laws of the land. Their wooden seats once circled the building in three tiers; the Senate president’s podium sat at the far end. The marble floor is from ancient times. Listen to the echoes in this vast room—the acoustics are great.
Rome prided itself on being a republic. Early in the city’s history, its people threw out the king and established rule by elected representatives. Each Roman citizen was free to speak his mind and have a say in public policy. Even when emperors became the supreme authority, the Senate was a power to be reckoned with. The Curia building is well-preserved, having been used as a church since early Christian times. In the 1930s, it was restored and opened to the public as a historic site. (Note: Although Julius Caesar was assassinated in “the Senate,” it wasn’t here—the Senate was temporarily meeting across town.)
A statue and two reliefs inside the Curia help build our mental image of the Forum. The statue, made of porphyry marble in about A.D. 100 (with its head, arms, and feet now missing), was a tribute to an emperor, probably Hadrian or Trajan. The two relief panels may have decorated the Rostrum. Those on the left show people (with big stone tablets) standing in line to burn their debt records following a government amnesty. The other shows the distribution of grain (Rome’s welfare system), some buildings in the background, and the latest fashion in togas.
• Go back down the Senate steps and find the 10-foot-high wall just to the left of the big arch, marked...
Rostrum: Nowhere was Roman freedom more apparent than at this “Speaker’s Corner.” The Rostrum was a raised platform, 10 feet high and 80 feet long, decorated with statues, columns, and the prows of ships.
On a stage like this, Rome’s orators, great and small, tried to draw a crowd and sway public opinion. Mark Antony rose to offer Caesar the laurel-leaf crown of kingship, which Caesar publicly (and hypocritically) refused while privately becoming a dictator. Men such as Cicero railed against the corruption and decadence that came with the city’s newfound wealth. In later years, daring citizens even spoke out against the emperors, reminding them that Rome was once free. Picture the backdrop these speakers would have had—a mountain of marble buildings piling up on Capitoline Hill.
In front of the Rostrum are trees bearing fruits that were sacred to the ancient Romans: olives (provided food, light, and preservatives), figs (tasty), and wine grapes (made a popular export product).
• The big arch to the right of the Rostrum is the...
Arch of Septimius Severus: In imperial times, the Rostrum’s voices of democracy would have been dwarfed by images of the empire, such as the huge six-story-high Arch of Septimius Severus (A.D. 203). The reliefs commemorate the African-born emperor’s battles in Mesopotamia. Near ground level, see soldiers marching captured barbarians back to Rome for the victory parade. Despite Severus’ efficient rule, Rome’s empire was crumbling under the weight of its own corruption, disease, decaying infrastructure, and the constant attacks by foreign “barbarians.”
Remember that Rome lasted 1,000 years—500 years of growth, 200 years of peak power, and 300 years of gradual decay. The fall had many causes, among them the barbarians who pecked away at Rome’s borders. Christians blamed the fall on moral decay. Pagans blamed it on Christians. Socialists blamed it on a shallow economy based on the spoils of war. (Republicans blamed it on Democrats.) Whatever the reasons, the far-flung empire could no longer keep its grip on conquered lands, and it pulled back. Barbarian tribes from Germany and Asia attacked the Italian peninsula and even looted Rome itself in A.D. 410, leveling many of the buildings in the Forum. In 476, when the last emperor checked out and switched off the lights, Europe plunged into centuries of ignorance, poverty, and weak government—the Dark Ages.
But Rome lived on in the Catholic Church. Christianity was the state religion of Rome’s last generations. Emperors became popes (both called themselves “Pontifex Maximus”), senators became bishops, orators became priests, and basilicas became churches. The glory of Rome remains eternal.
• Pass underneath the Arch of Septimius Severus and turn left. If the path is blocked, backtrack toward the Temple of Julius Caesar and around the square. On the slope of Capitoline Hill are the eight remaining columns of the...
Temple of Saturn: These columns framed the entrance to the Forum’s oldest temple (497 B.C.). Inside was a humble, very old wooden statue of the god Saturn. But the statue’s pedestal held the gold bars, coins, and jewels of Rome’s state treasury, the booty collected by conquering generals.
• Standing here, at one of the Forum’s first buildings, look east at the lone, tall...
Column of Phocas: This is the Forum’s last monument (A.D. 608), a gift from the powerful Byzantine Empire to a fallen empire—Rome. Given to commemorate the pagan Pantheon’s becoming a Christian church, it’s like a symbolic last nail in ancient Rome’s coffin. After Rome’s 1,000-year reign, the city was looted by Vandals, the population of a million-plus shrank to about 10,000, and the once-grand city center—the Forum—was abandoned, slowly covered up by centuries of silt and dirt. In the 1700s, an English historian named Edward Gibbon overlooked this spot from Capitoline Hill. Hearing Christian monks singing at these pagan ruins, he looked out at the few columns poking up from the ground, pondered the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and thought, “Hmm, that’s a catchy title...”
• Your tour is over. From the Forum, you have several options:
1. To exit toward the Colosseum, you’ll have to jog through the lower part of Palatine Hill: Head a few steps uphill from the Arch of Titus, and look for the tunnel marked uscita/exit on your left. You’ll pop out just below the entrance facing the Colosseum (see page 870).
2. Exiting past the Arch of Septimius Severus, at the north end of the Forum, leads you to the stairs up to Capitoline Hill (described on page 879).
3. The Forum’s main entrance spills you back out onto Via dei Fori Imperiali, from where you can head to Trajan’s Column, Trajan’s Market, and Museum of the Imperial Forums (described on page 884). Or you can leave via the exit-only next to the Basilica of Constantine, which also leads to Via dei Fori Imperiali.
4. From the Arch of Titus, you can climb Palatine Hill to the top.
(See “Dolce Vita Stroll” map, here.)
This is the city’s chic stroll, from Piazza del Popolo (Metro: Flaminio) down a wonderfully traffic-free section of Via del Corso, and up Via Condotti to the Spanish Steps. It takes place from around 17:00 to 19:00 each evening (Fri and Sat are best), except on Sunday, when it occurs earlier in the afternoon. Leave before 18:00 if you plan to visit the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace), which closes at 19:00 and is closed Monday.
As you stroll, you’ll see shoppers, people watchers, and flirts on the prowl filling this neighborhood of some of Rome’s most fashionable stores (some open after siesta 16:30-19:30). While both the crowds and the shops along Via del Corso have gone downhill recently, elegance survives in the grid of streets between here and the Spanish Steps. If you get hungry during your stroll, see here for descriptions of neighborhood wine bars and restaurants.
To reach Piazza del Popolo, where the stroll starts, take Metro line A to Flaminio and walk south to the square. Delightfully car-free, Piazza del Popolo is marked by an obelisk that was brought to Rome by Augustus after he conquered Egypt. (It used to stand in the Circus Maximus.) In medieval times, this area was just inside Rome’s main entry (for more background on the square, see here).
If starting your stroll early enough, the Baroque church of Santa Maria del Popolo is worth popping into (Mon-Sat until 19:00, Sun until 19:30, next to gate in old wall on north side of square). Inside, look for Raphael’s Chigi Chapel (second on left as you face the main altar) and two paintings by Caravaggio (in the Cerasi Chapel, left of altar; see church listing on here).
From Piazza del Popolo, shop your way down Via del Corso. With the proliferation of shopping malls, many chain stores lining Via del Corso are losing customers and facing hard times. Still, this remains a fine place to feel the pulse of Rome at twilight.
Historians side-trip right down Via Pontefici past the fascist architecture to see the massive, rotting, round-brick Mausoleum of Augustus, topped with overgrown cypress trees. Beyond it, next to the river, is Augustus’ Ara Pacis, enclosed within a protective glass-walled museum (described on here). From the mausoleum, walk down Via Tomacelli to return to Via del Corso and the 21st century.
From Via del Corso, window shoppers should take a left down Via Condotti to join the parade to the Spanish Steps, passing big-name boutiques. The streets that parallel Via Condotti to the south (Borgognona and Frattina) are also elegant and filled with high-end shops. A few streets to the north hides the narrow Via Margutta. This is where Gregory Peck’s Roman Holiday character lived (at #51); today it has a leafy tranquility and is filled with pricey artisan and antique shops.
Historians: Ignore Via Condotti and forget the Spanish Steps. Stay on Via del Corso, which has been straight since Roman times, and walk a half-mile down to the Victor Emmanuel Monument. Climb Michelangelo’s stairway to his glorious (especially when floodlit) square atop Capitoline Hill. Stand on the balcony (just past the mayor’s palace on the right), which overlooks the Forum. As the horizon reddens and cats prowl the unclaimed rubble of ancient Rome, it’s one of the finest views in the city.
(See “Heart of Rome Walk” map, here.)
Rome’s most colorful neighborhood features narrow lanes, intimate piazzas, fanciful fountains, and some of Europe’s best people-watching. During the day, this walk shows off the colorful Campo de’ Fiori market and trendy fashion boutiques as it meanders past major monuments such as the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps.
But when the sun sets, unexpected magic happens. A stroll in the cool of the evening brings out all the romance of the Eternal City. Sit so close to a bubbling fountain that traffic noise evaporates. Jostle with kids to see the gelato flavors. Watch lovers straddling more than the bench. Jaywalk past polizia in flak-proof vests. And marvel at the ramshackle elegance that softens this brutal city for those who were born here and can’t imagine living anywhere else. These are the flavors of Rome, best tasted after dark.
This walk is equally pleasant in reverse order. You could ride the Metro to the Spanish Steps and finish at Campo de’ Fiori, near many recommended restaurants. To lengthen this walk, you could start in Trastevere; see directions on here.
• Start this walk at Campo de’ Fiori, my favorite outdoor dining room (especially after dark—see “Eating in Rome,” page 966). It’s a few blocks west of Largo Argentina, a major transportation hub. Buses #40, #64, and #492 stop both at Largo Argentina and along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (a long block northwest of Campo de’ Fiori). A taxi from Termini Station costs about €8.
Campo de’ Fiori: One of Rome’s most colorful spots, this bohemian piazza hosts a fruit and vegetable market in the morning, cafés in the evening, and pub-crawlers at night. In ancient times, the “Field of Flowers” was an open meadow. Later, Christian pilgrims passed through on their way to the Vatican, and a thriving market developed.
Lording over the center of the square is a statue of Giordano Bruno, an intellectual heretic who was burned on this spot in 1600. The pedestal shows scenes from Bruno’s trial and execution, and reads, “And the flames rose up.” When this statue honoring a heretic was erected in 1889, the Vatican protested, but they were overruled by angry Campo locals. The neighborhood is still known for its free spirit and anti-authoritarian demonstrations.
Campo de’ Fiori is the product of centuries of unplanned urban development. At the east end of the square (behind Bruno), the ramshackle apartments are built right into the old outer wall of ancient Rome’s mammoth Theater of Pompey. This entertainment complex covered several city blocks, stretching from here to Largo Argentina. Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Theater of Pompey, where the Senate was renting space.
The square is surrounded by fun eateries, great for people-watching. Bruno faces the bustling Forno (in the left corner of the square, closed Sun), where takeout pizza bianco is sold hot out of the oven. On weekend nights, when the Campo is packed with beer-drinking kids, the medieval square is transformed into one vast Roman street party.
• If Bruno did a hop, step, and jump forward, then turned right on Via dei Baullari and marched 200 yards, he’d cross the busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele; then, continuing another 150 yards on Via della Cuccagna, he’d find...
Piazza Navona: This oblong square retains the shape of the original racetrack that was built around A.D. 80 by the emperor Domitian. Since ancient times, the square has been a center of Roman life. In the 1800s, the city would flood the square to cool off the neighborhood. (To see the ruins of the original entrance, exit the square at the far—or north—end, then take an immediate left, and look down to the left 25 feet below the current street level. Continue a bit farther if you want to pay €5 to tour the foundations up close.)
The Four Rivers Fountain in the center is the most famous fountain by the man who remade Rome in Baroque style, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Four burly river gods (representing the four continents that were known in 1650) support an Egyptian obelisk. The water of the world gushes everywhere. The Nile has his head covered, since the headwaters were unknown then. The Ganges holds an oar. The Danube turns to admire the obelisk, which Bernini had moved here from a stadium on the Appian Way. And Uruguay’s Río de la Plata tumbles backward in shock, wondering how he ever made the top four. Bernini enlivens the fountain with horses plunging through the rocks and exotic flora and fauna from these newly discovered lands. Homesick Texans may want to find the armadillo. (It’s the big, weird, armor-plated creature behind the Plata river statue.)
The Plata river god is gazing upward at the Church of St. Agnes, worked on by Bernini’s former student-turned-rival, Francesco Borromini. Borromini’s concave facade helps reveal the dome and epitomizes the curved symmetry of Baroque. Tour guides say that Bernini designed his river god to look horrified at Borromini’s work. Or maybe he’s shielding his eyes from St. Agnes’ nakedness, as she was stripped before being martyred. But either explanation is unlikely, since the fountain was completed two years before Borromini even started work on the church.
Piazza Navona is Rome’s most interesting night scene, with street music, artists, fire eaters, local Casanovas, ice cream, and outdoor cafés that are worthy of a splurge if you’ve got time to sit and enjoy Italy’s human river.
• Leave Piazza Navona directly across from Tre Scalini (famous for its rich chocolate ice cream), and go east down Corsia Agonale, past rose peddlers and palm readers. Jog left around the guarded building (the Palazzo Madama, where Italy’s senate meets), and follow the brown sign to the Pantheon, which is straight down Via del Salvatore. After a block, you’ll pass (on your left) the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, with its très French decor and precious Caravaggio paintings. If you’re planning on touring that church, do it now. Otherwise, head for...
The Pantheon: Sit for a while under the portico of the Pantheon (romantically floodlit and moonlit at night). The 40-foot, single-piece granite columns of the Pantheon’s entrance show the scale the ancient Romans built on. The columns support a triangular Greek-style roof with an inscription that says “M. Agrippa” built it. In fact, it was built (fecit) by Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 120), who gave credit to the builder of an earlier structure. This impressive entranceway gives no clue that the greatest wonder of the building is inside—a domed room that inspired later domes, including Michelangelo’s St. Peter’s and Brunelleschi’s Duomo (in Florence).
If it’s open, pop into the Pantheon for a look around (interior described on here). Also consider detouring to several interesting churches near the Pantheon before continuing on the walk (Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with its purely Gothic interior, and San Ignazio, with its 3-D Baroque illusions, are just a few steps away). For details on these other churches, see here.
• With your back to the Pantheon, veer to the right, uphill toward the yellow sign that reads Casa del Caffè at the Tazza d’Oro coffee shop on Via Orfani.
From the Pantheon to the Trevi Fountain: Tazza d’Oro Casa del Caffè, one of Rome’s top coffee shops, dates back to the days when this area was licensed to roast coffee beans. Locals come here for a shot of espresso or, when it’s hot, a refreshing granita di caffè con panna (coffee slush with cream).
• From here, our walk continues past some interesting landmarks to the Trevi Fountain. But if you’d like to get there a bit more directly, you can bear right past the coffee shop onto Via de’Pastini, which leads through Piazza di Pietra (with some surviving chunks of the Temple of Hadrian—described on here), then across busy Via del Corso, where it becomes the touristy, pedestrianized Via delle Muratte and heads straight for the fountain.
If you’d rather stick with me for the slightly longer version, instead bear left at the coffee shop and continue up Via degli Orfani to a big square.
Piazza Capranica is home to the big, plain Florentine Renaissance-style Palazzo Capranica (directly opposite as you enter the square). Big shots, like the Capranica family, built towers on their palaces—not for any military use, but just to show off.
• Leave the piazza to the right of the palace, heading down Via in Aquiro.
The street Via in Aquiro leads to a sixth-century B.C. Egyptian obelisk taken as a trophy by Augustus after his victory in Egypt over Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The obelisk was set up as a sundial. Follow the zodiac markings to the well-guarded front door. This is Italy’s parliament building, where the lower house meets; you may see politicians, political demonstrations, and TV cameras.
• One block to your right is Piazza Colonna, where we’re heading next—unless you like gelato...
A one-block detour to the left (past Albergo Nazionale) brings you to Rome’s most famous gelateria. Giolitti’s is cheap for takeout or elegant and splurge-worthy for a sit among classy locals (open daily until past midnight, Via Uffici del Vicario 40); get your gelato in a cone (cono) or cup (coppetta).
Piazza Colonna features a huge second-century column. Its reliefs depict the victories of Emperor Marcus Aurelius over the barbarians. When Marcus died in A.D. 180, the barbarians began to get the upper hand, beginning Rome’s long three-century fall. The big, important-looking palace houses the headquarters for the prime minister’s cabinet.
Noisy Via del Corso is Rome’s main north-south boulevard. It’s named for the Berber horse races—without riders—that took place here during Carnevale. This wild tradition continued until the late 1800s, when a series of fatal accidents (including, reportedly, one in front of Queen Margherita) led to its cancellation. Historically the street was filled with meat shops. When it became one of Rome’s first gas-lit streets in 1854, these butcher shops were banned and replaced by classier boutiques, jewelers, and antique dealers. Nowadays the northern part of Via del Corso is closed to traffic, and for a few hours every evening it becomes a wonderful parade of Romans out for a stroll (see the “Dolce Vita Stroll,” earlier).
• Cross Via del Corso to enter a big palatial building with columns, which houses the Galleria Alberto Sordi shopping mall (with convenient WCs). Inside, take the fork to the right and exit at the back. (If you’re here after 22:00, when the mall is closed, circle around the right side of the Galleria on Via dei Sabini.) Once out the back, head up Via de Crociferi, to the roar of the water, lights, and people at the...
Trevi Fountain: The Trevi Fountain, which may still be under renovation—and pumped dry—when you visit, shows how Rome took full advantage of the abundance of water brought into the city by its great aqueducts. This fountain celebrated the reopening of several of ancient Rome’s aqueducts in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. After a thousand years of surviving on poor-quality well water, Romans could once again enjoy pure water brought from the distant hills east of the city.
This watery Baroque avalanche by Nicola Salvi was completed in 1762. Salvi used the palace behind the fountain as a theatrical backdrop for the figure of “Ocean,” who represents water in every form. The statue surfs through his wet kingdom—with water gushing from 24 spouts and tumbling over 30 different kinds of plants—while Triton blows his conch shell.
The magic of the square is enhanced by the fact that no streets directly approach it. You can hear the excitement as you draw near, and then—bam!—you’re there. The scene is always lively, with lucky Romeos clutching dates while unlucky ones clutch beers. Romantics toss a coin over their shoulder, thinking it will give them a wish and assure their return to Rome. That may sound silly, but every year I go through this tourist ritual...and it actually seems to work.
Take some time to people-watch (whisper a few breathy bellos or bellas) before leaving. There’s a peaceful zone at water level on the far right.
• From the Trevi Fountain, we’re 10 minutes from our next stop, the Spanish Steps. Just use a map to get there, or follow these directions: Facing the Trevi Fountain, go forward, walking along the right side of the fountain on Via della Stamperia. Cross busy Via del Tritone. Continue 100 yards and veer right at Via Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, a street that changes its name to Via Propaganda before ending at the...
Spanish Steps: Piazza di Spagna, with the very popular Spanish Steps, is named for the Spanish Embassy to the Vatican, which has been here for 300 years. It’s been the hangout of many Romantics over the years (Keats, Wagner, Openshaw, Goethe, and others). In the 1700s, British aristocrats on the Grand Tour of Europe came here to ponder Rome’s decay. The British poet John Keats pondered his mortality, then died of tuberculosis at age 25 in the orange building on the right side of the steps. Fellow Romantic Lord Byron lived across the square at #66.
The wide, curving staircase is one of Rome’s iconic sights. Its 138 steps lead sharply up from Piazza di Spagna, forming a butterfly shape as they fan out around a central terrace. The design culminates at the top in an obelisk framed between two Baroque church towers.
The Sinking Boat Fountain at the foot of the steps, built by Bernini or his father, Pietro, is powered by an aqueduct. Actually, all of Rome’s fountains are aqueduct-powered; their spurts are determined by the water pressure provided by the various aqueducts. This one, for instance, is much weaker than Trevi’s gush.
The piazza is a thriving scene at night. Window-shop along Via Condotti, which stretches away from the steps. This is where Gucci and other big names cater to the trendsetting jet set. It’s clear that the main sight around here is not the famous steps, but the people who sit on them.
• Our walk is finished. If you’d like to reach the top of the steps sweat-free, take the free elevator just outside the Spagna Metro stop (to the left, as you face the steps; elevator closes at 21:00). A free WC is underground in the piazza near the Metro entrance, by the middle palm tree (10:00-19:30). The nearby McDonald’s (as you face the Spanish Steps, go right one block) is big and lavish, with a salad bar and WC. When you’re ready to leave, you can zip home on the Metro (usually open until 23:30, Fri-Sat until 1:30 in the morning) or grab a taxi at either the north or south side of the piazza.
▲▲Palatine Hill (Monte Palatino)
▲▲▲Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini)
Map: Capitoline Hill & Piazza Venezia
Santa Maria in Aracoeli Church
The Imperial Forums and Via dei Fori Imperiali
North of Via dei Fori Imperiali
▲Monti Neighborhood: Village Rome
▲St. Peter-in-Chains Church (San Pietro in Vincoli)
Piazza di Pietra (Piazza of Stone)
Synagogue (Sinagoga) and Jewish Museum (Museo Ebraico)
▲▲▲St. Peter’s Basilica (Basilica San Pietro)
▲▲▲Vatican Museum (Musei Vaticani)
▲▲▲Borghese Gallery (Galleria Borghese)
Map: Borghese Gallery—Ground Floor
Etruscan Museum (Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia)
Between Piazza del Popolo and the Pantheon
▲▲Museo dell’Ara Pacis (Museum of the Altar of Peace)
▲▲Catacombs of Priscilla (Catacombe di Priscilla)
▲▲▲National Museum of Rome (Museo Nazionale Romano Palazzo Massimo alle Terme)
▲Baths of Diocletian (Terme di Diocleziano)
▲Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria
Baroque Surprises Stroll on Via XX Settembre
▲▲Church of San Giovanni in Laterano
Museum of the Liberation of Rome (Museo Storico della Liberazione di Roma)
▲Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
▲Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere
Porta San Paolo and Museo della Via Ostiense
Testaccio Market (Mercato di Testaccio)
▲Montemartini Museum (Musei Capitolini Centrale Montemartini)
▲St. Paul’s Outside the Walls (Basilica San Paolo Fuori le Mura)
Palace of the Civilization of Labor (Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro)
▲Museum of Roman Civilization (Museo della Civiltà Romana)
Baths of Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla)
I’ve clustered Rome’s sights into walkable neighborhoods, some quite close together (see “Rome’s Neighborhoods” map on here). Save transit time by grouping your sightseeing according to location. For example, the Colosseum and the Forum are a few minutes’ walk from Capitoline Hill; a 15-minute walk beyond that is the Pantheon. I like to tour these sights in one great day, starting at the Colosseum, then the Forum, then Capitoline Hill, and from there either to the Pantheon or back to the Colosseum (by way of additional ruins along Via dei Fori Imperiali).
The core of ancient Rome, where the grandest monuments were built, is between the Colosseum and Capitoline Hill. Among the ancient forums, a few modern sights have popped up. I’ve listed these sights from south to north, starting with the biggies—the Colosseum and Forum—and continuing up to Capitoline Hill and Piazza Venezia. Then, as a pleasant conclusion to your busy day, consider my relaxing self-guided walk back south along the broad, parklike main drag—Via dei Fori Imperiali—with some enticing detours to nearby sights.
This 2,000-year-old building is the classic example of Roman engineering. Used as a venue for entertaining the masses, this colossal, functional stadium is one of Europe’s most recognizable landmarks. Whether you’re playing gladiator or simply marveling at the remarkable ancient design and construction, the Colosseum gets a unanimous thumbs-up.
Background: Built when the Roman Empire was at its peak in A.D. 80, the Colosseum represents Rome at its grandest. The Flavian Amphitheater (the Colosseum’s real name) was an arena for gladiator contests and public spectacles. When killing became a spectator sport, the Romans wanted to share the fun with as many people as possible, so they stuck two semicircular theaters together to create a freestanding amphitheater. The outside (where slender cypress trees stand today) was decorated with a 100-foot-tall bronze statue of Nero that gleamed in the sunlight. In a later age, the colossal structure was nicknamed a “coloss-eum,” the wonder of its age. Towering 150 feet high, it could accommodate 50,000 roaring fans (100,000 thumbs).
Exterior: The exterior says a lot about the Romans. They were great engineers, not artists, and the building is more functional than beautiful. (If ancient Romans visited the US today as tourists, they might send home postcards of our greatest works of “art”—freeways.) While the essential structure of the Colosseum is Roman, the four-story facade is decorated with mostly Greek columns—Doric-like Tuscan columns on the ground level, Ionic on the second story, Corinthian on the next level, and at the top, half-columns with a mix of all three. Originally, copies of Greek statues stood in the arches of the middle two stories, giving a veneer of sophistication to this arena of death.
Only a third of the original Colosseum remains. Earthquakes destroyed some of it, but most was carted off as easy pre-cut stones for other buildings during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Interior: The games took place in the oval-shaped arena, 280 feet long by 165 feet wide. When you look down into the arena, you’re seeing the underground passages beneath the playing surface (which can only be visited on a private tour). The arena was originally covered with a wooden floor, then sprinkled with sand (arena in Latin). The bit of reconstructed floor gives you an accurate sense of the original arena level and the subterranean warren where animals and prisoners were held. As in modern stadiums, the spectators ringed the playing area in bleacher seats that slanted up from the arena floor. Around you are the big brick masses that supported the tiers of seats.
The games began with a few warm-up acts—dogs bloodying themselves attacking porcupines, female gladiators fighting each other, or a one-legged man battling a dwarf. Then came the main event—the gladiators.
“Hail, Caesar! (Ave, Caesar!) We who are about to die salute you!” The gladiators would enter the arena from the west end, parade around to the sound of trumpets, acknowledge the Vestal Virgins (on the south side), then stop at the emperor’s box (supposedly marked today by the cross that stands at the “50-yard line” on the north side—although no one knows for sure where it was). They would then raise their weapons, shout, and salute—and begin fighting. The fights pitted men against men, men against beasts, and beasts against beasts. Picture 50,000 screaming people around you (did gladiators get stage fright?), and imagine that they want to see you die.
Consider the value of these games in placating and controlling the huge Roman populace. Imagine never having seen an actual lion, and suddenly one jumps out to chase a prisoner in the arena. Seeing the king of beasts slain by a gladiator reminded the masses of man’s triumph over nature.
Cost and Hours: €12 combo-ticket includes Roman Forum and Palatine Hill (see here), open daily 8:30 until one hour before sunset (see here for times), last entry one hour before closing, audioguide-€5.50, Metro: Colosseo, tel. 06-3996-7700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en.
Avoiding Lines: Crowds tend to be thinner (and lines shorter) in the afternoon (especially after 15:00 in summer); this is also true at the Forum.
You can save lots of time by buying your combo-ticket in advance, having the Roma Pass, booking a guided tour, or renting an audioguide or videoguide. Here are the options:
1. Buy your combo-ticket (or Roma Pass) at one of the less-crowded ancient sites. First check how long the line is at the Forum entrance facing the Colosseum. If that’s also crowded, head to the Palatine Hill entrance, 150 yards away on Via di San Gregorio (facing the Forum, with Colosseum at your back, go left down the street). You can also buy a Roma Pass at the tobacco shop in the Colosseo Metro station, the information center on Via dei Fori Imperiali (see here), or other sights around town. It should cost the same no matter where you buy it.
2. Buy a combo-ticket online at www.coopculture.it (€2 booking fee, not changeable). The “free tickets” you’ll see listed are valid only for EU citizens with ID.
3. Pay to join an official guided tour, or rent an audioguide or videoguide (see “Tours,” next below). This lets you march right up to the Colosseum’s guided visits (Visite Guidate) desk, thus bypassing the ticket lines. Even if you don’t use the device or accompany the guided tour, the extra cost might be worth it just to skip the ticket line.
4. Hire a private walking-tour guide. Guides of varying quality linger outside the Colosseum, offering tours that allow you to skip the line. Be aware that these private guides may try to mislead you into thinking the Colosseum lines are longer than they really are. For more on this option, see “Tours” below.
Warning: Beware of the greedy gladiators. For a fee, the incredibly crude, modern-day gladiators snuff out their cigarettes and pose for photos. They’re officially banned from panhandling in this area, but you may still see them, hoping to intimidate easy-to-swindle tourists into paying too much money for a photo op. (If you go for it, €4-5 for one photo usually keeps them appeased.) Also, look out for pickpockets and con artists in this prime tourist spot.
Getting There: The Colosseo Metro stop on line B is just across the street from the monument. Buses #53, #85, #87, and #175 stop along Via dei Fori Imperiali near the Colosseum entrance, the Forum entrance, and Piazza Venezia.
Getting In: If you need to buy a ticket or sign up for a guided tour, follow the signs for the appropriate line. With a combo-ticket or Roma Pass in hand, look for signs for ticket holders or Roma Pass, allowing you to bypass the long lines.
Tours: A dry but fact-filled audioguide is available just past the turnstiles (€5.50/2 hours). A handheld videoguide senses where you are in the site and plays related clips (€6).
Official guided tours in English depart nearly hourly between 10:00 and 17:00, and last 45-60 minutes (€5 plus Colosseum ticket, purchase inside the Colosseum near the ticket booth marked Visite Guidate; if you’re lost, ask a guard to direct you to the desk).
A 1.5-hour “Colosseum, Underground and Third Ring” tour takes you through restricted areas, including the top floor and underground passageways, which are off-limits to regular visitors. While interesting, this tour certainly isn’t essential to appreciating the Colosseum. Although it’s possible to sign up for the tour at the Colosseum’s guided tours window, it’s strongly advised you reserve at least a day in advance, either by phone or online. The tour is operated by CoopCulture, a private company (€9 plus Colosseum ticket, www.coopculture.it). Call 06-3996-7700 during business hours: Mon-Fri 9:00-18:00, Sat 9:00-14:00 (closed Sun, no same-day reservations). After dialing, wait for English instructions on how to reach a live operator, then reserve a time and pre-pay with a credit card. Without a reservation, you can try to join the next available tour (may be in Italian): Once you have your Colosseum entrance ticket and are at the turnstiles, look for the tour meeting point just past the ticket desk; pay the guide directly.
Private guides stand outside the Colosseum looking for business (€25-30/2-hour tour of the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill). If booking a private guide, make sure that your tour will start right away and that the ticket you receive covers all three sights: the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill.
You can also download this tour as a free Rick Steves audio tour (see here).
Services: A WC (often crowded) is inside the Colosseum.
This well-preserved arch, which stands between the Colosseum and the Forum, commemorates a military coup and, more important, the acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Empire. When the ambitious Emperor Constantine (who had a vision that he’d win under the sign of the cross) defeated his rival Maxentius in A.D. 312, Constantine became sole emperor of the Roman Empire and legalized Christianity. The arch is free to see—always open and viewable.
This is ancient Rome’s birthplace and civic center, and the common ground between Rome’s famous seven hills. As just about anything important that happened in ancient Rome happened here, it’s arguably the most important piece of real estate in Western civilization. While only a few fragments of that glorious past remain, history seekers find plenty to ignite their imaginations amid the half-broken columns and arches.
Cost and Hours: €12 combo-ticket includes Colosseum and Palatine Hill (see here), open daily 8:30 until one hour before sunset, last entry one hour before closing, audioguide-€5, Metro: Colosseo, tel. 06-3996-7700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en.
Visiting the Forum: See my self-guided walk on here.
The hill overlooking the Forum is jam-packed with history—“the huts of Romulus,” the huge Imperial Palace, a view of the Circus Maximus—but there’s only the barest skeleton of rubble left to tell the story.
We get our word “palace” from this hill, where the emperors chose to live. It was once so filled with palaces that later emperors had to build out. (Looking up at it from the Forum, you see the substructure that supported these long-gone palaces.) The Palatine museum contains statues and frescoes that help you imagine the luxury of the imperial Palatine. From the pleasant garden, you’ll get an overview of the Forum. On the far side, unless excavations are blocking the viewpoint, look down into an emperor’s private stadium and then beyond at the grassy Circus Maximus, once a chariot course. Imagine the cheers, jeers, and furious betting.
While many tourists consider Palatine Hill just extra credit after the Forum, it offers an insight into the greatness of Rome that’s well worth the effort. (And, if you’re visiting the Colosseum or Forum, you’ve got a ticket whether you like it or not.)
Cost and Hours: €12 combo-ticket includes Roman Forum and Colosseum—see here, open same hours as Forum and Colosseum, audioguide-€5, Metro: Colosseo, tel. 06-3996-7700, www.archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en.
Getting In: The closest Metro stop is Colosseo. From the Metro, the nearest entrance is the one to the Forum, across from the Colosseum—once inside the Forum, just climb the hill from the Arch of Titus. The main Palatine Hill entrance is on Via di San Gregorio (facing the Forum with the Colosseum at your back, it’s down the street to your left).
Services: WCs are at the ticket office when you enter, at the museum in the center of the site, and hiding among the orange trees in the Farnese Gardens.
This 2,500-year-old cistern-like prison is where, according to Christian tradition, the Romans imprisoned Saints Peter and Paul. Though it was long a charming and historic sight, its artifacts have been removed, and today it’s run by a commercial tour-bus company charging €5 for a cheesy “multimedia” walk-through. Don’t go in. Instead, stand outside and imagine how this dank cistern once housed prisoners of the emperor. Amid fat rats and rotting corpses, unfortunate humans awaited slow deaths. It’s said that a miraculous fountain sprang up inside so Peter could convert and baptize his jailers, who were also subsequently martyred.
The legendary “Mouth of Truth” at the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin—a few blocks southwest of the other sights listed here—draws a playful crowd. Stick your hand in the mouth of the gaping stone face in the porch wall. As the legend goes (and was popularized by the 1953 film Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn), if you’re a liar, your hand will be gobbled up. The mouth is only accessible when the church gate is open, but it’s always (partially) visible through the gate, even when closed. If the church itself is open, step inside to see one of the few unaltered medieval church interiors in Rome. Notice the mismatched ancient columns and beautiful cosmatesque floor—a centuries-old example of recycling.
Cost and Hours: €0.50 suggested donation, daily 9:30-17:50, closes earlier off-season, Piazza Bocca della Verità, near the north end of Circus Maximus, tel. 06-678-7759.
Of Rome’s famous seven hills, this is the smallest, tallest, and most famous—home of the ancient Temple of Jupiter and the center of city government for 2,500 years. There are several ways to get to the top of Capitoline Hill. If you’re coming from the north (from Piazza Venezia), take Michelangelo’s impressive stairway to the right of the big, white Victor Emmanuel Monument. Coming from the southeast (the Forum), take the steep staircase near the Arch of Septimius Severus. From near Trajan’s Forum along Via dei Fori Imperiali, take the winding road. All three converge at the top, in the square called Campidoglio (kahm-pee-DOHL-yoh).
This square atop the hill, once the religious and political center of ancient Rome, is still the home of the city’s government. In the 1530s, the pope called on Michelangelo to re-establish this square as a grand center. Michelangelo placed the ancient equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius as its focal point. Effective. (The original statue is now in the adjacent museum.) The twin buildings on either side are the Capitoline Museums. Behind the replica of the statue is the mayoral palace (Palazzo Senatorio).
Michelangelo intended that people approach the square from his grand stairway off Piazza Venezia. From the top of the stairway, you see the new Renaissance face of Rome, with its back to the Forum. Michelangelo gave the buildings the “giant order”—huge pilasters make the existing two-story buildings feel one-storied and more harmonious with the new square. Notice how the statues atop these buildings welcome you and then draw you in.
The terraces just downhill (past either side of the mayor’s palace) offer grand views of the Forum. To the left of the mayor’s palace is a copy of the famous she-wolf statue on a column. Farther down is il nasone (“the big nose”), a refreshing water fountain (see photo). Block the spout with your fingers, and water spurts up for drinking. Romans joke that a cheap Roman boy takes his date out for a drink at il nasone. Near the she-wolf statue is the staircase leading to a shortcut to the Victor Emmanuel Monument (see sidebar).
Home of ancient Rome’s most famous statues and art are housed in the two palaces (Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo) that flank the equestrian statue in the Campidoglio. They’re connected by an underground passage that leads to the Tabularium, an ancient building with panoramic views of the Roman Forum.
Cost and Hours: €13, Tue-Sun 9:00-20:00, closed Mon, last entry one hour before closing, audioguide-€5, tel. 06-0608, www.museicapitolini.org.
Visiting the Museums: Enter at the Palazzo dei Conservatori (on your right as you face the equestrian statue), cross underneath the square (beneath the Palazzo Senatorio, the mayoral palace, not open to public), and exit from the Palazzo Nuovo (on your left).
With lavish rooms and several great statues, the worthwhile Palazzo dei Conservatori claims to be one of the world’s oldest museums, founded in 1471 when a pope gave ancient statues to the citizens of Rome. Many of the museum’s statues have gone on to become instantly recognizable cultural icons, including the 13th-century Capitoline She-Wolf (the little statues of Romulus and Remus were added in the Renaissance). Don’t miss the Boy Extracting a Thorn and the enchanting Commodus as Hercules. Behind Commodus is a statue of his dad, Marcus Aurelius, on a horse. The greatest surviving equestrian statue of antiquity, this was the original centerpiece of the square (where a copy stands today). Christians in the Dark Ages thought that the statue’s hand was raised in blessing, which probably led to their misidentifying him as Constantine, the first Christian emperor. While most pagan statues were destroyed by Christians, “Constantine” was spared.
The museum’s second-floor café, Caffè Capitolino, has a splendid patio offering city views. It’s lovely at sunset (public entrance for non-museum-goers off Piazza Caffarelli and through door #4).
The Tabularium, built in the first century B.C., once held the archives of ancient Rome. (The word Tabularium comes from “tablet,” on which Romans wrote their laws.) You won’t see any tablets, but you will see a stunning head-on view of the Forum from the windows. The Palazzo Nuovo houses mostly portrait busts of forgotten emperors. But it also has two must-see statues: the Dying Gaul and the Capitoline Venus (both on the first floor up).
A clever shortcut lets you go directly from Piazza del Campidoglio, the square atop Capitoline Hill, to Santa Maria in Aracoeli Church and an upper level of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, avoiding long flights of stairs. Facing the square’s equestrian statue, head to the left, climbing the wide set of stairs near the she-wolf statue. Midway up the stairs (at the column), turn left to reach the back entrance to the Aracoeli Church. To reach the Victor Emmanuel Monument, pass the column and continue to the top of the steps, pass through the iron gate, and enter the small unmarked door at #13 on the right. You’ll soon emerge on a café terrace that leads to the monument and the Rome from the Sky elevator.
The church atop Capitoline Hill is old and dear to the hearts of Romans. It stands on the site where Emperor Augustus (supposedly) had a premonition of the coming of Mary and Christ standing on an “altar in the sky” (ara coeli). The church is Rome in a nutshell, where you can time-travel across 2,000 years by standing in one spot.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily April-Oct 9:00-12:30 & 15:00-18:30, Nov-March 9:00-12:30 & 14:30-17:30, tel. 06-6976-3839.
This vast square, dominated by the big, white Victor Emmanuel Monument, is a major transportation hub and the focal point of modern Rome. With your back to the monument (you’ll get the best views from the terrace by the guards and eternal flame), look down Via del Corso, the city’s axis, surrounded by Rome’s classiest shopping district. In the 1930s, Benito Mussolini whipped up Italy’s nationalistic fervor from a balcony above the square (it’s the less-grand building on the left). Fascist masses filled the square screaming, “Four more years!”—or something like that. Mussolini created the boulevard Via dei Fori Imperiali (to your right, capped by Trajan’s Column) to open up views of the Colosseum in the distance. Mussolini lied to his people, mixing fear and patriotism to push his country to the right and embroil the Italians in expensive and regrettable wars. In 1945, they shot Mussolini and hung him from a meat hook in Milan.
With your back still to the monument, circle around the left side. At the back end of the monument, look down into the ditch on your left to see the ruins of an ancient apartment building from the first century A.D.; part of it was transformed into a tiny church (faded frescoes and bell tower). Rome was built in layers—almost everywhere you go, there’s an earlier version beneath your feet. (The hop-on, hop-off 110open Bus stops just downhill from here.)
Continuing on, you reach two staircases leading up Capitoline Hill. One is Michelangelo’s grand staircase up to the Campidoglio. The steeper of the two leads to Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a good example of the earliest style of Christian church. The contrast between this climb-on-your-knees ramp to God’s house and Michelangelo’s elegant stairs illustrates the changes Renaissance humanism brought civilization.
From the bottom of Michelangelo’s stairs, look right several blocks down the street to see a condominium actually built upon the surviving ancient pillars and arches of Teatro di Marcello.
This oversize monument to Italy’s first king, built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country’s unification in 1861, was part of Italy’s push to overcome the new country’s strong regionalism and create a national identity. The scale of the monument is over-the-top: 200 feet high, 500 feet wide. The 43-foot-long statue of the king on his high horse is one of the biggest equestrian statues in the world. The king’s moustache forms an arc five feet long, and a person could sit within the horse’s hoof. At the base of this statue, Italy’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (flanked by Italian flags and armed guards) is watched over by the goddess Roma (with the gold mosaic background).
With its gleaming white sheen (from a recent scrubbing) and enormous scale, the monument provides a vivid sense of what Ancient Rome looked like at its peak—imagine the Forum filled with shiny, grandiose buildings like this one.
Cost and Hours: Monument—free, daily 9:30-18:30, a few WCs scattered throughout, tel. 06-6920-2049. Elevator—€7, Mon-Thu 9:30-18:30, Fri-Sun 9:30-19:30, ticket office closes 45 minutes earlier, WC at entrance, tel. 06-679-3598; follow ascensori panoramici signs inside the Victor Emmanuel Monument or take the shortcut from Capitoline Hill (no elevator access from street level).
Visiting the Monument: The “Vittoriano” (as locals call it) is open and free to the public. You can simply climb the front stairs, or go inside from one of several entrances: midway up the monument through doorways flanking the central statue, on either side at street level, and at the base of the colonnade (two-thirds of the way up, near the shortcut from Capitoline Hill). The little-visited Museum of the Risorgimento fills several floors with displays (well-described in English) on the movement and war that led to the unification of Italy in 1870. A section on the lower east side hosts temporary exhibits of minor works by major artists (€5 to enter museum, temporary exhibits around €10, tel. 06-322-5380, www.comunicareorganizzando.it). A café is at the base of the top colonnade, on the monument’s east side.
You can climb the stairs to the midway point for a decent view, keep climbing to the base of the colonnade for a better view, or, for the best view, ride the Rome from the Sky (Roma dal Cielo) elevator, which zips you from the top of the stair climb (at the back of the monument) to the rooftop for the grandest, 360-degree view of the center of Rome—even better than from the top of St. Peter’s dome. Helpful panoramic diagrams describe the skyline, with powerful binoculars available for zooming in on particular sights. It’s best in late afternoon, when it’s beginning to cool off and Rome glows.
The original Roman Forum is the main attraction for today’s tourists, but several more forums and ruins—the legacy of later emperors (especially Trajan)—line the broad, Mussolini-built Via dei Fori Imperiali, which runs from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. Today the imperial forums are out in the open, free to view 24/7, and linked by this self-guided walk (rated ▲▲). Visiting here is especially nice now that the once-busy street has been closed to private car traffic—and, on Sundays and holidays, to all vehicles.
Self-Guided Walk: For an overview of the entire archaeological area, take this walk from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum.
• Start in Piazza Venezia.
Piazza Venezia: Mussolini’s office was here, and the Fascist dictator longed to see the Colosseum from his window. So this self-styled modern emperor leveled an entire neighborhood, dug up the forum ruins, and ran a strip of pavement right down the middle, creating this wide, straight boulevard directly to the Colosseum. (For more on Piazza Venezia, see the listing earlier.)
• Head in the direction of the Colosseum, walking along the left side of Via dei Fori Imperiali. At the start of the boulevard, the big park with umbrella pines stands in front of...
Trajan’s Forum: Rome peaked under Emperor Trajan (ruled A.D. 98-117), when the empire stretched from England to the Sahara, from Spain to the Fertile Crescent. A triumphant Trajan returned to Rome with his booty and shook it all over the city. He extended the Forum by building his own commercial, political, and religious center nearby, complete with temples, law courts, a semicircular shopping mall, and a monumental column covered with detailed carvings that tell the story of one of his most famous conquests.
This was the largest forum ever, and its opulence astounded even jaded Romans. In Roman times, you would have entered at the Colosseum end through a triumphal arch and been greeted in the main square by a large statue of the soldier-king on a horse. Continuing on, you’d enter the Basilica Ulpia (the gray granite columns near Trajan’s Column), the largest law court of its day. Finally, at the far end, you would have found Trajan’s Column, flanked by two libraries that contained the world’s knowledge in Greek and Latin. Balconies on the libraries gave close-up looks at the upper reliefs of the column, in case anyone doubted the outcome of Trajan’s war.
• Speaking of which: Rising 140 feet above Trajan’s Forum (circle it on the sidewalk above for a complete view) is...
Trajan’s Column: The world’s grandest column from antiquity is decorated with a spiral relief of 2,500 figures trumpeting the emperor’s exploits. It has stood for centuries as a symbol of a truly cosmopolitan civilization. At one point, the ashes of Trajan and his wife were held in the base, and the sun glinted off a polished bronze statue of Trajan at the top. (Today, St. Peter is on top.) Built as a stack of 17 marble doughnuts, the column is hollow (note the small window slots) with a spiral staircase inside, leading up to the balcony.
The relief unfolds like a scroll, telling the story of Rome’s last and greatest foreign conquest, Trajan’s defeat of Dacia (modern-day Romania). Originally, the entire story was painted in bright colors. If you were to unwind the scroll, it would stretch over two football fields—it’s far longer than the frieze around the Greek Parthenon. (An unscrolled copy is in E.U.R.’s Museum of Roman Civilization; see here.)
• Continue through the park about 150 yards down Via dei Fori Imperiali. Detour left onto a pedestrian walkway, with good views of Trajan’s entire ensemble. Below the bridge are the foundations of the medieval-era neighborhood that was cleared out to build the boulevard. Under these medieval ruins lie ancient ones.
The big, semicircular structure nestled into the cutaway curve of Quirinal Hill is...
Trajan’s Market: This was likely part shopping mall, part warehouse, and part administration building and/or government offices. For now the conventional wisdom holds that at ground level, the 13 tall (shallow) arches housed shops selling fresh fruit, vegetables, and flowers to people who passed by on the street. The 26 arched windows (above) lit a covered walkway lined with shops that sold wine and olive oil. On the roof (now lined with a metal railing) ran a street that likely held still more shops, making about 150 in all. Shoppers could browse through goods from every corner of Rome’s vast empire—exotic fruits from Africa, spices from Asia, and fish-and-chips from Londinium.
Above the semicircle, the upper floors of the complex housed bureaucrats in charge of a crucial element of city life: doling out free grain to unemployed citizens, who lived off the wealth plundered from distant lands. Better to pacify them than risk a riot. Above the offices, at the very top, rises a tower added in the Middle Ages.
If you’d like to walk around the market complex and see some excavated statues, visit the Museum of the Imperial Forums (described later; enter just uphill from Trajan’s Column).
• Returning to the main street, continue toward the Colosseum for about 100 more yards.
Emperor Statues and More Forums: A bronze statue of Emperor Trajan stands beside Trajan’s Forum. Notice the date on the pedestal—Anno XI. The statue was erected by Mussolini in “the 11th year of the Fascist Renovation of Italy.” Mussolini came to power in 1922, so this would be from 1933. Across the street is a similar statue of Julius Caesar. Caesar built the first of the imperial forums in 46 B.C., as an extension of the Roman Forum. Behind him stand the three remaining columns of his forum’s Temple of Venus—the patron goddess of the Julian family.
• Continue along (down the left side).
You soon come to Emperor Augustus in his famous hailing-a-cab pose (a copy of the original, which you can see at the Vatican Museum). This is actually his “commander talking to his people” pose. Behind him was the Forum of Augustus, marked by the four remaining columns of the Temple of Mars. The main thing that survives of the forum is the towering, ugly wall built to protect Augustus’ temple from city fires.
Farther along is a statue of Emperor Nerva, trying but failing to have the commanding presence of Augustus. Gazing across the boulevard from here to the Roman Forum, you have good views of the back side of the Curia, where the senate met.
A few steps beyond the remains of a medieval tower are some fine surviving marble reliefs from Nerva’s Forum showing religious rituals. The tower was a medieval noble family’s fortified residence—a reminder that the fall of Rome left a power vacuum, and with no central authority, it was every big shot for himself.
• Cross the busy Via Cavour. If you were to head up this street two blocks, then turn left (near the Cavour Metro stop), you’d be immersed in the Monti district, one of Rome’s most characteristic neighborhoods (described later). But for now, continue along the main drag.
You’ll pass by the main entry to the Roman Forum (on the right side of Via dei Fori Imperiali) and the information center (on the left), with a handy café, info desk, and WC. Also on the right side of the street is the back side of the vast Basilica of Constantine (see here), with its apse from a time before there were churches.
• Cross the street (using the handy crosswalk directly in front of the information center), and turn your attention to the wall just below the arches of the basilica. (Note: This area may be torn up due to construction of a new Metro line.)
Four Black-and-White Maps: These chart the growth of the Roman Empire. As if to validate his greatness, Mussolini made sure to celebrate the greatness of Rome. He posted this handy history lesson, showing the rise (but not the fall) of the greatest civilization in Western history: 509 B.C.—Roman Republic established; 200 B.C.—Rome after the Punic War; A.D. 1—Rome under Augustus, during the time of Christ when St. Peter was here; and A.D. 100—during Trajan’s rule, with the empire at its peak. A fifth plaque is missing. It showed Italy in 1936, after Mussolini had made his own mark on history by conquering Ethiopia.
• Our walk is over. From here, you have several options. The Colosseum (and a handy Metro stop) are straight ahead. To visit St. Peter-in-Chains Church, head up the hill above the Metro stop. If you haven’t yet toured the Roman Forum, you can enter either along Via dei Fori Imperiali (just right of the maps), or use the entrance facing the Colosseum.
Several worthwhile sights sit across Via dei Fori Imperiali from the Roman Forum—and offer a break from the crowds.
The museum, housed in buildings from Trajan’s Market, features discoveries from the forums built by the different emperors. Though its collection of statues is not impressive compared to Rome’s other museums, it’s well displayed. And—most importantly—it allows you to walk outside, atop and amidst the ruins, making this the only way you can actually get up close to Trajan’s Market and Forum (described earlier). Focus on the big picture to mentally resurrect the fabulous forums.
Cost and Hours: €9.50, Tue-Sun 9:00-19:00, closed Mon, last entry one hour before closing, tel. 06-0608, www.mercatiditraiano.it. Skip the museum’s slow, dry €4 audioguide (you’ll find some English descriptions within the museum); enter at Via IV Novembre 94 (up the staircase from Trajan’s Column).
Tucked behind the imperial forums is a quintessentially Roman district called Monti. Squeezed between Via Nazionale and Via Cavour, this hilly tangle of lanes helps visitors understand why the Romans see their hometown not as a sprawling metropolis, but as a collection of villages. Neighbors hang out on the square and chat, funky boutiques and fashionable shops share narrow streets with hole-in-the-wall hardware shops and alimentari, and wisteria-strewn cobbled lanes beckon photographers.
From a practical point of view, Monti (with the best assortment of colorful, characteristic, and inexpensive Roman eateries I’ve found) is a delightful complement to your ancient Roman sightseeing. For a lunch break or cool and relaxing evening wander and dinner, it’s made-to-order.
Starting at the Roman Forum’s main entrance, cross Via dei Fori Imperiali and angle up Via Cavour two blocks to Via dei Serpenti. Turn left, and in one block, you hit Monti’s main square, Piazza della Madonna dei Monti. (The Cavour Metro stop also gets you steps away.) To get oriented, face uphill, with the big fountain to your right.
From this hub, interesting streets branch off in every direction. Via dei Serpenti (to your left) and Via del Boschetto (at the top of the square, then left) are both lined with an eclectic array of boutiques, gourmet bakeries and sandwich shops, lively enoteche and pubs, and fine restaurants. If you go to the top of the square, jog right, then left, you’ll be on Via Leonina, which becomes Via Urbana, with more shops and eateries. And over your right shoulder is one of Monti’s most charming streets, Via Baccina—though the parallel Via della Madonna dei Monte is even cuter (head down Baccina and take the first left, then jog right).
Monti is an ideal place for a quick lunch or early dinner, or for a memorable meal; for recommendations, see here. It’s also a fine place to shop or hang out after dark.
Built in the fifth century to house the chains that held St. Peter, this church is most famous for its Michelangelo statue of Moses, intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II (which was never built). Check out the much-venerated chains under the high altar, then focus on mighty Moses. (Note that this isn’t the famous St. Peter’s Basilica, which is at Vatican City.)
Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to build a massive tomb, with 48 huge statues, topped with a grand statue of this egomaniacal pope. The pope had planned to have his tomb placed in the center of St. Peter’s Basilica. When Julius died, the work had barely been started, and no one had the money or necessary commitment to Julius to finish the project.
In 1542, some of the remnants of the tomb project were brought to St. Peter-in-Chains and pieced together by Michelangelo’s assistants. Some of the best statues ended up elsewhere, such as the Prisoners in Florence and the Slaves in the Louvre. Moses and the Louvre’s Slaves are the only statues Michelangelo personally completed for the project. Flanking Moses are the Old Testament sister-wives of Jacob, Leah (to our right) and Rachel, both begun by Michelangelo but probably finished by pupils.
The powerful statue of Moses—mature Michelangelo—is worth studying. Moses has received the Ten Commandments. As he holds the stone tablets, his eyes show a man determined to stop his tribe from worshipping the golden calf and idols...a man determined to win salvation for the people of Israel. Why the horns? Centuries ago, the Hebrew word for “rays” was mistranslated as “horns.”
Cost and Hours: Free, daily April-Sept 8:00-12:30 & 15:00-19:00, until 18:00 in winter, modest dress required; the church is a 10-minute uphill walk from the Colosseum, or a shorter, simpler walk from the Cavour Metro stop; tel. 06-9784-4950.
Besides being home to ancient sites and historic churches, the area around the Pantheon gives Rome its urban-village feel. Wander narrow streets, sample the many shops and eateries, and gather with the locals in squares marked by bubbling fountains. Just south of the Pantheon is the Jewish quarter, with remnants of Rome’s Jewish history and culture.
Exploring this area is especially good in the evening, when the restaurants bustle and streets are jammed with foot traffic. For a self-guided walk of this neighborhood, from Campo de’ Fiori to the Trevi Fountain (and ending at the Spanish Steps), see the “Heart of Rome Walk,” earlier.
Getting There: The Pantheon neighborhood is a 15-minute walk from Capitoline Hill. Taxis and buses stop at a chaotic square called Largo Argentina, a few blocks south of the Pantheon—from here you can walk north on either Via dei Cestari or Via di Torre Argentina to the Pantheon. Buses #40 and #64 carry tourists and pickpockets frequently between the Termini train station and Vatican City (#492 serves the same areas via a different route). Bus #87 connects to the Colosseum. The elettrico minibus #116 runs between Campo de’ Fiori and Piazza Barberini via the Pantheon.
For the greatest look at the splendor of Rome, antiquity’s best-preserved interior is a must. Built two millennia ago, this influential domed temple served as the model for Michelangelo’s dome of St. Peter’s and many others.
Cost and Hours: Free, Mon-Sat 8:30-19:30, Sun 9:00-18:00, holidays 9:00-13:00, closed for Mass Sat at 17:00 and Sun at 10:30, audioguide-€5, tel. 06-6830-0230.
When to Go: Don’t go midday, when the Pantheon is packed. Visit the Pantheon before 9:00, and you’ll have it all to yourself.
Dress Code: The Pantheon does not allow visitors with skimpy shorts or bare shoulders.
Tours: The Pantheon has a €5 audioguide that lasts 25 minutes (€8/2 people). You can download the Pantheon tour as a free Rick Steves audio tour (see here).
Services: The nearest WCs are at bars and cafés on the Pantheon’s square.
Visiting the Pantheon: The Pantheon was a Roman temple dedicated to all (pan) of the gods (theos). The original temple was built in 27 B.C. by Augustus’ son-in-law, Marcus Agrippa. In fact, the inscription below the triangular pediment proclaims in Latin, “Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucio, three times consul made this.” But after a couple of fires, the structure we see today was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian around A.D. 120. After the fall of Rome, the Pantheon became a Christian church (from “all the gods” to “all the martyrs”), which saved it from architectural cannibalism and ensured its upkeep through the Dark Ages.
The Pantheon looks like a pretty typical temple from the outside, but this is perhaps the most influential building in art history. Its dome was the model for the Florence cathedral dome, which launched the Renaissance, and for Michelangelo’s dome of St. Peter’s, which capped it all off. Even the US Capitol in Washington, DC, was inspired by this dome.
The portico is Greek in style, which is logical, because Hadrian was a Grecophile. This fine porch is a visual reminder of the great debt Roman culture owed to the Greeks. Fittingly, you cross this Greek space to enter a purely Roman space, the rotunda. The columns are huge and unadorned, made from 40-foot-high single pieces of red-gray granite rather than the standard stacks of cylindrical pieces. They were quarried in Egypt, then shipped down the Nile and across the Mediterranean to Rome.
The dome, which was the largest made until the Renaissance, is set on a circular base. The mathematical perfection of this dome-on-a-base design is a testament to Roman engineering. The dome is as high as it is wide—142 feet from floor to rooftop and from side to side. To picture it, imagine a basketball wedged inside a wastebasket so that it just touches bottom. It is made from concrete (a Roman invention) that gets lighter and thinner as it reaches the top. The base of the dome is 23 feet thick and made from heavy concrete mixed with travertine, while near the top, it’s less than five feet thick and made with a lighter volcanic rock (pumice) mixed in.
At the top, the oculus, or eye-in-the-sky, is the building’s only light source. It’s completely open and almost 30 feet across. The 1,800-year-old floor—with 80 percent of its original stones surviving—has holes in it and slants toward the edges to let the rainwater drain. Though some of the floor’s marble has been replaced, the design—alternating circles and squares—is original.
While its ancient statuary is long gone, the interior holds decorative statues and the tombs of famous people from more recent centuries. The artist Raphael lies to the left of the main altar. Halfway around the base of the dome, you’ll also see the tombs of modern Italy’s first two kings.
The Church of San Luigi dei Francesi has a magnificent chapel painted by Caravaggio (free, daily 10:00-12:30 & 15:00-19:00 except closed Thu afternoon, between the Pantheon and the north end of Piazza Navona). The only Gothic church in Rome is the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with a little-known Michelangelo statue, Christ Bearing the Cross (free, Mon-Fri 7:00-19:00, Sat-Sun 8:00-12:30 & 15:30-19:00, on a little square behind the Pantheon, to the east). The Church of San Ignazio, several blocks east of the Pantheon, is a riot of Baroque illusions with a false dome (free, Mon-Sat 7:30-19:00, Sun 9:00-19:00). A few blocks away, across Corso Vittorio Emanuele, is the rich and Baroque Gesù Church, headquarters of the Jesuits in Rome (free, daily 7:00-12:30 & 16:00-19:45, interesting daily service at 17:30).
This underappreciated gallery, in the heart of the old city, offers a rare chance to wander through a noble family’s lavish rooms with the prince who calls this downtown mansion home. Well, almost. Through an audioguide, the prince lovingly narrates his family’s story as you tour the palace and its world-class art. Don’t miss Velázquez’s intense, majestic, ultra-realistic portrait of Pope Innocent X. It stands alongside an equally impressive bust of the pope by Bernini. Stroll through a mini-Versailles-like hall of mirrors to more paintings, including works by Titian and Raphael. Finally, relax along with Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, and let the angel serenade you in Caravaggio’s Rest on the Flight to Egypt.
Cost and Hours: €11, includes worthwhile 1.5-hour audioguide, daily 9:00-19:00, last entry one hour before closing, elegant café, from Piazza Venezia walk 2 blocks up Via del Corso to #305, tel. 06-679-7323, www.dopart.it/roma.
The square was actually a quarry set up to chew away at the abandoned Temple of Hadrian, dedicated to the emperor responsible for building the Pantheon (look for his bust and a model of the temple in a window on the square). You can still see the holes that hungry medieval scavengers chipped into the columns to steal the metal pins that held the slabs together. Look over the railing to see ground level 1,900 years ago. (The piazza is two blocks toward Via del Corso from the Pantheon.)
The bubbly Baroque fountain, worth ▲▲ by night—if it’s not pumped dry for renovation, is a minor sight to art scholars...but a major nighttime gathering spot for teens on the make and tourists tossing coins. Those coins are collected daily to feed Rome’s poor. For more on the fountain, see here.
From the 16th through the 19th centuries, Rome’s Jewish population was forced to live in a cramped ghetto at an often-flooded bend of the Tiber River. While the medieval Jewish ghetto is long gone, this area—between Campo de’ Fiori and Capitoline Hill—is still home to Rome’s synagogue and fragments of its Jewish heritage. You can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of this neighborhood to your mobile device; see here.
Rome’s modern synagogue stands proudly on the spot where the medieval Jewish community was sequestered for more than 300 years. The site of a historic visit by Pope John Paul II, this synagogue features a fine interior and a museum filled with artifacts of Rome’s Jewish community. The only way to visit the synagogue—unless you’re here for daily prayer service—is with a tour.
Cost and Hours: €11 ticket includes museum, audioguide, and guided tour of synagogue; mid-June-mid-Sept Sun-Thu 10:00-19:00, Fri 10:00-16:00, shorter hours off-season, closed Sat year-round; last entry 45 minutes before closing, English tours usually at :15 past the hour, 30 minutes, check schedule at ticket counter, modest dress required, on Lungotevere dei Cenci, tel. 06-6840-0661, www.museoebraico.roma.it. Walking tours of the ghetto are conducted at least once a day except Saturday.
Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, contains St. Peter’s Basilica (with Michelangelo’s exquisite Pietà) and the Vatican Museum (with Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel). The entrances to St. Peter’s and to the Vatican Museum are a 15-minute walk apart (follow the outside of the Vatican wall, which links the two sights). The nearest Metro stop—Ottaviano—still involves a 10-minute walk to either sight.
Modest dress is required of men, women, and children throughout Vatican City, even outdoors. Otherwise, the Swiss Guard can turn you away. Cover your shoulders; bring a light jacket or cover-up if you’re wearing a tank top. Wear long pants instead of shorts. Skirts or dresses should extend below your knee.
There is no doubt: This is the richest and grandest church on Earth. To call it vast is like calling Einstein smart. Plaques on the floor show you where other, smaller churches would end if they were placed inside. The ornamental cherubs would dwarf a large man. Birds roost inside, and thousands of people wander about, heads craned heavenward, hardly noticing each other. Don’t miss Michelangelo’s Pietà (behind bulletproof glass) to the right of the entrance. Bernini’s altar work and twisting, towering canopy are brilliant.
Cost: Free entry to basilica and crypt. Dome climb-€5 if you take the stairs all the way up, or €7 to ride an elevator partway (to the roof), then climb to the top of the dome (cash only; for details, see “Dome Climb,” later). Treasury Museum-€7 (€3 audioguide).
Hours: The church is open daily April-Sept 7:00-19:00, Oct-March 7:00-18:30. It closes on Wednesday mornings during papal audiences. The dome (cupola) is open to climbers daily from 8:00; if you’re climbing the stairs all the way up, the last entry time is 17:00 (16:00 Oct-March); if you’re riding the elevator partway up, you can enter until 18:00 (17:00 Oct-March). The Treasury Museum is open daily April-Sept 8:00-18:40, Oct-March 8:00-18:10, last entry 30 minutes before closing. The crypt (grotte) is open daily 9:00-16:00.
Avoiding Lines: The security-checkpoint lines can get quite long, and there’s no surefire way to avoid them. Note that the checkpoint can switch locations; it’s typically on the north side of the square, but can be closer to the church or tucked under the south colonnade.
St. Peter’s is often accessible directly from the Sistine Chapel inside the Vatican Museum—a great time-saving trick, but unfortunately not a reliable one (for details, see here).
Avoid the worst crowds by visiting before 10:00 or after 16:00. The downside to visiting late: After about 16:00, the crypt is closed, and the area around the altar is often roped off to prepare for Mass. (For a detailed Mass schedule, see “Church Services,” next page.)
Dress Code: No shorts, above-the-knee skirts, or bare shoulders (this applies to men, women, and children). Attendants strictly enforce this dress code, even in hot weather. Carry a cover-up, if necessary.
Getting There: Take the Metro to Ottaviano, then walk 10 minutes south on Via Ottaviano. The #40 express bus drops off at Piazza Pio, next to Castel Sant’Angelo—a 10-minute walk from St. Peter’s. The more crowded bus #64 is convenient for pickpockets and stops just outside St. Peter’s Square to the south (get off the bus after it crosses the Tiber, at the first stop past the tunnel; backtrack toward the tunnel and turn left when you see the rows of columns). Bus #492 heads through the center of town, stopping at Largo Argentina, and gets you near Piazza Risorgimento (get off when you see the Vatican walls). A taxi from Termini train station to St. Peter’s costs about €11.
Information: The TI on the left (south) side of the square is excellent (Mon-Sat 8:30-18:15, closed Sun, free Vatican and church map). Tel. 06-6988-1662, www.vatican.va (select “Basilicas and Papal Chapels” at the bottom of the page).
Church Services: Mass is performed daily, generally in Italian and in just a small area of the vast church: usually either in the south (left) transept, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (on right side of nave), or the apse (where the 17:00 service is held Mon-Sat). Sunday morning Mass tends to take place at the main altar. Typical schedule: Mon-Sat at 8:30, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, and 17:00 (in Latin, in the apse); and on Sun and holidays at 9:00, 10:30 (in Latin), 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 16:00, 17:00 (vespers), and 17:45.
Tours: The Vatican TI conducts free 1.5-hour tours of St. Peter’s (depart from TI Mon-Fri at 14:15, plus Tue and Thu at 9:45, confirm schedule at TI, tel. 06-6988-1662). Audioguides can be rented near the checkroom (€5 plus ID, for church only, daily 9:00-17:00). Or you can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of St. Peter’s to your mobile device; see here.
To see St. Peter’s original grave, you can take a Scavi (excavations) tour into the Necropolis (€13, 1.5 hours, ages 15 and older only, no photos). Book at least two months in advance by phone (tel. 06-6988-5318), email (scavi@fsp.va), or fax (06-6987-3017), following the detailed instructions at www.vatican.va (search for “Excavations Office”); no response means they’re booked up.
To walk through the Vatican Gardens, you must book a guided tour at the very least a day in advance at http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va. No response means they’re booked up (€32, 2 hours, usually daily except Wed and Sun, includes entry to Vatican Museum; tours start at 9:30 or 10:00 at Vatican Museum tour desk). On rare occasions, same-day tickets are available at the St. Peter’s TI.
Dome Climb: You can take the elevator or stairs to the roof (231 steps), then climb another 323 steps to the top of the dome. The entry to the elevator is just outside the basilica, on the north side of St. Peter’s (near the secret exit from the Sistine Chapel). Look for signs to the cupola.
Length of This Tour: Allow one hour, plus another hour if you climb the dome (or a half-hour to the roof). If you have less time, skip the crypt and the dome climb, but at least stroll the nave, glance up at the dome and down at the marker of St. Peter’s tomb. Don’t miss the Pietà.
Baggage Check: The free bag check (mandatory for bags larger than a purse or daypack) is outside the basilica (to the right as you face the entrance) just inside the security checkpoint.
Services: WCs are to the right and left on St. Peter’s Square (just outside the security checkpoint and exit), near baggage storage down the steps on the right side of the entrance, and on the roof.
Self-Guided Tour (See “St. Peter’s Basilica” map, here.): For a quick walk through the basilica, follow these points:
The atrium is itself bigger than most churches. The huge white columns on the portico date from the first church (fourth century). Notice the historic doors (the Holy Door, on the right, won’t be opened until the next Jubilee Year, in 2025).
The purple, circular porphyry stone marks the site of Charlemagne’s coronation in A.D. 800 (in the first St. Peter’s church that stood on this site). From here, get a sense of the immensity of the church, which can accommodate 60,000 worshippers standing on its six acres.
Michelangelo planned a Greek-cross floor plan, rather than the Latin-cross standard in medieval churches. A Greek cross, symbolizing the perfection of God, and by association the goodness of man, was important to the humanist Michelangelo. But accommodating—and impressing—large crowds was important to the Church in the fancy Baroque age, which followed Michelangelo, so the original nave length was doubled. Stand halfway up the nave and imagine the stubbier design that Michelangelo had in mind.
View the magnificent dome from the statue of St. Andrew. See the vision of heaven above the windows: Jesus, Mary, a ring of saints, rings of angels, and, on the very top, God the Father.
The statue of St. Peter, with an irresistibly kissable toe, is one of the few pieces of art that predate this church. It adorned the first St. Peter’s church.
Circle to the right around the statue of Peter to find the lighted glass niche with the red-robed body of Pope John XXIII (r. 1958–1963), who the landmark Vatican II Council that instituted major reforms, bringing the Church into the modern age. He became a saint in 2014.
The main altar sits directly over St. Peter’s tomb and under Bernini’s seven-story bronze canopy.
St. Peter’s throne and Bernini’s starburst dove window is the site of a daily Mass (for Mass times, see “Church Services,” earlier).
This marks the exact spot (according to tradition) where Peter was killed 1,900 years ago. When the authorities told Peter he was to be crucified just like his Lord, Peter said essentially, “I’m not worthy” and insisted they nail him on the cross upside down.
The church is filled with mosaics, some of which are copies of famous paintings. Notice the mosaic copy of Raphael’s Transfiguration.
Michelangelo sculpted his Pietà when he was 24 years old. (A pietà is a work that represents Mary with the body of Christ taken down from the cross.) Michelangelo’s mastery of the body is obvious in this powerfully beautiful masterpiece. Jesus is believably dead, and Mary, the eternally youthful “handmaiden” of the Lord, accepts God’s will...even if it means giving up her son.
The tomb of Pope John Paul II was moved to the chapel of San Sebastian in 2011, after he was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI, a step on the road to sainthood. He was sainted in April 2014, just nine years after his death. He lies beneath a painting of the steadfast St. Sebastian, his favorite saint.
For most, the museum-treasury (on the left side of the nave, near the altar) is not worth the admission.
You’re welcome to step through the metalwork gates into the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, an oasis of peace reserved for prayer and meditation (on the right-hand side of the church, about midway to the altar).
When you’re done viewing the interior, you can go down to the foundations of Old St. Peter’s—the crypt (grotte or tombe), containing tombs of popes and memorial chapels. The crypt entrance is usually beside the statue of St. Andrew, to the left of the main altar. (We’ve saved the crypt for last because it exits outside the basilica.) Stairs lead you down to the floor level of the previous church, where you’ll pass the sepulcher of Peter. This lighted niche with an icon is not Peter’s actual tomb, but part of a shrine that stands atop Peter’s tomb. Next are the tombs of past popes, including the traditionalist Paul VI (1897-1978), who suffered reluctantly through the church’s modernization. Finally, you can see a few column fragments from Old St. Peter’s (a.k.a. “Basilica Costantiniana”). Continue your one-way visit until it spills you out, usually near the checkroom.
Outside on the north side of St. Peter’s, an elevator leads to the roof and the stairway up the dome. The dome, Michelangelo’s last work, is (you guessed it) the biggest anywhere. Taller than a football field is long, it’s well worth the sweaty climb for a great view of Rome, the Vatican grounds, and the inside of the basilica—particularly heavenly while there is singing. Look around—Rome has no modern skyline. No building in Rome is allowed to exceed the height of St. Peter’s. The elevator takes you to the rooftop of the nave. From there, a few steps take you to a balcony at the base of the dome looking down into the church interior. After that, the one-way, 323-step climb (for some people, it’s claustrophobic) to the cupola begins. The rooftop level (below the dome) has a gift shop, WC, drinking fountain, and a commanding view.
The four miles of displays in this immense museum—from ancient statues to Christian frescoes to modern paintings—culminate in the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s glorious Sistine Chapel. This is one of Europe’s top three or four houses of art. It can be exhausting, so plan your visit carefully, focusing on a few themes. Allow two hours for a quick visit, three or four hours for enough time to enjoy it.
Cost and Hours: €16, €4 online reservation fee, Mon-Sat 9:00-18:00, last entry at 16:00 (though the official closing time is 18:00, the staff starts ushering you out at 17:30), closed on religious holidays and Sun except last Sun of the month (when it’s free, more crowded, and open 9:00-14:00, last entry at 12:30); may be open Fri nights May-July and Sept-Oct 19:00-23:00 (last entry at 21:30) by online reservation only—check the website. Hours are subject to constant change and frequent holidays; look online for current times.
The museum is closed on many holidays (mainly religious ones), including, for 2015: Jan 1 (New Year’s), Jan 6 (Epiphany), Feb 11 (Vatican City established), March 19 (St. Joseph’s Day), April 6 (Easter Monday), May 1 (Labor Day), June 29 (Sts. Peter and Paul), Aug 15 plus either Aug 14 or 16—it varies year to year (Assumption of the Virgin), Nov 1 (All Saints’ Day), Dec 8 (Immaculate Conception), and Dec 25 and 26 (Christmas). Because changes in hours (which are notoriously irregular) and other holiday closures may occur, always check the current hours and calendar at http://mv.vatican.va. Tel. 06-6988-3860 or 06-6988-1662.
Reservations: Bypass the long ticket lines by reserving an entry time online at http://mv.vatican.va. It costs €20 (€16 ticket plus €4 booking fee, pay with credit card). It’s easy. You choose your day and time, they email you a confirmation immediately, and you print out the voucher. At the Vatican Museum, bypass the ticket-buying line and queue up at the “Visitors Entrance with Online Reservations” line (to the right). Show your voucher to the guard and go in. Once inside the museum, present your voucher at a ticket window (cassa), either in the lobby or upstairs, and they’ll issue your ticket.
When to Go: The museum is generally hot and crowded, with shoulder-to-shoulder sightseeing through much of it. There can be waits of up to two hours to buy tickets (figure about a 10-minute wait for every 100 yards in line). The best (or least-worst) time to visit is a weekday late-afternoon. The worst days are Saturdays, the last Sunday of the month (when it’s free), Mondays, rainy days, and any day before or after a holiday closure. Mornings are most crowded.
More Line-Beating Tips: If you’ve booked a guided tour (see “Tours,” here), you can show the guard your voucher and go right in.
You can often buy same-day, skip-the-line tickets (for the same €20 online price) through the TI in St. Peter’s Square (to the left, as you face the basilica). Also, the Roma Cristiana tour company sells same-day tickets for a pricey €27.50 (entrances almost hourly, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi office in front of St. Peter’s Square, Piazza Pio XII 9, tel. 06-6980-6380, www.operaromanapellegrinaggi.org). If their kiosk is closed, try the nearby storefront labeled Opera Romana Pellegrini, just in front of the square, which also sometimes sells these tickets.
If you don’t have a reservation, try arriving after 14:00, when crowds subside somewhat. Another good time is during the papal audience, on Wednesday at 10:30, when many tourists are at St. Peter’s Square.
Make sure you get in the right line. Generally, individuals without tickets line up against the Vatican City wall (to the left of the entrance as you face it), and reservation holders (both individuals and groups) enter on the right.
Dress Code: Modest dress is required (no shorts, above-knee skirts, or bare shoulders).
Getting There: The Ottaviano Metro stop is a 10-minute walk from the entrance. Bus #49 from Piazza Cavour/Castel Sant’Angelo stops at Piazza Risorgimento and continues right to the entrance. Bus #23 from Trastevere hugs the west bank of the Tiber and stops on Via Leone IV, just downhill from the entrance. Bus #492 heads from the city center past Piazza Risorgimento and the Vatican walls, and also stops on Via Leone IV. Bus #64 stops on the other side of St. Peter’s Square, a 15- to 20-minute walk (facing the church from the obelisk, take a right through the colonnade and follow the Vatican Wall). Taxis are reasonable (hop in and say, “moo-ZAY-ee vah-tee-KAH-nee”).
Tours: A €7 audioguide is available at the top of the spiral ramp/escalator (ID required). If you rent an audioguide, you lose the option of taking the shortcut from the Sistine Chapel to St. Peter’s (described later, under “Museum Strategies”), since audioguides must be returned to the museum entrance/exit. You can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of the Sistine Chapel to your mobile device; see here.
The Vatican offers English tours that are easy to book online (€32, includes admission, http://mv.vatican.va). As with individual ticket reservations, present your confirmation voucher to a guard to the right of the entrance; then, once inside, go to the Guided Tours desk (in the lobby, up a few stairs).
For a list of private tour companies and guides, see here.
Length of This Tour: Until you expire, the museum closes, or 2.5 hours pass, whichever comes first. If you’re short on time, see the octagonal courtyard (Laocoön), then follow the crowd flow directly to the Sistine Chapel, sightseeing along the way. From the Sistine Chapel, head straight to St. Peter’s via the shortcut, if open (see “Museum Strategies,” below).
Security and Baggage Check: To enter the museum, you pass through a metal detector (no pocket knives allowed). The baggage check (to the right after security) takes only bigger bags, not day bags.
Museum Strategies: The museum has two exits, and you’ll want to decide which you’ll take before you enter. The main exit is right near the entrance. Use this one if you want to rent an audioguide (which you must return at the entrance) or if you plan on visiting the Pinacoteca at the end (the Vatican’s small but fine collection of paintings, with Raphael’s Transfiguration, Leonardo’s unfinished St. Jerome, and Caravaggio’s Deposition).
The other exit is a handy (but sometimes closed) shortcut that leads from the Sistine Chapel directly to St. Peter’s Basilica (spilling out alongside the church; see map on here). This route saves you a 30-minute walk (15 minutes back to the Vatican Museum entry/exit, then 15 minutes to St. Peter’s) and lets you avoid the often-long security line at the basilica’s main entrance. If you take this route, you’ll have to forgo an audioguide and skip the Pinacoteca (or tour it earlier). Officially, this exit is for Vatican guides and their groups only. However, it’s often open to anyone (depending on how crowded the chapel is and how the guards feel). It’s worth a shot (try blending in with a group that’s leaving), but be prepared for the possibility that you won’t get through.
Photography: No photos allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but photos without flash are permitted elsewhere.
Self-Guided Tour (See “Vatican Museum Overview” map, here.): Start, as civilization did, in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Decorating the museum’s courtyard are some of the best Greek and Roman statues in captivity. The Apollo Belvedere is a Roman copy (2nd century A.D.) of a Hellenistic original that followed the style of the great Greek sculptor Praxiteles. It fully captures the beauty of the human form. The anatomy is perfect, his pose is natural. Instead of standing at attention, face-forward with his arms at his sides (Egyptian-style), Apollo is on the move, coming to rest with his weight on one leg.
Laocoön was sculpted some four centuries after the Golden Age (5th-4th century B.C.), after the scales of “balance” had been tipped. Whereas Apollo is a balance between stillness and motion, this is unbridled motion. Apollo is serene, graceful, and godlike, while Laocoön is powerful, emotional, and gritty. The figures (carved from four blocks of marble pieced together seamlessly) are powerful, not light and graceful. The poses are as twisted as possible, accentuating every rippling muscle and bulging vein.
The centerpiece of the next hall is the Belvedere Torso (just a 2,000-year-old torso, but one that had a great impact on the art of Michelangelo). Finishing off the classical statuary are two fine fourth-century porphyry sarcophagi. These royal purple tombs were made (though not used) for the Roman emperor Constantine’s mother (Helena, on left) and daughter (Constanza, on right).
After long halls of tapestries, old maps, broken penises, and fig leaves, you’ll come to what most people are looking for: the Raphael Rooms and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
The highlight of the Raphael Rooms, frescoed by Raphael and his assistants, is the restored School of Athens. It is remarkable for its blatant pre-Christian classical orientation, especially considering it originally wallpapered the apartments of Pope Julius II. Raphael honors the great pre-Christian thinkers—Aristotle, Plato, and company—who are portrayed as the leading artists of Raphael’s day. There’s Leonardo da Vinci, whom Raphael worshipped, in the role of Plato. Michelangelo broods in the foreground, added later. When Raphael snuck a peek at the Sistine Chapel, he decided that his arch-competitor was so good that he had to put their personal differences aside and include him in this tribute to the artists of his generation. Today’s St. Peter’s was under construction as Raphael was working. In the School of Athens, he gives us a sneak preview of the unfinished church.
Next is the brilliantly restored Sistine Chapel. This is the pope’s personal chapel and also the place where, upon the death of the ruling pope, a new pope is elected (as in March of 2013).
The Sistine Chapel is famous for Michelangelo’s pictorial culmination of the Renaissance, showing the story of Creation, with a powerful God weaving in and out of each scene through that busy first week. This is an optimistic and positive expression of the High Renaissance and a stirring example of the artistic and theological maturity of the 33-year-old Michelangelo, who spent four years on this work.
The ceiling shows the history of the world before the birth of Jesus. We see God creating the world, creating man and woman, destroying the earth by flood, and so on. God himself, in his purple robe, actually appears in the first five scenes. Along the sides (where the ceiling starts to curve), we see the Old Testament prophets and pagan Greek prophetesses who foretold the coming of Christ. Dividing these scenes and figures are fake niches (a painted 3-D illusion) decorated with nude statue-like figures with symbolic meaning.
In the central panel of the Creation of Adam, God and man take center stage in this Renaissance version of creation. Adam, newly formed in the image of God, lounges dreamily in perfect naked innocence. God, with his entourage, swoops in with a swirl of activity (which—with a little imagination—looks like a cross-section of a human brain...quite a strong humanist statement). Their reaching hands are the center of this work. Adam’s is limp and passive; God’s is strong and forceful, his finger twitching upward with energy. Here is the very moment of creation, as God passes the spark of life to man, the crowning work of his creation.
This is the spirit of the Renaissance. God is not a terrifying giant reaching down to puny and helpless man from way on high. Here they are on an equal plane, divided only by the diagonal bit of sky. God’s billowing robe and the patch of green upon which Adam is lying balance each other. They are like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or two long-separated continents, or like the yin and yang symbols finally coming together—uniting, complementing each other, creating wholeness. God and man work together in the divine process of creation.
When the ceiling was finished and revealed to the public, it simply blew ’em away. It both caps the Renaissance and turns it in a new direction. In perfect Renaissance spirit, it mixes Old Testament prophets with classical figures. But the style is more dramatic, shocking, and emotional than the balanced Renaissance works before it. This is a very personal work—the Gospel according to Michelangelo—but its themes and subject matter are universal. Many art scholars contend that the Sistine ceiling is the single greatest work of art by any one human being.
Later, after the Reformation wars had begun and after the Catholic army of Spain had sacked the Vatican, the reeling Church began to fight back. As part of its Counter-Reformation, a much older Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the Last Judgment (behind the altar).
It’s Judgment Day, and Christ—the powerful figure in the center, raising his arm to spank the wicked—has come to find out who’s naughty and who’s nice. Beneath him, a band of angels blows its trumpets Dizzy Gillespie-style, giving a wake-up call to the sleeping dead. The dead at lower left leave their graves and prepare to be judged. The righteous, on Christ’s right hand (the left side of the picture), are carried up to the glories of heaven. The wicked on the other side are hurled down to hell, where demons wait to torture them. Charon, from the underworld of Greek mythology, waits below to ferry the souls of the damned to hell.
When The Last Judgment was unveiled to the public in 1541, it caused a sensation. The pope is said to have dropped to his knees and cried, “Lord, charge me not with my sins when thou shalt come on the Day of Judgment.”
And it changed the course of art. The complex composition, with more than 300 figures swirling around the figure of Christ, went far beyond traditional Renaissance balance. The twisted figures shown from every imaginable angle challenged other painters to try and top this master of 3-D illusion. And the sheer terror and drama of the scene was a striking contrast to the placid optimism of, say, Raphael’s School of Athens. Michelangelo had Baroque-en all the rules of the Renaissance, signaling a new era of art.
For a shortcut directly to St. Peter’s Basilica (see “Museum Strategies,” earlier), exit at the far-right corner of the Sistine Chapel (with your back to the altar). This route saves you a 30-minute walk and the wait in the St. Peter’s security line, but you can’t get back to the main entrance/exit (where audioguides are returned) or the Pinacoteca.
If you skip the shortcut and take the long march back, you’ll find, along with the Pinacoteca, a cafeteria (long lines, uninspired food), the underrated early-Christian art section, and the exit via the souvenir shop.