Originally Posted by Jean

I'll repeat my earlier comment that the Scavi tour under St. Peter's has been one of the most interesting things we've done/seen in Rome.

Originally Posted by bvlenci

In my previous post, the name is Barberini Gallery, not Barberi.

Someone else mentioned the Ostia Antica archeological site, larger than Pompeii and mostly very well preserved. The two sites are different in several ways. Pompeii is a sort of snapshot of Roman life. The city had been greatly damaged in a previous earthquake. In fact, some reconstruction was still ongoing at the time of the volcanic eruption. Therefore nearly everything you see is from the 1st century. Ostia, on the other hand was a flourishing port and later a residential town for 1000 years. It gradually declined and was abandoned in the early middle ages, and was mostly buried by drifting sand. The port had silted up, and the residents were subject to attacks from pirates. At some point, the aqueduct that supplied fresh water was destroyed. A castle was built near the town so the residents would have a safe refuge in the event of raids, and gradually the town relocated to the vicinity of the castle. The castle can be visited.

The other big difference is that Pompeii was a middle class, mainly residential, town, almost a bedroom community of Naples. Of course there were artisans and shops and other support services, so not all the residents were middle class. Ostia, on the other hand, was a working port town. (After the port silted up, it became more of a residential town.) You can see an ancient Roman "osteria" bar/restaurant, with intact counters, a wine cooler, and a mosaic which served as a menu. There is a multi story apartment building; an ancient Roman public toilet; an amphitheatre; the remains of a Christian basilica, a synagogue, and a Mithraic temple. There is a piazza lined with the shops or offices of merchants. There are many mosaic floors and statues of deities of various religions; it was a multi-cultural place. There's a small museum where various things found on the site are preserved.

Ostia Antica Is a place where a good guide can make your visit more interesting, because it's not easy to find your way around. Even with a map, and having been there multiple times, I tend to get lost.

The last time we were there, we rented an audio guide. We punched in the numbers of the first few sites, and listened to the explanation of the site. However, after a while we saw no more numbers, until we finally saw one lying in the middle of the road. Maybe this has been remedied.

https://www.ostia-antica.org/index.html

You now have more than enough suggestions to fill your time in Rome. Maybe you understand why there are still things I still haven't been able to see after multiple visits.

Originally Posted by kybourbon

Originally Posted by SusanP

I don't know what time you get in from Sicily so no idea if this would work, because the class is weekdays at noon (or 10:00 am on Sat), but I just took a terrific class last week at Rimessa Roscioli. Two types of pasta, three sauces, meatballs, tiramisu and wine pairings with each dish with background info on each wine. Part demo, part hands-on. Fun!