The pork store is Norcineria Viola. They also saved the sunglasses I left behind and had them ready and waiting for me the next day.

there is also a small cheese shop in CdF for soft cheeses that we went to and the cheese was terrific.

One additional recommendation is a wine tasting at VinoRoma. Hande is terrific and they have a cave downstairs that is over 1000 years old. We thoroughly enjoyed our tasting with her.

If you Google "cheese shop in campo de'fiori rome" several choices pop up. And, CdF deserves more than one look as the emphasis isn't on flowers each day if memory serves.

I liked Ostia Antica... mainly because it's great to explore ruins that include apartment buildings and WITHOUT crowds. It may not be as perfect as Pompeii but you also aren't being carried along by a current of tourists taking selfies.

denisea, thank you for the name of the pork shop and cheese shop. I will definitely be visiting the campo for shopping! That wine tasting sounds amazing too.

TDudette, wow, there are LOTS to choose from! Plus, there seems to be lots of sidewalk cafes for me to do good people watching. That Campo may become a regular stop for me.

RubyTwins, thank you. I'm not sure I'll get to Ostia this trip. (I went years ago). I'll be spending 8 nights in Naples prior to arriving in Rome and visiting both Herculaneum and Pompeii. I sure hope the crowds in Pompeii won't be so bad in December!

You mentioned an interest in art -- the 5th century mosaics in Santa Maria Maggiore are said by some to mark the beginnings of medieval art. https://www.wga.hu/html_m/zearly/1/4...ior/index.html. I suggest you bring small binoculars to appreciate the details (useful in most churches and cathedrals). There are several other churches with ancient mosaics which you might be interested in.

Fra_Diavolo, thank you for the recommendation! That church isn't far from my apartment and I love mosaics! And thank you for the mini binocular recommendation too. I just did a search and am amazed at what's available.

Santa Maria in Trastevere also has beautiful ancient mosaics.

Hi Dee_Dee -- Since you enjoy mosaics you might also want to visit the fine glittering examples at the Basilica di Santa Pudenziana al Viminale https://www.stpudenziana.org, and the even more extensive and dazzling mosaics at the Basilica di Sanya Prassede all’Esquilino. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Prassede

I don't know what you consider to be "all the major attractions" you've already visited, but definitely consider visiting the inside of Castel Sant'Angelo, if you haven't. All the four major basilicas are worth visiting, in my opinion, so that's San Giovanni in Laterano and San Paolo fuori le mura, on top of San Pietro (of course) and the aforementioned Santa Maria Maggiore (technically the most important of all Catholic churches).

Since you like art galleries, definitely visit Palazzo Barberini if you haven't, and check out what exhibitions are on at the Chiostro del Bramante and Scuderie del Quirinale. If you go to the Quirinale, you might be interested in visiting the Palazzo del Quirinale (where Italy's President resides) around the corner, too (book well in advance).

There are countless churches of great historical, architectural, and/or artistic interest; Santa Sabina (nearby Giardino degli Aranci has nice views, too) and Santa Maria del Popolo (you certainly walked by it, but you might not have gone it) spring to mind. Also, make the trip to the Tre Fontane abbey; it's one of the holiest sites in Christianity, being the place of martyrdom of St Paul, and it's also a charming, historic, working abbey, with a store selling their own beer and chocolate.

Since you'll be going to Tre Fontane after reading my advice, definitely take some time to visit the EUR neighborhood as well. There are various impressive examples of Fascist monumental architecture, most imprssively the so-called Colosseo Quadrato, plus a nice park, contemporary architecture (Fuksas' Cloud) and fancy shops on Viale Europa.

Cool neighborhoods to stroll through outside of the historic centre, in no particular order, are Garbatella, Testaccio, Pigneto and Coppedè.

Check out the Piramide, adjacent Cimitero Acattolico (with the tombs of Keats, Shelley, and Gramsci, among others), and the cool Centrale Montemartini (classical art and archeology in an early-20th-century power plant) in the Ostiense neighbourhood, close to Garbatella and Testaccio.

Explore the Appia Antica park and surroundings, extensively, including the different catacombs, the Caffarella (nice nature, Roman ruins), various archeological sites (such as the tomb of Caecilia Metella), the aqueducts park, and of course the Via Appia itself. You can rent a mountain bike and cycle all the way to Frattocchie, where there's a McDonald's built on a spur of the Via Appia, well preserved and open tot he public for free, and also visible from inside the fast-food place.

I don't know if you've been already, but if not, go to Ostia Antica, both the amazing archeological area and the small village (medieval in origin) next to it.

Another interesting (but smaller) archeological area with nearby medieval village is Veii (Veio) and Isola Farnese. I don't know if your love of history and architecture extends to non-ancient (or at least non-classical) ruins, but the old ghost village of Galeria Antica is fascinating and technically within Rome, not far from Isola Farnese.

The parks where locals hang out are nice, though less so in December/January than in spring or autumn; not only Villa Borghese, but also Villa Ada and Villa Pamphilj. Oh, speaking of villas, Villa Torlonia (actual villa, not a big park) with its galleries reopened relatively recently.

You could walk all around the Aurelian Walls, which are largely preserved and touch various places I mentioned.

And of course there are the places technically outside of Rome but within very easy reach: Tivoli (the town itself, Villa Adriana, Villa D'Este, and Villa Gregoriana), Lake Bracciano and the three towns on its shores, the Alban Hills with its two lakes and Castelli Romani historic towns, Palestrina, Anzio (port town with the ruins of Nero's massive villa) and Nettuno (very cute medieval core)...

Edit: I forgot - for contemporary architecture, apart from Fuksas' Nuvola/Cloud, head to MAXXI and (less exciting and less new, but still interesting) nearby Auditorium Parco della Musica. The Auditorium is also really good for concerts, if that interests you.

Second edit: for cafes and other food and drinks, do yourself a favour and follow the Gambero Rosso guidebook (also a website, with a paid subscription, which might work out better if you want to use an automatic translator, since it's in Italian). Much, much better and more trustworthy than any tourist-focused guidebook or website. It's what in-the-know locals use to find new places, or see how the ones they know are faring.

Rome's great but just hang out in Rome for 5 weeks?

Why not travel to other parts of Italy in all that time?

Maybe the OP has a thing for big cities since he or had long stays in Paris.

I second the suggestion to visit the Palazzo Doria Pamphilii, we were in there in June. Can highly recommend their Caffe Doria for lunch as well; being summer we sat outside on their lovely terrace and the food was delicious, really good quality and yes a little pricey but worth it.
While we were touring the gallery the owner, Jonathon Doria Pamphilii, was showing a young man around and I overheard the young man ask ' why on earth did you put all these plastic covers on these beautiful old chairs?' The answer was: 'my mother had that done, it was the sixties and that is what you supposedly did to chairs back then.' I had a good chuckle to myself hearing that. Later he was demonstrating how he could control the special lighting in one room from his phone, I expressed interest and we had a little chat.
Here's a link to some family info, he shares ownership with his sister and they were both adopted from a Catholic orphanage in England.
https://www.ft.com/content/6be0d498-...b-1f8b0d268c39

Given your interest in artisans, I recommend taking a mosaic class at Studio Cassio, in the Monti neighborhood--can be from two hours to two weeks or more. Lovely people and experience not required for workshops.

Such great ideas! This thread is bringing back some nice memories. It has been ages since I did serious research on Rome (2013 was my last "real visit", although I spent a day there in 2016 as a day trip from Naples), once upon a time I knew all the places to look things up. Katie Parla, Elizabeth Minchilli, Hande of Vinoroma, all blasts from the past. Back when my research was mostly on the computer and blogs were still a big thing, not scrolling through Instagram.

One early visit I focused on seeking out sites from Roman Holiday, which really hits the tourist-trail highlights. Another visit I hiked high high high up on a hill which overlooked Saint Peter as I came back down again (very close to Saint Peter). That was an utterly lovely day, I would have to look up exactly where I was.

Domus Aurea sounds like a must-see - it has been closed/open/closed so many times, best to make it a priority because your next visit might find it closed again. I still haven't been lucky. Have you been to the underground of the Colosseum?

Bernini. All things Bernini.

I was in Rome last December. Such nice memories! It was fun to see the city all decorated for Natale. I even ran into a Santa Claus giving out espresso out of the back of his Cinquecento near the Spanish Steps!

I had been to Rome about 10 times before so I had lots of time to visit the lesser-known neighborhoods. One fun thing I did was I walked to the Vatican in the dark one morning and had the whole grand piazza --- with the albero di natale presiding grandly over everything --- almost all to myself. Wonderful!

Also I agree with the Palazzo Colonna suggestions, it's spectacular! It's fun to watch the movie 'Roman Holiday' first before going to get a little taste of that before going. Rome. By all means, Rome...

And I second the "All things Bernini." He is the master! Anywhere you find his work is a treat, but my favorite is probably The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa in the Cornaro Chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. I love seeing works in situ! And this church is wonderful. I have only scratched the surface of Rome's churches, but this one is definitely my favorite so far.

Another great thing to do is visit the Museo Nazionale at Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. The Gallery of Paintings and Mosaics is wonderful but the Villa di Livia is one of my favorite museum experiences ever. They literally transported an entire room of the Villa Livia to the museum. Livia was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus and her home along the Via Flaminia was famous as it was the laurel from the grove at her villa that was used to create the triumphal crowns of the Roman emperors. Anyway in the 19th century they transported the frescoed triclinium (dining room) from her villa to this museum. When I visited I had it almost all to myself! The frescoes are exquisite. My dream is to have a dining room painted just like this! We'll see if I can ever make that happen. Rome has such an embarrassment of riches, it's amazing to thing this place is not swarmed with visitors.

Also trying to find the hidden angels of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is fun. (Let me know if you want to know more about that.) And the Basilica di Santa Prassede for the spectacular Byzantine mosaics of the San Zeno Chapel. Wow!

And this is an odd one but every time I have been to Rome I've stayed down "in" the city. On my last trip to Rome I spent the last couple nights at the Hotel Colosseo, up on the 8th or 9th floor I think? I didn't do it on purpose, just as a convenience as it's near Termini. What an eye-opener! I loved watching the sun rise and set over La Citta Eterna, but also to watch the swallows swarm over the city every morning took my breath away! It's really incredible.

Well that's a start. I am sure I will think of more. Buon Viaggio!

Great tips, LunaBella! We are headed to Rome next week for our 10th trip. Like you, we’ve seen all the “big” sites so I’m making notes of your suggestions. Excited to see Rome at Christmas time.

Dee Dee, happy for you to return to Italy. My wife and I just returned from an Italy vacation . We enjoyed the underground Galleria Borbonica exhibit in Naples. A entertaining 90 minutes filled with some interesting stories from down under the Naples streets.
In Rome we enjoyed the food at Restaurant Dilla, the gelato at Otaleg is the best we tasted throughout Italy. The bakery at Antico Forno Roscioli was amazing. If you like porchetta, focaccia or thin crust pizza this is the place.
Finally, if you’re looking for a nice gift to take home in your carry on stop by Il Marmoraro in Rome right next to the Borghese

Have a great trip.

Perfect thread! We are going to be on a choir tour that includes Rome; H and I have already seen "the sites" that will likely be part of the tour. Don't yet know where we'll be staying but when I find out, I'll check and see which of these hidden treasures are near our hotel.

You will probably get a lot more responses if you start a new topic, especially since the subject line says "5 weeks in Rome". A lot of people will skip over it, because they don't have useful information for a long stay.

When you start the new topic, let us know what you've already seen, and how long you'll be staying in Rome. Also, if you're only interested in sights near your hotel, wait until you can tell us where the hotel is. That would save you time checking the map, and save us recommending things that you wouldn't consider.