vincenzos

Most of the visitors arriving to Rome are convinced that, once having seen Vatican, Colosseum and Forum, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon, they have done almost everything.
At the same time most of the visitors believe that the real "soul of Rome" is in the area that is within 1.5-2 kilometers from the Pantheon and Piazza Navona

I was born in Rome and lived always here, while traveling extensiverly both for business and leisure.

Visiting a city is completely different than visiting a natural wonder. Gran Canyon, Dolomites, Niagara Falls are there accidentally and equally accidentally they appear to us as we see them.

Whatever has been built by the mankind has a reason behind it. Understanding how and why it is there allows to go into depth of the spirit of that city and therefore to appreciate (or to hate) it.

Rome is no exception and is, indeed, the city that most requires deep attention to understand the greatness of its legacy.

We will discuss that in the next posts.

vincenzos

When I was 11 years old I went to Greece with my parents and my smaller brother. Actually I was too young to understand the significance of ancient Greece when coming to democracy, philosophy, arts and so on. But I was already understanding sports. And I had three goals for the trip

• To see the stadium of the first modern Olympic games in Athens
• To visit the Marathon battlefield
• To go intothe stadium of Olympia and to run there

Thanks to my parents I accomplished the three goals. I still remember the emotion when running in Olympia.
In the ancient world competition were not occurring only in Greece.
But it has been there that something was born that has shaped the way we live sports in the modern world.

Similarly ancient Rome has shaped the modern world well beyond what one can think.

Few of us think about the fact that the calendar that is recognized in every corner of the world was born in Rome, the Julian calendar later modified into the Gregorian one. And also very few think about the fact that the alphabet that is universally known, it is used for every passport along with the local one, is the Latin one.

The modern state was born in Rome. It was there that, for the first time, the law was over anyone having the power at that moment. It was in Rome that the concept of “balance of power” was developed.

Rome was the first megalopolis of the world, reaaching 1.5 millions of inhabitants during the II century AD, so experimenting all the administrative problems that are affecting the modern cities. And that occurred two thousand years ago, without having the technical tools we have now.

That is the spirit one should have when arriving to Rome.

vincenzos

The power of ancient Rome grew essentially due to water management and roads. Starting from the IV century BC Romans started to build impressive aqueducts and roads. The aqueduct delivering water to Trevi Fountain is still the one built two thousand years ago.

A visit to Rome should therefore start from those two things.

Porta Maggiore is the place where 8 of the 11 aqueducts of Rome were entering into the city. Still today we can see the impressive arches of Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus.

The visitor will also be surprised by the Parco degli Acquedotti (Park of the Aqueducts), a large green urban area where the remains of ancient aqueducts can be seen. Being close to the movie studios at Cinecittà, the park has been often used as a film location. The opening shot of La Dolce Vita has been filmed here.

The Appian Way has been the first highway of the world. It was built using techniques that have ensured durability, some stretches are still in use, and comfort to the travelers. It features the longest linear stretch without curves in all Europe, over 50 kilometers.

The Appian Way is notable for itself and for the monuments along it. Some of the most notables are the Villa dei Quintili, an imperial villa of the II century AD, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, the Circus of Maxentius, the Catacombs of Callixtus and the basilica of San Sabastiano fuori le mura.

J62

any reason you're breaking this up into 3 separate threads?

perhaps at least put links to the other 2 parts at the start of this one to tie them together.

vincenzos

In am splitting to avoid a too long post.
Earlier I was not allowed to post links.
Part 1
Part 2

J62

There are threads with 100's of replies and they are not too long. You can add part 2 & 3 onto your original post as replies to keep this all in one place. It's great info, deserves to all be in one place.

moderator8

Threads merged

vincenzos

The Vatican is a must-see place for most of the people visiting Rome. So a question is coming: is that because of the art or because of the importance and the role of the Catholic Church?

Well, in the first case there is no doubt that the Vatican is the highest point of art in Rome. In the second case, well, the Vatican should be only part of the visit.

In the early IV century BC, Emperor Constantine I the Great had the problem to find new alliances to support his power. Under the influence of his mother Helena (Saint Helena), he identified the Christian community. In the year 312 AD he legalized the Christian religion with the Edict of Milan and immediately after started the construction of three basilicas in Rome, the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in the Lateran, better known as Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul and Saint Peter. In addition he donated to the bishop of Rome, i.e. to the Pope, the Domus Fausta, now known as the Lateran Palace, next to St. John Lateran to serve for his residence.

Next to the Basilica of St. John Lateran there is the Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs, originally part of the Lateran palace. The steps of the stairs were originally located in the praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem and are believed to be those on which Jesus Christ stepped on his way to trial in front of Pilate. Few hundred meters away from S. John Lateran there is the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (Holy Cross in Jerusalem), containing the relics of the Holy Cross. Both the Stairs and the relics reputedly were brought to Rome by Saint Helena. The church was built around the private chapel of the Sessorian Palace belonging to her.

It is important to observe that, in year 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea, the Christian Church selected the theology of St. Paul as its official one. That theology is centered around the Passion of Jesus Christ. Was it a case that the council was convened and presided over by Constantine?

vincenzos

Not many people know that Rome is the greenest city in Europe. Almost two thirds of the area of the city are green; private and public gardens, natural reserves and even fars.
The most famous public garden is Villa Borghese, located just out of the Aurelian Walls, on the northern side. It hosts the world famous Borghese Museum and Gallery, the Bioparco (zoo) and several other activities, many of them especially fo kids.
The two largest parks inside the urbanized area of Rome are Villa Ada, located along Via Salaria, north of Villa Borghese, and Villa Doria Pamphili, located along Via Aurelia, west of the Vatican.
Other notable parks are Villa Torlonia, Villa Glori and Villa Celimontana that is located just few hundred meters south of the Colosseum, inside the Aurelian Walls.
Villa Medici, located just at the top of the Spanish Steps, is property of the Frence government and is the house of the French Academy in Rome. It hosts several cultural events.
During the summer several events are organized in those parks. Villa Celimontana, for example, hosts jazz concerts.
Villa Abamelek, Villa Volkonski and Villa Taverna are worth a mention because they are the privete residence of the embasseurs of Russia, United Kingdom and USA.
Apart from the villas, Rome houses several natural reserves, The natural parks of the Appian Way, of Caltelfusano with colossal maritime pines, of the Roman Coast are just some of them.

vincenzos

THEMATIC TOURS

Rome offers literraly thousands of places of interest. One can jump from one to another or follow a thematic itinerary. Here are a couple of suggestions.

Seven Pilgrim Churches

Likely that has been the first organized touristic tour in the history.
There are information about visitors to the major churches of Rome dating back to the VII century AD.
With the institution of the Holy Year, year 1300 AD, visiting the Holy Churches became an use to obtain indulgence.
It was two centuries later that the tour was formalized by St. Philip Neri formalized that also combined the religious experience with conviviality with the sharing.
He, along with other people, guided the pilgrims to the churches and, with the help of the Mattei family, opening the gardens of their villa (now Villa Celimontana), offered a simple meal that were made more convivial by singers and musicians.
The seven original churches are

1. St. John Lateran
2. St. Peter
3. Santa Maria Maggiore
4. St. Paul out of the Walls
5. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
6. San Lorenzo out of the Walls
7. San Sebastiano out of the Walls

San Sebastiano has been recently, year 2000 AD, replaced by Santa Maria del Divino Amore. Here you will find the map.

Obelisks of Rome

Simply said, there are more elevated obelisks for ancient Egypt in Rome, ten, than in Egypt, five.
In addition to those there are three copies from ancient Rome time and six modern ones.
For curiosity, there are other five obelisks from ancient Egypt in other Italian cities, and seven in other cities of the world: Istanbul, Turkey - Caesarea, Israel – London, Durham andWimborne Minster, United Kingdom – Paris, France – New York City, USA)
Here is a map of the obelisks in Rome.

StCirq

Thank you for this, vincenzos, great reading!

vincenzos

Rome is considered an open sky museum. Nevertheless is full of museums, great museums.
Vaatican Museum with the Sisten Chapel is the most visited one, actually it is the third most visited in the world after the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Here you can find a map with the location of the most important museums in Rome

acanya

Hey guys. What is your recommendation for easy transportation to the center from Rome airport?

vincenzos

From Fiumicino (FCO) airport
1) Leonardo Express train to Termini station, cost 14 minutes ride
2) FL1 train going to Trasstevere, Ostiense, Tusolana, Tiburtina stations as well as some minor ones, cost 8 €
Form Ciampino (CIA) airport
1) bus to Termini station, 5 € approximately, to be avoided in the morning due to the traffic
2) bus to Anagnina terminal and then A line of the metro, cost 1.5 + 1.5 €

J62

You could take a taxi or hire a private driver. But avoid romeairportshuttle.com - they have very bad online reviews. Over half of the 72 reviews on trip advisor are "Terrible"

stonestephany

We stayed in a rented apartment. Found it on the Internet immediately and booked for 4 days. Everything was great, apartment in the center. We walked and enjoyed the city.

vincenzos

Many people, when arriving to Rome, prefer to select an accommodation in the center just because they want to reach everything by walking.
That might have a sense but is strongly limiting.
First of all there are a lot of sites in the city that are out of the core of the center. And then there are places worth a visit also just out of the city.
Therefore, is it a really crazy idea to have a car when in Rome? Apparently yes, especially if one considers the traffic during the day, especially in the center and the ZTL (limited traffic zones).
But, after 8-9 p.m. driving through Rome, apart from few areas, can be a real pleasure since it allows you to discover magic atmospheres (have you ever been to the Coppedè district? or to the Gianicolo Hill or the Zodiaco to have a panoramic view by night?).

Out of the city one might consider

• Tivoli, Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este
• The Roman Hills (Catelgandolfo, Frascati, *Ariccia, Albano, Genzano and other villages), also to have a meal in one characteristic fraschetta
• The natural park of the Roman Coast, with dunes and Mediterraanean vegetation; on summer time a swim in the sea may be very refreshing
• Viterbo, the city with the biggest historical center from the Middle Age in Europe, the Papal Palace and thermal baths. Also the province of Viterbo is worth a visit: Lake of Vico , Sutri, Capranica, Nepi, Calcata, Castel Sant’Elia, the water falls of Monte Gelato, are just few or the places of interest Anyhow Viterbo may be easily reached by strain. Trains leave from Piazzale Flaminio station , near the Flaminio stop of the A line of the metro.

That said, it could be more convenient to select an accommodation outside the historical center, or not in its core, to have the opportunity to drive easily.

For further readings with my recommendations you may visit my blog*Bed and Rome and Breakfast

vincenzos

ROMAN BRIDGES

What would have been Rome without the ability to build incredibly string bridges?
Rome is a city along a river, so Romans had to build bridges. And they did it rather well.
Nowadays there are 4 bridges over the Tiber that have been built 2000 years ago or more that are still in use. One of them is exactly how it was built, the other three have maintained the original central part, while the side parts have been reconstructed for different reasons.
Pons Fabricius, connecting the left bank of the Tiber to the Tiber Island is still the original one, as built in year 62 BC.
On the opposite side of the island there is Pons Cestius, that was completed few years later. The central arch is the original one.
Pons Aelius (nowadays Sant’Angelo Bridge) connects the city center to the Hadrian’s mausoleum. It is the youngest of the bridges, having been built is year 134 AD by Emperor Hadrian.
The most ancient of the Roman bridges, and even the most historically important, is the Milvian Bridge. It was built in the III century BC and close to it, in the early IV century AD, the army of Constantine the Great clashed with the army of Maxentius in a battle that has marked not only the history of Rome but of all the Western civilization and whose effects are still among us.

vincenzos

FOOD IN ROME

A great food experience start with a rule that is valid in Rome as well as in any other city: go where locals go, avoid any place where most of the guests are foreigners.
There are few exceptions to this rule, generally at the top level, especially for the pocket.
That said, historical center is typically not the best place to find good places. There are some good places but mixed with a lot that are not worth the money one will spend
A map of some highly recommended restaurants in Rome can be found here.

Apart from restaurants, one should not miss to taste Supplì, the king of the Roman street food, and Grattachecca, the queen of the Roman hot summer
And for the lovers of*gelato, here are the indications

*