Janetd5

Thank you for the information on the museums. The Barrocco collection of ancient sculpture looks quite interesting, too. My list of museums that I would like to visit will require a few more trips to Rome! But I do have the Palazzo Colonna on my itinerary for my last day in Rome this April - a Saturday (yay!). It looks fabulous! Janet

jill_h

TTT - bookmarking

welltraveledbrit

I'm glad the museum details were useful. Rome really is a city made for multiple visits.
Next time we'll focus on some of the modern art galleries and perhaps places like the Montemartini which we missed again.

I have posted a longer review of the Mario Praz with pictures on my blog...

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.co.u...seum-rome.html

Though we leave for Bangladesh on Jan 1 I'll probably have a series of Rome posts on the blog while we are away.

welltraveledbrit

Though I haven't posted to this thread in a few weeks I have been blogging about Rome and catching up on some of the topics and places mentioned above.

So in case you are interested or would like a pictorial guide here are some links.

We loved Ostia which is just a fabulous, easy and cheap day out from Rome. In December it's also empty which was great though some of the murals were covered, presumably to protect them from the rain- though we saw little rain in the three weeks in Rome! This was one of our favorites days out, for details see
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...ia-antica.html
There was too much to cover so I wrote a separate post on the synagogue at Ostia which we enjoyed visiting.
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...ia-antica.html

We really wanted to walk through lots of different neighborhoods and we really enjoyed going on our own food tour of Prati, we went to artisanal pizza, an historic coffee house and several amazing shops. You can find all the details, addresses and photos here
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...rati-roma.html

I mentioned above how much we loved the tour of the Villa Farnese, unfortunately they do not let you take photos so I've written a blog post combining our visits to the Villa Farnese and the Villa Farnesina across the river where I took lots of snaps.

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...a-farnese.html

Hope you enjoy the links and that they're helpful to anyone planning a trip, or at least fun to look at for any armchair travelers. Our Mad Dash continues, currently we are in Bangkok but I still have posts to catch up on from Rome, so as usual I'm in one place and blogging about another!

tdk320n

TTT

TexasAggie

What a wonderful thread!!!!! Really appreciate your reviews and the useful info like booking sites too! I must have missed the recent thread on off the beaten path Rome sights. We will be back in Rome in May for the 8th time and while we certainly haven't seen even half of what the city offers, we have done most of the obvious sights.

sarge56

welltraveledbrit- Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us! I love all Rome trip reports and this one is most informative! Though my upcoming trip, I've decided to skip Rome (she is my eternal love), I am making notes here for my next Rome trip.

I found the museums empty in May, too. So, it's not winter crowds, I'm afraid. I don't know how we here, as a travel forum, can encourage travelers to see these fabulous museums. I fear if traffic continues to be light, these may close.

I am so glad you enjoyed Ostia Antica. It was one of the highlights of my trip to Rome this past May! I informed posters here that they really needed 3-4 hours to do it justice. How long did you spend there? (I'm sorry the floors were covered- they were stunningly complete and totally fascinating.)

I also wonder if you have ever been to the Palazzo Doria-Pamphilj. I also discovered that last trip and it was amazing. Loved it.

Happy travels to you and your DH! And thanks again for sharing. Happy New Year!

welltraveledbrit

Thanks, I'm so glad the thread was useful. There's so much to see in a Rome even after multiple visits and we have lots more on our list for the next trip. Have fun in May!

welltraveledbrit

Sarge56,
Thanks for your reply.
We must have been posting at the same time as my reply comes after your but I didn't see your post before I wrote mine!
The Palazzo Doria-Pamphijl was on our list but we didn't make it there, the collection sounds wonderful.
I agree you need plenty of time at Ostia, we were there until they threw us out at sunset, which is of course earlier than you imagine in December!
We did see some of the floors but will have to go back another time to admire them all. There are so many places on our list including outdoor sites like the Botanical Gardens which would be better in season.

welltraveledbrit

I'm still on the Mad Dash, and though we are a long way fromRome I've been catching up on my blog posts from the Eternal City. So for those of you who are interested here are a couple of links. I particularly wanted to follow up on the Chiroco House museum which we enjoyed, this post will give you a tour.
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.sg/2...seum-rome.html

EUR mentioned above is fascinating, I did a couple of posts on the architecture and an interesting frieze depicting Mussolini along with Caesar and various Roman triumphs.

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.sg/2014/02/eur-mosaics
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.sg/2...tural-showcase

I finally got around to posting pictures of Livia's Dining Room which is one of my favorite museum rooms in the world at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. It always takes my breath to step back 2,000 years into a domestic space where the beauty is something that speaks to us today. If you haven't visited you may enjoy the photos...

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.sg/2...ning-room.html

It's hard to focus on Rome when traveling in Asia but I have a few more topic to cover on the blog before I move on to discuss the recent leg of the Mad Dash over on the Asia board. I should at the very least get around to the Palazzo Colonna ( Janet I'm sure you will enjoy it in April) as the photos speak for themselves.

yestravel

Oh good, very happy this hasn't been abandoned. I'll be happy if you finish up by the end of September when we go.

Janetd5

Wonderful new blog posts! Anxious for my April trip, and following in your footsteps ... especially to see the Livia room, Praz, and Palazzo Colonna. And I have tickets for the Palazzo Farnese! Last trip to Rome I visited the Villa Farnesina - beautiful. (Plan to see the Farnese collection when visiting Naples after Rome.) Also, I have a private tour arranged to see the churches S Prassede, S Prudenzia, and 'SM Major' - for an in-depth appreciation of early Christian mosaics since Ravenna is later in the trip. Note your interest in Armenian churches - last fall I traveled in eastern Turkey - wonderful 10thC church on the island in Lake Van; and by Kars, the ruins of the 10thC Armenian Kingdom capitol, Ani, known as the 'city of 1001 churches,' but only a few standing today. Great trip. And I'm looking forward to your posts on Bangkok and Burma - I'm heading there in mid-November!

cruiseluv

Just found this thread, thank you so much. So much to see in Rome. Heading back there in September and cant wait to see some of the "new" sites I've learned about through you.

dina4

Thanks so much for your report! I am about to go to your blog and enjoy that as well.
We are returning to Rome soon for the 8th time so I love this thread. I have that same testaccio food tour and the palazzo Farnese on our list , so am so happy you enjoyed them!

We also love the monti neighborhood and trattoria monti !

Grazie mille!
Dina

welltraveledbrit

Spurred on by your comments, it's moving slowly but don't worry yestravel it isn't abandoned yet!

Janet, you'll love the early Christian mosaics in Rme plus Ravenna which is incredible, one of our favorites! Interesting to read about the Armenian churches, Turkey is high on my list. At this rate I may just get around to the Burma and Bangkok trip report by the time you go!
Dina and cruiseluv, glad it's useful.

I'm currently in Malaysia but catching up on the last few Rome posts though I still have lots of food reviews to go.
Anyway, just to let you know I've added a couple more posts, the most recent on the Villa Giulia, the Etruscan Museum. It is a fascinating place and we were mesmerized, I can't believe we'd never made it here before. In terms of visitors it was empty but full of so many gems, it will take many visits to get to know the collection because there is just so much stuff, highly recommended for those of you who want more the Romans and the Renaissance.

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...an-museum.html

You. An also find a post on the Via Appia. We saw a Shepard driving his sheep down the road which was like walking back in time but overall it was a hassle to get out there and crowded with tourists until you walk further out, I can't imagine how packed it is in better weather, so far I'm not really a fan. Also the scavi tour at the Vatican has ruined me for the catacombs which wet far less interesting.
You can read my full take on it, plus photos here...

http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...ia-antica.html

flygirl

I don't know how I missed this before (other than being in Rome, and then Venice, respectively) but the first thing that caught my eye is your two food apps - I got both and I agree with your assessment! Elizabeth's was much more user friendly and as a result I used it much more. Katie was more of a backup app and if I saw that they both liked a place I knew I hit gold.

Will start reading now...

bvlenci

I really enjoyed the blog posts, WTB, and it gave me several things to add to my ever-lengthening list of things I want to see in Rome. I go there often, but the list gets no shorter.

I've been to Ostia Antica three or four times, but I've never made it to the synagogue yet. Once there was an exhibit of some bas relief sculptures from the synagogue at the museum.

I can almost be sure the catacomb you visited was the San Callisto catacomb. That seems to be the one where Americans send their superannuated priests. The one we had was an old windbag who stopped every five minutes for a prayer. I told my friend that his parish probably took up a collection to send him to Rome. I've always had excellent tours at the Domitilla, Sant'Agnese, and Priscilla catacombs.

If you're interested in Etruscan civilization, you should also see the Etruscan collection at the Vatican Museums. It's one of the few places in the museum that isn't insanely overcrowded, and it's a spectacular collection. Many of the pieces came from the necropolis at Cerveteri; the popes always managed to skim the cream!

Also, there are two magnificent ancient Roman painted tombs at the Museo delle Terme di Diocleziano.

welltraveledbrit

I've finally started blogging about the Asia part of this journey but I realized I had a couple more posts on Rome that I failed to link to here on Fodors. Overall Rome was a great place to stay for three weeks and we had great weather, despite the fact that it was December. I didn't get around to blogging about all the restaurants we tried but we particularly liked Renata and Luisa in Campo dei Fiori and I like Pizzeria Ai Marmi in Trastevere, very old school. We would also recommend Trattoria da Cesare which is at the end of the number 8 tram which you take from Torre Argentina, its well worth the short tram ride.

So to the blog posts...


Firsts a practical post on resources including food apps, tour companies and reservations to make in advance.
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...-for-rome.html

Also we are really interested in Street Art and while we found a blog on street art in Rome we couldn't find a tour. So we made our own walking around San Lorenzo which is a student area out past Termini beyond the University. We really enjoyed strolling around and saw lots of street art. If you are interested you can see it here
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/...t-in-rome.html

Bvlenci, thanks for your reply, I think it was the San Callisto catacombs, they are obviously sending cranky Belgian priest there too! WE didn't make it to the vatican museums on this trip, I'll certainly try to visit their Etruscan collection next time and I'd love to see their ethnographic are too.
flygirl, interested to see you had the same assessment of the apps.

For anyone who is interested here's a link to all of the posts on Rome
http://somuchmoretosee.blogspot.com/search/label/Rome

Saraho

Very interesting!

wikoffclan

Just finished reading this post and have bookmarked your blog to read later. I don't know yet if you were able to review the 4 walking guides you used, and wondered if you have a recommendation. I will be in Rome for the 3rd time in November, solo for the first time, and for just 4 days and I'm looking for a fun way to explore the city a bit more.