dtachau

I'm a father taking my son to Rome & Florence for our first time soon. He'll be interested in museums and antiquities to a point, but I'm not finding a lot of creative ideas (other than gelato & Borghese Gardens) to occupy him/prevent "not another church!" protests. Any tested and true suggestions? Thanks in advance.

mendota98

Hi dtachau,

I have a similar trip planned for December with my 11 year old daughter and 13 year old son. What has worked in London and Paris is allowing the children to shop. We find some place they like and I sit down in a nearby bar. My son likes millitary clothing, cigarette lighters and electronic gadgets.

If I mix the shopping with the museum viewing we're all happy.

May I ask where you are staying in each city?

Regards,

==Mike

BAK

Maybe (I have not seen the movie) take him to see The Italian Job, and then when you get to Rome he can imagine, relate to, think of, the scenery from the movie.

Sometimes going to see foreign-based movies before they visit the same cities makes trips interesting for kids.

Sometimes a kid has some photo talent, and providing a camera to a child who has some sort of story im mind before going leads to an interesting series of photos, and keeps the kid occupied.I have no idea how many Ferraris he might see in Italy, but keeping a camera handy and making a record of them might be fun.

BAK

cmeyer54

My son was 13 when we went to Rome; I found that if you get a really good guide (ours was from Florida) with many little side stories and jokes about the various sites, they will stay interested a long time. He may also like the catacombs tour or pompeii.

Grinisa

If your son is like some 11 year old boys I know, he might enjoy some macbre things. In Florence, take him to La Specola, a museum near the Pitti Palace, that has a fascinating display of wax models of body parts, what disease does to a body, and bodies in various forms of decomposition. The Museum of Science with its many models of scientific equipment and inventions is also interesting. In Rome, besides the usual ancient sites of the Colosseum and Forum, take him into the Mamertine Prison (in the Forum behind the Campodoglio)where the apostles Peter and Paul were imprisoned. The Museum of Criminology is housed in one of Rome's former prisons and is full of items related to crime and punishment. Churches that are interesting to kids: San Clemente with its Mithiric Temple on the lower level, San Stefano Rotundo with it's gory frescos of the martyrdom of saints, Santa Maria Concezione with its Capuchin Crypt (bones and skeletons artfully arranged), San Ignazio with its fool the eye dome, and Santa Croce in Gerusaleme with its many relics (thorns from the crown of thorns, piece of Christ's cross, the Good thief's cross, a bone from the finger of Doubting Thomas, the INRI sign from Christ's cross). On the lighter side, there is LUNA park, an amusement park that is pretty tame by Six Flags standards but a fun way to pass some time, the Time Elevator Ride and the puppet shows on the Janiculum Hill. A trip out to Ostia Antica might also interest him. I recently topped my trip report entitled "Rome with Kids" for some other people so it's not that far down the list. It has other suggestions and some recommendations for child friendly restaurants and a list of geleterie.

Linda0515

I just took a 13-year-old boy to Rome and Florence and second the suggestion to see macabre. Also, if you think the violence won't traumatize him (it's rated R), let him see Gladiator before he goes...he'll appreciate the Colosseum and other Roman antiquities a lot more.

My son enjoyed Florence the least of all our stops--by that point he was museumed-out--and fortunately we stayed at an American-style hotel (Sheraton Firenze) with an outdoor pool. That was a great break for him.

Kids that age often like tacky souvenirs, so let him poke around the tacky souvenir shops and buy a tacky T-shirt.

We also made a point of eating as many meals as possible at outdoor cafes on busy piazzas (Piazza Signoria in Florence) where the people-watching was good.

Don't despair--my son has no interest in art or architecture, wasn't especially looking forward to the trip, yet said it was a "really cool" vacation. With your son's more positive attitude, he's going to have a great time!

Iregeo

Hi dtachau. My 11 year old son accompanied us to Rome and Florence this past April. Some of his favorites in Rome included the Colosseum, Forum, Trevi Fountain, counting the steps at the Spanish Steps and counting ancient water fountains throughout the city, tacky souvenir shopping, gelato, being the family photographer, the Sistene Chapel and Castel Sant Angelo.

His favorites in Florence included a horse drawn carriage ride through the city, chasing/feeding pigeons in the piazzas, the Accademia (David), using the hotel's internet connection and tacky souvenir shopping!

You'll have a great time. There is no shortage of things to do and enjoy for both of you!

ira

Good post, Iregeo.

MFNYC

Funny Iregeo mentions counting teh Spanish steps. I had my 2 kids do it 4 times and they never came up with the same answer, but while they did it, I got to sit and relax at the bottom of the steps! We all really enjoyed the science museum in Florence. My kids were fascinated by the Capuchin Crypt, they also liked the Colliseum and all the cats running around in it. Many other great suggestions given by the others. As far as my son goes, his favorite part was the food. Pizza, pasta , gelato everyday. He was in heaven! We've been on carribean vacations, US road trip vacations, disney vacations and other parts of Europe trips. Italy is my son's favorite. You and your son will have a great time.

laurelt

Don't forget the science museum in Florence. They even have Galileo's finger in a jar! Seriously, they have lots of wonderful things and I think your son might really enjoy it.

jspowell

Another suggestion is the Stibbert Museum in Florence. It is primarily one man's HUGE personal collection of arms and armour set in his beautiful villa. You can see more about it at

http://www.vps.it/propart/stibbere.htm

When we were there in June (2003) there were only three other people on the tour with us. Our 10 year old son thought it was pretty intersting, and definitely a change from the art museums.

One caution: It is not in the historic center of town (in fact it's location was not on our Streetwise map). We took taxis to/from, but probably could have walked back instead.

sandi_travelnut

We took a similar trip in 2000 when my son was 12. I agree w/ the previous posts about the Museum of Science. It was fascinating. At that time my son was into Greek mythology and enjoyed telling me the story behind characters like Medusa, when we saw the "Beheading of Medusa" in the Piazza della Signoria.

Also, try the fabulous pizza at Antica Pizzeria dell?Arte on via del Giglio, 28 where my son swears to this day that the pizza Margherita made there was the best ever. Don't forget to climb the 463 steps to the top of the duomo.

sandi_travelnut

ooops, I forgot to mention that Vinci is a short drive (20-30 miles) from Florence where that have a museum of Leonardo's famous inventions. It's very interesting and the tiny town of Vinci is very picturesque.

Iregeo

dtachau, if you are travelling in the environs of Florence, my son loved the torture museum in San G.(I think that's where it is), but a word of caution - it truly made me ill. Really gross! I guess that's why he liked it!