re: T-ZERO DAYS until Italy, final logistics to-do list

Rome is a fantastic city for walking, esp in the historic center. You will see much more on foot, with ample time to absorb the sights. Parts are hilly (the seven hills making up the city) but no impossibly so. It's a good idea to plan to take the bus from St John Lateran over to Navona, it will give you a rest for a bit as well. Navona to Trastevere is an easy stroll, and you can either detour through Campo di Fiori or the Ghetto to see yet another area. Either neighborhood offers a bakery or two (eat some pizza bianca for me, a focaccia like only in Rome flatbread topped w/herbs, oil, and salt), plus sights...like the Ponte Fabricio from the ghetto to the Tiber Island....oldest extant bridge in Rome, built in 62 BC and still used daily.

RE: keeping things on your person vs. storing at the AirBnB...that's a call I'd wait until on site to make. I stayed at one in Dublin recently, and it was very secure. Owner met us, double locks on doors, on 5th floor of a secure apartment building. I had no qualms about leaving my stuff there. Gonna use one in London in a month, hope it feels as secure. I often wear hiking style pants when traveling, partially because the zippered leg pockets are hard to pick and handy for carrying passport, etc. Ditto for a light jacket w/zippered interior chest pocket. If you can wear the backpack as a cross-body bag that you can sling toward the front, you should be fine...esp if it has flaps covering the zippers and/or locking zips. I would not stroll around all day with a double-strapped backpack on my back....too easily rifled thru while you are gawking at the sights. I travel w/a unisex Tumi daybag that serves as my crossbody handbag yet is easily carried by my better half when I get sick of lugging it.

Oh and one final Rome tip: there are public drinking fountains all over the city. Roman water is delicious, bring a Vapur foldable bottle or Nalgene or similar and drink that free city water from some of the coolest looking fountains around. (Note: if a fountain is marked "Non-Potabile", it's not drinkable water.