Rome ideas and suggestions

You know what you’re doing in Montalcino but not Rome?

I’m not busting your chops. I’m genuinely curious because there’s about a billion things to do in Rome and the main attractions are pretty amazing. Montalcino is fairly small. It does have one of my favorite enotecas in Italy to be sure and a couple of fantastic restaurants.

I’m curious: is this your first trip to Rome? Or have you been many times?
Because “off the beaten path” is anathema to Rome. It’s one of the most heavily touristed cities on earth, for plenty of damn good reasons. You don’t go to Rome to see minor things; it is a place overflowing with major treasures of Western civilization.

So, if you have indeed seen all of the Michelangelo, Caravaggio, et al, and you’ve managed to see all of the major classical Roman stuff, and you’ve been to the Vatican museums, St Peter’s basilica & the crypts, been to the Borgese gallery, and the Capitoline Museums, and the catacombs, and the Forum.....I offer the following stuff:
—church of San Clemente, not too far from the Colosseo; it’s a Norman era church full of beautiful gold mosaics, built on top of a first century Roman villa, built on top of an even more ancient mithraeum (secret bull cult), with an underground stream running through the excavation. Very cool. Via Labicana, 95.
—the Knights of Malta keyhole, on the edge of Testaccio. It’s a keyhole in a gate, literally, that perfectly frames a view of St. Peter’s. Google it before you go, some people flip over stuff like this, others find it vastly underwhelming.
—church of Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza; an all white, high baroque geometric masterpiece open only at certain odd times. Worth the effort to see, if your schedule permits. A block or two off of piazza Navona, through a courtyard behind a (usually locked) door. A true masterpiece by Borromini, who also designed the baldacchino over the main altar of St. Peter’s. If you’ve looked at too much art and too many overly decorated churches, it’s like a breath of fresh, white-marble air.
—the Testaccio city market, on via Benjamin Franklin. Where actual Romans do their food shopping, along with the nearby Esquilino market (lots of amazing fresh produce from all over the place). Testaccio attracts a more Roman clientele, while Esquilino has more immigrant shoppers buying all sorts of ingredients.
—Keats’ grave at the Protestant cemetery, if you’re a literary geek.

Just a few suggestions, for things that many people who hurry-hurry-hurry through Rome never get to see.

Rome restaurants: just read Katie Parla’s guide to Rome: LINK. She has a separate guide to good gelato. So much of the gelato sold to tourists in Rome is freaking terrible. It’s worth finding the real thing, even if it’s slightly out of your way. If it has fresh fruit shoved in one end of the display pan & is brightly colored, avoid it.

I’ll be back in Rome in about 80 days, can’t wait.

Besides the normal big attractions (Colosseum, Forum, St. Peters, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, Trevi fountain, etc.), I really recommend going to one of the big aristocratic mansions that are now museums. I went to the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, but the Galleria Borghese and Palazzo Colonna are even higher rated on TripAdvisor.

If you want something to do for several hours outside the city, I recommend the ruins of Ostia Antica, which was once the port city on the Tiber for ancient Rome, and which is well-preserved and will give you a great insight of what life was like in ancient Rome. It's a short hop away from the city on a commuter train.

Got a lot of montalcino from your posts and slight researching.

quote:

---

If you go to the Keyhole, then visit the two gardens right next door. Not many people up there at all. We took a couple of sandwiches and a bottle of wine up there and enjoyed the view. It's one of the better views in Rome and unknown to tourists---generally.

---

Excellent suggestion. Generally, you are not allowed to picnic in public squares in Rome, but off the beaten path in a park, no one will bother you about it.

Another good picnic spot is the gardens/park around the Villa Borghese. It's nice to visit the gallery early in the day (advance, timed tickets definitely a good idea) and follow it up with lunch in the park. The gallery has a little cafe on the first floor, but the park has several kiosks open seasonally, where you can get tramezzini (pressed sandwiches) and other simple food to eat in the garden.

+1 on Castel Sant Angelo- watch Borgia on Netflix or through Apple store before you go (not the Showtime series)