Rome

We spent two days in Rome and will describe our routes around the city. Of course there are many unique routes. We like movies so we were looking for places shown in "Angels & Demons". There's even an official tour, although you can see everything by yourself. Here's a description of the route. While walking around Rome on our routes, you will see all these places and of course much more.

We used only metro as public transport. Despite the fact that we had a car, we left it near the metro station and walked on foot, as you cannot enter the historical center by car without special permission. All parking places in Rome can be found here.

http://www.atac.roma.it - Rome transport and route calculation.

Here's a link to the map with our routes.



Day 1

We started from the Colosseo metro station. Actually, if you want to visit the Colosseum (information), arrive early. There's always a long queue to the Colosseum, so better buy the tickets in advance online here (click "Acquista") or here. With the ticket you can visit the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, it's valid for two days.

You can also read the information about Roma Pass, a card that's valid for several days and provides free public transportation and entrance to several museums without queues. You can buy it on the train station, near the metro stations and on the news stands.

We just walked around the Colosseum and continued our walk.

Along the San Gregorio Street we reached a huge empty space. This is Circo Massimo (Big Circus). In ancient times, athletic contests and chariot races were held here. An obelisk that now stands on the Piazza del Popolo was also found here.




Then we crossed the street and visited the rose garden (free admission).




Next we went to a very interesting but not very popular tourist place - Orange Garden. Here you can find real orange trees and an excellent observation deck.






We went down by a small Clivo di Rocca Savella Street. In a few hundred meters towards the downtown there's one more interesting place - the Mouth of Truth. In fact it's an ancient manhole covered with a face. Delinquent people put a hand in its mouth, and on the other side an executioner cut off the hands of those whom the Court found guilty. Now tourists come here for photos.


A lady arrived with a driver and made a photo with an iPad without leaving the car :)


According to the guide, an ancient sewer Cloaca Maxima could be found nearby in the yard of the house on 3 Via Velabro Street, but we didn't find it.


On the other side of the road stands a beautiful Portico of Octavia that remained from the temple complex built by Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia. The Portico is the center of Ghetto, a block of Roman Jews.


Then we went in the direction of the Altare della Patria. On the way we saw various remains of ancient Rome. The most famous of them are remains of the Theatre of Marcellus. It's curious that under a modern center of Rome there are ancient streets and cities. There's even a project to destroy the new houses and turn this place into a museum. But I don't think that it'll be possible in the nearest future.








Turn right and visit a small but beautiful Capitoline Square. Here stands an interesting monument to the she-wolf who raised the city's founders, Romulus and Remus.




Walk through the square and go around the building with a tower on the left side. Behind you'll find an observation deck overlooking the Roman Forum.




Then we went by an elevator to the roof with an observation deck in the back of the Altare della Patria.










The construction of the monument in honor of the first king of united Italy Victor Emmanuel II lasted from 1885 to 1935.


Next we went to the Via del Corso and visited one of the courtyards on our way.


After that we got to the square with a column, called the Column Square :) A 30-meter tower is decorated with images of war with the Germans and Sarmatians.


Along the Via dei Sabini Street we reached the next spot, the most famous fountain in Rome - Trevi. There's a lot of tourists here at any time, so it's problematic to get close to the water.








After the fountain we went to the Via del Tritone Street and reached the Piazza Barberini. It's a desolate and beautiful area, with the Triton Fountain in the middle.




In the corner of the square you can find a small Fountain of the Bees.


From the square, we turned to the Via delle Quattro Fontane Street. As you might guess, it leads to the Four Fountains located at the crossroads of the next block.


Then we went along the Via XX Septembre Street to see the Fountain of Moses.


After that, we returned to the Barberini Square along the Via Barberini Street and continued towards the Spanish Steps along the Via Sistina Street.


While walking along this street, we came to the top of the stairs, but didn't go down and continued our tour. At this point, look for the rise on the right and climb into a small park, which will lead you to an observation deck above the Piazza del Popolo.






From this square starts the route of "Angels & Demons". Here, as well as in other places, you'll see crowds traders offering you different garbage for sale, don't get fooled. And don't take anything from them.






On the Via del Babuino Street we went first to the Spanish Steps, and then to the Spagna metro station.






Overall, we walked about 12 kilometers during the day.

Day 2, Morning and Afternoon

In the morning we went to Vatican. Read the separate article.

After Vatican, we went from the St. Peter's Square towards the Castel Sant'Angelo. There we took pictures of beautiful bridges and the Tiber River.










Then we crossed the bridge to the other side of the river and got lost in numerous small streets. In this district we felt the spirit of medieval Italy.


Next spot was the beautiful Piazza Navona, where one of the dramatic scenes in "Angels & Demons" occurred (drowning in a fountain).






Next, walking along the small streets we found the Campo dei Fiori Square with a market.


The next interesting place is an unusual St. Barbara Church.


The we went to the Pantheon, a temple of all gods that was built in 126 AD by the Emperor Hadrian on the site of the previous Pantheon, which had been built two centuries before. Here another scene of the "Angels & Demons" movie took place.


Behind the Pantheon there's a square with a small sculpture of an elephant - L'Obelisco di Minerva, Bernini's work. On the back of the elephant there's an ancient Egyptian obelisk brought by Caesar.


At this point we got tired and decided to have a rest. Again we went to the Spagna metro station, which is near the Spanish Steps.


But the route could be extended, as it's marked on the map above. You can also visit the following places:
  - Fountain of the Turtles
  - Jewish Ghetto district
  - Tiberian Island
  - Trastevere district
  - Walk on the promenade along the Tiber towards Vatican

Day 2, Evening

After a rest, we went out for an evening walk to take photos of the already familiar places.














Getting there: The main airport, Fiumicino (or the Leonardo da Vinci airport) is 30 kilometers away from the city. The city can be reached by the Leonardo Express train (follow the signs to find the Stazione Aeroporto station), which runs twice an hour (but not at night). The ticket costs 11 euros. In addition, there's a local train, which costs 6 euros and goes to the Tiburtina and Ostiense stations. The central Termini station and Tiburtina station can be reached by the Cotral bus (schedule), the ticket costs about 5 euros. Taxis to the downtown costs about 40-60 euros.