Fall in love
I don’t won’t to be boring giving tons of cultural information about Rome that you can find anyway , but rather to give some ideas that may help you save precious time anyway. It’s amazing the fact that in few days you can have a very good picture of all the beauty that the Eternal city of Rome gives and inspires also.
You just have to know how, I will offer you some support about the matter, saving time relaxing , enjoying, enjoying and enjoying.
The fist thing you have to do is to fall in love with Rome, and that is the easiest part. Some ideas about how to :
-Climb the Cordonnata, which are stairs designed by Michelangelo – and don’t worry, you will not feel the effort because of it is a gradual ascension – to get to the Piazza del Campidoglio (the Capitol Square) then turn left at the end to have the most breath taking view of the Imperial and Roman Forums.
-A glimpse of the Colosseum at night, high moon shining over even better, should be enough, even for a heart of stone.
-The peaceful sensation of Saint Peter’s Square in the evening when almost no one is around, just like being inside a temple and after a short walk along the river side till the Castel Sant’ Angelo (ancient fortress of the Pope), views from the Ponte Sant’Angelo (beautiful bridge decorated with statues).
Let’s begin
Ok, Morning, you wake up to a good breakfast in your cosy hotel in Rome, go out and now after climbing the Cordonnata you’are looking at the Forums admiring their beauty, next step is to go there. It’s free. At Via San Gregorio, 36 (beside the Colosseum) lays the Palatine Hill entrance where you can rent an audio-guide containing all the information about the forums, for as little as 4 euros. Tell me: Do you want to wait one hour line before entering the Colosseum? If your answer is no, at the Palatine hill entrance you buy the ticket for Palatine Hill and Coliseum, (paying only two euros more) and you enter straight there saying ciao with your hands to all the people waiting!
And so, having the information you can stroll around the Forums and the stones will tell you so many things, instead of feeling like a caveman. Not only to see or to hear the stones talking it’s wonderful, but try touching them and you tell me.
After seeing Colosseum and Forums you deserve a rest, go to the Palatine Hill, which is a beautiful archeological park, being at the very centre of the city you will feel miles away from the buzzing city, for it is so green and birds are singing. (don’t tell anyone you could have a healthy hamper with no harm at all).
You will want to take a nap but set your alarm clock before sunset !
Now we cruise to the Temple of all Gods, The Pantheon. It’s from the same classical period, but all in one piece as it is undoubtedly the best preserved ancient building! Even if the Barbarians took little away (but not much indeed) and the Barberini’s the bronze, for the Bernini’s Badalchino at Saint Peter’s. I will not say anything about it’s perfection and beauty, or the greek legacy breathing in and out from its walls and marvellous god-connecting oculus. (When rainy day go and check, the floor is almost dry).
Having already listened the hits of the classical period, walk three minutes and dine at Piazza Navona, feeling more roman now, if you want roman pizza in a roman place with roman prices try one of our recommended Restaurants.
After that you could go for a drink at Campo di Fiori, Giordano Bruno statue with moon behind, good view for a drink with friends you know or to make new buddies while hanging around.
Small country, big art treasure
The morning for the Vatican Museums (closed on Sunday except last Sunday of the month when it’s free) , the best is to be there at 08:30 am (in a beeline that you cannot avoid unless you have booked a Vatican tour), line goes faster that it seems so don’t fret and use your time to read about the masterpieces you will find. My, you have already arrived, time is an illusion, so the oriental sage says, once inside you can get the audio-guide for 6 euros with the whole information.
Don’t overstay in the Museums looking at this and that else by the time you get the Sistine Chapel you will only be concerned about a beer and grab something to eat and you will miss out on the best of Michelangelo’s works. Since you have paid your fee for entrance better get streetwise . First things first : first the Sistine Chapel (which is at the very end), anyway we have to give back the audio-guide at the entrance, remember?. Well, keep on the way to the Rafaello’s rooms and the Pinacoteca (masterpieces of Giotto, Leonardo, Perugino, Beato Angelico, Raphael, Caravaggio etc, what else do the want, the Gioconda? Go to Paris).
Once you have a glimpse of that go wherever you want, the choice is endless and fascinating, special mention for the Laoconte wich inspired Michelangelo’s conception of the body.
After a quick lunch break in one of our recommended Rome’s restaurants, then get ready to go to the second biggest church in the world. Hey! Don’t blame me, the biggest one is in Ivory Coast.
So, we are talking about St Peter’s in Rome at the Vatican. The Square with the colonnade designed by Bramante symbolizes the embrace of the Catholic Church to the pilgrims arriving there. If you stand on certain point marked with a circle here and there, the two lines of columns will become one by a trompe oeil (visual effect, in French sounds better, isn’t it?).
Up there are 140 saints watching out, Jesus and the twelve disciples. In the Piazza on the left Saint Peter with the great key, and Saint Paul with a sword (he died decapitated, as roman citizen he could no die on the cross). The basilica was ordered to be constructed by Constantine on the IV century on the place it’s believed that Saint Peter died, the ancient Nero’s Circus (Saint Peter died under the Nero’s rule) to remark the victory of the Church.
The Pieta of Michelangelo’s, the Altar of Bernini, the Heavenly view from the dome, having the whole city at your feet with the must beautiful and surprising orange skyline, are only examples of the marvellous impression you will have entering this temple (cover your shoulders and knees).
After you may take a walk until Castel Sant’Angelo for a sunset view not easily forgetting and Yes! Say will love her forever (she will even believed for five minutes).
To walk inside the centre is easy, distances are short. There are many ways to do it, I began by Campo de Fiori with the open market, see Giordano Bruno statue on the place he was executed by the Church, looking peacefully at the people going around.
Then, since it is just aside, Piazza Navona (better in opinion during the evening) artists can be found there offering a quite bohemian atmosphere, here used to be the Ancient Domiziano Stadium and in the past it was fill with water for festivities. The Pantheon (remember?) it’s around the corner, allow your self to visit the very near church of San Luigi dei Francesi and the French Embassy in Rome and enjoy Three Caravaggio Masterpieces for free (Not bad eh?).
Walk towards the east after only five minutes you will hear (not see) that you are arriving to the surprising Trevi Fountain. Drop the coin, so you will come back for sure, I did it as a tourist, now I live in Rome. (A guy went to prison been caught at four o’clock at night getting the nickels , good business by the way, who could blame him).
And so, now you can play the intellectual going to Antico Caffe Greco at Via Condotti (where luxury shops are found and where of course I didn’t buy anything) Antico Caffe Greco used to be one of the spots where you could find Goethe for example (So why not you).
Piazza Spagna opens its beauty to your eyes, with flowers in springtime (Ladies will love it, and males can play the romantics with a poetical face).
At piazza del Popolo you will see an interesting visual effect, standing at the arc looking at the twin churches you will swear they are the same size, and you will be wrong.
You have quite a picture now, next time I‘ll tell you something about the outskirts.
And since Rome was not built in a day, don’t imagine you can see it all in one day so while around, why not stay in a central and cosy hotel like My Hotel Rome?
ARRIVEDERCI FELLOWS
(Your friend Big-Mouth-Knows-all-about-it)
Elisa Toffoli, better known only as Elisa (Monfalcone, 19 December 1977), is a singer, composer, musician and record producer. Born in a small town called Monfalcone in Gorizia, Italy, she is one of the few Italian singer-songwriters to write many of her songs in English, that, of course, without neglecting her devout Italian following. She was discovered at the age of 19, with the debut album Pipes & Flowers, a full-English album, but fame came thanks to the successful participation in the legendary 
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iazza di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, 9/a 
