Visting Rome

M

moonwalker

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I'm off to Rome for 4 days. Any advice/info on the best places, I've got the Vatican, Coliseum and the Sistine chapel covered. I'm open to pretty much anything so all suggestions appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Hey Rhino, make sure not miss Villa Borghese, the chances are you will get sensory overload ( all those magnificent pieces of art per square meter) :)
also having coffee at Piazza di Spagna is a must.
I use to go to Rome often, and I have mixed feelings about this city. Its almost schizophrenic experience, strange beauty with some sort of darkness that creeps up upon your heart after a while - hard to explain.
If you have a chance go to Naples - its approx. 4 h train ride (or less depends which train you catch). I'd always trade Rome for Naples - but that's just me.
 
I share the feelings of Corto Maltese, especially in the center near to the coliseum. I went once and I felt a strange "energy" of sadness or something. I interpreted that like being the beauty of the city hiding a violent past.
However, it's nice to walk around the Pantheon XD
 
You are right all that stretch from Coliseum to Vatican is imbued with something very dark that clings to your heart and you feel it like heavy weight
 
Corto Maltese said:
You are right all that stretch from Coliseum to Vatican is imbued with something very dark that clings to your heart and you feel it like heavy weight
Click to expand...

Yes, Corto Maltese, the journey from the Coliseum of Imperial Rome to the Vatican is the symbol of a dark reality. The Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church resides in the Vatican. The Pope is the Emperor of Rome in a different incarnation. This is a dark deception lost in history, except to those who sense it emotionally, as you so eloquently describe. I knew this history of the “change of garment” of the dark forces ruling an empire intellectually, but only when I walked back into history on the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees, 800km west for 32 days, did I understand with all centers what had happened. The Camino de Santiago roughly follows the Old Roman Road which ran from Bordeaux to Astorga. The monasteries, nunneries, and Cathedrals were built on Roman ruins. The slave master had merely changed forms. This sensation of heavy darkness clinging to the heart seemed to me grief for the betrayed aspirations for love and mercy of two millennia of human beings sacrificed on the alters of power.
 
I know it's an obvious one, but do NOT miss St. Peter's Basilica and the square, it is definitely the most incredible building I have ever seen inside regardless of that it might represent. Also be aware that you can no longer enter the archaelogical area from near the coloseum for free, but you have to buy tickets from the entrance to the Palatino and walk a much longer route. Bad news in mid summer! The coloseum itself is very impressive but like others have said there is a terrible sadness about it, looking at the holding areas where terrified slaves and beautiful animals awaited their fate.
 
hello Rhino

I went to Rome this year and except Saint Pieter which is naturally impressive by his wealh ( don't miss the statue of Michelangelo really beautiful)

I loved Piazza Navona and the espagnol stair-case,it was hearty . I agree with Corto maltese and mkrnhr that in and around the Colloseo , it reigns a

tragic atmosphere.

Personally I prefer Florence

Good journey
 
I higly advise you to visit the Vatican Museums!!, which has on of the most impressive art collections. There is however a very long queue so it would be best to visit it during the early morning. Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Gesu, Piazza della Minerva, Campidoglio are just a few of the many places you could visit. It is impossible to visit all the monuments and museums in Rome, there are just too many things to explore. You should consider planning your journey in advance, otherwise you will feel lost. :shock:

If you have time, you should also check Frascati, just south-east of Rome, where all the villas of the Cardinals and Popes were built between the 16th-19th centuries, such as Villa Aldobrandini, Villa Torlonia, Villa Mondragone and so on. There is also a really nice view of the Capital.

Hope you enjoy your trip! :)
 
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