Rome is one of those places that are so familiar you think you can visit at any time. The truth is you never find the right moment. One November I decided to put an end to this situation and I took the chance to spend three intense days in Rome while travelling to Florence for business. There are many Romes: imperial Rome, Christian Rome, Baroque Rome, the Rome of the fountains, the Rome of the restaurants, the parks and the sophistication. The aim of this article is to describe my experiences during a “long” weekend in Rome, when I tried to squeeze the most of my visit. Since it was not possible to see everything in such limited time I focused my priorities on antique roman art but also used some time for other interesting topics.

November is an appropriate time to visit Rome. It is not too hot, it is not too cold, and if you are lucky you can still enjoy a couple of radiant sunny days. There is one more advantage: Rome is never low season, but at least, at this time of the year, the tide of tourists remains under control. I cannot imagine travelling to Rome during the summer when temperatures can reach 40 degrees in the shadow and you need to stand deceiving long queues in the sun to visit even the simplest attraction, to find a place at a restaurant or simply to get a taxi.

My first contact with the city of Rome was the Termini train station: a massive, impersonal building famous within the tourists for its pickpockets. Anyway, the train is still the best option to arrive from Fiumicino airport. My second experience was even less rewarding. One advice; do not trust three start hotels in Rome if they are suspiciously cheap. A second advice; do not believe everything you see on the Internet. The fact is I got a miserable room in a more miserable hotel that shared the first and fourth floors with other private flats in a decrepit old building. The Italian rules for assigning categories to hotels seem rather startling. According to the listing, my room was fairly well equipped: mini bar, air-conditioning, hair dryer, TV, etc. What the listing does not say is the size of the room was so small you could hardly move. The washbasin was placed inside the room no more than 30 cm from my bed. The toilet and the American shower were both fitted within three-square meters. They call American shower to a rooted shower tap and a hole in the floor. It is not necessary to mention luxuries like a door in the bath, a decent towel or a wardrobe that does not fall into pieces were just unimaginable.  

Rome has a reasonable public transport system. There exists only two metro lines, but they are the best way to reach some of the most popular tourist places.  The bus network is dense and frequent, but I found buses less comfortable. Taxis, on the other hand are less reliable, sometimes they are difficult to find and you need to be alert for the Italian “picaresca”. Nevertheless, even if Rome is an immense city, the historical centre, where you will expend most of your time, is rather compact and can be easily reached on foot. Distances are acceptable in most of the cases and you have the added value of discovering new experiences at every corner. Security is another concern, pickpockets abound and I have seen no other city where people are more alarmed, even hysteric, about security. It is funny to see how many tourists look pregnant wearing their rucksacks at the front.  

Before coming to Rome, the Colosseo was one of my greatest expectations. However, it was a short of disappointment. Do not misunderstand me; the Colosseo is one of those spots you cannot miss. However, the Colosseo is so well known all over the world and its style has been copied so many times that when you face it for the first time it is hard to believe it is almost 2000 years old. It is so massive, and from the outside so well preserved, it is difficult to avoid thinking that when you cross the entrance, you will find the entire Roman Empire inside. You immediately imagine the gladiators fighting on the sand, the dark corridors and the screaming beasts. However, what you really find is an immense empty oval pregnant with Japanese tourists. One of the surprises is that even if the facades of the Colosseo were originally made of gleaming travertine, the core of the fantastic construction is made of ordinary clay bricks and concrete. Since the travertine in the interior is gone long ago, the Colosseo remains exposed with its clay skeleton and the dent less dark mouths of its “vomitorie”. Taking into account the entrance fee is not small, local authorities could do much more to improve the atmosphere; basically composed of empty corridors, naked terraces and broken stairs. However, there is no shortage of tourist shops inside the building. Since excavations are permanently going on, tourists are usually kept far from the most interesting views of the archaeological site, i.e. the underground corridors and cells. I recommend you to visit the place early in the morning. Otherwise you will have to stand long queues at the entrance and squeeze at the terraces and corridors with the mass of tourists.

Close to the Colosseo is the arch of Constantino, one of the several magnificent triumphal arches that can be visited in Rome. You can get a good view of the arch from the first floor of the Colosseo. The arch is in an excellent state of preservation and it marks the start of the “via Sacra”, the natural entrance to the roman forum.

The Roman forum is one of my favourites places in Rome. Anytime is good to visit the forum, and surprisingly the, in my opinion, best roman attraction is for free. Some people recommend starting the visit to the Roman forum with a panoramic from the Campidoglio. I disagree. Your first approach to the forum should be along the “Via Sacra”; the road used by processions in ancient Rome on their way to the temples. As you come close to the arch of Titus, another well preserved arch, you will get astonished with the view. Little is left from the splendour of the roman times, a group of columns here, part of a wall standing like by miracle there, the broken base of a sculpture, the remains of an ancient temple embedded in a Christian church. Nevertheless, the Forum offers a unique atmosphere, an impressive scenario where visitors can still feel the magnificence and the power of Rome.

As you enter the forum, the different buildings composing the archaeological site are revealed. On the left you will see the sloped hill of the “Palatino” that will deserve a commentary on its own. On the right the massive basilica of Constantino will welcome the visitor. It is difficult not to get impressed by its gigantic proportions and advanced engineering. Descending along the Via Sacra you will discover temples, shops, ponds, colonnades, etc. You raise your eyes to the nearby hill of the Palatino where the remains of the sumptuous houses of the wealthy inhabitants of the roman forum still stand. You can almost see the “paters” of the “republica” wave their hands at the victorious roman generals entering the forum to receive the applause of the multitude. Continuing the walk along the Via Sacra, you will find the front dominated by the slope of the senatorial palace. At the base another magnificent arch, the arch of Septimio Severo, deserve a careful look. It is time to wander around the ruins of what used to be the centre of the world. Your freedom to move will be limited by the excavations taking place. It would be too long to describe in detail all the remains present in forum: i.e. the Temple of Julius Cesar can be a romantic story, but there is not much to see; the house of the virgins of Vestas is a beautiful corner at the base of the Palatino; a trace of the Cloaca Maxima can be seen at one extreme; the proportions of the basilica Julia where important issues where judged in roman times can only be observed from above.

We continue our visit past the arch of Septimio Severo and up the stairs in the direction of the Capitolio. In the way up the hill you can enjoy several impressive views of the archaeological site below and a close-up of the arch. If you are interested in photography, the Forum offers quite a number of interesting sights. Light is better early in the morning or at the end of the day. At the top of the stairs you will find the square of Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo, and the museums of the Capitolio. Another favourite photo spot for the tourists are the stairs at the opposite side of the hill; also designed by Michelangelo

To the left you will find the Marcello Theatre; a smaller scale precursor of the Colosseo surrounded by some archaeological remains. To the right you will find the monument to Vittorio Emanuele III. The monument is a massive modern construction situated in Piazza Venezia, the main reference point in the city. In the area there exists several important remains. One monument you should not miss is the Trajan Column. The column describes the conquest of the Dacia by the Roman emperor Trajano and it is an artistic wonder. Adjacent is the Trajan forum and markets; the largest forum in Rome. Following along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, you can also visit the Julian and the Augustean forums. The imperial forums are still interesting but cannot be compared with the original Roman forum. Only the Trajan forum is open to tourists, but the expensive fee can hardly be justified since you can have a good view of the forum from the surrounding streets.

The Palatino is another attraction you should not miss. The ticket for the Colosseo is also valid for the Palatino. The Palatine hill was the best real state in ancient Rome and it is still one of the best locations today. The Palatino encloses the ruins of the palaces of several renowned roman emperors. The visit is part ruin-exploration, part nature hike. One of the most impressive remains is the Circus of Domiciano. Other well-known sites are the Domus Tiberiana, Domus Augustana, Villa Farnesse, the Belvedere and the Termas dei Septimio Severo. You can also see the remains of several fountains, pools and houses of famous characters. Unfortunately a significant part of the site, probably the most interesting, is closed to the public due to ongoing excavations. From the ruins of the Domus Augustana you can enjoy beautiful views of the place where the Circus Maximus used to be located and a splendid panoramic of the city. There is also a museum on the site, but it is not too much interesting.

Before we close our visit to the ancient roman remains I still recommend two additional visits: the first one is the Piazza della Bocca Veritá, the second one is the Pantheon. Lets start with the last one. The Pantheon is situated in a small pedestrian square at the centre of a labyrinth of narrow streets and close to the famous Fontana di Trevy. The Pantheon is by far the best-preserved Roman temple existing today. Both its external architecture and its internal decoration is almost 100% original. This 2^nd century pagan temple was transformed into a Christian church in 608; hence the reason for its preservation. From the outside you feel the solidity and permanence of its rectangular portico; a good representative of the traditional layout of a roman temple. Inside, at the marvel vault of its hemispherical concrete dome, pierced by a 9 m oculus, you can ecstasy and admire the multiple colours of the original marble decoration. The square were the temple is situated is of regular size, but the masse of the Pantheon is clearly out of proportion. A beautiful fountain in front of the portico serves to support one of the several obelisks that can be found in Rome.

Coming from Teatro Marcello down to the Tiber riverside, and crossing the Ponte Fabricio you arrive at the Isola Tiberina. There is island located at the turn of the river where experts consider primitive Romans were first established. There are beautiful stories about the island, but this is all that is left. If you continue your journey across the opposite Ponte Cestio bridge you will arrive at the Trastevere; one of the most popular roman districts. Sorry, it must be in some other occasion, as I mentioned we are short of time. We cross again from the Trastevere to the other riverbank and observe the hopeless ruin of Ponte Rotto; one of the oldest bridges from the roman times. We are now at the Piazza della Bocca Veritá. The Piazza is a less massified scenario that nevertheless contains important roman ruins. Lets start our visit with the temples of Hercules and Portuno, and the lovely Fontana dei Tritoni. These miniature temples are one of the best preserved in Rome and also one of the few remains you can observe almost complete. The first one has a circular plant, while the second one is classical rectangular. Close by is the Arco di Jano, a peculiar quadrangular structure with arches at its sides. The last attraction in the area is the one that gives its name to the Piazza: the stone of the Bocca Veritá. It is situated at the portico of the church of Santa Maria; a medieval church whose interior is worth a visit. The stone is the typical attraction for tourists. The story says the stone will cut your hand if you introduce it in its mouth while you have impure thoughts. When you see the circular stone, you will immediately notice why it acquired its fame.

Next to the Piazza della Bocca Veritá we find the immense empty space of the Circus Maximus. Nothing remarkable here, except for the perspective of the Domus Augustean at the top of the Palatino hill. We continue our walk along the Via delle Terme where we find the best preserved Termes in Rome: Terme di Caracalla. However, don’t expect to see much here. Just a few rooted walls that stand from the once gigantic construction will serve to give you an idea of the proportions of the immense edifice. As usual the fee to enter the ruins is too expensive and I preferred to have a view from the road surrounding the monument.

I continue my walk in the direction of Porta di Sebastian. If you have some spare time you can walk along the Roman city walls. It is surprising to discover how such a large and chaotic city can still preserve a significant part of its walls and some of its monumental doors. In that sense, the San Sebastian door is the start of the renowned Via Apia. My intention was to walk along the Via Apia Antica and enter one of the several catacombs situated at its side while visiting some of the abundant remains in the surroundings of the ancient roman road. I planned the visit guided by a beautifully edited leaflet I kindly received from the Italian tourist office. In the text, the Via Apia is described as an idyllic road surrounded by forests and parks. Unfortunately, what I saw is something very different: a horrible narrow road with very dense traffic, limited by high walls with no space for pedestrians, where walking was at least dangerous. I tried the visit on foot and I strongly discourage this option. Take a bus or better: this is probably the only place in Rome where having a car could be an advantage. As soon as you leave the road, the situation changes dramatically and you get immersed in vast meadows that resemble very well the rural ambience outside the city walls in the early Christian ages.

The catacombs are in my opinion one of the most impressive remains in Rome. There exist more than sixty catacombs in Rome. Contrary to the popular belief, the catacombs were not a place of hiding but a cemetery. Some of the most famous catacombs are situated at the side of the Via Apia. I visited the catacombs of San Calixtus. It is arranged in four levels and contains more than half a million tombs. It is a Christian burial place, but there exits also pagan catacombs in the surroundings. You enter the catacomb through a step stair climbing down two the second level. Inside you will find a dark and narrow labyrinth where it is easy to lose your way. The niches of the tombs were excavated from the upper to the lower part in the soft volcanic stone of the walls of the corridors. There were also special burial places for the VIPS, demonstrating that even at the time of the roman prosecutions money was already considered a valid method to buy a better position in eternal life. Of course, the human remains have been moved from the area visited by the public to other places within the catacomb. You can imagine the reasons: yes, one is sanitary; the other is simply because tourists used to take bones as souvenirs. The guided tour will take 30 min and will allow you to visit some of the most important tombs and several picturesque corridors. I recommend you to visit the monument close to the opening hours to avoid the usual queues.

As I mentioned in the introduction, my initial intention was to devote this travel to ancient Roman art only. However I noticed I could also find some time to visit other remarkable Roman attractions; i.e. the Vatican. If you intend to visit the Vatican museums, do it first time in the morning. That won’t avoid you the long queues, but at least will give you time to visit most of the contents of the museum. Last Sunday of the month entrance is free. Don’t do that; choose any other day. I would rather pay the entrance fee than spoil the visit. November is low season, but nevertheless, I needed to wait for more than 2 hours before I could enter the museum and then only to see endless corridors invaded by masses of tourists. Every statue, picture or jewel had a ring of tourists you needed to break if you wanted to have a glimpse of the art treasures on exhibition. The Sixtine Chapel was so crowded; people could not even sit on the floor (your initial though) because of lack of physical space. One of my favourites hobbies was to head up along the long corridors to see the dark carpet of tourist heads moving homogeneously like an army of ants.

I am not very fond of painting, sculpture or religious crafting; the main topics of the museum. I do like architecture, archaeology, urbanism, history of science and technology, popular arts and craftsmanship. None of those topics were well represented in the museum; hence my opinion will not be objective. Anyway I must say the Vatican museums did not impress me so much as I expected. The museums have a little of everything and a much of religious subjects. You can see Egyptian and ancient Roman art, masterpieces from the renaissance, baroque painting and sculpturing, etc. The strongest points are Roman sculpturing and renaissance painting. The collection of heads of famous roman characters is impressive. You can also watch here some of the most famous masterpieces from the renaissance and beautiful frescos from the great masters are spread all over the building. I also recommend you to visit the maps and tapestry galleries, the library and of course the Sixtine chapel. The maps gallery is a long corridor whose walls and ceiling are fully covered with frescos representing beautiful maps of the possessions of the Popes at the time. The Egyptian section has some lovely pieces, but nothing compared with what you can see at the Louvre or the Cairo museum. My feelings at the Sixtine Chapel were somehow mixed. No doubt it is an impressive scenario you should not miss, but the atmosphere is spoiled by the massive attendance of tourists. You have seen the frescos so many times that when you are faced the with real thing something does not seems to work. The Sixtine chapel is not like I imagined it. It is not better or worse; it is simply different. For example, I expected to see the famous scene of Adan receiving the birth of life dominating the ceiling of the chapel. I was surprised to see this composition was not as big as I expected and was somehow dispersed in the incredibly elaborated frescos. Anyway, the Sixtine chapel is a gorgeous piece of master genius. What I liked best are the representations of the different mysteries of Jesus life painted in the walls of the chapel that were taken as an excuse to present a detailed pictorial description of common day life activities at the time of the renaissance. The voluptuous human figures pouring over from the ceiling that are so much admired by the experts are nice, but do not fit very well with my style.

I also expected to have a glimpse of the inner architecture of the Vatican City from the museums; as opposed to the official image of San Peters basilica. This aim was not fulfilled. On the one side there were not many opportunities to see the exterior from the museum; on the other side, what you do see is little remarkable. For example, the famous spiral staircase at the entrance of the museum seemed to me too artificial. There are various shops for tourists in the interior of the museum. Some of them are arranged in incredible scenarios. You can find there some interesting goods it is not easy to find anywhere else: facsimile of codices, certified reproductions of archaeological pieces, high quality religious objects, etc. You can imagine prices were prohibitive.

After expending almost six hours inside the Vatican Museums, I headed for the Piazza di San Pietro. When faced with San Peter’s Basilica, many people feel something special due to religious reasons. This is not my case. From the outside, the Basilica is huge, massive and over helming, but, in my opinion, little charming. The innumerable statues of the popes says nothing to me and the famous Bernini colonnade surrounding the Piazza are a nice composition but still too impersonal. The massive dome of San Peter’s Basilica is a technological miracle, but confronted with the rest of the building, which is also huge, is simply in the right proportion.  Anyway, it is a good place to take a couple of photos.

Again you must wait a moderate queue to enter the Basilica; this time due to security reasons. There are two options: you can head up directly to the Basilica and St Peter’s Tomb or try ascending in the elevator to the dome. An extremely long and slow queue and an unreasonable price dissuaded me from this last option. So I just entered the Basilica. When you cross the immense doors, you are immersed in a vast space were darkness and light effects pouring through the windows combine to create an atmosphere of power and richness. The pillars are so massive and the ceiling they support is so high above your head you feel unease. The space inside is so huge that in spite of the numerous treasures of art scattered around; the building seems almost empty. Not even the masses of tourist can spoil this impression. Every single inch around you is covered with several species of marble: the walls, the arches, the pillars, the domes, and the floor. Rich altars and religious images covered with gold and jewels flourish, thus increasing the effect of gratuitous opulence. Everything seems too big, too rich, too distant, too bitter. The feeling is augmented when you come to the gigantic dome made by Bernini and reported the biggest Christian dome in the world. The inaccessible lantern placed at the top of the dome marks the start of the several radii defining the symmetry of the amazing construction. However, in my opinion, there is nothing inside St Peter’s basilica you can’t find in other similar constructions around Europe. Only the scale is bigger. I would rather prefer a tiny Romanic church lost in the mountains or even one of the wonderful gothic cathedrals that abound in Europe than this monument to the “bigger is better” concept. The tomb of San Peter’s has a more human scale. At the Crypt, you can find buried several important popes from the early days. But again, the concept has been repeated so many times with similar layouts all over Europe that only the knowledge you are at the original St Peter’s tomb can convince you it is something special.

We leave St Peter’s Basilica and head along Via della Conciliazone. Parallel to the elegant avenue joining the Vatican and the fortress of Castel S. Angelo, it runs a fortified corridor reminiscent of the times when popes were something more than the spiritual leaders of occident. The lack of time convinced me to skip the museum inside the fortress and crossed the picturesque Ponte S. Angelo towards Piazza Navona; shaped after the circus that existed there in Roman times. Three beautiful fountains, two of them designed by Bernini, and a traditional street market welcome the visitors.

Our next stop is the famous Piazza di Spagna. The popular piazza is busy all day long and while I must confess the view of the church of Trinita dei Monti on top of the Spanish steps is certainly remarkable, I could not avoid the feeling of those attractions typically arranged for tourists. At the nearby Piazza del Popolo you can see another beautiful fountain and one more of the Egyptian obelisks in Rome. Finally, the last attraction I will describe is the famous Fontana di Trevi. The fountain is a spectacular combination of water and stone with an animated mythological decoration. Actually, all the architectural and decorative elements frame the water and collects in the large basing representing the sea. The fountain is far too big for the small piazza where it is placed. It is somehow surprising when you arrive from any of the narrow streets flooding into the piazza and you are suddenly faced with the impressive representation of the fountain. The sound of the poring water can be heard from several streets away. On the other hand, the scenario around the fountain is so well arranged that you are able to take a decent photograph even when it is completely overtaken by tourists; something that happens from sunrise to dawn.

One of the unexpected Roman characteristics is water. Water is as important in Rome today, as it was in ancient Rome, when fresh water was carried from several hundred of km away by means of those remarkable pieces of engineering called aqueducts. In the course of your visit you will find dozens of monumental fountains by renowned artists and in almost every corner there are little fountains with delicious water where tourists can palliate their thirst.

You can do a lot in three days in Rome; provided you have a carefully planned agenda and you don’t mind walking until extenuation. In this limited time I was able to visit the most important Roman attractions. However, Rome is a big city full of artistic treasures and three days hardly gives you the chance to scratch the surface of all these beauties. There are dozens of other attractions worth visiting in Rome I was not able to see: cosy Romanic churches, baroque palaces, wonderful museums, etc. Any of those options would have become a first class tourist attraction in any other place less conditioned by the weight of history and the competence of other more remarkable monuments. My visit was fairly complete; however there is one important monument I missed: the Domus Aurea. Unfortunately, my time run out before I could have a chance to visit this interesting monument. In the end, I promised to myself I would return and have a less stressing visit to Rome.