This short article wants to give you some tips to enjoy Rome authentically and see things that are not so well known and touristy.
You can explore the city by yourself and walk around, but if you’d like to add some storytelling to your visit and you’re looking for small and well-organised guided tours, we recommend you check these guys out: Live Virtual Guide. Their hidden gems tours are wonderful (click here for more info) and their “Dark Side of Rome” tours are a unique way to explore the city by night (click here for more info)!
Here are our local tips!
Wine and food
Grab a lovely glass of wine and some delicious food at Enoteca Wineconcept, Machiavelli 64
see map here – the favourites of Guido’s aunt and uncle 🙂
History and sightseeing
1) Galleria Sciarra Colonna – see map here – fits perfectly when you’re walking around the Pantheon and Fontana di Trevi. Walk in and look up… its breathtaking paintings will take you back in time!
“The dominant theme celebrated women as angels of the hearth and as brides and mothers in the bourgeois vision of the late-19th-century society. In the upper part of the passage, a scroll surmounts and identifies the Virtues: Modesty, Sobriety, Strength, Humility, Prudence and Patience; on the opposite side, Benign, Lady, Lovable, Faithful and Merciful. In the lower band, the scenes of bourgeois life of the time with, on the one hand, Tending the Garden, Conversation, Lunch at Home, Musical Entertainment and Exhortation to Charity; on the other, The Courteous Conversation, which portrays Gabriele D’Annunzio, Vanity, Marriage and Care of Children.
The decorations, which exalt in a particular way the mother of the Prince, Donna Carolina Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, propose several times the initials of Princess CCS alternating with those of her son, MS. The works ended in 1888.” (www.turismoroma.it)
There is also an art gallery with the same name (Colonna Palace) – see map here – which worths a visit!
2) About Fontana di Trevi, you can see its underground water system! It’s quite fascinating! You can go by yourself – see map here – or book your tour here!
3) Altare della Patria – the massive white monument in Piazza Venezia built between 1885 and 1911 to celebrate the new-bork Kingdom of Italy! Walk up to see all the amazing statues and get inside if you have time to visit the Museo Risorgimento (about Italian unification).
Also, there is an elevator that takes you up to the rooftop and you’ve got an amazing view of the city. I think you can still late to see the sunset and there might be a bar up there. This is the official website to buy tickets: vive.cultura.gov.it
4) Take a break from the caos and noise of the city and pop in the majestic Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (it’s not far from Colosseo).
5) Go for a walk in the gardens of Villa Borghese and Giannicolo, from here you can have an amazing view of Rome and it’s a place full of history- the other amazing view is from Giardino degli Aranci.
All the things mentioned are near the main area within Colosseo and San Pietro, so I’d say that for three days you’ll have more than enough. But if you want to go out of the city center, you can go for a walk at Parco degli Acquedotti (aqueduct park)- see map here.
You can contact us if you need help to organise your trip!
