Touring Ancient Rome
A walk through the very core of Roman antiquity, through what was once the capital of the Western world, the Roman Forum, is an impressive introduction to the glories of the ancient city. Although the millennia have reduced this grand complex to fields of picturesque ruins, it is nonetheless awe-inspiring to consider that this square was the birthplace of Western civilization. Roman law and powerful armies were created here, banishing the barbarian world for a millennium.
Here all Rome shouted as one, "Caesar has been murdered," and crowded to hear Mark Antony's eulogy for the fallen leader. Legend has it that St. Paul traversed the Forum en route to his audience with Nero. Up on the Campidoglio the harmony of Michelangelo's Renaissance piazza is an appropriate homage to the seat of the ancient governments based here 2,000 years before. In the heyday of the Empire, the Forum below occasionally became an enormous banquet hall, where all imperial Rome could be entertained in one place (as our times have observed thanks to such Hollywood epics as Quo Vadis, Ben-Hur, and Cleopatra). It's fitting that in the aftermath of centuries of such pageantry Percy Bysshe Shelley and Edward Gibbon reflected here on the meaning of sic transit gloria mundi (so passes away the glory of the world).
The Tour
Begin your walk on the Campidoglio -- the site of Michelangelo's spectacular piazza and Rome's city hall, Palazzo Senatorio, which was built over the Tabularium, the ancient hall of records. Flanking the palazzo are both halves of Rome's most noteworthy museum complex, the Musei Capitolini, made up of the Museo Capitolino, the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the Pinacoteca Capitolina, the Tabularium, and Palazzo Caffarelli.
They contain works of art gathered by Pope Sixtus IV, one of the Renaissance papal patrons of the arts. Off to the side of the Campidoglio, at the head of its formidable flight of steps, stands the ancient redbrick church of Santa Maria d'Aracoeli. Walk down the road to the left of Palazzo Senatorio, behind the piazza, and look out over the remains of the Roman Forum. From here steps descend to the gloomy Carcere Mamertino, the Mamertine Prison. The road leads out past the Forum of Caesar to Via dei Fori Imperiali. Across the street are the Forum of Trajan and the Colonna di Traiano.
Continue along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, passing the fora built by Augustus and Nerva, and cross back over the road to the entrance of the Foro Romano. At the side of the ancient Via Sacra inside the Forum is the entrance to the Colle Palatino, site of Rome's earliest settlement, which dates back to the late Bronze Age. Take the ramp that leads from the Forum-Palatine Hill area to the Arco di Costantino and, beyond it, the Colosseo, one of antiquity's most famous monuments. Don't forget to check out the view from the park laid out over the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, his sumptuous palace, behind the Colosseum.
Timing:
It takes about an hour to walk the route, plus two hours to visit the Musei Capitolini, from two to three hours to explore the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Colosseum takes about a half hour to visit, plus 20 minutes waiting in line.
From Fodors.com
Know-How
Opening Hours
Shops are generally open from 9 or 9:30 to early afternoon and from 3:30 or 4 to 7 or 7:30 -- or 8 in summer. There's a tendency for shops in central districts to stay open all day, and hours are becoming more flexible throughout the city. Remember that although department stores are open Sundays, many stores are not, though this is changing, too, especially in the city center. With the exception of food stores, most stores also close on Monday morning from September to mid-June and Saturday afternoon from mid-June through August.
Sizing It Up
Italian sizes are not uniform, so always try on clothing before buying, and measure gift items. Children's sizes are all over the place, and though they usually go by age, they are calibrated to Italian children. (Average size-per-age standards vary from country to country.) Check washing instruction labels on all garments (often in English as well as Italian); many are not washable, and those that are may not be preshrunk. Glove sizes are universal. In any case, remember that Italian stores generally will not give refunds and often cannot exchange goods because of limited stock.
Counterfeits
The Prada, Gucci, Fendi, and Vuitton bags sold by sidewalk vendors are fakes. An underground network organizes the illegal manufacture, distribution, and sale of these seemingly perfect counterfeits of stylish status symbols. Both manufacturers and vendors are always one jump ahead of the police. If an incredibly good buy in a name-brand product of any kind is proposed to you, examine the goods carefully. Reliable stores sell at the prices indicated by the manufacturers -- so any enormous discount is suspect.
Duty-Free Shopping
Value-added tax (IVA) is 20% on clothing and luxury goods, but it is already included in the amount on the price tag of consumer goods. If you are not a resident of the European Union, you may be eligible, under certain conditions, for a refund of this tax on goods purchased here -- Tax-Free for Tourists VAT tax refunds are available at most large stores for purchases of more than EUR155.
Shipping
Always take your purchases with you: having them shipped home from the shop may cause major delays and grief. The mail is partly to blame; the cavalier attitude of some shop owners compounds the problem, especially if you have to correspond with them about why your package hasn't arrived. If circumstances are such that you can't take your goods with you, and if the shop seems reliable, get a written statement of what is being shipped and when and how it will be sent. It's wise when shipping to pay with a credit card.
Sales
Saldi (end-of-season sales) can mean real bargains in clothing and accessories. The main sale periods are January 6 through February and late July to mid-September. Most stores adopt a no-exchange, no-return policy for sale goods. At other times of year, a liquidazione sign indicates a close-out sale, but take a hard look at the goods; they may be bottom-of-the-barrel.
Blitz Tours
Most of Rome's best shopping is crammed into the Piazza di Spagna-Via Condotti-Via del Corso areas. For addresses and other details about the stores, see the listings that follow.
Handbags & Luggage
Set off from Largo Goldini halfway down Via del Corso, then head into the heart of the Via Condotti shopping district by turning east into Via delle Carrozze. On the left side of the street, between Via Belsiana and Via Bocca di Leone, you'll find Amadei and its offbeat styles. Continue up Via delle Carrozze to Piazza di Spagna to ogle the bags at Furla, then head down Via Condotti, where you'll see the Gucci store on the left. Stop at Redwall, on the right, for a look at the latest trends in designer bags. Turn left off Via Condotti onto Via Belsiana; that former church on the left is where Gherardini displays a good selection of handbags and soft luggage. Continue straight ahead onto Via del Gambero and turn left onto Via della Vite to Incontro Modo for casual styles. Finally, turn right onto Via del Moretto and then left onto Via della Mercedes. Head straight up the hill onto Via C. Le Case and then left onto Via F. Crispi. Cross over Via Sistina and on your right-hand side is Antonella Penco, filled with inspired creations.
Leather Clothing
Start at Renard on Via dei Due Macelli; the shop has a large selection of some of the finest tailored leather wear in Rome. On the same street, check out the colorful and varied styles at both of the Skin stores. For good buys in casual and classic styles in leather, head uphill from Via dei Due Macelli by way of Via Capo le Case to Croco & Dile, a tiny factory outlet. For a much larger selection of classic leather fashions for men and women, return down Via Francesco Crispi, following it all the way to Largo Tritone, where Viroel has wraparound display windows on the corner. For something made to order, take a taxi or the Metro to Via Cavour, where Very Pel has a workshop and lower price tags than the boutiques in the fancier Piazza di Spagna area.
Boutiques
For fashion at reasonable prices, make the rounds of some boutiques where clothes are designed and made in-house. Start at Mariella Burani, where the line between boutique fashion and designer ready-to-wear is a fine and very chic one. Then walk or take a taxi to Dulce Vidoza on Via dell'Orso to check out the elegant pantsuits in stunning fabrics. Take another taxi to Le Tartarughe, on Via Piè di Marmo near Piazza Venezia, and try on knit separates and spare little dresses that adapt to any occasion. For a change of pace, take a taxi or walk, skirting the rear of the Pantheon and the west end of Piazza Navona, to Arsenale, packed with eye-catching garments made with the finest fabrics by Roman designer Patrizia Pieroni. On the same street you'll find Maga Morgana, for knitwear and evening wear with a retro look.
Touring the Vatican
The Basilica di San Pietro and the Vatican are the heart and headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. The massive walls surrounding Vatican City strongly underscore the fact that this is an independent, sovereign state, established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See -- the pope -- and the Italian government. Vatican City covers 108 acres on a hill west of the Tiber and is separated from the city on all sides, except at Piazza di San Pietro, by high walls.
Within the walls, about 1,000 people live as residents. The Vatican has its own daily newspaper (L'Osservatore Romano), issues its own stamps, mints its own coins, and has its own postal system. Within its territory are administrative and foreign offices, a pharmacy, banks, an astronomical observatory, a print shop, a mosaic school and art restoration institute, a tiny train station, a supermarket, a small department store, and several gas stations. Radio Vaticana broadcasts in 35 languages to six different continents.
The Tour
To enter the Musei Vaticani, the Sistine Chapel, and the Basilica di San Pietro you must comply with the Vatican's dress code, or you will be turned away by the implacable custodians at the doors. For both men and women, shorts and tank tops are taboo, as are miniskirts and otherwise revealing clothing. Wear a jacket or shawl over sleeveless tops, and avoid T-shirts with writing or pictures that could give offense. Start at the Musei Vaticani.
The entrance on Viale Vaticano (there is a separate exit on the same street) can be reached by Bus 49 from Piazza Cavour, which stops right in front; or on foot from Piazza del Risorgimento (Bus 81 or Tram 19) or a brief walk from the Via Cipro-Musei Vaticani stop on Metro line A. The collections of the museums are immense, covering about 7 km (4½ mi) of displays. You can rent a taped commentary in English explaining the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms. You're free to photograph what you like, barring use of flash, tripod, or other special equipment, for which permission must be obtained.
To economize on time and effort, once you've seen the frescoes in the Raphael rooms, you can skip the collections of modern religious art in good conscience and get on with your tour. Lines at the entrance to the Cappella Sistina can move slowly, as custodians block further entrance when the room becomes crowded. Keep in mind that sometimes it's possible to exit the museums from the Sistine Chapel into St. Peter's, saving time and legwork. A sign at the entrance to the museums indicates whether the exit is open.
Timing:
If possible, break up this itinerary into two half days. Keep in mind that tours of the Giardini Vaticani start at 10 AM; it's possible to visit St. Peter's beforehand, but you won't have time for the Vatican Museums. You could do St. Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo one day and devote another day to the museums. To do all three on the same day takes stamina and dedication; even if you rush through to the Sistine Chapel, you run the risk of cultural indigestion. Because the Vatican is close to the Via Cola di Rienzo and Via Ottaviano shopping areas, you might want to combine sightseeing with shopping. Another option would be to add Castel Sant'Angelo to the end of an Old Rome tour.
The crowds at the museums, and especially the Sistine Chapel, can be overwhelming; a good strategy is to get there either very early, before the pressure builds up, or late, as the crowds thin out. Plan on two hours or longer for even the most cursory visit to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Allow an hour for St. Peter's Basilica and an hour for Castel Sant'Angelo. To do all three sights, including a lot of walking from one to another, would take five to six hours, not counting breaks.
From Fodors.com
Walking Tour: Villa Borghese
Walking Tour: Villa Borghese
Touring Rome's artistic masterpieces while staying clear of its hustle and bustle can be, quite literally, a walk in the park. Some of the city's finest sights are tucked away in or next to green lawns and pedestrian piazzas, offering a breath of fresh air for weary sightseers. As you make your way toward the Tiber, you'll walk through the ages of Rome. In ancient times, the city's most lavish host, Lucullus, staged fabulous alfresco banquets in his terraced villa on the heights of the Pincian Hill.
On the plain below, called the Campus Martius, by the banks of the Tiber, Augustus laid out a vast public garden, celebrating his own glory in his mausoleum and the Ara Pacis, and setting up an Egyptian obelisk that served as pointer in a huge sundial. Villa Borghese itself, the 17th-century pleasure gardens created by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, holds several treasures, the most precious at the Galleria Borghese, one of the finest and most beautiful museums in the city.
On the other side of the park are Villa Giulia, a late-Renaissance papal summerhouse now containing a stunning collection of Etruscan art, and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, with intriguingly varied collections of modern art in a vast neoclassical palace that has a fashionable terrace café. These are the three major museums in the area, but the past is also palpably preserved in the triangle that has its apex at Piazza del Popolo and extends to the Mausoleum of Augustus and the Spanish Steps. Here 17th-century buildings and churches are interspersed with art and antiques galleries and a plethora of boutiques. Together with the Via Condotti area, this constitutes Rome's most vibrant shopping district.
The Tour
If you're staying on Via Veneto, this walk begins at your front door. Start if you want with a cappuccino in one of this famous street's famous cafés. Via Veneto snakes upward from Piazza Barberini to the Porta Pinciana through the Ludovisi neighborhood, known for palatial hotels and stately residences that transformed patrician estates into commercial real estate in the 1880s. In the upper reaches of Via Veneto, near the flower vendors and big newsstands at the corner of Via Ludovisi, is the Café de Paris, erstwhile hub of la dolce vita.
Past the big cafés, Via Veneto continues in a succession of more newsstands, boutiques, expensive shops, and a snack bar or two. If you intend to picnic in the Villa Borghese park (the entrance is at the top of the street), this is your chance to pick up some supplies, whether ready-to-go from the snack bars or do-it-yourself from the alimentari (grocery stores) on the side streets. (There are some expensive mobile snack carts in the park and a café in the Galleria Borghese.)
Porta Pinciana is one of the historic city gates in the Aurelian walls, built by Emperor Aurelianus late in the 3rd century AD to protect Rome. Take care crossing the thoroughfares on either side of the gate: the traffic here comes hurtling in from all directions. Inside Villa Borghese park, first look to the left, across the Galoppatoio (riding ring). The handsome 16th-century palace that you can see across the lawns is Villa Medici, since 1804 the seat of the French Academy, where many great French artists -- from Ingres and David to Balthus -- found inspiration. Head north on Viale del Museo Borghese to reach the Casino Borghese, which houses the Museo e Galleria Borghese. Once you've viewed Cardinal Scipione's collections, take time to enjoy the vast park. On the right, as you leave the casino, you can continue along Viale dell'Uccelliera to Rome's once-forlorn zoo, which has been transformed into a "biopark." Alternatively, turn left (south) onto Viale dei Pupazzi and head toward Piazza dei Cavalli Marini, with its sea-horse fountain. Continue straight ahead on Viale dei Pupazzi or turn right: either way you'll come upon the Piazza di Siena, a grassy hippodrome shaded by tall pines. At the northwest end of Piazza di Siena, turn left onto Viale Canonica and you'll come to the entrance of the delightful Giardino del Lago (Lake Garden).
If you want to take in one or both of the other museums on this walk, head northwest from the Giardino del Lago to Piazzale Paolina Borghese, at the head of a broad, monumental staircase that descends to Viale della Belle Arti and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna. About ¼ km (1/8 mi) northwest on Viale delle Belle Arti is the Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia. The entrance is at the far end of the building, on Piazza di Villa Giulia. Returning to the staircase, climb it to enter Villa Borghese again. Follow Via Bernadotte to Piazza del Fiocco and turn left onto Viale La Guardia, named for the celebrated New York mayor.
At circular Piazza delle Canestre head west on Viale delle Magnolie. A bridge over heavily trafficked Viale del Muro Torto leads to the Pincio gardens. After admiring its layout from the Pincio terrace, which offers one of Rome's finest panoramas, descend the ramps and stairs to Piazza del Popolo and Porta del Popolo. Stop in at the church of Santa Maria del Popolo to see the art treasures inside, including two paintings by Caravaggio. The churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli were part of a grand project initiated in the 1500s under several popes who urbanized this triangular area, previously sparsely inhabited.
Take Via di Ripetta, the most westerly of the three streets fanning out from Piazza del Popolo. On the left you pass the San Giacomo Hospital, and on the right is the horseshoe-shape, neoclassical building of the Academy of Fine Arts, usually covered with not-so-fine student graffiti. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Mausoleo di Augusto are on huge Piazza Augusto Imperatore, renovated and redesigned by American architect Richard Meier.
Timing:
This is a fair-weather walk, much of it in Villa Borghese park. The walk alone takes about three hours, plus two hours for a visit to the Galleria Borghese. Advance reservations are mandatory for your visit to the Galleria. In addition to the Galleria Borghese, the walk includes two other major museums. If you intend to do justice to all three, it is advisable to skip the two on Viale delle Belle Arti during this walk, saving them for another day (or days).
Both the Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna are easily accessible from Via Flaminia. They are about 1 km (½ mi) from Piazza del Popolo. Tram 19 stops in front of both museums, and Tram 225, which runs along Via Flaminia, stops at Piazza delle Belle Arti, about km (1/5 mi) from Villa Giulia's entrance. Allow about an hour each for visits to the Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna