„every one soon or late comes round by rome“ – robert
browning
A quote I stumbled upon and hoped a destiny like that would
strike upon me. Then one day, all of a
sudden, my mom texted me in the middle of the most boring class ever and the
text said „What about Rome 14.-18.8.?“ and well, what can one say? Surely not
no. And so I said yes, and so we started packing, and so we took our plane, and
so I found myself in the city of rustic buildings, small streets, beautiful
churches, amazing food, happy people. It was Rome.
Sightseeing
The most famous Roman square is definitely Piazza Navona,
built in the place of the old Stadium of Domitian in 1st century AD. On it you
can find the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and two
smaller fountains, lots of cafés and the Sant'Agnese in Agone church.
One of the buildings that have been left for us to enjoy by
Rome’s ancient citizens is the Pantheon, which was built two millenniums ago
and which has a dome that is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in
the world.
As Rome is a city of many fountains and obelisks, we
stumbled upon a lot, but none of them can compete with the magnificent Trevi
Fountain. The legend says you have to throw one coin for luck and health, one
for your own wish, and one for your return to Rome. It is packed with tourists
but due to its size you can still sit somewhere near and enjoy its beauty.
The thing that pops into your mind as soon as someone says
Rome is probably the Colosseum. A huge circle shaped building from the 1. Century
which serves as a great minder of Rome’s rich history and the importance it
has. We did not go inside as the queue was just too long, but we did walk
around it and then continued on to the Forum
Romanum, an old roman square with a vast number of old buildings, roads and
etc. My suggestion is - to enjoy an amazing view of that square, climb to
Campidoglio square, where not only will you see the beauty of old Rome, but
also find some of Michelangelo’s works.
If you’re looking for a place to sit down in the evening and
enjoy the atmosphere of Rome, go to the Trastevere neighbourhood. Small narrow
streets filled with cafés and restaurants packed with people having fun will
leave you in love with Rome.
Oh, and never doubt that saying that Rome has as many churches
as there are days in a year, because it has. Out of all the stunning churches
we visited, my favourite two by far are the Sant'Andrea della Valle and Sant'Ignazio
Church. Both have an amazingly decorated interior, but the most impressive
thing about both is the ceiling. In Sant'Ignazio Church, an amazing painter
called Andrea Pazzo painted the ceiling so it looks as if you’re being dragged
into the vastness of sky above you, an absolutely breathtaking piece of art.
Food
Everything you’ve heard about Italian food is true. I both
had the most amazing pasta and the best ice cream during my trip to Rome. If
you’re an ice cream lover, definitely go to Venchi, a shop with ice cream and
amazing chocolate just next to Pantheon. Trust me, it is worth it, their dark
chocolate is the darkest dark chocolate ice cream you’ll ever have, and their
fruity ice creams taste just like sorbet. A-ma-zing.
If you’re stressing over where to eat when you’re travelling
to Rome – stop. As we were just roaming around the whole day with very few
brakes, we would just sit down in any cute looking restaurant in some narrow
street, and we were never wrong. I tried Carbonara, their pizza with amazingly
crispy dough, pasta with al pesto sauce and gnocchi with salmon and bourbon,
and honestly, I can’t decide which one I liked more. My advice is, definitely
experiment and always try something new, you can’t go wrong when in Italy.
Also, if you’re a coffee lover, you’ll never want to leave
Rome. Their streets are filled with cafés, filled with both locals and tourists,
and wherever we sat down and ordered coffee, it was better than the last time
and we never had a bad cup of coffee. Their waiters are usually quite chatty
and like to talk, so just relax, enjoy the view and have a sip.
The Vatican
In case you’re planning a visit to the Vatican Museums
(which is a must see!) please listen to me and buy your ticket online! I cannot
stress this enough, by doing so you will skip a kilometer long queue and be
able to just walk into one of the prettiest museums in the world. Filled with
things from the ancient times, mixed with some modern artist and some all time
favourites such as Dali, Matisse and Bacon, and then like sugar on the top,
you’ll get to the see the stunning Sistine Chapel. I suggest you go as early in
the morning as you can as it gets crowded around noon so you won’t be able to
enjoy all the things there are to see, and trust me, there are a lot. Oh, and
don’t be an idiot like me and forget your glasses… just don’t.
The Saint Peters square is a public place in which you can
just walk into to enjoy the view of St. Peter’s Basilica, but if you’re willing
to queue for a bit, go inside it. Not
only is its interior magnificent and will leave you in awe, but you can also
climb a small amount of stairs (only 550…….) and enjoy the breath taking (literally.)
view of Vatican and Rome from the top of the dome. Inside it you can see some
amazing works done by Michelangelo and Bernini and enjoy the immense size of
the basilica.
Art
If you’re an art lover like me, I definitely recommend going
to the Doria Pamphili Gallery and Villa Borghese. Both of these villas belong
to families who in the past had one of the ancestors a Pope, thus they had a
lot of money and they could afford buying amazing paintings and sculptures done
by the best artists of their time.
In Doria Pamphili Gallery you’ll get to see beautifully
decorated rooms with walls filled with paintings, barely leaving any free wall
space. Amazing artists like Caravaggio, Rembrant, Guercino, are just some of
the names you’ll discover there, and let’s not forget the prettiest room of
them all, the Gallery of mirrors, which is like a mini version of Paris’ Hall
of mirrors.
Villa Borghese is situated in the middle of a park on a hill
above Rome, and not only are you able to enjoy amazing paintings and some of
the most famous works done by Bernini, but you can also go for a relaxing walk
in the park afterwards. If you want to visit this gallery, it is important you
reserve your ticket online first as you can’t just walk in. Definitely a
recommendation for a relaxing morning.
All in all
If you love coffee, Mediterranean architecture, good food
and fine wine, Rome should be on the top of your travel bucket list. And the
old quote which has been around for ages, “All roads lead to Rome”, can not be
anything else but true, as Rome serves as an amazing example of how old and new
can mix so well. I shall cherish my beautiful 5 days in Rome and all the
memories I had made there, and hope that my wishes made by throwing coins into
the Trevi Fountain come true.
photos by paula
thank you for reading!
love,
paula xo
