Family Travel

My Favorite Thing in Rome

March 13, 2018COMtnMom

My husband and I just visited Rome, Florence, and Venice sans-kids for our 15^th wedding anniversary. It rained almost the entire week we were in Italy, but we still got to see some amazing things. Which city was my favorite? Well, each offered something so special and unique, I don’t think I could definitively label a single place as “the best”. They are certainly all worth experiencing.

The highlight for me in Rome was the ancient structures and fascinating architecture, specifically the Colosseum and Pantheon. Read on for my most favorite thing in Rome, along with a few “Italy Travel Tips” that may save you time, money, and excessive walking.

Rome Italy frozen fountain with icicles — Visit during the chilly Spring months, and you may catch fountains with icicles.

The Impressive Colosseum

Although not my FAVORITE thing, I have to chat a little about the legendary Roman Colosseum. Seeing the Colosseum was mind blowing. This is a structure which would have started construction shortly after the time the Apostle Paul was in Rome. As in, Bible times. Wrap your brain around THAT!?

I had learned in a Colorado Mesa University “Art Appreciation” course I took just prior to this trip that the engineering innovation of barrel vaults and groin vault corners allowed for this enormous structure to withstand the weight and design. This framework made possible it’s massive size, and was certainly the first of it’s kind in the history of mankind.

Similar to the football stadiums of today, it could efficiently empty out 50,000 spectators in just minutes.

The Roman Forum is nearby, and entry is included with a ticket to tour the interior of the Colosseum. We didn’t do either, but just walked around the outside.

I guess I’m too turned off by the notion of it’s “violence as entertainment” glory days. I found the gore and sadness of how many people and animals met their violent demise inside the Colosseum, overruled any curiosity about seeing its interior labyrinths.

Favorite Thing in Rome: the Stunning and Ancient Pantheon

Rome Italy Pantheon columns — Looks like a fake movie set, doesn’t it? Crazy.

The exterior of the Pantheon is so ancient in appearance, that it almost doesn’t seem real.

One thing about Italy that I found surprising was that often these iconic places (like the Trevi Fountain) are tightly crammed in between other tall structures. Hubba-whaaa? I found this confusing, frustrating, and disappointing.

But the Pantheon has a nice open square in front. This gives you some breathing room to at least step back, take it all in, and fully appreciate it’s splendor and scale.

The big deal about the Pantheon, architectural advancement wise, was that impressive concrete dome on top. Massively heavy, yet brilliantly supported by it’s design and varying thickness. Get this: the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.

In the center of that impressive dome in an oculus hole, completely open to the sky, which allows sunlight in to provide the only interior light source. It also lets in rain. And snow. All into the interior of the gorgeous building, onto it’s still original marble floor.

There are drains in the floor to accommodate for this precipitation. The Pantheon still has it’s original marble flooring, pieced together in a lovely gold, gray, and maroon design.

A variety of marble was used, each type with it’s own unique back story, and varying level of bragging rights. Most were taken as booty by the Roman Empire from all over the earth.

Rome Italy Pantheon marble floor — Original marble floor of the Pantheon

The inside of the Pantheon was truly stunning in it’s beauty. There are also some holy bones stashed here and there, to help convert it from it’s originally pagan origins to an acceptably “Christian” establishment.

Italy Travel Tip: Impromptu tour guides linger around the famous Rome tourist sites, hoping to escort you for a fee. Fresh off the plane, we got suckered into paying some lady 20 Euros to walk us around and through the (free) Pantheon, giving us extra scoop and historical context. It was mildly interesting. At that price, I don’t think I’d recommend this 35 minute “tour”.

Cheapest & Easiest Way to Tour Rome: “Hop-on, Hop-Off” Buses

Rome Italy Trevi Fountain — I confess that although beautiful, the crowded surroundings left me underwhelmed with the famous Trevi Fountain.

We really only had a day and a half in Rome, and I’d read that it’s pretty huge to be walking absolutely everywhere. The solution? The hop-on, hop-off bus tours.

Italy Travel Tip: Hop-on, hop-off bus tours are a fantastic and economical method of touring Rome at your own pace, which I highly recommend.

Several companies offer these bus tours, and they all follow roughly the same route. Stops at the most popular tourist destinations are clearly marked, and the route is marked on almost every city map we saw during our stay. Very easy to use. Buses arrived every 15-20 minutes, and ran all day.

A 24-hour ticket cost 20 Euro, and included ear buds with audio recordings that played during the ride. We rode “the pink bus”, but I think they are probably all similar.

Rome Felt Like a City

So all in all, obviously Rome is just a big city. While the ancient structures were fascinating, and well worth seeing… the dinge, crowding, and hustle and bustle is definitely there. I was over it in two days, and ready to move along.

I will say between the three cities we visited (Rome, Florence, and Venice), this one felt the most hectic. We felt the most on guard here, as far as being careful against theft, and so on. It was more relaxing after we moved on to Florence.

Italy Travel Tip: If debating the order of a “Rome – Florence – Venice” vs “Venice – Florence – Rome” itinerary… I think it’s best to start in Rome. By the time you get to no-cars-allowed Venice, you are tired and ready for a more relaxing pace. Rome was a great kick-off to our Italy adventure!