My love affair with Italy began over 20 years ago. I love the cuisine, the history, the architecture, the climate, the landscapes, the wine and the lavish care the Italians have for their historical heritage. In short: I love La Dolche Vita. It seemed odd then to have explored so much of this wonderful country except for its capital: Rome. Last June I set out to rectify that.
I booked both flight and hotel with Jet2 Holidays' City Breaks. Jet 2 airlines, once again, has been rated the top short-haul European airline by Which UK for customer satisfaction rating, lack of flight cancellations and punctuality. I have never had any issue travelling with them as an airline at all. You may recall from one of my earlier blogs criticising their food but they have rectified this too in 2024; and I had the most delicious (and unusual) pizza on the flight out in the form of a wrap- it was like a hybrid between a tortilla and a pizza but it was absolutely delicious. The direct flight from Manchester to Rome's Fiumicino airport takes around two and a half hours. Despite all the negative press in the UK around entry times into the EU, this was actually swift, with the automated biometric scanners and immigration taking no longer than 10 minutes in total. Sadly the benefit of the short queue for immigration was wiped out by the extremely long wait of over 90 minutes for the luggage.
I didn't book a transfer to the hotel because this aspect seemed quite expensive via Jet2. I made the right decision. Although using taxis in Rome is a contentious (and often regrettably expensive) experience, the journey from the airport is fixed by bylaw at a flat rate of €50 to central Rome from the airport, considerably cheaper than the transfers by some margin.
After much deliberation on accommodation options, I opted for the Mercure Roma Centro Colosseo . This 4* hotel's biggest attraction is it's location: just a 100 meters or so from the Colosseum itself, since many of the other hotels with Jet2 are quite a way out of the city centre. This also proved to be a smart decision, because if I have one criticism of Rome it would be of it's public transport, which is poor for a European Capital City. Rome's Metro stops at 9:30pm and the taxis appear to be a law unto themselves. One evening when returning late from an out of city tour, I had no option but to use a taxi, and ended up bartering and then paying close to €45 for a journey that metred half the price. This happens all the time in Rome, from the discussions I had with both other tourists and a native Roman at the security gate at the airport upon leaving. If you need to use a taxi in Rome: be sure to use Uber or another app related taxi service because the public taxis' prices can bear no relation to the meter!
The hotel had all that I wanted: a short walk into the city centre; a nice rooftop pool and bar (although with all my excursions I didn't get to use the pool); a nice breakfast; friendly and helpful staff; spotlessly clean throughout and most importantly in such a hot location - wonderful air conditioning.
In recent city breaks I've always opted for a walking excursion to learn much more about the place I am visiting. I continued with this approach in Rome, booking three tours with The Roman Guy (a good recommendation from American cousins who had visited the city themselves last year); one via Viatour (of which more another time); and a finally a walking tour with Jet2 for my last day. With the benefit of hindsight, 5 tours in 6 days was a bit too much - walking around in the searing heat for 3 hours can be quite exhausting. Rome's temperatures in June can be quite unpredictable: the week before this trip they were unseasonably cool; whereas on this stay they were pushing 38C on a number of days. You should come prepared for heat therefore if visiting Rome during the summer months.
On my first evening in Rome I made my way to visit the best preserved of all Rome's ancient monuments: the Pantheon.
The Pantheon was completed around 126AD and its building was overseen by the Emperor Hadrian (who also had a rather famous wall constructed back in Britannia across the most northerly boundary of the empire). To this day, the dome in the Pantheon remains the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world, and still standing, some 2000 years later:
Originally constructed as a temple to all the Roman Gods, it owes its salvation from medieval spoilation thanks to being converted into a Catholic church in 609AD. The shrines were re-apportioned to religious figures and martyrs; more recently Italian kings have also been added. The design of the building is geometrically perfect and could fit a huge sphere; whilst the design is aligned to the sun: so that on the celebration day of Rome's founding (21st April) when the Emperor arrived through the huge bronze doors (thought to be the originals) he is illuminated by the sun shining directly on him. All the marble decoration bar the religious additions is original, including the flooring which includes holes in the centre, from which underfloor pipes carry the rainwater away when it rains (the oculus in the centre of the dome is open to the elements):
It is only as recently as 2023 has the composition of Roman concrete become fully understood. When it rains, Roman concrete self-heals. This has puzzled both architects and structural engineers for years. It has been discovered however that the concrete contains lime particles in the form of calcium. When the rainwater combines with calcium it becomes calcium carbonate and this acts like a glue to bind the concrete back together again should any cracks appear from settlement or weathering. How ingenious. How frustrating also nearly 2000 years later in our modern day buildings that they sometimes suffer from concrete cancer in just 50 years! Entry to the Pantheon is €5 for adults in 2024 and can either be purchased online or outside the entrance on touch screens.
Next on my anyone's list for Rome sightseeing has to be the Colosseum, taking its name not from the structure itself but from a colossal bronze statue nearby of Emperor Nero which has long since been smelted down.
I did this tour of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with Roman Guy Tours, who kindly upgraded my ticket to the Special Access Arena Floor Area . given I had booked 3 tours with them. A lot of these tours are 3 hours in length given there is a lot to see in Rome. Some tips for these tours: ensure you have everything you need before you start the tour, including a bottle of water, sunglasses and a hat (on this tour especially there is no shade for most of the tour). Be sure also not to take large bags with you and have your ID - security is tight here - keep personal possessions otherwise to a minimum. I was also warned by our Italian guide about pick pockets operating in the area, so keep valuables in the hotel safe and keep a hold on your phone - her mother's phone was snatched a week before the tour.
The Colosseum as we see it today is nothing like the original structure. Decorated in marble, this has been removed over the years after the fall of the Roman Empire. "Romans were the first recyclers" as my tour guide joked, as the marble and then the underlying travertine was chipped away and put to other uses. There was also a colossal statue outside, itself modelled on the Colossus of Rhodes, of Emperor Nero cast in bronze - which gives the structure its name. Huge sliding silk screens radiated from the roof towards the centre of the stadium to provide shade from the sweltering Roman sun. The holes in the current structure today are not from any war but again recycling, and the only colllapse of the structure happened due to earthquakes. As with the Circus in Bath (which was itself modelled on an inverted Colosseum) each of the columns of each story are of a different order: Doric, Corrinthian , Ionic.
Highlights of the tour are seeing the arch through which the triumphant gladiators would have seen as their first sight upon leaving the Colosseum victorious. You also get to see the location where the Emperor and associated VIPs would have sat - no different to today - the best seats in the house! There were also holes beneath the Emperor's seats so that archers could quickly shoot any threat to the VIPs. The concept of stadia ticketing was - once again - invented by the Romans, with people given small inscribed stones indicating their position in the stadium. Most Romans ate chicken at these events, because they recently found hundreds of carcasses of dead chickens. There was no food waste disposal, and chicken bones were simply discarded onto the floor. After the event the slaves poured water down and swept the floors clean, so the chicken carcasses ended up at the bottom of the structure.
The remainder of this tour focuses on the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Roman Forum was the heart of Civic Rome, which contains the old Roman Senate house, one of a handful Roman building which remains remarkably intact; the tomb of Julius Caesar; the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (another survivor due to having been converted to a church - complete with original Roman bronze doors); the Arch of Constantine; and the Titus Arch - built to commemorate the Roman retaking of Jerusalem in 71AD. These triumphal arches became the blueprint for ceremonial arches all over the world: from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris; Marble Arch in London; the Washington Arch in New York City and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
I have to say the Italian tour guide with the Roman Guy was excellent with a comprehensive knowledge of Roman history and mythology. The walking pace wasn't rushed, and the group had plenty of time to stop and take photographs in the Colosseum, as well as stopping at various floors as we made our way through the structure. All walking tours in Italy are done using small pocket radios with a headphone, so there is no danger of not hearing the tour guide. We also had a stop off to refill our water bottles half way through the tour at a water font.
Next on everyone's must-see list for Rome is surely the Vatican. Most people however only focus on seing the Cistine Chapel (for Michealangelo's The Creation of Adam) and St. Peter's Basilica, but in doing so they are missing out on one of Rome's greatest treasures - the huge art collection in the Vatican Museum. There is huge collection of Roman statues and artefacts, which again have been amazingly preserved via the Catholic Church. The Romans converting to Christianity towards the end of the Western Roman Empire meant that many religious artefacts were transported from the Holy Land to Rome and thus the centre of political power also became the centre of the Catholic Church. St. Peter himself is buried under St. Peter's basilica. Thus the command "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" was followed quite literally in Rome.
The tour of the Vatican Art Museum was again booked through The Roman Guy and once again the local Italian tour guide - Alberto - was extremely knowledgable about Italian art and history. The Vatican art collection is amazingly larger than that in the Louvre in Paris; and it takes 3 hours to go round. Parts of the museum are so busy you have to keep moving, albeit at a shuffle pace. Parts of the museum have air conditioning and other parts do not, so you go from feeling OK to very hot suddenly from room to room quite often. I enjoyed this museum more than I did the Louvre, simply because I love Roman history and the Roman collection here is extensive, ranging from marble statues, bronze scupltures and some amazing artefacts, all in amazing condition.
Amongst all the Roman artefacts the story of Nero's bathtub is perhaps the most interesting. It is apparently the largest piece of porphyry marble in existence today. This purple marble was mined in Egypt, which the Romans controlled until 600AD. It was made for Emperor Nero (who had such extreme lavish taste that it would put Donald Trump in the shade) . It was made for his Domus Aurea (Golden House) on Oppian Hill. After the great fire of Rome in 64AD it became gradually entombed. The Catholic Church were excavating in the 14th century and came across a cave which had preserved the artefacts inside by protecting them from rainfall: one of which was Nero's bathtub which was transferred to the Vatican.
The enormous bathtub is made from a single piece of prophyry marble and therefore had to be transported all the way from Egypt to Rome. It demonstrates the wealth and power of the Roman Empire that they could import such a material from so far and at enormous cost. As today, purple connoted wealth and power, and purple marble is often in Roman decoration, including at the Pantheon. It is the most valuable item in the Vatican collection, valued at around $2bn.
When inside in Rome: always look upwards! Quite often the most important artwork is contained in the ceiling:
Rome's dry climate allowed this form of painting to thrive: frescoes. In both Roman and Renaissance times, paintings were painted directly onto fresh plaster and allowed to dry with the plaster. The dry climate meant not only did the plaster dry faster and the paint become embedded into the plaster, preserving it, but the lack of moisture also prevents the plaster changing or becoming contaminated with mould or mildew and spoiling the painting.
There are simply too many artworks from both Roman & Renaissance Italy to cover in this blog but more are illustrated in this month's Instagram. The tour ends at the Cistine Chapel, where sadly photography is not allowed. A door connects the museum to St. Peter's Basilica and it is worth taking advantage of this since the queues in Rome both for St. Peter's and the Museum are very long. I would strongly advise therefore booking a pre-booked tour to skip the queues.
St. Peter's baslicia in Rome is the largest church in the world by internal volume and is regarded as a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. Building commenced in 1506 and wasn't completed until 1626. It was commissioned by Pope Nicholas V to replace a much older structure dating from the 4th century by Constantine the Great. St. Peter's Basilica, as with rest of the Vatican, lies in Vatican City, which is the world's smallest state.
When finishing the tour of the Vatican Museum you are left to your own devices, although you do need to accompany the tour guide to make your way through the connecting passageway to St. Peter's Basilica. It is worth noting that there is a Papal address to a private audience every Wednesday at 10:30am (and I noted Jet2 offer this as an option) so if this finishes on time on Wednesdays the door will be open ; but sometimes this doesn't always go to plan and the door remains closed. It's something to bear in mind if you are visiting on Wednesdays. If you want to see the Pope then secure a ticket for the private audience; and if visiting the Museum on Wednesdays you may or may not be able to take the short cut to St. Peter's. It is certainly worth doing so because the queues otherwise are over an hour long. As I've said repeatedly in earlier blogs, the pandemic has changed the nature of travel and if you want to see items of interest then be sure to book in advance. Turning up these days either means long queues and/or disappointment.
As with the Vatican Museum, there are many items of interest in St. Peter's Basilica so I will cover just two of these. Catholic tradition states St. Peter is buried under the main altar, and you can go down to the crypt to see the tomb of St. Peter:
The other item of interest was the monument to the Royal Stewart dynasty. Those familiar with their history of British Monarchs will remember the Royal Stewart dynasty were exiled to Rome following the desire of the British parliament for a Protestant King. James II of England (& VII of Scotland), a Catholic, was deposed by an Act of Parliament in 1689 in favour of his Protestant daughters. A monument in the Vatican commemorates the Royal Stewarts. The weeping angels signify the Monarchy they lost:
You can easily spend half a day in the Vatican and there are plenty of nice restaurants nearby for lunch. Just a 5 minute walk from Vatican City is another iconic site (but sometimes overlooked on people's itinerary) in the Castel St. Angelo
Emperor Hadrian had an interest in architecture, overseeing the design and construction of the Pantheon. He also commissioned his own Mausoleum which then later became a fortress, a prison and now a museum. Once again, the conversion of the structure to a different purpose saved it from medieval spoliation and it one of the handful of buildings in Rome to remain intact from the Roman era, albeit with added fortification:
When I visited, around 3pm in the afternoon there were no queues to get in because I think it's one of the attractions that is perhaps overlooked on peoples' itineraries. Also perhaps people feel after walking for hours in the Vatican they want to rest but it's a shame to miss out on this attraction. Some of the interior rooms are stunning, along with the supposed site of the ashes of Emperor Hadrian. It is called Castel St. Angelo because reputedly the Archangel Michael appeared atop the castle in 590AD, marking the end of the plague in Rome. Hence his statue appears atop the castle today. There are also some stunning views of the Roman skyline once you reach the top of the structure (for a long time this was the tallest structure in Rome):
I concluded my week in Rome with a walking tour organised via Jet2. This tied up loose ends wonderfully by providing some backstory to Rome's other famous sights including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps as well as some visits to some smaller churches and piazzas. It started in Largo di Torre Argentina, where reputedly Julius Caesar was murdered:
It is often worth stopping in churches in Rome because each seemingly unassuming church from the outside is anything but once stepping inside. Most are Renaissance masterpieces in themselves and often contain some great works of art. One such example was the church of St. Louis of the French. Built between 1518 and 1589 this small church has some Renaissance masterpieces tucked away in one of its corners: The Life of St. Matthew by Carravagio.:
Once again for this tour, the tour guide was a native Roman which of course makes all the difference. On this occassion, the tour guide was also an architect, and so I clicked with her enormously given my own interest in the subject. She was able to answer all my questions about the evolution of buildings in Rome. She had also spent time in London and so it was interesting chatting to her about the difference and divergence of the evolution of the two cities.
It would be churlish of me not to mention the topic of food whilst in Rome. The famous Italian dishes of Spaghetti Carbonara and Tiramisu both originated in Rome. Eating out in Rome is significantly cheaper than in the UK I found, by a margin of around £20 per head in 2024 at a nice restaurant for two courses with some wine. Rome seems to be divided in two, culinary speaking, according to the tour guides: those areas catering almost exclusively for tourists and those for the local Romans. Indeed an observation I made in the city, even late in the evening, is that most people on the streets around the attractions appear to be almostly exclusively tourists rather than locals, perhaps more so than in any other European capital city. At the end of each day, after exhausting walking tours, I didn't therefore feel inclined for long walks further afield to other districts, so on this occasion, I confess I am one of those tourists!
Two restaurants I particularly enjoyed were Ristorante Bernini on Piazza Novona (which I enjoyed so much I revisited on three occassions during my stay). The friendly staff recognised my repeat custom - this a wonderful aspect of Italian culture - striking up friendships over the love of good food. It was nice to dine al fresco and watch the world go by in Piazza Novona, where you will find street performers and opera singers. They are particularly generous with the gorgeous Italian breads accompanying the meal and I partcularly liked their Spaghetti Carbonara . They also serve some wonderful seafood for those so inclined. At the end of each meal you get a complimentary limoncello, served in a wonderfully chilled shot glass. Check out the excellent reviews over on Tripadvisor.
Another great restaurant (which is very popular owing to its excellent reputation -therefore book in advance) is Ristorante Arlù, which is conveniently located between the Vatican and Castel St Angelo. I had a late lunch with them after visiting the Vatican and before an afternoon at the Castel St. Angelo. There is a great attention to detail here with their dishes and it is reflected even in the accompanying dishes, such as salads and breads (which were all delicious) and the wines they had selected for their wine menu. I had a great afternoon here and would definitely revisit.
My wonderful week in Rome came back down to earth with a bang, with a return to the modern day UK with all its problems! It is just as well that Rome's Fiumicino's airport has been voted best airport in Europe in 2023 since I ended up spending the best part of a day there, thanks to the power cut at Manchester airport.
To Jet2's credit they handled the situation as well as they could, given that the circumstances regarding unable to land at Manchester airport were outside of their control. Eventually a flight did take off to the UK, to Liverpool's John Lennon airport, with coaches provided by Jet2 to transfer back to Manchester. The only complaint was lack of information of the cause of the delay in earlier stages in Rome.
Rome's Fiumcino airport gets all the basics right that we get so wrong in our airports in the UK. Durable, quality materials (travertine everywhere in sight); decorative, rather than utilitarian features (I couldn't help thinking all those wonderful LEDs across all the travelators and escalators would either be blinking or out of order should we attempt this in the UK); spotlessly clean; catering for people with mobility problems (escalators down to every gate in Rome; and travellators for long sections. - why do architects in the UK have no foresight to cater for travellers with disabilities?) and food of course that is a work of art. Even the sandwich I had was beautifully prepared. Back in Manchester we cannot even get a functioning, uninterruptable power supply right.
After a day in Rome's Fiumicino's airport, I am beginning even to question the quality of the recent refurbishment, as well as the layout in Manchester airport, which has large sections without travellators. Every large scale infrastructure project in modern day Britain is plagued with delays, poor quality and poor oversight it would appear.
Travelling with Jet2 therefore to Rome is highly recommeded, but do check how far your hotel is from the centre of Rome given the poor public transport in Rome. When using taxis, use uber or other application-based taxi service so that there is no dispute or batering over the fare (although the service from the airport to Rome is fine and fixed at €50). Be sure to book your tours in advance. I can recommend the Roman Guy for their excellent tours, who use knowledgeable locals on their tours. If you don't like hot weather than I would suggest avoiding the summer months in Rome - spring and early autumn are still pleasantly warm and less crowded. Mercure's hotel near the Coloseum is an excellent hotel which is clean, efficient and has a wonderful rooftop bar and pool.
The Romans' contribution to modern life, particularly in the Western world, cannot be overstated. The Romans gave us our language (Latin is the root of European languages); our calendar months (which are named after Roman Gods or Emperors); our civic architecture; influenced our art; gave us our triumphal arches; our modern day stadium design and ticketing; our system of government (the Senate is the upper debating chamber in many countries) and directly influenced the look of at least two modern-era cities (Bath via John Wood; and Washington DC via Thomas Jefferson).
"What have the Romans ever done for us?" :)
You can see an extensive gallery of this trip over on Instagram.
Comments