I absolutely loved coming here. So majestic during the holidays…read more The decor and the ambiance is great. A nice open space with a Merry-Go Round. Tons of vendors selling xmas ornaments and other items. I spent a couple of hours here people watching and shopping and take in the scenery. The fountain in the middle of the piazza is amazing. So stunning It is built on the site of the 1st century AD Stadium of Domitian and follows the form of the open space of the stadium in an elongated oval.[1] The ancient Romans went there to watch the games In the 17th century it became a showcase for Baroque design, with work by Bernini and Borromini among others. The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi stands in front of the Church of Sant'Agnese in Agone.

Piazza Navona is absolutely stunning and full of life. The fountains are breathtaking, especially…read morethe Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the entire square feels like you're walking through an open-air museum. Everywhere you look there's beauty, history, and energy. I loved the atmosphere here. Street artists, music, people enjoying the moment, and the glow of the lights at night make it feel magical. It's the perfect place to slow down, take it all in, and really feel the soul of Rome. A must-visit spot that captures the charm and elegance of the city.

A lil bit of a wait to use the mirror but well worth. The line goes pretty fast as along as you…read moredon't have millennials taking picture after pictures. Just walk up , have some common courtesy and take your pic so the line can keep moving quickly

To think, I almost avoided visiting this STUNNING 17th-century church - Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di…read moreLoyola, when visiting Rome, Italy (09/25/2025 - 10/01/2025) because it is Tik-Tok and IG "famous" for being the "mirrored church" to take an iconic selfie... yes, you read that correctly..iconic selfie. I was for sure it was going to be crowded w/ social media influencers and I was correct..it was crowded but don't let that deter you from seeing this historical beauty! Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola is known as the "mirrored church" because it has a mirror strategically placed to see the beautiful painted ceiling fresco. (see pics & videos included in this review from my visit on Tuesday 09/30/2025 - at 10:56am) It also has a painted illusion of having a real soaring dome on a flat ceiling - very cool for sure and does make you look twice just to confirm it's indeed an illusion! Here are a few helpful fyi(s) that I wanted to pass along: --- - long line for the mirror right as you enter the church - if there is a line of people waiting for the mirror, you don't have to wait in that line if you don't want to take a selfie w/ the mirror and are only wanting to see the church...as someone else mentioned in a previous review, you can get creative w/ taking a selfie w/ the beautiful ceiling. My hubby & I took our selfie pic while we were sitting in the pew and used a timer on our phone (see pic included). ---- visit early to avoid the crowds & to fully enjoy your experience at this church Avoid the crowds so you can really take in how detailed and beautiful the architecture and paintings are. Trust me, you'll enjoy your experience so much more w/ less people. ---- it's free to visit but do bring some money w/ you to give as an offering --- just a reminder to be respectful when visiting because it is a holy place Chiesa di Sant' Ignazio di Loyola truly is something special and of the MANY Rome basilica's I've explored during my 2 visits to Rome, it is now my FAVORITE basilica thus far. Hope this info helps. :)) Rebecca visiting Rome, Italy from Austin, Texas (USA) 09/25/2025 - 10/01/2025

The Colosseum is the most incredible thing I've ever seen on this planet. Nothing prepares you for…read morestanding in front of it in real life. The scale, the power, the history, everything about it is absolutely breathtaking. You can feel the history the moment you step inside. Knowing what happened there centuries ago gives you literal shivers. It's emotional, intense, and awe-inspiring all at once. Every stone tells a story, and it makes you feel so small in the best way possible. This is not just a landmark, it's an experience that stays with you forever. If you come to Rome and don't see the Colosseum, you missed everything. Rating: 10/10 -- unforgettable, unreal, legendary

Holy shit, the Colosseum. It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen, a massive historical…read moremarvel, a monument to human ingenuity and cruelty, the highs and lows of our entire existence. You have to see it before you die. No photograph, no movie, can fully conjure the real thing. Its scale, its majesty, the psychic bridge it provides to a violent and fascinating past. Standing in the Colosseum is about as close as I've gotten to time travel. We booked a three-hour tour with Crown Tours, covering the Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. This was definitely the way to go. I loved both the simplified logistics and the live, on-site history lesson. That said, if you're not the guided tour type, the Colosseum does kind of speak for itself. We went around noon on a Friday during low season, when it was busy but nowhere near peak crowding. I imagine a summertime visit with kids would be pretty uncomfortable. But the Colosseum is worth a fair amount of physical suffering. Maybe not being mauled and eaten by lions, but definitely a little body odor and heat. The Colosseum is both the largest standing amphitheater in the world and the largest ancient amphitheater ever built. These may be the least surprising facts I've ever read on Wikipedia. The place is named for its colossal size, and honestly that alone would make it worth visiting. The size, though, is maybe its third or fourth most notable feature. The architecture is iconic. I was about to start describing it, but everyone knows what the Colosseum looks like: it looks like the Colosseum. It looks both more and less like the Colosseum up close and from within. I don't remember the striations in the travertine walls from any history books. The interior is breathtaking. Our guide sat us down and we gawked at the tiered seating and arena of this enormous world wonder, a place that once accommodated some 50,000 spectators for any given event, where an estimated 400,000 people and a million animals met violent ends. It's kind of wild that any of this was a) allowed and b) how people got their kicks, but the enthusiasm for brutality is comprehensible enough in 2025. I know exactly who would be in the stands with popcorn, watching people whose lives hold no value for them fighting to the death. Our tour ended on the ground floor of the Colosseum, and we wandered the upper level on our own, looking down at the arena and the exposed underground, which required its own ticket and didn't seem to have many visitors. We visited the gift shop and bought a postcard for our kids, though I don't quite know how to explain this place to our five- and three-year-old sons. I hope to bring them in person one day, when they're older and more knowledgeable about the ways of the world. There might be heat, there might be crowds, but they'll have to see the Colosseum.

When we were in Vatican City in the afternoon, we skipped the plaza. We came back in the early…read moreevening and it was much less crowded. The square is directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Both are named after Saint Peter, an apostle of Jesus whom Catholics consider the first Pope. There is an obelisk in the center and 284 columns that create the elliptical shape of the square.

This is the area around the Vatican…read more It's gorgeous! I absolutely love the fountains and statues in this area. So much amazing architecture. When you step into this piazza, I feel like you get a sense of the Holy Spirit. I mean, how can you not when you are so close to the Vatican? There's a peaceful atmosphere here.

5 euro regular admission but I paid the 4 euro price for students. Well worth it if you want to…read morereset your nasal passages from car exhaust and cigarettes. The grounds are very large and you could spend hours here. You very much feel like you're in an isolated nature preserve and not in Rome. There's also a stone staircase with a fountain at the top that's just lovely. Keep going up to the garden's western limits and it's a short walk away from the Garibaldi monument and Fontana dell'Acqua Paola (once you leave you can't get back in)

Free to visit and get some of the most breath taking views of Rome. The gardens of the Janiculum -…read moreGianicolo in Italian - are composed of the remains of the gardens of Papal and aristocratic villas. Of themselves the gardens are like many Roman parks - a few trees and some scrubby grass. But the amazing terracing and the views of Rome are unbeatable. Take an afternoon off having visited the nearby Vatican and just laze here - there are plenty of bars and cafes so lunch or an afternoon ice cream are possible.

So sad the Piazza Venezia and its' surrounding area was under construction during the time of our…read morevisit. This is one of the most iconic and central squares in Rome, and I can even see some of its' elegance peeking out from behind the construction area.

A must stop if you're looking for free things to do. There are options to pay like they have a…read moremuseum and some other stuff otherwise you could totally walk through the piazza completely free. Many picture areas and has bathrooms, though it was crowded.

I loved coming here and walking along the bridge of angels over the Tiber River…read more Another must do when in Rome. Architecture is amazing, standing in the presence of this beauty is breathtaking Castel Sant'Angelo, also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian, is a towering rotunda in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The popes later used the building as a fortress and castle, and it is now a museum.

Castel Sant'Angelo…read more Castel Sant'Angelo is absolutely breathtaking. From the moment you see it, it feels powerful and full of history. Walking through the castle, you can really feel how much this place has witnessed over the centuries. The views from the top are unreal. Seeing Rome and the Vatican from the terrace is one of the most beautiful sights I experienced on my trip. The architecture, the details, and the atmosphere all come together perfectly. This is one of those places that surprises you in the best way and leaves a lasting impression. A must-visit in Rome. Rating: 10/10

Yet another review, I'd meant to post:…read more Surrounded by a beautiful piazza, Colonna di Marco Aurelio is easy to miss. But don't. The towering marble column in Piazza Colonna is packed with intricate carvings detailing the emperor's military campaigns. It's like a 2nd-century novel spiraling to the sky. No crowds. Gorgeous details. You can't climb it, but you can admire it. A quick and unforgettable stop!

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."…read more-Marcus Aurelius This massive 97 foot tall column dates back to at least 193 AD and was built to honor Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. It tells the story of the Marcomannic wars from 172 to 175. The column stands in the center of Piazza Colonna and at night, it is beautifully lit. I did not have the opportunity to return during the daytime but was still able to appreciate the majesty and craftsmanship of the column that is now close to 2000 years old. Amazing. [Review 19194 overall - 349 in Italy - 164 of 2023.]

Should have posted previously…read more.. A darling neighborhood to stroll and should be added to any Tiberina itinerary since it's so close. Wonderful history to explore.

Jews have lived in Rome for over two thousand years. Their presence in Rome predates Christianity…read more It is probably the oldest continuous Jewish community outside of the Israel and the Middle East. Written records trace the Jewish community as early as 161 BC when Judah Maccabee sent envoys to Rome. For hundreds of years, Jewish families coexisted with their neighbors. They worked as bakers, butchers, physicians, money lenders and craftsmen. As the friction between the papacy and the Jewish community in the 1500s escalated, walled off Jewish ghettos were created following the model in Venice. The Roman Ghetto was established as a result of Papal bull Cum nimis absurdum mandated by Pope Paul IV on 14 July 1555. The bull required that the 2,000 Jews who lived in Rome at the time to live in the ghetto, which was not only walled off, but the gates were also locked from the outside at night to keep them in. The Jewish community was also forced to pay 300 Roman scudi for the construction of the wall and gate. The location was prone to flooding and quite undesirable. By the late 1580s, roughly 3,500 inhabitants were living in inhuman conditions. During the plague of 1656, 800 of the ghetto's 4,000 inhabitants died. The bull revoked almost all the rights of the Jewish community. It placed many restrictions on Jews including prohibition on property ownership (even within the ghetto), not being allowed to provide medical care to Christians and compulsory Catholic sermons on the Jewish Shabbat. Life in the ghetto was harsh filled with poverty, epidemics, such as plague, cholera and malaria, diseases due to lack of fresh water and overcrowding. Roman Jews were limited to unskilled jobs such as pawn brokers, fish mongers or ragmen. Many Christians hated the Jews because they were allowed to "lend" money throughout Rome and Europe. Jews had to wear a yellow cloth if they left the ghetto. The yellow veil worn by Jewish women matched the color worn by Roman prostitutes. During Christian feasts they were forced to run naked or be ridden by the Romans as a way to entertain the Romans. They had to petition for the privilege annually to live in their homes and swear loyalty to the Pope at the Arch of Titus which celebrated the Roman sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As in most of Rome, there was no fresh water in the ghetto. When the Pope decided to use the old aqueduct system to provide fresh water via a series of fountains designed by Giacomo della Porta, a fountain was due to be placed at Piazza Giudea, the site of a market, inside the ghetto. However, Muzio Mattei used his influence to have the fountain, the Fontana delle Tartarughe (Turtle Fountain), located in the Piazza Mattei instead in front of his residence. Outraged, della Porta changed the design of the fountain so that it provided a small trickle of water to the Mattei family. In 1888, the ghetto walls were torn down. In 1904, the Great Synagogue of Rome and a number of apartment buildings were erected on the site. The Roman Ghetto was the last remaining ghetto in Western Europe until ghettos were reintroduced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Today, the Jewish Quarter is a thriving community filled with delicious Kosher restaurants, street musicians and shops. The Great Synagogue in Rome has a very visible square dome and a Jewish Museum. Look for the stumbling stones scattered along the cobblestone streets that remember Roman Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust and a tribute to Stefano Tache Gay who was murdered at the age of two as the synagogue was attacked on Shabbat in 1982. Sit at a sidewalk cafe for lunch or dinner. Try the Jerusalem artichokes and pistachio crusted sea bass at Renato al Ghetto and the pizza and pasta at Ba'Ghetto Milky. Delicious! Thank you to Mircea from GURU Tours who shared the rich history and secret sites of the Jewish Quarter during an amazing, and free, night tour. Highly recommended if you like history and cultural insights.

The tour is maybe 30 minutes long and our guide shared lots of interesting facts regarding the…read moreconstruction and history of the area. It is not at all like the Paris catacombs, so if you are looking for and expecting that, don't visit. You are also not allowed to take pictures inside as it is active holy ground burial site. These catacombs are out of the way, so you either need to uber/rent a car or join a tour group. We rented a car and drove out to this area; we ended up visiting a few catacombs out in this area.

I had a wonderful experience taking a guided tour here. The guide offered insight about the…read morediscovery of the catacombs and the different shapes of individual tombs. There was also the very unique opportunity to see ancient graffiti in the tombs as well as old paintings of religious scenes. This experience helped me see Rome in a different light.