Today's blog post is dedicated to the city which has seen the rise and fall of civilization, was considered a capital of the arts and technology, as well as being one of the most romantic places, Rome. The capital of Italy has been around for thousand of years and has seen many famous individuals such as Julius Caesar, Marco Polo, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Sophia Loren and many others. Every corner of Rome represents a historic landmark, a constant reminder of the days long gone. If you find yourself in the center of Rome you can walk to the majority of the famous landmark within thirty minutes to an hour max. It is a rather unique city that you can't help but fall in love with. I will try not to bore you too much as my goal is to show you the beauty and uniqueness of Rome. I hope that the photos below will make you want to go to this special place.
As mentioned earlier, Rome has played an important role in the history of the world. The legend has it that Rome was founded by the two brothers, Romulus and Remus, the twins who were abandoned on the bank of the river Tiber. The twins were saved from the death by a she-wolf who nurtured and raised the boys. The brothers then decided to build a city on the bank of the river, however, Romulus went on to kill his brother and the city took his name. The historians believe that the official history of Rome begins sometime around 753 BC, however, the archaeological discoveries indicate that there were people living at the sites way before the founding date.
Rome started out as a monarchy which shifted towards the republic until a guy named Julius Caesar was able to consolidate all of the power in his hands and established himself as a constant ruler. As many of you know, Julius Caesar did not end well as he was assassinated by the Senate who did not like the idea of having a dictator who took away their powers. From then on there was a long list of emperors and generals who held control of Rome over a given period of time. At certain points in time the Roman Empire controlled as much as six million square kilometers of land surface, making it the biggest civilization at the time. Without boring you with too many historical details, it is pretty obvious that a city that has been around for almost three thousand years will have plenty of historical sights to visit and sightseeing tours to take.
One thing that stands out right away when you walk around Rome is the architecture. With Rome being a very historically significant city, you come across churches, cathedrals, forts, pantheons, and bridges on every corner. Even the regular buildings that have been transformed to residential apartments look charming even though the condition of the building might not be the best. The must see places that are located within the walking distance of each other and represent the masterpiece of architectural design include Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Piazza di Spagna (also known as Spanish Stairs) and of course the Colosseum.
I really like learning about history and taking the tours when I visit different places, especially when visiting historically significant locations, so I ended up getting a guided tour to the Colosseum. I would highly recommend planning the tours ahead of time (not two days before visiting like I did) as it might be problematic to visit famous landmarks such as Colosseum. Access to Colosseum is limited to three thousand visitors at any given point to prevent crowds and allow people inside an ability to actually see and explore the landmark. This is great news for people who were able to secure tours and tickets and these are terrible news for people who were in the line outside waiting to buy the tickets. So if you want to visit Colosseum, either buy your tickets in advance and make sure that you arrive on time or get a guided tour and enjoy some fun facts while you are inside! While the insides of Colosseum are not much to talk about I still think that this is a must see when you go to Rome as many movies have been made about the gladiators and Colosseum is one of the most recognized landmarks in the world. Additionally, you can visit Palatine Hill located within a five minute walking distance from Colosseum. Palatine Hill is considered to be the nucleus of the Roman Empire and while majority of the buildings in the area have not made it to our days, it is still an interesting place to visit IF you have a guide. Otherwise you will end up staring at a bunch of half-destroyed buildings and rocks not realizing what you are even looking at.
Putting all of the historical significance and the architecture aside, Rome is a pretty fun city by itself. Given that the city is old, majority of the streets are tiny and put together create a maze. There are countless cafes, restaurants and bars along the sidewalks, many of which have patios on the streets. I happened to be in Rome during the peak hours as May apparently represents one of the better months to visit given that it is not yet hot. I could tell that I chose to visit Rome at the unfortunate time as everywhere I went there were crowds of tourists and locals. So if you are not a fan of crowds, do not go in May or June, you might regret it! Also, while I have been praising Rome throughout my blog post, I do have to talk about the negative experiences that I had. If you find yourself in need of Euros and you decide to go and exchange whatever currency you hold, make sure that you understand all the "commission and handling fees" that the exchange place charges. They typically have those written in some obscure place where you would not notice it from the beginning until it is too late. That's how you will end up paying 25 euros worth of commission exchanging a hundred dollars. Yepp, that's right. I got 57 euros instead of 82 euros for my crisp Benjamin Franklin...
Since I was already in Rome, I had to visit Vatican City which is located within Rome city limits but represents its own independent city-state. Vatican City is famously known as the residence of Pope and would be considered one of the holiest places on Earth. The city (or should I call it a country?) is very small as it is about 0.44 square kilometers or 0.17 square miles and it predominantly consists of the Vatican Museums grounds and the St. Peter's Square along with the St. Peter's Basilica. Unfortunately, I did not make it inside of the basilica as the lines are ridiculous. The best strategy to get inside of the basilica without having to wait hours is to go very early in the morning. The basilica opens at 7AM so your best bet to skip the lines is to come around that time. If you are not an early riser, then you are out of luck! By the time I made it to the square, the line to the basilica already went across the entire square and disappeared in one of the alleys. One thing I did find funny is that right near the St. Peter's square there is a Russian embassy of Vatican City. So not only is Vatican City its own country, it actually maintains diplomatic relationships with other countries!
One of the main attraction in Vatican City are the Vatican Museums. These museums feature collections that have been gathered by different Popes throughout history. Museums represent a series of building connected together by halls and featuring chambers with beautiful artwork on the walls and the ceilings. Additionally, museums hold artifacts and relics of the past in addition to the sculptures and paintings. The admission ticket costs around twenty euros, but it is definitely worth it as the museums grounds are incredible and you can easily spend half a day in there. One of the biggest attractions in the Vatican Museums is the Sistine Chapel famously known around the world as the renowned painter Michelangelo painted the chapel's ceiling. Unfortunately, photography inside of the chapel is not allowed and while many people still secretly took photos (SHAME ON THEM!) I am not about that life... So while you won't see the photos from inside of Sistine Chapel, there are plenty of beautiful sights that I have tried to capture within the museums. The photos don't do the museums justice as these sights are far more grandeur and impressive in real life, but hopefully these photos provide a taste of what you could experience inside.
I ended up spending three hours in Vatican Museums and that was me walking through the chambers at a moderate pace without making too many stops. I would definitely recommend allotting at least three hours to spend inside of the museum if not more and an hour or so for the lines. If you go in the morning, you have a better chance of spending less time in the lines as the lines get bigger and bigger with every passing minute. I would not recommend getting a guided tour inside of the Vatican Museums. The crowd inside is insane and you do not really have a chance to enjoy a particular piece of art as the tour guide has to have the group moving through the chambers. I would recommend buying an audio tour guide for eight euros and exploring the museum at your own pace. There is so much to see in the museums that you might get a cultural overload. I definitely felt exhausted going through the 1000th chamber featuring another amazing art piece just because that's a lot to take in. However, as with Colosseum in Rome, I think that is one of the must-see places in Vatican City.
In conclusion I would like to say that two days is definitely not enough to see Rome and Vatican City. If you want to have a good experience and enjoy the city and the sightseeing tours, you would probably need a couple of days more. But if you ever find yourself in Rome, I do believe that you will have an amazing time. The atmosphere of the city, the architecture around you, the history that is on every corner of the city, all of that combined will create an unforgettable experience. While I was able to experience a lot Rome had to offer I would be happy to go back and explore the city at a less crazy pace and enjoy the small things such as eating pasta and drinking wine in the middle of a day. Because believe me, there will be many others doing the exact same thing you are!
