The sun burns the skin, the brightness hardly allows your eyes to open, and your ears are filled with a symphony of unfamiliar languages. People move quickly in search of some shade and a means to escape the enthusiastic crowd. Waiting under the shadow of one of the seven wonders of the world, the line moves quickly despite the large number of people in it.

While the famous Colesium and Vatican draw the biggest crowds, Rome is filled with hidden gems most tourists never get to experience. Several TCS students visited Rome this past summer looking to get lost in the Roman Ruins. It is a historic and culturally significant city often called the Eternal city because, yet it can also be quite busy and disorderly. 

It’s crucial to prepare ahead of time and reserve tickets for famous sights in advance. Taking a guided tour to the busiest attractions can help you make the most of the day. Even so, you won’t get the full experience if you only visit the most well-known locations. 

“Leaving the concerns about the method of transportation in the city aside, I would consider that with good physical health, one can walk around the city’s streets and find themselves lost in its shops. However, if they don’t have much time, people can ride a bicycle or take a hop-on, hop-off bus to visit all the sites,” Tatiana Muñoz, Mother of Senior Juanita Muñoz, said.

Places to visit

Rome has several well-known landmarks that are sure to catch people’s attention, but those aren’t the only things that capture the essence of Roman beauty because the city’s streets are filled with hidden gems. 

Many tourists tend to ignore the Trastevere neighbourhood in favour of the city’s more well-known neighbourhoods such as Prati and Praioli. But it is definitely worth taking the time to see this vibrant area with its art galleries and craft shops, as well as Piazza Santa Maria, an ornate church that houses numerous mosaics. Trastevere is most well-known for its pleasant ambience where you may stroll among its cozy restaurants and euphoric pubs. Trastevere’s neighbourhood’s heart is the Via della Lungaretta. 

“The must-see in Rome should in your list, but I’d also suggest getting to know the residential side of Rome more than anything else because it’s a lovely, peaceful neighbourhood that reveals a different aspect of humanity about Rome than the popular tourist destinations,” Senior Maria Jaramillo said.

One of the seven hills that built up ancient Rome, El Palatino, belonged to the aristocracy and is now the location of the Foro Romano and the Circo Maximo. 

A place to learn about is La Bocca della Verità (The Mouth of Truth), a circular marble relief that shows a frightening, yet lovely, human face with a wide open mouth and is believed to have been a drain cover or a portion of a fountain at one time. It is also well recognized for the custom of truthfulness testing. Legend has it that if someone puts their hand in the relief’s mouth and tells a lie, their hand will be bitten off.

Places to eat

Even though some prefer high-end restaurants, lesser-known, neighborhood restaurants tend to have better quality and capture the traditional flavors of cosina romano.  Rome’s Piazza Navona is a popular gathering place with a variety of restaurants. One of the most recognized places to eat is Antica Pesa, a historic trattoria famed for serving authentic Roman cuisine and serving pasta dishes and hearty meats. 

Additionally, Pizzeria La Montecarlo is a place where you can find a casual supper and is well-known for its wood-fired pizza and laid-back ambience. Osteria dei Gladiatori is also a terrific option if you want a more traditional dinner next to one of the seven wonders of the world. This quaint eatery is situated in the Colosseum’s shadow and features a menu of traditional Roman foods and fresh seafood.

“Going to the most well-known restaurants is not something I recommend doing because you can generally find tastier meals at a lower cost at a less well-known restaurant,” Jaramillo said.

Places to Shop

“The finest place to shop is Via del Corso, where you can discover both well-known brands and lesser-known local businesses. It is a very wide street where you can easily wander and visit all the shops nearby,” Senior Valentina Garces said.

Places to kickback