A Day In Rome: Where To Go For A Short Visit

“There are many ways to go in Rome,” this proverb could be true. Rome is a metropolitan and cultural city as there are so many interesting places as well as wonderful sights you could discover. With its 3000 years of age, Rome has tons of historical sites that one could not explore in only one single day. But if you only have a short stay in Rome and you would want to see what had become the characteristic of this city, here is my advice on to where you should go.

Vatican is situated on the Vatican hill on the west part of Rome, and only a few hundreds away from the Tiber river. Vatican is the smallest administration city in the world which is located inside Rome, and the area reaches 44 hectares only. The Pope governs the city which becomes the center of all the Catholic churches from all over the world. Regardless its size, Vatican has public facilities for people living around the circle city such as post office, supermarkets, banks and ATMs with Latin scripts and other international languages, police station, and fire department.

The most famous building which is also the city center of Vatican is San Pietro church that houses the tombs of the previous Popes. After all, inside it we could see the big statue of Virgin Maria holding Jesus in her hands. I was particularly amazed by the details of the veins on it that could be seen clearly at a closer look. This statue is one of the work masterpieces of a well-known Italian artist, Michelangelo. In the year of 1984, Vatican has been selected as one of the city heritages by UNESCO.

Even though you might have never watched Gladiator played by Russel Crowe (which I doubt it ;)), hearing the name of ‘Colosseum’ does ring a bell. This construction has become the landmark of Rome—even Italy—from the time of Ancient Rome until today. As we all know, Colosseum used to be the arena of fight between gladiators and untamed animals to entertain the noblemen and respected people at that time. It is said that as little as 5,000 lives of gladiators and those of 11,000 of animals had been sacrificed for the show.

As an amphiteater building built in the year of 72 A.D. by the Emperor Vespasianus, which measures 32 meters of height and 527 meter of diameter, it could accommodate up to 50,000 spectators. When I went there the reconstruction was still being undergone so that certain areas were still closed for public visit. Nevertheless, Colosseum still radiates its charm for everyone wanting to feel the aura of the battle between life and death.

The construction of Fontana di Trevi (or Trevi Fountain) was accomplished in the year of 1762 by an architect named Nicolo Salvi to give an honour to Pope Clementine XII. The water that spurs out to the pond comes from the main acqueduct of the city, Acqua Vergine. In the middle of the fountain we could see the statue of Neptune which is believed by the ancient Roman people as the sea guardian. Why I call it sacred? Because it is said that if you would like to go back to Rome after your first visit then you must throw a coin from behind your back to the pond twice, so that your wish will come true. But do not ever jump into the pond undressed if you don’t want to get caught by the police!

Like Montmartre in Paris, in Piazza Navona you could find various talented artists who will offer to have your faces captured on a canvas and get painted, from surrealist to caricatural style. There are also people wearing costumes of Lady Liberty, Cleopatra, even a Roman soldier hanging on during the whole day in the same position as if they were statues, just to get a piece of coin from tourists who want to be photographed with or just to admire them.

The difference is that we could see illegal traders selling second-hand or pirated products such as hand bags and watches, belts, hats, of branded names at very lower price. They must however always be aware of the police patrols that occasionally passing by the square.

Not very far from the piazza, you must also visit the Pantheon, a temple from ancient Greek time which has been restored and serves as a church. Built in the year of 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa to worship the ancient Greek god and goddess, it is also a place where we can find the tombs of Vittorio Emanuele II and his wife, Margherita, who ruled as the first king of Italy.

Fascinated by the highly artistic values of the historical remnants, you must still be careful of thieves and beggars wandering in this beautiful city. It’s better not to accept helps from strangers at the ticket vending machines too. Even though police patrols are around it seems that your ask for a help won’t always satisfy you, because it is said that about 90 % of the crime cases in this city alone couldn’t be resolved (I think this data is still debatable). In fact, among other European countries, Italy is having a problem with illegal immigrants coming to live and work there, mostly from Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. But don’t worry, Italy still attracts lots of foreign visitors as it has the charm and mysteries for everyone to uncover. * * *