ROME – Visiting Rome for the first time can be overwhelming. How can you see all of the treasures from its 2,700-year history when you only have a few days?
Temples, monuments, museums, galleries, squares and bridges – all of their global significance and reputation could send you running from one place to another in a constant race with other tourists to get to the front of never-ending lines.
Or worse, you could follow a boring tour trip all day long.
None of these options struck me as much of a holiday, so I tried something a little different.
Sitting in a cafe with a cappuccino on my first morning in Rome, I closed my eyes and tried to remember places in the city I had seen before – in my favorite movies.
I then took a map of the city and marked the most memorable places, which then became my two-day tour plan.
Little time in Rome? Tour scenes from famous films
I started exploring Rome from Palatine Hill, where wealthy Romans used to live in the ancient city.
Views of the ruins of the Forum, the Coliseum and other significant sites open up from this point, allowing you to compare them with the famous scenes from “Ben Hur” to the more recent “Gladiator.”
Then you can descend and walk to the ruins of Rome’s former splendor toward Trajan’s column.
A view from the Palatine Hill over the ruins of Roman Forum, a marketplace that was for centuries the center of public life in ancient Rome. (Oksana Grytsenko)
A 15-minute walk north from the column you’ll find beautiful Trevi Fountain, the scene of the famous kiss between an Italian gossip columnist and an American movie star in Fellini’s timeless “La Dolce Vita.”
You might struggle to get close to the fountain through the crowds of tourists taking photos or throwing coins to make a wish.
There are numerous gelaterias nearby, offering large scoops of delicious ice cream.
But I’d recommend holding off until you have worked another 15 minutes north to Piazza di Ispania.
Sitting with the ice cream on the famous Spanish Steps you’ll feel like Princess Ann, played by Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday.”
I started the next day at Piazza del Poppolo, an oval square perfect for a quiet morning.
After seeing this odd place, you can better understand a character of Gus Van Sant’s “My Own Private Idaho,” who regarded the square with a big surprise after waking up there (this guy was waking up in unexpected places throughout the entire movie).
While relaxing on the square, spot the difference between nearly identical churches on one side of Piazza del Poppolo.
There are also a few fountains and the Egyptian obelisk in the center of the square to enjoy. No wonder that people as varied as Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi called this place their favorite in Rome.
A famous scene from ‘Dolce Vita’ in Trevi fountain in the center of Rome. (kinopoisk.ru)
Next, climb the steps from Piazza del Poppolo for a picturesque view of the Vatican City.
Walk east from the square to the Tiber River, cross over the bridge and head along Via Cola di Rienzo directly to the Pope’s residence.
The Pope’s realm has been screened in countless movies, but St Peter’s Cathedral reminded me of “Angels and Demons,” the movie of Dan Brown’s bestselling novel.
The Hollywood thriller was hardly a masterpiece, but something about it made me want to catch a glimpse of the sites where it was filmed.
Go east from St Peter’s Cathedral and you’ll see Castel Sant Angelo, the castle where historically Roman Popes escaped from the Vatican in case of danger (in the movie a villain secretly tortures the candidates for the papacy there).
Then cross Ponte Sant Angelo with beautiful Bernini sculptures, under which Princess Anna and the American journalist, played by Gregory Peck, danced in “Roman Holiday.”
Then go some 15 minutes south-east and you will get to Piazza Nanova with another Bernini masterpiece – a Fountain of the Four Rivers.
Take your time exploring all the details of the fountain and then look deep into its water, where brave Professor Layton saved a future Roman Pope in “Angels and Demons.”
Good triumphed over evil, and Rome was saved again.
Viva the Eternal City!
Kyiv Post staff writer can be reached at [email protected]
