The exquisite gardens at Villa Doria Pamphili

Resplendent Rome

Rome continues to delight me. Yes it’s a big city and I usually like smaller locations like Florence or even villages like Cortona. But Rome constantly amazes me. From creating our own Dan Brown Angels and Demons tour to discovering a new local dive in Trastavere with the ultimate tasting cacio e pepe, I just cannot get enough of its ageless charm.

So here are a few Roman secrets which you need to discover:

Villa Doria Pamphili – this is Rome’s largest public park which is perfect for a picnic or an afternoon stroll to escape the city. With pine groves and manicured geometric gardens, the villa was built by the Roman Pamphili family in 1630.  Framed by Mediterranean vegetation, there is a stream that flows over waterfalls into a cool pond.

Baths of Caracalla – these baths were a huge public bathing complex in the third century. Rome’s Opera company performs here each summer.

Capitoline Museums – on our first visit to Rome with our daughters, we arrived on the first Sunday of the month. That meant that all museums were free! So we visited the Capitoline, home to the finest collection of ancient sculpture in Rome. Two of the buildings were designed by Michelangelo, including the courtyard.

The bronze Romulus and Remus in the Capitoline Museum

Villa Farnesina – the private residence of Agostino Chigi of the Chigi Chapel fame, this mansion features elaborate frescoes on the ceilings and walls.

Santa Maria in Trastevere – this church is one of the most breathtaking in Rome. The gilded ceiling and mosaics are spectacular and the columns are solid pieces of granite that were lugged from the Baths of Caracalla in the 12th century. This is a medieval church where most of Rome’s churches are from the Baroque and Renaissance eras.

The medieval mosaics in Santa Maria are exquisite

We constantly seek out new discoveries in Rome and discover some surreptitiously ! What have YOU stumbled upon that we should visit next year ? Let us know !