All roads lead to ...

I read a few travel guides that recommended starting any tour of Italy with Venice, then Florence before following all roads to Rome. I think they were right, as Venice is quite a relaxing introduction to Italy, partly because there is no traffic. Rome by comparison is full on, not only because of the cars and people but it just has a more intense feel. It is also more arduous to get around (there was a partial strike on the Metro on my first day!) as it is much larger than Venice or Florence and is somewhat dirty by comparison. Gritty is perhaps an apt word. That’s not to say it’s not an amazing place, it’s just that it could be slightly overwhelming.

After finding my hotel and freshening up (I needn’t have bothered, the tram I caught straight after was so full and humid I was sweaty again within moments), I headed to Capitoline Hill to see the Capitoline Museums – the oldest museums in Rome. These museums (there are two, on opposite sides of the Piazza del Campidolgio but joined by an underground passage) are full of outstanding Greek and Roman sculptures, including the famous she-wolf Lupa Capitolina suckling Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome). There are great paintings too by the likes of Caravaggio, Velazquez and Titian. You also get to visit an ancient Roman temple beneath the square and are rewarded with an amazing view looking out onto the Roman Forum - the remains of the ancient city’s civic heart. I would have spent a good three hours exploring these museums, and it was a relaxing escape from the hot and busy city streets.

From Rome

After this I made my way to the Trevi Fountain, which is beautiful, although this is tempered by the fact it is overrun with tourists.