Lazio Region People & Culture

Rome rocks! You definitely have to go and see the Vatican, Colluseum, Forum, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps as well as that big fountain. Get to the Vatican early on one day as it will take you most of the day to go through St Peters and the Vatican galleries. Ladies, ensure you wear a long skirt/sarong or trousers as you won't be allowed in if you are wearing shorts or a mini skirt. It is massive. Often there are people (English speaking students) who are willing to give you a guided tour with explanations through St Peters for free! The statues as well as the architechure of St Peters will blow your mind while you will crack up at the strategically placed fig leaves on the statues of the males throughout the Vatican gallery corridors. When you have finished exploring St Peters Square head down to the Pantheon. I got the best cheeseburger I had in Italy at the McDonalds opposite the Pantheon. The next day get to the Colluseum early to get in line. Later in the day the lines are very long! The Colluseum is awesome and again you may be able to get a guide here, for free! Then you can go onto the Forum across the road. It has been quarried away over the hundreds of years since it lost favour as being the seat of Roman govt, but it is still impressive as your guide will tell you. Romans are crazy drivers, so watch out. Keep a sharp eye out for pickpockets and be very careful with cameras, money, passports, etc as well as your bag. Try not to be anywhere by yourself late at night or early in the morning as that is the best time for thieves to target you and more than one tourist has had a fatal swim in the Tigeres as a result. Public transport is a bit hit and miss (like the rest of the drivers), but the underground train system is good. Tourist buses are not allowed to enter the centre of Rome, so if you go on Bus About or Contiki etc it is likely you will be staying on the edge of Rome. Otherwise you will be paying extra taxi fares to get to your inner city hotel and back again to catch the bus.

Hold on to your handbag as it if were made of gold - because to the numerous crims it may as well be. Also, when in line at an eftpos terminal, have a friend or family member pretend to queue behind you - people will literally push you out of the way to grab the money or card that comes out - I speak from experience! Try saying/yelling loudly in Italian; they are less likely to bother you if they think you can call for help in the native language.

Roma is certainly one of my absolute favorites, if not the favorite. It's a stunning, beautiful, city in which you feel immediately at home. The Roman people are very friendly, and if you speak just a little bit Italian, they become even more friendly. If you happen to speak Italian, buy the guide "La Grande Guia di Roma", in which there are described several tours who guide you through Rome from the Ancient Royal, Republican and Imperial times, just into the Rennaisance and Modern times. Don't bring a car into Rome. Public transport is very easy and well organised, and a car will only bring you stress. Moreover, a lot of Rome can be done by foot, which is very advisable. The gay quarter is not that big (it's near the Colloseum), but apparently that's changing. Roman society is quite tolerant to gays, however public exchanging salivas is probably not really appreciated. Shopping is GREAT in Rome, as is eating, drinking - Italian wines certainly can compete with te French ones - and goin' out.

Surprised to hear about the rude people in Italy. We came across mostly nice people there.

Nice city, nice people, good travel conditions!

Rome is the most beautifull city of the world,culture,shopping nice weather,everything you find there!!!

Capital of Italy, the one of the most interesting cities in Europe. The cradle of culture, arts and literature. Famous for its rich history (monuments like the Ancient Forum, the Arena), full of beautiful "piazzas" (like the Piazza Narona, Piazza di Spagna). A city you simply have to visit, its beauty leaves you speechless.

A very good city for culture and shopping

Roma e la città del amore. You find a lot of culture from more than 2000 years ago. It's just wonderfull to see how people so many years ago could built buildings that imposant!

The most romantic place. Excellent food (visit La pantera rossa), amazing sightseiings (all this culture and history), beautiful people. Generally is a place where someone will not get bored since he has million things to do and see. In any case SHOP (be prepared to spend a lot). Also there are many stock places with crazy low rates from designers in clothes and accessories. Dissadnantages: -Be very carefull with your belongins in private places (metro, road). The mugging is an every day phenomenon. -Streets are really dirty.

Visit Lanuvio in June during the Music fest and in September during the vintage.
http://www.lanuvio.comnet.roma.it

Villa d’Este, masterpiece of the Italian Garden, is included in the UNESCO world heritage list. With its impressive concentration of fountains, nymphs, grottoes, plays of water, and music, it constitutes a much-copied model for European gardens in the mannerist and baroque styles.The garden is generally considered within the larger –and altogether extraordinary-- context of Tivoli itself: its landscape, art and history which includes the important ruins of ancient villas such as the Villa Adriana, as well as a zone rich in caves and waterfalls displaying the unending battle between water and stone. The imposing constructions and the series of terraces above terraces bring to mind the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world. The addition of water-- including an aqueduct tunneling beneath the city -- evokes the engineering skill of the Romans themselves.

Hold on to your handbag as it if were made of gold - because to the numerous crims it may as well be. Also, when in line at an eftpos terminal, have a friend or family member pretend to queue behind you - people will literally push you out of the way to grab the money or card that comes out - I speak from experience! Try saying/yelling loudly in Italian; they are less likely to bother you if they think you can call for help in the native language.

To enjoy at best the town, go sailing on the lake

Nemi is the home of delicious wild strawberries.  They're in everything.  Eat them off the vine or enjoy them cooked into fish, cocktails etc....   Nemi is GORGEOUS

Rent a bike. You get to see much more.

The place to go for ultimate shopping till you drop.A def for sight seeing and looking back over history the vatican and trevvi fountains are beautiful and the square for bars and restaurants is ideal.you have to also taste the local ice cream parlours. For those lucky enough to tour via yacht l Like i was and taste the fish restaurants is picture perfect.Hop on and of the trams its easy and cheaper than taxi.Always look out for bag snatchers keep safe.

An extraordinary country! Good to visit, always!

Do the Archeo bus tour. €20 for 2 day pass on open top tour bus the archeo bus. Well worth it. Check opening times of Catacombs first as are closed from 12:30-15:30 or something like that it takes almost an hour to get there

You gotta try the fried olives !!  

When visiting Rome, I recommend staying at the Hotel San Carlo. The price is fairly cheap and it's located in the center of the city. The Spanish Steps are just a couple of steps away and the shopping is fabulous around there. The hotel is basically the center of all the attractions. Local restaurants are located along the small alleys and any will be fit for your satisfaction.
Rome is a place of beauty and history and when there you want to absorb it all before you leave. I would definitely recommend visiting the Colosseum and buying a ticket to go inside. However, I must warn you the line for the ticket will be very long around 1hr to 4 hrs. While at the site of the Colosseum, you should visit the Roman Forum, which is a great way to experience the way the Romans lived during their era. I would recommend you try to reserve the ticket before hand. The Vatican is also a great place to visit. The entrance into the chapel is free, however the museum will cost 16 euros. I would recommend visiting the Vatican City first, when done exploring the city you can enter the museum, which entrance is located in the back of the city. When done with the museum you will exit back to the front of the Vatican entrance where you can go into the Church. Another great place to visit would be the Pantheon. Entrance to the Pantheon is free and its a great place to experience the wonders of the Catholic religion during the Roman period. If you just want to relax and hang out with a couple of friends visit the Spanish Step, where you will find locals and tourist in the area just lounging around at night.

Wow factor on every corner. There is nothing not to like, except rude taxi drivers.

Tarquinii (Etruscan Tarchnal) is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen. It was the chief of the 12 cities of Etruria, and appears in the earliest history of Rome as the home of two of its kings, Tarquinio Priscus and Tarquinio Superbus. From it many of the religious rites and ceremonies of Rome are said to have been derived, and even in imperial times a collegium of sixty hauruspicies continued to exist there. The people of Tarquinii and Veii attempted to restore Tarquinius Superbus to the throne after his expulsion. In 358 BC the citizens of Tarquinii captured and put to death 307 Roman soldiers; the resulting war ended in 351 with a forty years' truce, renewed for a similar period in 308. When Tarquinii came under Roman domination is uncertain, as is also the date at which it became a municipality; in 181 BC its port, Graviscae (mod.porto Clementino), in an unhealthy position on the low coast, became a Roman colony. It exported wine and carried on coral fisheries. Nor do we hear much of it in Roman times; it lay on the hills above the coast road. The flax and forests of its extensive territory are mentioned by classical authors, and we find Tarquinii offering to furnish Scipio with sailcloth in 195 BCE. A bishop of Tarquinii is mentioned in 456 The original site of the Etruscan city of Tarquinia, known as the "Civita", is on the long plateau to the north of the current town. The two coexisted for most of the early middle ages, with Tarquinia dwindling to a small fortified settlement on the "Castellina" location, and the more strategically placed Corneto (possibly the "Corito" mentioned in Roman sources) growing progressively to become the major city of the lower Maremma sea coast, especially after the destruction of the port of Centumcellae (modern Civitavecchia). The last historic references to Tarquinia are from around 1250, while the name of Corneto was changed to Tarquinia in 1934. Reversion to historical place names (not always accurately), was a frequent phenomenon under the Fascist Government of Italy as part of the nationalist campaign to evoke past glories. The Etruscan necropolises , with some 6,000 tombs, 60 of which include wall paintings. The National Museum , with a large collection of archaeological findings. It is housed in the Renaissance Palazzo Vitelleschi , begun in 1436 and completed around 1480-1490 Main Sights Church of Santa Maria di Castello (1121-1208), with Lombard and Cosmatesque influences. The façade has a small bell-tower and three entrances. The interior has a nave and two aisles, divided by massive pilasters with palaeo-christian capitals and friezes. Noteworthy are also the rose-window in the nave and the several marble works by Roman masters. The Cathedral , once in Romanesque-Gothic style but rebuilt after the 1643 fire, has maintained from the original edifice the 16th century frescoes in presbitery, by Antoniodel Massaro Church of San Giacomo and Santissima Annunziata , showing different Arab and Byzantine influences. The small church of San Martino (12th century). The church of St. John the Baptist (12th century), with an elegant rose-window in the simple façade. The Communal Palace , in Romanesque style, begun in the 13th century and restored in the 16th. The numerous medieval towers , including that of Dante Alighieri. The Palazzo dei Priori . The façade, remade in Baroque times, has a massive external staircase. The interior has a fresco cycle from 1429. The Gothic-Romanesque church of San Pancrazio . .