Italy, a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline, has left a powerful mark on Western culture and cuisine.
Apart from the fact that many people travel to Rome to enjoy the amazing foods that can only be found there.
The city is also known for historic sites as well as landmarks such as the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Vatican City.
Here are five things you must do when you visit Rome.
Take a Photo at The Spanish Steps
Built by the French in the 1720s, the Spanish Steps are not particularly important historically, but the elegant site draws visitors to Rome. Many people photograph and climb the 138 shallow steps, take a drink of water from the 18th century Fontana della Barcaccia, and enjoy a gelato while window shopping—or dropping some serious cash—in the designer shops lining the streets around the steps. In the springtime, the steps are decked out with colorful azaleas, and make for an even better photo op.
See the Ancient Trajan’s Markets/Museum
This highly-recommended site often falls off many tourists’ radar, and that’s too bad. Trajan’s Markets were a multi-level, arcaded shopping complex—basically the world’s first mall—with individual stores that sold everything from food to clothing to housewares.
The Museum of the Imperial Forums presents the history and development of the businesses and adjacent forums, and you can walk through the ancient market arcades, which are usually free of crowds.
Sample Roman-Jewish Food in The Jewish Ghetto
Though it is now a charming neighborhood and a great place to sample traditional Roman-Jewish fare, the Roman Ghetto has a grim past.
The walled neighborhood was established by a papal bull (a public decree) in 1555, and all Rome’s Jewish population were required to live in the swampy, disease-prone district near the Tiber.
While the ghetto was abolished in 1882, in the waning years of WWII, Nazis deported most of the area’s Jews to concentration camps—and only a handful returned to Rome.
Tour Castel Sant’Angelo
Built as the mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, this massive, round building near St. Peter’s was subsequently used as a fortress, a prison, and as private apartments for the popes—its history is especially entwined with the infamous Borgia family.
The Castel Sant’Angelo tour begins on the sixth-floor terrace, which is famous from Puccini’s opera, “Tosca,” and offers terrific views of Rome, then winds on a circular route down to the lower levels of the castle.
Savor Italian Flavors
Many people go to Italy to try the remarkable food, which is well-known around the world. So when in Rome, do as the Romans do: dine on the delicious pizza, pasta, gelato (Italian ice cream), and more.
Grab something to eat at the mercatos, full of colorful, fresh produce. Sip on an espresso or a cappuccino at a local café.
Some of the best-known cafés in Rome are Tazza d’Oro near Pantheon—started in 1946 and known for the granita, a partially frozen coffee with whipped cream—and Sant ‘Eustachio Il Caffè, dating back to 1938 and located near Piazza Navona.
