Things to Do

Top 10 Things To Do For Free In Rome

When in Rome , the following sights won't burn a hole in your pocket - they're free:

1. Roman Forum

The Roman Forum, the most important archaeological area in Rome, extends from the Capitol Hill to the Palatine. As far back as the 7th century B.C., the Forum was the centre of political, commercial and religious life. Later on, to the original Roman Forum were added the Imperial Forums: Foro di Cesare, Foro di Augusto, Foro di Nerva, Foro di Vespasiano and the most imposing one, the Foro di Traiano, of which one can still admire the huge Column of the Markets.

2. Pantheon

The Pantheon is an impressive example of the exquisite architectural technique of ancient Rome. It consists of a huge cylindrical body of equal height and width, covered by a great hemispherical dome.
Important artists such as the painter Raphael are buried there, as well as the Italian Sovereigns of the period when Italy was a monarchy.
Opposite to the Pantheon is Piazza della Rotonda with its beautiful fountain designed by Giacomo Della Porta.
Built as a temple dedicated to all the gods, erected by Marcus Agrippa in 25 B.C. and later rebuilt by Hadrian around 120 A.D., the Pantheon underwent several transformations: a Christian church in 609 and a fortress in Medieval Times.

3. Views from the Pincio, the Gianicolo and the Capitoline

Michelangelo's Piazza del Campidoglio is the star travel attraction here. Designed in 1538, the piazza is a classic of Renaissance town planning. It's bordered by three palaces - the Palazzo dei Conservatori, the Palazzo dei Senatori and the Palazzo Nuovo - and formerly featured a bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius. The Conservatori and Nuovo now house the Museo Capitolino , just bursting with classic statues: Boy with Thorn ('in his side'), Dying Gaul and the Capitoline Venus . The Capitoline overlooks the Forum, and it was from here that ancient Rome was governed.

4. Trevi Fountain

Alive with rushing waters and marble sea creatures commanded by an imperious Oceanus, this aquatic marvel is one of the most exciting sights in Rome . The work of Nicola Salvi -- though it's thought that Bernini may have been responsible for parts of the design -- was completed in 1762 and is a perfect example of the rococo taste for dramatic theatrical effects. The water comes from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, and is so called because of the legend that it was a young girl, a vergine, who showed its source to thirsty Roman soldiers. The story is pictured in the relief on the right of the figure of Oceanus. Usually thickly fringed with tourists tossing coins into the basin to ensure their return to Rome (the fountain grosses about EUR120,000 a year, most of it donated to charity), the fountain took center stage for Anita Ekberg's famous dip in La Dolce Vita. (Unfortunately, the fountain is turned off during the wee hours and occasionally at other times for cleaning. If that's the case when you arrive, make a point of returning another day to see it in full gush.)

5. Bocca della Verità

A large stone disk depicting the face of a faun or river god, with its mouth open. It is probably a monumental slab to close a drain but, according to legend, the stone was used to judge people's honesty: whoever told a lie while holding his hand in the mouth would have ended up pulling out only the stump.

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck also fell subject to its mysterious charm in the famous film Roman Holiday!

6. St Peter's Basilica

The largest church in the world, built over the tomb of St. Peter, is also the most imposing and breathtaking architectural achievement of the Renaissance. Its history goes back to AD 349, when the emperor Constantine completed a basilica over the site of the tomb of St. Peter, the Church's first pope. The original church stood for more than 1,000 years, undergoing a number of restorations and alterations, until it was in danger of collapse toward the middle of the 15th century. In 1452 a reconstruction job began but was quickly abandoned for lack of cash. In 1503 Pope Julius II instructed the architect Bramante to raze all the existing buildings and to build a new basilica, one that would surpass even Constantine's for grandeur. It wasn't until 1626 that the basilica was completed and consecrated.

As you travel up the shallow steps up to the great church, flanked by the statues of Sts. Peter and Paul, you'll see the Loggia delle Benedizioni (Benediction Loggia) over the central portal. This is the balcony where newly elected popes are proclaimed and where they stand to give their apostolic blessing on solemn feast days. The vault of the vestibule is encrusted with rich stuccowork, and the mosaic above the central entrance to the portico is a much-restored work by the 14th-century painter Giotto that was in the original basilica. The bronze doors of the main entrance also were salvaged from the old basilica. The sculptor Filarete worked on them for 12 years; they show scenes from the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul , and the life of Pope Eugene IV (1431-47), Filarete's patron.

Pause a moment to judge the size of the great building. The people near the main altar seem dwarfed by the incredible dimensions of this immense temple. The statues, the pillars, and the holy-water stoups borne by colossal cherubs are all imposing. Brass inscriptions in the marble pavement down the center of the nave indicate the approximate lengths of the world's other principal Christian churches, all of which fall far short of St. Peter's Basilica's 186-meter span.

Immediately to your right is Michelangelo's Pietà, one of the world's most famous statues. It was safely screened behind shatterproof glass after being damaged in 1972 and masterfully restored in the Vatican 's workshops. Exquisite bronze grilles and doors by Borromini open into the third chapel in the right aisle, the Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento (Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament), with a baroque fresco of the Trinity by Pietro da Cortona and carved angels by Bernini.

In the central crossing, Bernini's great bronze baldacchino -- a huge, spiral-columned canopy -- rises high over the altare papale (papal altar). Bernini's Barberini patron, Pope Urban VIII, had no qualms about stripping the bronze from the Pantheon to provide Bernini with the material to create this curious structure. The Romans reacted with the famous quip "Quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini" ("What the barbarians didn't do, the Barberini did"). A curious legend connected with the baldacchino, which swarms with Barberini bees (the bee was the Barberini family symbol), relates that the pope commissioned it in thanks for the recovery of a favorite niece who had almost died in childbirth.

The splendid gilt-bronze Cattedra di San Pietro (throne of St. Peter) in the apse above the main altar was designed by Bernini to contain a wooden and ivory chair that St. Peter himself is said to have used, though in fact it doesn't date from further than medieval times. (You can see a copy of the chair in the treasury.) Above it, Bernini placed a window of thin alabaster sheets that diffuses a golden light around the dove, symbol of the Holy Spirit, in the center.

Travel on down the left nave past Algardi's tomb of St. Leo. The handsome bronze grilles in the Capella del Coro (Chapel of the Choir) were designed by Borromini to complement those opposite in the Cappella del Santissimo Sacramento . The next pillar holds a rearrangement of the Pollaiuolo brothers' austere monument to Pope Innocent VIII, the only major tomb to have been transferred from the old basilica. The next chapel contains the handsome bronze monument to Pope John XXIII by contemporary sculptor Emilio Greco. On the last pier in this nave stands a monument by the late-18th-century Venetian sculptor Canova marking the burial in the crypt below of the ill-fated Stuarts -- the 18th-century Roman Catholic claimants to the British throne, who were long exiled in Rome .

7. Every church in Rome

Rome is full of very special churches. The Church of Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest church in the Forum, and the nearby Church of San Pietro in Carcere is on the site of the Mammertime Prison, where St Peter is believed to have been imprisoned and to have created a miraculous stream of baptismal water. On the Aventine Hill, a beautiful yet marginally less visited spot, the 5th-century Church of Santa Sabina has lovely carved wooden doors. Santa Maria Maggiore dates from the 5th century but has a baroque façade and Romanesque bell tower. San Giovanni in Laterano is Rome 's cathedral and home to the preserved heads of Sts Peter & Paul. Santa Croce in Gerusalemme dates from the 4th century but was remodelled in the baroque style; it contains what are thought to be fragments of the true cross. Santa Maria in Cosmedin is one of the finest medieval churches in Rome and is also famous for the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), an ancient Triton mask set into an exterior wall. Legend has it that if you put your right hand into the mouth while telling a lie, it will snap shut. San Clemente defines just how stratified the city's history is. The 12th-century church at street level was built over a 4th-century church, which was in turn built over a Roman house containing a temple to Mithras, and the foundations are believed to date from the time of the Republic.

8. Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums on the last Sunday of the month

The chapel where important papal ceremonies are held is Michelangelo's masterpiece, a milestone in the history of Western art. In 1508, the redoubtable Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to fresco the more than 10,000 square ft of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, a task that took four years. Michelangelo's subject was the story of humanity before the coming of Christ, depicted in nine main panels. The ceiling was cleaned and restored in the early 1990s and is now vibrantly colored, a startling contrast to the dark and veiled tones known for so many years.

9. Piazzas & Hang-Outs

Rome's marvellous collection of piazzas make great resting places on your walks around the city. Vast and beautiful, Piazza Navona was laid out on the ruins of Domitian's stadium. It's lined with baroque palaces and holds three fountains, including Bernini's Fountain of the Rivers. In Renaissance times, the piazza was flooded on festive occasions and used to stage mock naval battles. Perhaps Rome 's most popular spot to hang out and be pick-pocketed or hassled is the Piazza di Spagna, at the foot of the Spanish Steps. The Keats-Shelley Memorial House is nearby, and the piazza is graced by Bernini's boat-shaped Barcaccia fountain. Elegant Via Condotti (shoppers' heaven) runs into the piazza, and Rome 's oldest café, Caffé Greco, can be found at No 86.

One of the most popular places to hang out in Rome isn't a piazza but a fountain - the Trevi Fountain . It attracts more tourist coins than any other fountain in Rome, due to the clever rumour that a thrown coin will ensure your return to the Eternal City. Piazza del Quirinale offers stunning views of Rome and St Peter's, while the Piazza Venezia is overshadowed by 'the Typewriter', otherwise known as the Victor Emmanuel Monument . Piazza Barberini features the fantastic Triton Fountain. Via Veneto was the place to be in the 1950s and '60s, when the truly astonishing Swedish import Anita Ekberg personified La Dolce Vita. It's a shadow of its former self today, but it still has fashionable intensions. It's also home to a bizarre attraction that is definitely more morta than vita : the creatively decorated Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capuccini, with rococo decorations and pyramidal stacks created solely from the bones and skulls of the monks' long-departed fellows. The Campo de' Fiori is a lively piazza which is home to a daily (except Sunday) flower and vegetable market. The magnificent Renaissance Farnese Palace is just off the piazza.

10. Travel to the Markets

Rome 's fresh-produce markets are treasured reminders of a more traditional way of life. There's generally a dazzling array of fresh fruit and vegetables, often meat and fish stalls, the usual delicatessen fare and sometimes stalls selling clothing, shoes or bric-a-brac.

The lively daily market in Campo de' Fiori is certainly the most picturesque and worth the travel, but also the most expensive. Prices seem to rise if the shopper has a foreign accent.

Trastevere locals shop at the excellent Piazza San Cosimato market, a traditional neighbourhood market adjacent to one of the best food-shopping streets in Rome, Via Natale del Grande.

The covered Piazza dell' Unità market, near the Vatican, is another good place to shop. The Ponte Milvio market, north of the city centre, caters for well-heeled shoppers.

The huge market at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele is Rome 's biggest and goes all the way around the square. It is one of the cheapest markets in the city and the place to find exotic ingredients alongside the usual fare, as it is in the most multi-ethnic area of Rome. It is colourful but not the most salubrious of places - watch your handbag. Great bargains can be found on Saturday afternoon when the market is closing.

The Testaccio market on Piazza Testaccio, is the most Roman of all the city's markets. It is noted for its excellent quality and good prices.

Food markets operate from around 7am to around 1.30pm, Monday to Saturday.