10 Unusual Things to Do in Rome that Aren't On Your List YET!

[Music] want to experience a different side of rome that is in a tourist trap see the other side of the eternal city with these top 10 unusual things to do in rome that aren't on your list yet there are so many wonderful things to do in rome it is not only one of the oldest but one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world rome is like a massive open air museum where you can literally walk amongst the ruins of its two and a half thousand year old history called the eternal city or

kaput mundi in latin meaning capital of the world these two names communicate the two notions of this ancient roman culture don't let the relatively small size of the historic center for you there is so much more to roam than the trevi fountain and the colosseum now by all means go ahead and visit these major attractions that roma is world famous for but make sure you allow enough time to go off the beaten track and see some of these must-see beauties that will make your experience even more memorable here are the top 10 unique things to

do in rome [Applause] [Music] michelle son of the intrepid guide lavos targuida aviarji e come in parallel hi and welcome to rome in italy my name is michelle i'm the intrepid guide your guide to language learning for travel using my 80 20 method and if you're new to my channel make sure you hit the subscribe button and click on the bell notification so you get an alert when i post more videos like this one are you ready to see rome and the amla let's go built on top of the second century temple santo stefano rotondo

is an ancient basilica and church dating back to the 5th century a.d the church is hungary's national church in rome dedicated to both since stephen the first christian martyr and stephen the first the sanctified first king of hungary who converted to christianity and promoted it to his kingdom the church was the first in rome to have a circular plan its architecture is unique to the late roman world the alta in the center of the church was ordered by pope gregory viii along with the frescoes along the outer arcade walls which portrayed the grisly deaths of

34 martyrs [Music] one of the most unique things you can do here in rome is see the magical optical illusion of saint peter's dome the view of saint peter's dome from via nikola piccolomini is awesome every time i come up here always fascinated and gobsmacked by the optical illusion you can experience from here a special feature of this street is that it is perfectly aligned with the dome of saint peters from the far end of this long hilltop road the dome appears large and imposing but as you walk drive or cycle towards the dome you'll

begin to see the optical illusion the newer you get the smaller the dome becomes to the point where it looks tiny if you're wondering how this illusion works it is said to be attributed to the layout of the buildings in the street the illusion is best enjoyed and more dramatic when viewed from a moving vehicle it's an ideal spot to end your day out in the center of rome [Music] you know the saying all roads lead to rome well this road stretched all the way to the south east coast seaport of brindissi in the region

of puglia in italy the appian way of the apia antiqua was one of the earliest and strategically most important roman roads of the ancient republic it was named after aps claudius czechos a roman censor who began and completed the first 90 kilometers as a military road to the south in 312 bc during the same night wars the appian way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the smaller region of greater rome the apia antica is a gorgeous cobbled road lined with pine trees grassy fields and dotted with ancient monuments and attractions

so while you may not be able to visit all 300 kilometers there are three major catacombs you can visit there's san calisto san sebastiano and santa domitilia that run guided tours wondering why there are so many catacombs here well roman law actually forbade burial places within the city limits so the early christians buried their dead in 300 kilometers of underground catacombs another interesting fact is that spartacus and 6 000 of his slave rebels were crucified here in 71 bc the best time to visit the apia antica is on a sunday or during public holidays when

the whole area is closed to traffic and thus becomes rome's biggest pedestrian zone as you explore the ancient road you will be rewarded with stunning views of the remains of seven roman aqueducts dating back to the republican and imperial age the ancient house villa de quintilli situated here was so desirable that emperor commodus murdered the owners to have it for himself since apianpike is so long i highly recommend either joining a sword group tour or hiring your own electric bike so you can see as much of the road as you can another interesting fact is

the origins of the term milestone which has to do with roads and especially the roman roads now after the imperial forum in rome was built the romans placed a stone there and then they placed additional markers on the roads leading out of rome each of these markers was placed at a distance of 1 000 paces and since the pace was approximately 5 ft 1 000 paces was approximately five thousand feet in modern measurements and since a unit of length was one thousand pesos the romans called it this distance mila the latin word four thousand we've

taken this measurement in english as mile and that's why a modern mile comes from the latin word thousand but it actually represents a measurement of slightly more than 5000 feet in modern measurements each of these markers was called a miliardium and this word comes into english as milestone so as you traveled in and out of rome and you passed a milestone every 1000 paces this was a mark indicating how far you had come or how far you have left to go and it's in this sense that we've inherited the term milestone to refer to a

level of achievement or accomplishment while there is archaeological evidence that human occupation in the area of rome dates back to at least 5 000 years the traditional date for the founding of rome is 753 the tale of the founding of rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient romes themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth the most popular of these myths is the story of romulus and remus twins who were suckled by a she-wolf as infants as legend has it rome was founded in 753 bc

by romulus and remus the twin sons of mars the god of war the twin boys were left to drown in a basket on the taiba by a king of nearby alba longa and rescued by a she-wolf when remus and romulus became adults the twins defeated the king and decided to establish a city of their own however they disagreed about the location of the city romulus wanted it to be on the palantine hill currently where the roman forum is while remus wanted to found the city on the aventine hill remus and his fellows eventually attacked and

romulus killed his brother and rhombulus became the first king of rome which is named after him [Music] or simply the passetto means a small passage and it is an elevated passage that links the vatican city to castel sant'angelo this corridor was erected in 1277 by pope nicholas iii and extends approximately 800 meters or 2 600 feet on several occasions it's been used as an escape route for popes in danger in 1494 pope alexandria v crossed it when charles viii invaded the city then in 1527 during the sack of rome clement vii escaped to safety through

this passage when troops of the holy roman emperor massacred almost the entire swiss guard on the steps of saint peter's basilica this has to be one of the coolest things to do in rome by walking in the footsteps of the popes who sought safety when rome was under threat you get a sense of how they must have felt as they fled along this secret passageway unfortunately el pasetto is only open in the summer for guided tours during the event not estate a castel sant'angelo which literally means summer nights at castel sant'angelo and you can see

it from an elevated perspective from the top of peter's dome as well or from the rooftop of castel saint angelo itself [Music] granted this one might be already on your list but it's definitely worth mentioning the baths of karakala are the largest surviving ruins of an ancient bath complex in rome this is a must add item to your list of unique things to do in rome this crumbling complex of brick walls broken archways and the remains of floor mosaics extends over an impressive 33 acres commissioned by septimius severus before his death the baths were named

after his son emperor karakala who reigned from 80 to 11 to 221. karakala is remembered as one of the most notorious of emperors due to the massacres and persecutions he authorized and initiated throughout the empire despite his threatening demeanor caracalla proved to be a strong administrator evidenced by his granting roman citizenship to all free men throughout the roman empire the baths of karakala were fed by a dedicated aqueduct that accommodated a staggering 1600 bathers at a time the bath provided two basic functions for ancient romans sanitation and an opportunity to socialize there were two palestra

or gyms two libraries one for greek texts and one for latin texts and plenty of shops when you visit here be sure to go on a guided tour during your visit where you'll be fascinated to learn how the temperature of the water was controlled and how each of the three major bars the tepidarium kalidarim and frijidarim were used if you're visiting rome during the summer months you can even see live performances here the baths create a superb and dramatic backdrop while watching an opera in its grounds here are some fun facts that you may not

know about the city of rome number one cats are loved and protected in italy a person convicted of killing a cat either owned or stray can face a 10 thousand euro fine and up to three years in prison there are roughly three hundred thousand feral cats in rome in fact the rome city council protects them due to their ancient bond with the city citing that they are part of the city's bioheritage a sanctuary of 250 cats was established at largo di torre argentina where julius caesar was assassinated by brutus number two saint peter's basilica isn't

a cathedral or the official seat of the pope for all its importance saint peter's basilica isn't the official seat of the pope nor is it the first in rank amongst rome's basilicas both of those accolades instead go to san giovanni in la terrano the mother church of the roman catholic church but because of the size of saint peter's and its location next to the resident of the pope most of the church's most crucial ceremonies are held there instead rome is home to hundreds of fountains and there are 50 fountains in this city that can be

considered large including the oldest and most famous trevi fountain and there are also multiple smaller fountains with the exact number impossible to count tourists throw almost 1 million euros into the trevi fountain every year because legend has it that by tossing a coin into the fountain that means that you will no doubt return to rome the trevi fan or fontana di trevi in italian is italy's largest and most famous baroque fountain standing 85 feet high and 65 feet across the fountain is located at the junction of three roads or three via which marks the terminal

point of the modern aqua verginee aqueduct the revived aqua virgo one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient rome in 19 bc supposedly with the help of a virgin roman technicians located a source of pure water some 13 kilometers from the city however the eventual indirect route of the aqueduct made its length some 22 kilometers or 14 miles this aqua virgo led water into the bars of agrippa it served rome for more than 400 years number four the romans died from bad air now malaria was rife in rome in ancient times but was the

biggest killer up until the 20th century malaria which literally means bad air or maladia the ancient romes knew that september and october brought this bad air or maladia little did they know that it was mosquitoes who thrived in these humid [Music] conditions welcome to the beautiful palazzo barbarini commissioned to celebrate the barbarini family's rise to people power in the 16th century every inch of this palace will impress you starting with the large squared staircase by bernini and the helicoidal staircase by boro meaning and upon entering the main salon your eyes will be drawn to the

large spectacular ceiling fresco by pietro da cortona called iltrionfo de la divina providence or triumph of the divine providence which was finished in just three years there are plenty of other great paintings on display here as well and don't miss the three works by caravaggio including san francisco dacisi in meditation saint francis in meditation narciso narcissus and the horrific jurita de oloferne judith beheading of hollow furnace perhaps the most famous of all paintings here is raphael's lafon narina which literally means the baker's girl which is a portrait of his mistress who worked in a bakery

in the neighborhood of trastevere here in rome unknown to most visitors and even locals is cortier de copode which gets its name from gino corpore a florentine architect who designed and built this quarter between 1913 and 1926 upon entering this tiny neighborhood from via tagliamento and viadora you'll see tuscan tourette's liberty sculptures moorish arches gothic gargoyles frescoed facades and palm fringe gardens all located around piazza minsha [Music] want to experience the color scene from a gladiator's point of view then look no further than taking a guided tour of the arena floor and third tier both

sections can only be accessed by small private tours which means you can enjoy the spectacle that is the colosseum without the crowds below the arena floor you'll see the subterranean backstage that was completely filled in during the 5th century a.d and as a result has preserved the area considerably on the tour you'll see where slaves worked where animals such as lions tigers hyenas and bears were kept and see where the gladiators rested ate and prayed also included on the tool is special access to the third tier this area offers unique views unseen from anywhere else

in the colosseum enjoy an uninterrupted view of both the immense interior of the colosseum as well as out across the city of rome the colosseum in rome is the largest amphitheater in the world an amphitheater means theater in the round measuring 189 metres long 156 meters wide and 50 meters high this ancient sporting arena is also known as the flavian amphitheatre because it was built during the flavian dynasty it got the name coliseum because of a statue that was located alongside the amphitheatre called the colossus of nero unknown to many visitors is emperor nero's hidden

palace called domes audia or the golden palace which is located just opposite the colosseum if you have time and the palace is open i highly recommend you also visit nero's palace domos audio [Music] they say the best museum in rome is the city itself but situated in vila borghese which is a massive park is the galleria borghese the borges gallery now its collections are housed in a magnificent 17th century villa with 20 rooms featuring masterpieces of the renaissance and the beginnings of baroque art if you only have time to visit one art gallery in rome

then make it galeria borgeso the collection was begun by cardinal chapione borgese the most knowledgeable and ruthless eye collector of his day scipione borgese was an early patron of jan lorenzo bernini and an ardent collector of works by caravaggio amongst the gallery's gems are paintings by caravaggio including boy with a basket of fruit and said jerome writing and sacred and profaned love by titian my personal favorite part of the collection is the sensational sculptures by bermini look out for bermini's rape of prosupina and apollo and daphne as with most museums in rome it's closed on

mondays so visiting galleria borghese must be booked in advance and they are available in two hour time slots this ensures that you have plenty of time to wander around without having to navigate the crowd this basilica is made up of three layers the present building founded during the medieval period then there's a house of a member of the roman aristocracy and a fourth century church which is underneath the basilica from the outside saint clement basilica looks like any other basilica but once inside you'll be led on a fascinating journey into the history of rome in

1857 the dominican friar maloli who lived in a monastery of saint clement began excavating beneath the relatively modern church which dates back to the 1200s he was rewarded with one of the most interesting discoveries of his time an early christian basilica dating back to 350 a.d meluli continued digging and discovered yet another more ancient layer from 1ad all of this located just a short walk from the colosseum upon entry you will see the beautiful interior of sync clement basilica which features a marvelous 12th century apps mosaic depicting treonfo de la croce triumph of the cross

and wonderful renaissance frescoes in the chapel of st catherine for a 10 euro admission fee you can explore the excavations on the lower two levels take the steps down to the 4th century basilica which was mostly destroyed by norman invaders in 1080 form and look out for the faded 11th century frescoes illustrating the life of st clement continue down another level to see a 1st century roman house and a dark 2nd century temple to mithras which features an altar showing the gods slaying a bull to add to the atmosphere you will hear the eerie sound

of a subterranean spring which flows through the republic era drain this place is not to be missed [Music] my bonus tip for unique things to do in rome is to walk around some of the most prettiest streets in the city located on the other side of the tiber river is its name comes from the latin transtibirum literally meaning beyond the taiba originally the home of the working class its neighborhood boasts some of the prettiest streets in rome imagine rustic orange buildings draped in vines and quite narrowed cobbled streets that's trastevere for more details see my

full self guarded trastevere walking tour guide which i've linked to in the description below this video so you know exactly which streets are the most beautiful and characteristic of the area when visiting a foreign country it's a nice gesture and a sign of respect to learn a handful of pleasantries and greetings when speaking with the locals now here are five essential italian travel phrases to learn before you visit italy and of course rome the first one is chao or salve and both of these mean hello next we have which means goodbye literally this means until

we see each other again then we have grazia which means thank you remember to pronounce the ie ending at the end it's grazier then we have musculusi or permesto both of which mean excuse me but are used in different contexts musculusi is used to get someone's attention or to apologize for something small like bumping into someone and permeso is used when you want to get past someone say if you're on a bus or on the train and lastly we have perfore which literally means as a favor or for a favor and this is how you

say please in italian when in rome do as the romans do speak romanesco in italy there are many regional dialects and independent languages of the italian language that can differ a lot from each other especially in pronunciation for example in naples a napoletano is spoken but in rome romans speak romanesco this diversity of languages and number of dialects found in italy is largely due to the fact that many medieval cities were well protected and therefore remained unconquered or invaded by outsiders if nothing else you have to remember the iconic roman greeting oh now friends we

yell this out instead of saying the more traditional chao or bonjourno but its use doesn't end there ao is used also as an exclamation added to either the start or the end of a sentence for emphasis to learn more about the romanesco dialect language now you can check out my video which i've linked to in the description below got a trip coming up or you just want to communicate with your italian relatives well now you can learn a time with my 80 20 method just click on the link in the description below and check out

my online video language courses that will help you become conversational in italian in the meantime hit that like button subscribe to my channel and turn on those notifications so you're getting alert when i post more videos like this one until next time thanks for watching and happy language learning and buon of a cancer have a great trip ciao you