From the Old to the New in Rome
- By Roberta Stuart
- Published 12/11/2011
- Travel
- Unrated
Rome is famed for its historical monuments, including such wonders as the Pantheon, the Colosseum, and even the Museo di Roma, or the Museum of Rome. However, a lesser-known side to the city is the way it allows you to interact with the past in ways you may not have imagined. Though you may have to range a little further afield than usual from your centre hotel, Rome offers a wealth of ways to experience and appreciate the history of this ancient city. Read on for a few of the ways you can become a time-traveller on holiday, and take a step backwards into Rome’s colourful past.
Via Appica Antica
Part of the old Roman ‘Appian Way’, which ran from Rome to Brindisi, the stretch close to Rome is now part of a nature and archaeological park, the Parco Regionale dell’Appia Antica. It’s a refreshing day out from a centre hotel – Rome permits no traffic on the road during Sundays, if you want and even quieter and more peaceful break. It’s possible to wander quite a long way down the road, and taking a map from the visitor’s centre is recommended so you can plan your route. Stretches of ancient paving-stones line the way, and ruins dot the verges. You might spot the Circus of Maxentius, or the Villa of the Quintili, a once-grand building requisitioned by the Emperor Commodus.
Catacombs
In ancient Rome, burials were strictly forbidden inside the city walls, so tombs and monuments were placed alongside the roads leading into the city (such as the Via Appica Antica above). For those who couldn’t afford tombs, communal graves
in catacombs were the only practical alternative. Though it requires a little travel from your centre hotel, Rome is home to five catacomb sites that are regularly open to the public. Sant’Agnese is by far the most atmospheric, and least crowded – walking through the catacombs to the tomb of Saint Agnes is a memory that will stay with you for quite a while!
Rome Zoo
Recently renamed the ‘Bioparco’, and close to many a centre hotel, Rome Zoo gives a twist to Rome’s preoccupation with history. Though it features all the animals you’d expect in a modern zoo – lions, tigers, a variety of monkeys, hippos, elephants, giraffes, and zebras – in keeping with the ‘Bioparco’ name, it also features signs for each creature in Italian and English, giving not just the animal’s name and characteristics, but the area populated by the species, both currently and in the past. It’s a reminder of the dangers of extinction, and the preservation roles of zoos like the ‘Bioparco’.
Trevi Fountain
One of the most famous tourist sites you’ll see on many brochures in your centre hotel, Rome is home to this extravagant fountain in Trevi Square. You may also be familiar with Trevi Fountain from films such as ‘La Dolce Vita’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’. The fountain’s massive water feature incorporates sculptures of Neptune, with Health and Abundance alongside. The actual water is supplied from an ancient underground Roman aqueduct built by Agrippa, the Acqua Vergine. As superstition has it, if you throw a coin into the fountain (with varying methods such as over your shoulder, with your eyes closed, etc), you are ‘destined to return to Rome’.
Via Appica Antica
Part of the old Roman ‘Appian Way’, which ran from Rome to Brindisi, the stretch close to Rome is now part of a nature and archaeological park, the Parco Regionale dell’Appia Antica. It’s a refreshing day out from a centre hotel – Rome permits no traffic on the road during Sundays, if you want and even quieter and more peaceful break. It’s possible to wander quite a long way down the road, and taking a map from the visitor’s centre is recommended so you can plan your route. Stretches of ancient paving-stones line the way, and ruins dot the verges. You might spot the Circus of Maxentius, or the Villa of the Quintili, a once-grand building requisitioned by the Emperor Commodus.
Catacombs
In ancient Rome, burials were strictly forbidden inside the city walls, so tombs and monuments were placed alongside the roads leading into the city (such as the Via Appica Antica above). For those who couldn’t afford tombs, communal graves
Rome Zoo
Recently renamed the ‘Bioparco’, and close to many a centre hotel, Rome Zoo gives a twist to Rome’s preoccupation with history. Though it features all the animals you’d expect in a modern zoo – lions, tigers, a variety of monkeys, hippos, elephants, giraffes, and zebras – in keeping with the ‘Bioparco’ name, it also features signs for each creature in Italian and English, giving not just the animal’s name and characteristics, but the area populated by the species, both currently and in the past. It’s a reminder of the dangers of extinction, and the preservation roles of zoos like the ‘Bioparco’.
Trevi Fountain
One of the most famous tourist sites you’ll see on many brochures in your centre hotel, Rome is home to this extravagant fountain in Trevi Square. You may also be familiar with Trevi Fountain from films such as ‘La Dolce Vita’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain’. The fountain’s massive water feature incorporates sculptures of Neptune, with Health and Abundance alongside. The actual water is supplied from an ancient underground Roman aqueduct built by Agrippa, the Acqua Vergine. As superstition has it, if you throw a coin into the fountain (with varying methods such as over your shoulder, with your eyes closed, etc), you are ‘destined to return to Rome’.
Roberta Stuart
Looking for the best centre hotel, Rome ? Roberta Stuart is the Travel Manager for World Hotels, a company offering the best holidays, in a centre hotel Rome and a selection of unique four and five star hotels around the world.
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