Italian
Writer's
GUIDE
TO
UNKNOWN
UNKNOWN
The most fascinating places in Rome
hidden in the city's downtown area
not to be missed during your stay
selected by Italian author Michele Sanvico
St. Stefano Rotondo
Lateran Bronze Gate
Hilda's Tower
Church of St. Clemente
Walk narrow alleys in ancient Rome at night. Just like in Emperor Nero's time
Parco degli Acquedotti
The majesty and power of imperial Rome beneath the colossal arches of the aqueducts
Church of St. Carlo
The work of a young Borromini, and already a masterpiece
Palazzetto Zuccari
A monster's mouth welcomes you into a house where most famous people have lived throughout the centuries
Centrale Montemartini
Marble and iron: classical works of art and heavy industrial machinery. A museum like no other.
Tomb of the Scipios
Meet the legend: the burial place of the most illustrious family of republican Rome
Church of St. Pudenziana
A radiant fifth-century mosaic portraying Christ and the Apostles as real living persons
Roman Holiday
Audrey Hepburn's Vespa scooter starts its ride just in front of the windows of Palazzo Bonaparte
Sts. Quattro Coronati
A fortified monastery in downtown Rome conceals a treasure: a jewel-like cloister
Capuchin Crypt
Friars who live no longer are awaiting you in the darkness of this ghastly vault
Villa Doria Pamphilj
A gorgeous, seventeenth-century garden and Villa designed for Roman aristocracy
St. Andrea al Quirinale
Perfect proportion and inspired harmony in Bernini's absolute masterwork
Museo Pietro Canonica
A sculptor's house and studio furnished in 1930s and retaining the original charming mood
Vatican Rail Gateway
The huge railway entrance to the Vatican City State, hidden in a dead-end alley near Piazza St. Peter
Church of St. Prassede
A thorough immersion in a golden mosaic dream known in ancient times as "The Garden of Paradise"
Nympheum of Egeria
Egeria's Nympheum, one of the picturesque sights of the Grand Tour throughout the centuries
St. Antonio dei Portoghesi
The national church of Portugal in Rome lavishly decorated with the gold from the New World
Fontana dei Pupazzi
An enchanting fountain in the middle of Villa Borghese, magically suspended between water and air
Convent of Trinità dei Monti
The illusory spell of extraordinary anamorphic frescoes and an awesome XVII-century sundial
Clivo of Rocca Savella
Hidden in the very middle of Rome, a secluded alley brings you back to Roman times
Church of St. Andrea delle Fratte
Bernini's masterpieces from Ponte St. Angelo seen from up close
Villa of the Quintilii
The sky, the Roman Campagna and the ruins: the ultimate Grand Tour experience
Piazza St. Ignazio
A square as wonderful as a theater's outdoor stage in downtown Rome
Arc of the Tolomei
A picturesque corner in Rome, unchanged since the eighteenth century
Tombs of Via Latina
Walk a Roman road in a small park as enchanting as the Appian Way
Museo Barracco
A small yet enchanting musem with exquisite pieces of wonderful ancient sculpture on display
St. Martino ai Monti
Subterranean vaults and superb light effects beneath an antique church of Rome
House of Fiammetta
The charming house of Fiammetta, the fifteenth-century lover of Cesare Borgia and affluent cardinals
St. Michele's papal prison
A three-century-old prison where the Pope confined the women and juveniles of Rome
Church of St. Silvestro
A church resembling the lavish private chapel of an illustrious Roman family
Colonna Gallery
Unbelievable regal splendour for a most prominent historical family in Rome
Church of St. Cecilia
The charm of a martyred virgin saint re-surfacing untouched from ancient Rome
Arch of Gallienus
A corner of Rome rich in history and recollections of imperial glory
Three Fountains Abbey
A dream of holy stillness and quietude in the place where St. Paul was martyred in antiquity
Aurelian Walls Museum
Explore the defensive ramparts of ancient Rome in a picturesque, evocative setting
Angelica Library
An absolute treasure emerging right from the seventeenth century
Gardens of the Priory of Malta
A hidden, perfect treasure on the Aventine Hill only few eyes have seen
House of the Owls
A mysterious, enchanted house of fairies in the gardens of Villa Torlonia
Solomonic Columns
The spiral columns from the Jewish Holy Temple are preserved in St. Peter's
Hilda's Tower
A picturesque tower celebrated by American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne
Church of St. Stefano Rotondo
An early-Christian shrine filled with a special emotional aura
Church of St. Lawrence
A plunge into the magnificence of marble and columns, a church which looks like a Roman temple
Lateran Bronze Gate
The original doors of the illustrious Senate House of ancient Rome are now standing at the Lateran's