A cosmopolitan city since the earliest times, epicenter of a constant flow of pilgrims due to its pivotal role in Christian Europe and then compulsory destination of the “Grand Tour”, the educational journey made by young European aristocrats, transported to Rome on the wave of enthusiasm for its glorious past. While tourism has somehow always been part of the city’s DNA, it is true that the record numbers of visitors recorded in recent years (51.4 million presences and 22.2 million arrivals in 2024) inevitably lead to overcrowding in some parts of Rome and its main attractions.
But Rome is not only made up of super famous museums and iconic monuments such as the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Vatican City, taken by storm by mass tourism. The city offer includes lesser known but equally unmissable places, glimpses of beauty that contain more than meets the eye and treasures to explore off the beaten track. For example, those described by Joseph O’Connor in the British newspaper The Guardian, which in a recent article brought to the attention of its readers some alternative itineraries to fully appreciate a city so rich in facets.
The first stop suggested to escape the chaos of any big city is the Botanical Garden: an oasis of rare plants, exotic flowers and monumental trees in the heart of Rome, between Trastevere and the Janiculum Hill, a world apart that is hard to forget. Peace and serenity are the keywords of another evocative place, full of charm, history and art: the Non-Catholic Cemetery. This green rectangle behind the Pyramid of Caius Cestius is the final resting place of an army of rebels and dreamers (John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Antonio Gramsci and Gregory Corso among others), with the cats of the adjoining feline colony wandering among the pines, cypresses and ancient tombstones. Elegant and quiet, though only a few steps away from the bustling Campo de’ Fiori, is also Via Giulia: barely a kilometer long and dotted with prestigious buildings and churches, it is a true dive into Renaissance Rome.
In the Rione Esquilino, just a few steps from Termini Station, art and spirituality come together in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The story of its foundation, linked to the dream of the wealthy Roman patrician Giovanni, his wife and Pope Liberius back in 358, is told in the magnificent mosaics that dominate the Loggia delle Benedizioni, part of the Polo Museale Liberiano itinerary, an unmissable treasure chest. The list drawn up by The Guardian also includes two museums: Palazzo Altemps, reopened in 1997 as the seat of the Museo Nazionale Romano, and Centrale Montemartini, with its ancient statues looking even more beautiful among the turbines, pumps, pistons and diesel tanks of the old power station converted into a spectacular museum venue.
Photo: Centrale Montemartini
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