Feel the Unexpected In the Incredible Beautiful Places Rome

Most visitors to the Eternal City stay in Centro Storico, which is home to many of the city’s most famous landmarks. The Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, and most of Rome’s major hotels can be found here.

Most visitors generally follow tour bus routes. Still, a few take a detour into other parts of Rome, such as the Colosseum or St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as crossing the Tiber River into Vatican City. If you’re just interested in seeing famous locations, this route is ideal. To truly experience Rome, you need to get off the beaten path and discover the city’s hidden gems. Here are the top 8 beautiful places in Rome: –

1.  PIGNETO

With its triangle grid and a blend of lush semi-suburbia and artistic urbanization, Pigneto occupies Rome’s easternmost corner. Immigrants, artists, musicians, elderly Italians, hipsters, and the occasional yuppie family—who all do their own thing—make up the eclectic mix of residents.

It’s the type of city where you can buy fresh-cut flowers from Italian nonnas at the farmer’s market, then stroll down the street and see graffiti artists paint a derelict storefront before attending a poetry reading at a cool bookshop-cum-café. As a result, it’s both popular and unique at the same time.

2.  MONTI

Monti isn’t far from the tourist attractions; it’s located just east of the Roman Forum and north of the Colosseum, making it easy to discover. Monti was formerly considered a slum in ancient Rome. Still, now the district is fashionable and bohemian with an eclectic mix of shops, sophisticated wine bars, organic markets, and independent galleries. With its Renaissance ruins and quaint trattorias, Monti has maintained a homey, “little town” vibe while retaining a touch of old-world Italian charm.

3.  TRASTEVERE

The vibrant, exciting clamor may be found across Rome’s ancient ruins across the Tiber River. Trastevere used to be a working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Rome, but now it’s a trendy area that’s part of the Centro Storico.

A popular hangout for artists, students (two American institutions call Trastevere home), and visitors, Trastevere exudes a strange mix of foreignness while nevertheless being firmly Roman. Despite its trendy bars and clubs, boutiques, and booksellers, the region has a traditional Italian feel with its ochre-washed buildings, vibrant piazzas, delightful cafes, and stunning ancient churches (don’t miss the Basilica di Santa Maria and see the wonderful Cavallini mosaics).

4.  TESTACCIO

However, compared to Trastavere or Monti, Testaccio isn’t quite trendy yet. Built on an old artificial hill made out of terracotta tiles and discarded amphorae, it’s an interesting neighborhood (now covered in grass). In Testaccio, there are no well-known historical sites; nonetheless, the region is more of a working-class paradise than a tourist destination. This is precisely what makes it attractive, especially in terms of food: Testaccio is where classic Roman cuisine was founded and still thrives.

5.  PONTE GARIBALDI

Regola and Trastevere are connected by the Garibaldi Bridge, which bears the Italian explorer’s name. Built-in 1888 to commemorate the history of Garibaldi’s battles and conquests on both sides of the globe, the monument was dedicated to the general in 1889. Architect Vescovali constructed Rome’s first bridge after Italy’s unification with this structure (1884 -1888). It was the third-widest bridge in the world (121 x 23 m), after two Parisian bridges.

The two original metallic bays were extended and reconstructed in reinforced concrete between 1953 and 1956 by architect Giulio Krall. You can see Tiber island from its parapet, which is currently constituted by two decreased arches. Renella beach, with its distinctive bathhouses, previously stood on the left bank of the river, near the bridge.

6.  PONTE SANT’ANGELO

The Roman bridge Ponte Sant’Angelo, or Pons Aelius, was erected by Hadrian (117–138 CE) to link the Campus Martius with his tomb (later called Castel Sant’Angelo). The bridge was built in the year 135 CE. Seven stone arches and five major spans of around 18 meters (60 feet) each are supported by piers 7 meters (24 feet) high, forming the structure.

In the 13th century, Pope Clement IV erected an iron railing, and Pope Clement VII erected statues of Sts in the 16th century. Peter and Paul at the bridge’s terminus. Gian Lorenzo Bernini created ten sculptures of angels for the parapets in 1688.

7.  SANTA BARBARA DEI LIBRAI

Campo de Fiori is only a few meters away from a tiny chapel overlooking a trapezoidal-shaped plaza. As attested by an 11th-century inscription naming Giovanni de Crescenzio and his wife Agata as benefactors of the church, its roots date back to the 10th or 11th century.

There are a lot of churches in this region built on the remains of Pompey’s Theater, the earliest masonry edifice. As a result of Pope Clement VIII’s decision to bestow this honor to the University of Liberia (a guild of book publishers, binders, and printers), it was resurrected for the first time in 1306. The booksellers added St. Thomas Aquinas as a patron when purchasing the church.

After a Florentine university member called Zenobio Masotti paid for the church to be restored in 1680 in the Baroque style on his own, it was completed in 1682. When the confraternity disbanded in 1870, the church was deconsecrated. Its most valuable treasures were taken and transported to San Carlo ai Catinari, where they sat abandoned and neglected.

8.  PIAZZA NAVONA

At first glance, it seems to be an old, meandering street, but as you go farther into the historic center, you are confronted with a beautiful architectural wonder in the heart of the Eternal City.

The enormous Fountain of the Four Rivers dominates the landscape with its overwhelming presence and figures that appear to come alive from the sound of the flowing streams of the water.

The brilliance of Bernini and Borromini is on full show in this plaza, which is one of the best papal Rome Baroque Masterpieces. Charm is reinforced by the striking juxtaposition of aesthetically modest residences with several colossal buildings, contributing to its harmony and color.

JOHN