{"id":1422,"date":"2025-01-09T00:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T00:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/?p=1422"},"modified":"2025-02-10T21:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T21:26:11","slug":"top-10-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/top-10-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"DK
DK Eyewitness Top 10 Rome by Reid Bramblett<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Official Description<\/h3>

Whether you’re looking for the most beautiful churches, the greatest walks and itineraries, or the best shops and markets,\u00a0DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Top 10 Rome\u00a0will lead you straight to the very best this city has to offer.<\/p>

The fully updated, pocket-size guide is divided by area with restaurant reviews for each, as well as recommendations for hotels, bars and places to shop.<\/p>

Rely on dozens of Top 10 lists, from the things not to miss at the Top 10 sights to the Top 10 museums, activities for children, and events and festivals. There’s even a list of the Top 10 things to avoid.<\/p>

Plus,\u00a0DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Top 10 Rome\u00a0includes a pull-out street map with public transportation information, useful phone numbers, and 60 great ideas on how to spend a day in Rome.<\/p>

You’ll find the insider knowledge you need to explore this city with\u00a0DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Top 10 Rome and its pull-out map.

Note: While I may have been lead author, this book was also co-written by my friend, the excellent ex-pat travel expert Jeffrey Kennedy.\u00a0<\/i><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Honest Feedback<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A great pocket reference for Rome<\/h3>
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I’m of the theory that you’re best served with two travel books – a pocket sized, quick reference book and a larger, more in-depth book. The pocket sized book is the one that fits into a cargo pants pocket or a jacket pocket.<\/p>

I got back from a trip to Rome and while everyone had their tomes from Lonely Planet or Fodor’s out at dinner, the DK Top Ten Rome book was the one that was taken from my hands and passed around. The foldout map helps a lot and as a result, I was the navigator as we walked the streets of Rome.<\/p>

If you have an infinite amount of time to see everything in Rome, then you’ll need a great book to cover everything. If you’re doing a multi-city Italian tour and only have a few days in Rome, it’s good to have a book like this to keep as a quick reference guide.<\/span><\/div>

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Nick<\/div>
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Great Guide<\/h3>
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The “Top Ten” is a nice, compact guide. The “Top Ten Rome” was helpful and the maps and metro info & bus route info was helpful since we purchased a Roma Pass which was great, but lacking bus route information. The guide actually helped us utilize our Roma Pass. We found that while all roads may lead to Rome, once there, you can so easily lose your way. If you have a short time and want to make the most of your time in city, these guides help you to identify the highlights and do a good job at it. I’m replacing my Rick Steves’ guides with these.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

DalingKAT<\/div>
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Take this with you on vacation – perfect size!<\/h3>
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I am starting to get a collection of these “Top 10” books. They have just what you need to start your adventure. They not only have the top things to see, but the top 10 in those places. Also restaurants, nightlife, lodging, etc. It has great maps of the area and transit where applicable. It is also easy to carry around. I use sticky tabs at the top to plan out OUR top choices. I recently chose the book over the kindle version because I like to see the bigger picture and my sticky tab method.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

Pat Krave<\/div>
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A little knowledge is a good thing!<\/h3>
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Despite the old adage, a little knowledge is a good thing especially when you are visiting a city for the first time. I have used Eyewitnees Travel Guides for some years and found them invaluable. They are a great starting point for pre-trip information and when you arrive at your destination. Sure they do not cover every detail of what a city has to offer but present,in readable and informative sections,what you need to know to get started or the essentials if your visit is a short one.Have yet to be disappointed in their recommendations and information.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

Jake<\/div>
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Great resource<\/h3>
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This book was invaluable for a weekend trip. We were able to figure out what we wanted to see, and then used the pull out map to navigate as we walked around the city to see the sites! The pull out map is worth the price alone! Bought another one for greece that was equally helpful. Would definitely buy another of these for my next trip abroad!<\/span><\/p><\/div>

Ladybug846<\/div>
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Very helpful, easy to carry<\/h3>
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Plenty of room to make personal notes inside these smaller pages, could have been my only guidebook<\/strong> for my most recent trip to Rome with my daughter – her first trip to Italy – so looking for the best of Rome in a nutshell – and this is a great nutshell. Lots of good suggestions for restaurants, all of which were up-to-date, and lots of great ideas for things to see that we didn’t even get to in six days.<\/p><\/div>

inkpot7<\/div>
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I give them to all my clients<\/h3>
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Love the Top 10 Books. I give them to all my clients.<\/span><\/p><\/div>

Jeannine Bottorff<\/div>
Journeys by Jeannine<\/div>
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Favorite bits<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Here are a few samples of text section from the guide\u2014sorry, no photos as I do not have those rights (which is a shame, since there is a TON of photographs in these Top 10 guides). <\/i><\/p>

Please keep in mind that that last edition of this book was written in 2014, so not everything excerpted below is necessarily accurate today. As in all things, travel advice changes.<\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Santa Maria del Popolo <\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/summary>\n\t\t\t\t
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Few churches are such perfect primers on Roman art and architecture. Masters from the Early Renaissance (Pinturicchio, Bramante), High Renaissance (Raphael), and Baroque (Caravaggio, Bernini) exercised their genius in all disciplines: painting, sculpture, architecture, and decoration.\u00a0<\/p>

It’s also one of the few churches with major chapels still intact, preserving the combination of paintings, frescoes, and sculptures that together tell a complete story (most Italian chapels have been dismantled, their paintings now in museums).\u00a0<\/p>

In the Cerasi Chapel, rivals\u2014and very different painters\u2014Caravaggio and Annibale Caracci collaborated along with a frescoist to create a unified whole depicting Peter, Paul, and Mary and, on the vault, their connections to Heaven. Bernini really only altered Raphael’s Chigi Chapel to help underscore the interplay of its art across the small space.<\/p>

1. Caravaggio\u2019s Crucifixion of St. Peter <\/i>(1601)<\/b><\/p>

Caravaggio has avoided the intense melodrama and goriness of his earlier works and packed all dramatic sense into chiaroscuro <\/i>(the interplay of harsh light and deep shadows). The naturalistic figures quietly go about their business, the tired workers hauling the cross into place, Peter looking sad and contemplative.<\/p>

2. Caravaggio\u2019s Conversion of St. Paul <\/i>(1601)<\/b><\/p>

Roman soldier Saul falls off his horse on his way to persecute Christians, has a vision of Heaven, and converts to Paul. Again Caravaggio leaves all drama to the lighting effects, depicting a calm Paul opening his arms to Heaven and his horse being led away gently.<\/p>

3. Chigi Chapel: Raphael<\/b><\/p>

Raphael designed this exquisite memorial chapel for papal banker Agostini Chigi, including drawings for the dome’s mosaics (executed in 1516) and frescoes, and the niche statues (Lorenzetto carved Jonah <\/i>in 1519 and started the Elijah, <\/i>finished in 1523 by Raffaello da Montelupo). Work was interrupted by Chigi and Raphael’s deaths in 1520, but 130 years later Cardinal Fabio Chigi (a.k.a. Alexander VII) hired Bernini to finish the job (see no. 4).<\/p>

4. Chigi Chapel: Bernini<\/b><\/p>

Bernini altered Raphael’s pyramidal tombs a bit, and added the floor’s inlaid marble skeleton, but really only deviated from the original plan in two niche statues carved in his gracefully florid style. The statues tell a Bible story: an angel grabs prophet Habakuk’s hair to haul him and his picnic basket across the chapel to aid Daniel in his lion’s den.<\/p>

5. Pinturicchio\u2019s Adoration <\/i>(1490)<\/b><\/p>

Raphael’s elder contemporary retained more of their teacher Perugino’s limpid Umbrian style. Pinturicchio\u2019s assistants completed this della Rovere chapel’s other frescoes. Francesco da Sangallo sculpted Cardinal Cristoforo’s tomb (right; 1478), Andrea Bregno chapel founder Domenico’s (1477; left), featuring a Madonna with Child <\/i>by Mino da Fiesole.<\/p>

6. Sansovino Tombs (1505-07)<\/b><\/p>

Under triumphal arch tombs, Tuscan Andrea Sansovino gave a Renaissance\/Etruscan twist to the traditional lying-on-state look. These effigies of Cardinal Girolamo Basso della Rovere and Cardinal Asciano Sforza rise part-way from their funerary slabs, reclining on cushions as if merely asleep.<\/p>

7. Marcillat\u2019s Stained Glass Window (1509)<\/b><\/p>

The only Roman work by Guillame de Marcillat, undisputed French master of stained glass, depicting the Infancy of Christ <\/i>and Life of the Virgin.<\/i><\/p>

8. Bramante\u2019s Apse<\/b><\/p>

The Renaissance architects’ first gig in Rome–commissioned by Julius II around 1500–was designing this airy, light-filled choir and scallop-shell apse. The ceiling frescoes are by Pinturrichio.<\/p>

9. Cybo Chapel (1682-87<\/b>)<\/p>

Carlo Fontana managed to make this overwrought Baroque confection of multicolored marbles and a Carlo Maratta Immaculate Conception <\/i>altarpiece work.<\/p>

10. Chigi Chapel: Sebastiano del Piombo\u2019s Nativity of the Virgin <\/i>(1530-34)<\/b><\/p>

This altarpiece’s somber tones stand in Counter-reformation contrast to the dome’s neo-pagan themes (the Eternal Father blessing Chigi’s personal horoscope of planets symbolized by pagan gods) and tondi (Four Seasons by Mannerist Francesco Salviati; 1550).<\/p>

History Box<\/b><\/h5>

The ghost of Nero, buried in the Domitia family crypt on the Pincio, terrorized this neighborhood in the form of demon crows that lived in a cursed walnut tree. Pope Paschal II reassured the locals in 1099 by replacing the tree with a chapel paid for by the people (il Popolo).<\/i> It was enlarged in 1227 and rebuilt in a vaguely Lombard style in 1472-77. Andrea Bregno (probably) added a Renaissance fa\u00e7ade, Bernini a light Baroque touch to the interior.<\/p>

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Sidebar<\/b><\/h5>

Insider’s Tip<\/b><\/p>

Some of the church’s treasures are behind the High Altar in the choir and apse. When mass is not in session, you are allowed to duck through the curtain to the altar’s left and switch on the lights in the fuse box.<\/p>

Snack<\/b><\/p>

Canova <\/b>and Rosati <\/b>cafes (see ppxx) are both on Piazza del Popolo. There are also two great pizza rustica <\/i>(pizza by the slice<\/b>) joints nearby: Girarrosto\/Pizza \u00e0 Taglio<\/b> Anzaleone Elia,<\/b> just through Porta del Popolo and across Piazzale Flaminio at no. 9 (tel. 06-361-2911); and modern Paneformaggio,<\/b> Via di Ripetta 7 (no phone), with cafe seating and good pastries, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Visitor Information<\/b><\/p>

Piazza del Popolo 12 \u2022 Tel. 06-361-0836 \u2022 7am-noon and 4-7pm Mon-Sat, 8am-1:30pm and 4:30-7:30pm Sun \u2022 Free<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/details>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

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1. Saltimbocca<\/b><\/p>

This savory veal dish is so good they call it, literally, “jumps-in-the-mouth.” A veal scallop is layered with sage leaves and prosciutto then sauteed in white wine.<\/p>

2. Bucatini all’amatriciana<\/b><\/p>

Named after Amatrice, the Northern Lazio town high in the Abruzzi mountains where it originated. The sauce consists of tomatoes studded with an Italian bacon–guanciale (pork cheek) or pancetta (pork belly)–laced with pepperoncino, and liberally dusted with grated pecroino romano cheese. The classic pasta accompaniment are bucatini <\/i>(thick, hollow, difficult-to-twirl spaghetti), though it’s often also served over rigatoni. The original amatriciana bianca <\/i>version (before tomatoes, a New World food, entered Italian cuisine) adds parsley and butter.<\/p>

3. Carciofi alla romana<\/b><\/p>

Tender Italian artichokes, trimmed of the touches outer leaves, often laces with garlic and mint, then braised in olive oil and water.<\/p>

4. Abbacchio scottaditto<\/b><\/p>

Roasted Roman spring lamb, so succulent the name claims you’ll “burn your fingers” in your haste to scarf it down. When abbacchio <\/i>(lamb) in unavailable after the spring slaughter is over, they switch to less tender agnello <\/i>(mutton, usually still young though).<\/p>

5. Spaghetti alla carbonara<\/b><\/p>

The piping hot pasta is immediately mixed with a mix of egg, grated parmigiano, and black pepper so that the eggy mixture cooks onto the strands of spaghetti themselves. Some of the starchy water is added to give the sauce some body, and the whole is tossed with bits of pancetta bacon. There’s a local legend the recipe was born of U.S. Army rations after World War II (powered bacon and eggs mix), but no one seems to have proven or discarded the theory.<\/p>

6. Carciofi alla giudia<\/b><\/p>

Artichokes, prepared as for carciofi alla romana <\/i>(no. 3), but then flattened and fried. This typical Roman Jewish dish is often accompanied by other fried vegetables, especially zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and perhaps an anchovy.<\/p>

7. Pajata<\/b><\/p>

It sounds like the least appetizing of any typical Roman dish, but it’s actually the most divine: suckling calf intestines boiled with its mother’s milk still clotted inside. Usually the delicate intestines are chopped into knotted sections, coated with a light tomato sauce, and served over rigatoni.<\/p>

8. Coda alla vaccinara<\/b><\/p>

Ox-tail braised in celery\/tomato broth\u2014like pajata, the product of attempts by the cooks of Testaccio osterie to make something appetizing out of the quinto quarto <\/i>(the unusable “fifth fourth” of the day’s butchering), which was part of the take-home pay of 19th century workers at the district’s municipal slaughterhouse. Cecchino dal 1887, the restaurant that came up with this odd delicacy, is now one of Rome’s Top Ten (see ppxx).<\/p>

9. Gnocchi di patate<\/b><\/p>

These tiny potato-and-flour dumplings, dense and chewy, originated in Northern Italy but Rome has adopted them as their own–they even have a traditional “Gnocchi day,” Thursday, when it’s added to most menus. Gnocchi are best served with tomato sauce though they’re also good with a gorgonzola sauce or simple sage and melted butter.<\/p>

10. Cacio e Pepe<\/b><\/p>

Sometimes the simplest dishes are among the best. Perfectly al dente <\/i>spaghetti is tossed hot with cracked black pepper and grated pecorino romano (a sharp, aged sheep’s milk cheese similar to parmigiano).<\/p>

Sidebar: Wines & Liquors<\/b><\/p>

1. Frascati<\/b><\/p>

Lazio’s only high profile wine, a dry, fruity, not always perfect white from the hills south of Rome.<\/p>

2. Castelli Romani<\/b><\/p>

Cousins to Frascati, from neighboring hilltowns, also made with Trebbiano grapes.<\/p>

3. Colli Albani<\/b><\/p>

Another Trebbiano-based white from the slopes of Lazio’s dormant volcano.<\/p>

4. Orvieto Classico<\/b><\/p>

Dry white from Southern Umbria so good Renaissance artist Signorelli once accepted it as payment.<\/p>

5. Est! Est! Est!<\/b><\/p>

A bishop’s taste-tester, sampling the sweet white in a northern Lazio lakeside village, excitedly ran to the door and scribbled “Est! Est! Est!” (Latin for “This is it!!!”).<\/p>

6. Torre Ercolana<\/b><\/p>

One of Lazio’s unsung reds, made with Cabernet and Cesanese.<\/p>

7. Chianti<\/b><\/p>

This old favorite from over the border in Tuscany is one of the most common reds you’ll find in Rome.<\/p>

8. Lacrime di Cristo<\/b><\/p>

“Tears of Christ,” a white wine from the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

9. Campari<\/b><\/p>

Bitter red aperitif, best diluted in soda water.<\/p>

10. Grappa<\/b><\/p>

The most powerful of Italy’s digestivi <\/i>(drunk after a meal), a quite harsh hard liquor.<\/p>

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“Take this with you on vacation – perfect size!” Patrick Krave; “Lightweight. Easy to shove in a pocketbook. Very well organized.” \u2014Linda Meade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,51,17],"tags":[33,97,29,59,28],"class_list":["post-1422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book","category-reids_books","category-travel","tag-book","tag-excerpt","tag-italy","tag-rome","tag-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1422"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1948,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions\/1948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reidsguides.com\/rb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}