Rome

Travel Advice for Seniors: Rome

Ah, La Dolce Vita! Italy is for many a major bucket list item. I had been to Italy backpacking in the late 1990’s and a return visit with Mom was in order. We chose a small group tour of ten days to include Venice, Florence and Rome. Note that in the description below, some were included tours and others were activities we arranged ourselves.

I think Rome is a place like Paris or London that you can go to over and over again and enjoy it equally every time. The piazzas, the history, the museums, the food! Each visit it slightly different, and you learn and see new things every time.

We started our tour at the quintessential Roman sight: The nearly 2000-year-old Colosseum.  The largest amphitheater in the world can hold up to 80,000. It was primarily used for gladiator fighting and animal/human fighting. It is a little surprising to see the inside of the Colosseum, as the floor is only partially laid so you can clearly see the labyrinth of stalls for the animals, etc. under it. It is a fascinating peak into Roman life during the time of the Flavian rule.

We continued to the Roman Forum open air museum, the center of everyday life in ancient Rome and commercial affairs.  Several buildings still exist in good conditions and parts of other buildings give you a good idea of what ancient Rome used to look like.

The Capitoline Museums offer a great view of the Forum from on top of Capitoline Hill. The famous classic sculptures here include “Dying Gaul” and “Capitoline Wolf” among other works from the Roman era.

Not far away is Trajan’s Column, an intricate column carving of Trajan’s victory in the Dacian wars. We also toured the Basilica of San Clemente with its window into the layers of Roman building through the years. Finally, to the San Giovanni area in Laterano for a bit of shopping and to see San Giovanni, the official seat of the Bishop of Rome who is of course, the Pope.

Day two was a much-anticipated trip to Vatican City. No trip to Rome is complete with paying proper respect to the city state within Rome and the seat of the Roman Catholic Church. Be prepared to be awestruck by the Vatican Museums and of course the Sistine Chapel. Unless you have skip-the-line tickets, be sure to arrive early in the morning before the lines get too long. Truly a marvel, the Sistine Chapel frescoes are one of Michelangelo’s finest works. It may be crowded, but you can still get a very good look at the ceiling and walls. Works to see in the Vatican Museums include the Laocoon group and the Raphael Rooms, though I liked going into the Treasury room and seeing the relics and pieces of the True Cross.

And of course, St Peter’s Basilica. It’s hard to comprehend the immensity and to absorb all of the beautiful interiors and sculptures in this very sacred of Catholic churches. St Peter is buried here along with 91 popes. Don’t miss Michaelangelo’s Pieta. Just take a minute or two instead of cruising straight through to your next destination. There is a lot of history here and though crowded, if you slow down a bit you can feel it.

Following St Peter’s, we traveled to visit the beautiful Santa Maria Trastevere church, one of the oldest in Rome and also the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva that was built on the site of three pagan temples.

Just around the corner was the final stop, the wonder that is the Pantheon, which started as a Roman temple and is now part of the Catholic Church. The Pantheon is famous not only for being one of the best-preserved buildings in Rome, but also has the single largest, unreinforced concrete dome in the world.

The third and final day of our Roman adventure took us to two more beautiful basilicas: Santa Maria Maggiore, the largest of the churches dedicated to Mary, which is said to house the relic of the manger in which the infant Jesus was laid and Santa Maria della Vittoria, home of Bernini’s famous sculpture the” Ecstasy of St Theresa”.

The incredibly intricate sculpture of the Trevi Fountain was our next stop. Even though there was construction going on at the time of our visit, it was still incredible. Though I don’t encourage it, it is said that throwing a coin into the fountain will ensure a return trip to Rome, two coins you’ll find love and three coins you’ll have a Roman wedding!

We also make a stop at the Spanish Steps, note that there are 135 steps linking two piazzas. Some of the most exclusive shopping in the world awaits at the bottom.

Our final afternoon stops were at Villa Borghese one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Rome. We also stopped by the Museo Galleria Borghese which houses several important sculptures by well-known sculptors such as Raphael, Bernini and Canova.

There is so much to see and do in Rome but do make time to just sit at one of the Piazzas and have a coffee or dinner. Piazza Navona with its three lovely fountains is one of our favorites. It’s important to take the time to relax and absorb another important of Rome…la dolce vita!

Where we stayed: Bettoja. Breakfast included. Nice hotel, convenient location.

How we got there: Bus from Florence to Rome. This was part of a 10-day small group tour through Italy, starting in Venice with a stop at Florence and ending in Rome.

General Accessibility Information: Major tourist sites, newer hotels, transportation and most major cities are accessible. Older buildings and some historic sites may be less accessible. Call in advance to verify and make specialty arrangements. See our sections on specialty apps and accessible travel for more on accessibility assistance.