Rome wasn't seen in a day

08-21-2005

I hope this revelation doesn't come as a shock, but I haven't been everywhere.

People often ask me for suggestions about good hotels and restaurants in cities they'll be visiting, and so many of them seem surprised when a travel editor pleads ignorance simply because he's never been there.

Travel is relative. I have traveled more than many, and many have traveled more than me. Then there are members of the Traveler's Century Club (see this week's Travel Briefs).

While it's a fact I have set foot on every continent except Australia, the majority of these vast expanses are still marked Terra Incognita on my internal globe. Indeed, the list of places I hope to see someday is very long and includes many commonly visited destinations.

Case in point: Rome.

Although in my professional experience I have read and edited numerous articles about Italy's Eternal City, my own personal experience is limited to a single night in the summer of 1968 when I was passing through the city to catch a train.

I have visited Italy on several occasions since then, but those journeys were all in the northern part of the country. I never ventured south into Rome, always figuring I'd get there someday.

Well, that someday is fast approaching.

In several weeks, I'll be passing through Rome again, this time to catch a cruise. On this occasion, however, I'll have several extra days to spend. I'll be arriving midmorning on a Friday and boarding the ship on Sunday evening. Allowing time to overcome the effects of jet lag and get ready for the cruise, I figure that leaves a day to explore.

That adage about the time required to build Rome notwithstanding, it's not possible to see it all in a month or week, let alone a day.

Obviously, choices must be made. Rather than trying to take in as much as humanly possible in a great gulp that is difficult to digest, I generally prefer touring strategies that focus on selected attractions, even if it means missing others.

In the case of Rome, that's proving difficult.

In trying to come up with a list of sights, sites and activities I might like to experience, I've considered the obvious, from the Vatican and the Pantheon to the Forum and the Colosseum. Hearing about half a dozen other stupendous churches and historic chapels has fired my interest, and the idea of exploring the catacombs beneath the city fascinates me.

There is certainly no shortage of places to seek insight about Rome, both ancient and modern.

Guidebooks, for example. A quick search of Amazon.com turns up 247 titles, while a query to www.advisor.com produces 391 listings of things to see and do in the city, complete with communication links and maps.

But in pondering this, it occurred to me I was forgetting about a unique resource. I suspect many readers of the Destinations section are far more familiar with Rome. Some of you have been there many times for myriad reasons and quite possibly have a personal, loving knowledge of the Eternal City.

So, what do you think I should see?

Is there an area of Rome you love to roam? A small museum or favorite temple? Are you partial to a particular piazza, palace or point of perspective? How about an insider's tip for seeing the Vatican or a suggestion about a great little trattoria where we might dine?

I already have a hotel booked along the Tiber near Palazzo di Giustizia, and I'd like to keep our itinerary within walking distance.

If you have a suggestion about someplace or something I should see or do in Rome, tell me about it, along with a hint of why it is special to you. E-mail or letters are preferred. Please keep your comments to 200 words or less. I'll pick several to investigate while in Rome, weather permitting, and report back on them later, along with a selection of other readers' recommendations. It should be an interesting exercise.

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