You could also read Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian.
Another fictional series I read, set in Ancient Rome, is The Camulod Chonicles. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it, then I was sucked in. Author is Jack Whyte. It’s his take on Arthur, Merrlyn and the round table. I have absolutely no interest in that story, but that is just a small part of it…tells it like it would have happened, no magical stuff. All the Roman descriptions really piqued my interest and I think appreciation of all they accomplished has stayed with me and I will appreciate the city more because of it. I highly recommend this series. The first book is call The Skystone I think.
Trojanchick…I think I will have to read up on Augustus now, since I will be in his home. It will make it come alive.
If you are going to Pompeii, I highly, highly recommend “Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing” by Melissa Mohr. In the first 50 pages or so, Mohr analyzes the ancient graffiti found in Pompeii with hair curling results. It is a scholarly work written for a lay audience but I have to warn you it is very bawdy and sexually explicit. But it was very, very fascinating.
Just have to mention, something that hardly anyone goes to see is the Ara Pacis. It is now surrounded by the Richard Meier designed building and the exhibit space as well as the altar is spectacular. It will only take around 30 minutes of your time and is smack dab in the middle of everything. Rome has so much to offer, that I am big on a “theme” visit. Such as finding every Caravaggio or Bernini in galleries or in situ, or every Augustan monument you can discover. While you are searching out these treasures you see a heck of a lot of other wonderful things. (hint: go for Caravaggio) B-)
Looking for Bernini can be fun too. 
Some amazing Baroque churches. That was our hobby in Bavaria where they took Baroque to a whole new level.
Ha, ha – when someone suggested that a week in Rome wasn’t necessary, I was going to respond that a week in Rome wasn’t even enough time to see all the Berninis or Caravaggios.
Speaking of Baroque churches, my favorite church in Rome is St. Ivo, by Borromini. Can’t remember if it has a Caravaggio in situ.
Speaking of Bernini… You may want to spend an hour or 2 visiting these three places that are very close to each other but off a bit from the main attractions.
Santa Maria della Vittoria houses Bernini’s Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.
Across from it is the Fountain of Moses commemorating the renovation of the aquaduct system in that part of Rome.
A few blocks away are the Diocletian Baths which were turned into a church under the direction of Michaelangelo. Very, very impressive.
Be sure to check the opening times of churches (including the Pantheon) many of them will close for a few hours in the afternoon and there is nothing more frustrating than arriving somewhere and discovering it is closed.
Oh! That time of year the artichokes will be in season. Make a point to eat them in the Jewish Ghetto, which is a fascinating place to visit anyway.
I am very, very jealous. I think you can sense from the enthusiasm of the posts here that many of us who have been lucky enough to go to Rome are in love with it and always happy to go back and discover something new or see something old in a new light.
Probably the thing I love most about Rome, aside from the food, is that you see history layered on history everywhere, Medieval structures that used pieces of ancient Roman marble (you see that clearly in the Jewish Ghetto). Churches built on top of ancient temples (San Clemente). And Largo Argentina in the middle of the hustle and bustle, full of cats.
Enjoy the planning and enjoy the trip and enjoy the memories! This is a great article about extending the great vacation vibe. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/travel/tips-for-keeping-that-post-vacation-feeling.html?rref=travel&module=Ribbon&version=context®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Travel&pgtype=article
We used to joke there were two churches in Italy. Santa Maria siempre chiuso and San Pietro in restauro. I’m probably butchering the Italian - but basically “always closed” or “in restoration”.
Borromini’s trick perspective at the Palazzo Spada is super coool.
It sound like it takes at least six months to properly do Italy. Maybe I’ll do that when I retire.
I love that two-church joke, mathmom! After honeymooning in Italy, we felt all closures and restorations should forever after be referred to using the Italian. Many Caravaggios went unseen.
I love Rome and I could easily stay a whole week.
I would only go to Italy in off season. I have been spoiled with sparse crowds.
For a week, I would rather stay in an apartment to get the true ‘feel’ of Rome. Plus, you can wake up in the morning and enjoy your coffee and planning in your own apartment - with a roof top terrace of course!!! This way you can shop in local markets and save some money on breakfast, bottles of wine, etc. and splurge on the great restaurants.
This is where we always stay. Owner will even send a driver to pick you up at airport for about 50E. In February it is only 120E a night which is an absolute bargain in Rome. The photos do not do it justice, gorgeous ceilings and floors and views from terrace. Didn’t used to be on VRBO, but I guess it is advertised there now
@toledo
Lol, small world. Albergo del Senato is the place we stayed. Loved the cello player in the piazza. As I said before, it was wonderful staying there in Feb. Dunno if I’d want to stay there in the high season. In June that piazza was totally packed & super noisy. There’s another piazza cattycorner behind the Pantheon that’s quieter (the piazza w the obelisk on the elephant). I’m going to try that hotel next time I stay in Rome. The hotel name was Minerva.
If u want to do 2 attractions in one day, then I recommend doing the museum & Herculaneum. Herculaneum is much better preserved; the original wood beams & doors (though carbonized) are still there! There are free-lance licensed tour guides for hire at the ticket sales counter who will lead an ad hoc party of up to 10 people for 100 EUR. Just “make friends” w other random tourists to form a party. Herculaneum is also closer to Naples.
Pompeii is a vast site. I think it deserves its own day, but we GMTparents are classics enthusiasts and were enthralled at Pompeii while our teenage kids had enough much earlier.
We’ve never done Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples coming from Rome; we always did them coming from Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana train-- much simply that way. If u approach via rome, u have to switch trains in Naples. From rome u probably need to budget 2-1/2 hours for the journey each way. In the winter months it will get dark earlier, so u need to take that into consideration in your planning.
A few thoughts about the Naples Museum. It has a world class collection. Besides the artifacts from Pompeii & Herculaneum, it has the Borghese sculpture collection including the Borghese Bull, the single most jaw-dropping sculpture I’ve ever seen. Incredible mosaics collection including the Alexander & Darius mosaic (from the House of the Fawn in Pompeii) and the “skull” mosaic from the title scene of the Rome TV series. I can hear the theme song playing in my head as I type this.
We spent over 4 hours in the Naples museum. There’s no cafe in the museum, but u can go out and come back in with your ticket. We found an awesome restaurant about 100 yards away: 110 e lode - le Antiche Cave. The photo I took of the pizza crudo I ordered was the most beautiful eye-popping pizza I ever had in my life-- it got a gizillion “likes” from my FB friends. . The restaurant is on the same side of the street as the museum. When u exit the museum, turn left.
Oh yeah, we found out the hard way that the museum is closed on Tuesdays…
I am getting so excited reading all your posts. I have less than 3 months to go! I did read the article above and enjoyed it. I had also read that the most that post vacation vibes last can be two weeks and I agree. One thing that I started doing was putting my photos to music. I did it last a Christmas as a gift to my sons from our Califirnia vacation the summer before. We have watched it so many times, and the music really makes it. We try to pick current songs, so when I hear them on the radio, my vacation memories flood back. I wasn’t going to do that with the Itsly trip, as it will just be us two…and we don’t subject others to those…but I just might anyway.
Read about Augustus and Livia last night. They were portrayed in HBO Rome, so had some reference to them that way, too. He was a brat in that series…but it was fiction.
I didn’t think Octavian came off as a brat in HBO Rome. I thought he came off as precocious and machiavellian.
Read “I, Claudius” and “Claudius the God”. Among my favorite books! Juicy…
We generously exercised our duty-free allowance and brought home lots of fine italian wine. We’re drinking the bottles and savoring our trip. It’s like extending the vacation.
I guess the young Octavian wasn’t bratty, but I definitely think the older one was portrayed as a jerk, or machiavellian as you say. I couldn’t stand him in ROME.
I’m a sucker for historical fiction, even if it isn’t 100% historically accurate. I loved Rome the series, even if the history was wrong. It was well acted, featured James Purefoy, and I felt got the feel of Rome right.
I’ve really enjoyed reading Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series. She deifies Julius Caesar a lot, but it’s still fascinating and covers a lot of ground.
Anthony Everitt’s biography on Augustus is fantastic.
Deb - We enjoyed our 4 night visit to Rome with our grown 2 kids in May. (Then we did 1 night in Venice, sleeper train, and 4 nights in Munich. That would be too busy for most, but we loved it. I think you’d find plenty to do in Rome for a week, but also consider splitting off for some quieter time in Tuscany - it is “on our list”.
I definitely recommend checking out VRBO. Our place was 2 BR, too big for you. But the Piazza Novona Navano Plaza location (not for from Campo di Fiori mentioned above) was ideal. I will PM you the link to get you thinking.
I can see the appeal of cooler weather and fewer crowds. Just realize that you will have a bit less daylight in the winter.
Use tips from Rick Steves. Examples follow
- The Colloseum was mobbed when we arrived, but I knew we should walk a short way to Pallantine Hill to buy the combo ticket at less crowded entrance.
- For Vatican Museum and ordered ahead online That saved us a verrrrrry long line (sometimes 2 hours). We opted for 10 euro extra for guided tour, which I thought was worthwhile. Then I knew at end to duck out the back / right exit of sistine chapel to get direct entry to St Peter's basillica. That saved tons of outside walking and another long line and 2nd security check. (There was a sign that implies it is only for guided tours, but it seems not enforced .. at least when we were there with no backup).
We really didn’t have a personal issue with shorter daylight hours in January- but it got chilly in our hotels in late afternoon and we found they didn’t turn on the evening heat til dinner time, maybe 6pm. Maybe that was the particular hotels. In any case, you can check average hi/lo temps.
Was Steves speaking of summer?
Also, the Vatican Museum is quite large- my first trip, we did as much of it as possible and it drove me nuts, by the end. Last few times, as adults, with the kids, we just did the basilica and the Sistine, then decided what parts of the museum held interest. (Then again, DH and I were not the sort of travelers who must see every corner each time. As you read up, you’ll get your own sense of what works for you.)
Interesting link http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestravelguide/2013/03/14/tips-for-visiting-the-vatican/