Visit Rome to connect with the past

Rome is a city blessed with a myriad of attractions from the ancient ruins of the forum to complete buildings from antiquary like the Pantheon, world-beating museums and the very best designer shopping. The Storico Centro district is also amazingly compact with the Vatican City and the basilica of St Peter’s as a natural extension.

Emirates Airline has direct flights to Rome and there is a fast train link to the centre, or a taxi at around $150 return. But the city does not have many truly five-star hotels and apartment rental can offer a higher standard of accommodation.

An Internet search turned up our one-bedroom apartment in the Via Cartari owned by the friendly Giampaolo whose growing family has now moved to something larger outside the centre. It is a useful tip in choosing an apartment to always look for a place in which the owner previously lived.

Five star apartment

This generally means a high standard of fit-out with genuine home comforts. We were very lucky. Giampaolo’s 650 sq ft apartment’s interior had been fashioned by a designer to include a built-in hifi and flat-screen TV, custom-made furniture, a four-poster bed, quality kitchen and marble bathroom.

Moreover, the location was excellent being about mid-point between the Pantheon and the Vatican City, meaning that all Rome’s top attractions are just a maximum of 20 minutes walk away or an inexpensive taxi ride if you are feeling tired or lazy.

Arab visitors love to join Italians on their evening promenades through the city. Everything is open late in Rome, and al fresco dining at restaurants is normal. It does pay to consult a guide-book however, as restaurant prices do not always reflect the quality of the food. Giampaolo left us a few good restaurant suggestions, and business cards for such must eats as ‘the best ice cream in the world’.

Even those who are not normally impressed by architecture and culture tend to fall for Rome. Whatever your religion the cathedral of St Peter’s in the Vatican City is arguably the world’s most richly decorated building, and we climbed to the top of the dome, albeit paying a small supplement for a lift up to half-way.

Historical city

This is, of course, relatively modern history for Rome. Visit the coliseum and imperial forum and you are transported back 2,000 years. Better still is the Pantheon which is the same age and whose magnificent concrete dome has survived intact, thanks mainly to its conversion to a church in 600AD.

To see a full-size imperial bronze statue on horse-back, the only one to survive from antiquary, visit the superb Capitoline Museum, one of the oldest in the world and founded 500 years ago and marvel at Marcus Aurelius.

For the work more modern masters like Michelangelo and Bernini then you need to organize a tour around some of the 900 churches in Rome which have been great patrons of art over the centuries. Rome is an extremely grand, luxurious and hospitable city and few visitors go home disappointed.