Ciao! Rome is my first stop in Italy of this 2022 Eurotrip. Here’s a fun fact about me: I am one-quarter Italian, and I’ve always wanted to visit the last country of my heritage. The love for food, art, and living la dolce vita (the sweet life) runs deep in my family—it’s in my blood. As a food-motivated creative person, I have picked the right place.

Rome is one of the birthplaces of Western civilization. It’s the epicenter of great food, art, architecture, engineering, wine (if you drink alcohol), and romance. My background is in fine art, and many art history classes have drilled iconic buildings such as the Colosseum and Pantheon into our psyches. It has been a surreal experience to see all of these art history lessons come to life!

Main Attractions in Rome

These are several attractions that I’ve visited. I highly recommend:

• Purchasing tickets online in advance to avoid waiting in line for hours
• Bringing a water bottle to fill up. It gets warmer this time of year, and there are fountains throughout the city
• Wearing comfortable clothes and shoes, because you’ll be walking a lot
• Visiting some attractions early if you want to avoid crowds

Colosseum

The iconic Colosseum is the largest and oldest amphitheater in the world. It was mainly used as a battleground for gladiator matches, where the opponents fight to the death. Being inside one of the greatest buildings felt like I was in a history book.

After my visit to the Colosseum, I visited the expansive ancient ruins of Palatine Hill, the legendary site where the city was founded. You’ll find the remnants of temples, Roman imperial palaces, and baths. It really felt like going back 3,000 years.

Vatican City

Vatican City is technically its own country with its own passport, post office, and even football team that’s separate from Italy. But you don’t need a passport to go in. The country is a religious site and is ruled by the Pope of the Catholic Church.

You should set aside a full day to visit the Vatican. The Vatican Museums alone cover about eight miles. That’s a lot of ground to cover! It’s possible to see the important stuff in a day, but you might need two days if you really want to take everything in.

For me, the most important thing at the Vatican was seeing the grand frescos of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo, one of the greatest Renaissance artists, painted the Biblical story. One of the most famous pieces is the “Creation of Adam,” a fresco that we’ve seen time and time again in those art history classes. Now I got to see it with my own eyes!

Fresco is an unforgiving material to work with. It involves painting with pigmented plaster, and the artist must work quickly before it dries and becomes part of the wall. So, seeing an entire vaulted chapel’s ceiling painted with Biblical imagery astounded me, leaving me in wonder of how humanity is capable of creating such masterpieces that stand the test of time.

Afterwards, I went inside St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter’s Basilica is the largest church in the world and is one of the greatest works of Renaissance architecture by Michelangelo. It’s considered one of the holiest Catholic places. It also holds the tomb of St. Peter, who is the head of Jesus’s 12 disciples and the first Pope. Even though I’m a non-believer, I was in awe of the interior. It took 150 years and an incalculable cost to build a church so magnificent.

Trevi Fountain

The baroque 18th-century Trevi Fountain is one of the famous fountains in the world. The dramatic stone sculptures interplay with the flowing water. The Roman aqueducts carry water to the fountain to this day. The Trevi Fountain is very well maintained. Because it’s so popular, I recommend going early to beat the rush. Don’t forget to toss a coin into the fountain, and remember: if it’s not baroque, then don’t fix it. 😉

Pantheon

The Pantheon is nearby. You can visit the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps in one go, since they’re close to each other. I was randomly walking through the cobblestone streets, turned a corner, and there it was!

The Pantheon was originally a Roman temple, before it was converted to a Catholic Church in the year 609 A.D. The columned portico has deeply influenced Western architecture, as seen in universities, banks, public libraries, and government buildings. I am in love with this magnificent building.

The inside is under an unreinforced concrete dome with the open oculus at the center: an open hole that lets in natural light. The interior is designed so that it could fit a perfect sphere—which is engineering at its finest. It blows me away that all of this was constructed without modern technology.

Spanish Steps

The 135 Spanish Steps starts at the Piazza di Spagna at the base and goes up to the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. In the Spring, they are covered with potted azaleas.

Just like the Trevi Fountain, if you want to have it almost to yourself, visit around 7:30 a.m.

Things to do in Rome

As always, great vegan food, art, and cats always call to me. Here are some noteworthy places.

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary

Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary is an outdoor cat sanctuary among the ancient Roman Torre Argentina ruins—where Julius Caesar is thought to be assassinated.

All of the cats in this sanctuary have been abandoned. While many of these cats are missing eyes, ears, and limbs, they are well-fed and taken care of. All of the cats have been sterilized and vaccinated, and most of them can be adopted. The cats roam freely among the ruins, living their best lives. They chase birds, nap peacefully inside flower pots, and purr happily from pets and attention.

It’s free to visit, although consider making a donation so that Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary can continue to do good work to help these cats.

Romeow Cat Bistrot

I had the most exquisite meal at Romeow Cat Bistro, a vegan restaurant where you can dine with cats. Several cats live in this establishment, and they roam around while guests eat. This is a place where you really slow down and immerse yourself in the present.

Inside, the artwork by Sara Paglia graces the trendy interior. Cat beds are in corners, and some cats amble from one part of the dining room to the next.

A proper Italian meal is much more relaxed and lengthy than an American meal. Lunch is often considered the most important meal of the day, and it usually lasts for an hour or two. Italians often have a very light breakfast, so they come hungry for lunch time–and for good reason. Because this multi-course meal will fill you up.

The starter was a savory ball that reminded me of a cornbread ball, or a hushpuppy. The yellow cream reminded me of a vegan Hollandaise sauce.

The first course was spaghetti in a macadamia nut cream sauce with wild pepper. I rolled several noodles around my fork and ate slowly, the noting the texture and flavor of the spaghetti. It had a hint of garlic, an important ingredient in Italian cuisine. The wild pear compote had a hint of bergamot orange powder. To me, the pear compote tamed the garlic aftertaste, balancing out the savory flavors of the pasta.

The main course was an Italian-Japanese fusion: a bed of marinara jackfruit wrapped in a nori strip, with seaweed on top, surrounded by four breaded sweet potato slices and pesto sauce. The delicate savory flavor of this course married into the stringy texture of the hearty jackfruit in the tomato marinara.

During the main course, this white cat jumped onto my table! I felt honored, since mine was the only one where a cat blessed me with their presence like that. The server gently shooed him off, but I would have let him stay.

Dessert, the final course, was a matcha parfait with a raspberry sauce, an almond sablé (cookie), and a pistachio tuile (wafer), and garnished with fresh raspberries. I loved the brilliant green parfait contrasting with the red raspberries. The soft parfait was the consistency of gelato, but less cold and more dense. The creaminess offered a contrast to the crunchy tuile and sablé.

I loved everything: the food, the cats, the interior, all of it! Life is too short to not slow down every once in a while and soak up what you enjoy the most.

You must make a reservation for lunch and dinner to eat at Romeow Cat Bistrot. They are closed during certain hours of the day as well, so make sure to review the hours before contacting them.

Dorothy Circus Gallery

Dorothy Circus Gallery is a beacon of pop surrealism art in Rome, a visionary and magical experience in an inviting room with red velvet walls, the color symbolizing life and birth. Pop surrealism is a genre of contemporary art. The otherworldly details provoke curiosity and a shared sense of wonder through dreamlike imagery. Artists include Camille Rose Garcia, Camilla D’Errico, and Hikari Shimoda.

Dorothy Circus Gallery also has another location in London, which I have visited.

Ciao, Rome!

Rome has been such a charming city, offering plenty of places to nerd out and immerse myself in history. This is a city that I would love to revisit in the future. The architecture, ruins, food, art, cats, and everything in between stem from passion from the artists, architects, chefs, and engineers who create them, whether in ancient times or modern day.

I’ve been loving Italy so far. The way Italians speak, with their rhythmic vocalizations, sounds like poetry–even if they are talking about mundane things. The more relaxed attitude towards having meals is winning me over. Also, Rome loves their cats. My next stop is in Venice, and I’m so excited to explore the area. It looks different from Rome, and I’ll report my findings. Ciao!