Rome, Italy
Where Pizza, Gladiators, and Time Travel Merge!
Welcome to Rome, where every cobblestone street holds the promise of family adventure! Your little ones will gaze in awe at the mighty Colosseum, make wishes at the Trevi Fountain, and declare Italian gelato the “best thing ever.” This is a city where “boring” history transforms into fascinating tales, pizza-making becomes a family art form, and even picky eaters discover the simple magic of perfect pasta. From counting the Spanish Steps to seeking out the mysterious keyhole view at the Knights of Malta, Rome turns every moment into a memory your family will treasure. Ready to explore the Eternal City together? Adventure awaits!
Family Insider Tips
We always recommend eating like the locals, and as they say “when in Rome…” (do as the Romans do). Our suggestions include:
KeeKee Corner
What to See & Do
Colosseum
The Colosseum is located in the center of what was ancient Rome. It is the largest amphitheater in the world. You can’t miss it…it’s literally colossal!
Built in 80 AD to highlight Roman engineering, it had over 80 entrances and could accommodate somewhere between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators.
It was used for gladiatorial contests, public events, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
The Colosseum is listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
To visit the Colosseum, be sure to pre-book tickets at the official CoopCulture.it site.
Roman Forum (Fori Imperiali)
The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum in Latin) was in use for 1400 years, from around 800 BC to 600 AD. It was THE center of day-to-day life in Rome for hundreds of years.
Forum means “plaza” and is where elections, public speeches, trials, and victory marches (known as Triumphs) all took place.
Today, it’s a mass of ruins and architectural fragments where your imagination can come to life thinking about all that has taken place at that spot.
Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi)
No trip to Rome is complete without a visit to one of the most famous fountains in the world, the Trevi Fountain. Fontana di Trevi, in Italian!
It got its name when it was built at the intersection of “three roads” – “tre vie!”
Did you know Trevi Fountain is a wishing fountain?
According to legend, tossing a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain with your right hand guarantees a return visit to Rome.
Each day nearly €4,000 in coins is tossed into the Trevi Fountain. The coins are collected every night and given to charity.
But sorry, no swimming allowed.
Pantheon
The Pantheon is the best-preserved ancient building in Rome. (Not to be confused with the Parthenon in Athens).
The name comes from the Greek word Pantheion, which means “temple of all the gods.”
Atop the building is a large circular concrete dome. Built nearly 1,900 years ago in 125 AD, it is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
Atop the dome is a large hole called an oculus. It allows the sun in and lights up the entire building.
Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina)
The Sistine Chapel is a large chapel in the Vatican Museums just outside of Rome.
The Vatican is its own country, the world’s smallest nation, Vatican City, with 550 citizens! This is where the Pope, the leader of the Catholic Church, lives.
There are so many famous buildings and works of art in Rome, but one of our favorites is the ceiling inside the Sistine Chapel. It is HU-U-U-GE—a painting bigger than a basketball court!
It was hand-painted by the famous Italian artist Michelangelo. The ceiling was completed in 1541, and it took four years to paint. It features 366 figures and depicts stories from the bible stories. That’s a long time to paint!
Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità)
The Mouth of Truth or Bocca Della Verita in Italian (BOH-kah deh-lah verh-EAT-tah) is a large marble statue that was once a drain cover.
It is best known as a lie detector. Starting in the Middle Ages, some believed that if a person told a lie with their hand in the Mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. Chomp!
Careful!!!!
Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna)
What is so exciting about some stairs?
Well, the Spanish Steps are the widest stairway in all of Europe and has 174 steps. There is a beautiful fountain at the bottom of the steps and gelato nearby!
The Steps is a popular spot to drink in la dolce vita, which means “the sweet life,” as KeeKee does in her Rome adventure book.
Piazza Navona
One of Rome’s most famous piazzas is the beautiful Piazza Navona (pee-YAHT-sah nah-VOH-nah). Piazza is Italian for a city square. This piazza was once a stadium.
It features many cafés, three magnificent fountains, one featuring a dolphin and Neptune, and an Egyptian obelisk. (An obelisk is a tall square tower with a pyramid-like point at the top).
