Visiting Rome? Don't Miss This Michelangelo Walking Route

[00:00:00]My name is Scott and my wife and I have been spending a lot of time in Rome over the past 5 years and in this video I'm going to share with you a really fun thing to do, one of my favorite things to do in Rome and I think you'll enjoy it, too. It is a walking tour, it's a self-guided walking tour. This way you can use your phone and you're not going to get lost, it's going to direct you from place to place. You can spend as much time or as little time at each of these places as you want and this particular walking tour we're going to explore some of Michelangelo's greatest achievements, greatest pieces of art in Rome. He had a lot of influence in Rome.

[00:00:38]This particular itinerary starts at the Termini train station and ends at St. Peter's Basilica, but if you prefer you could start at St. Peter's Basilica and do it in the reverse and end at Termini train station. I've got lots to share with you, but before we get started I'm going to be using an app called Komoot.

[00:00:57]I use Komoot because it's very easy for me to share these itineraries with you.

[00:01:01]You can follow along on your phone. Yes, there is a small fee to use Komoot in Rome, but the nice thing is they offer a 7-day free trial and that way if you're in Rome for a week you can just start the trial just before heading to Rome, use it for free while you're there and if you do decide to purchase it I'm not affiliated with them or anything, but I think it's only five or six dollars a month to use Komoot if you find it to be helpful in the future or another itinerary or something you're going to be using it for. Anyway, having said that, got lots to share with you, let's get started.

[00:01:36]>> Game begin.

[00:01:48]>> [music] >> This itinerary starts at Porta Pia.

[00:02:00]Porta Pia is on the Aurelian Wall, not far from the Termini train station. Let me show you here. This is the Termini train station, and Porta Pia is right down here. This this uh gate entranceway. Now, it's not completely enclosed, but at one time the Aurelian Wall went all the way around the city, and this was one of the major entrances to the city. Michelangelo was commissioned to design this in his, you know, mid-80s, so he did not live long enough to see the completion of this, but uh he did design it. And from here, we're going to go to another fantastic architectural achievement of Michelangelo's just down the road in Piazza della Repubblica, which is right down here.

[00:02:45]Let me zoom out a little bit so you can see. This is the the Termini train station. Again, it's just steps from the Termini train station.

[00:02:51]These were formerly the Baths of Diocletian, the largest bathhouse [music] in Rome. Lots of big ruins, and he was [music] commissioned to convert this into a basilica, and that's what he did. And uh again, Michelangelo did this when he was in his 80s. He never lived long enough to see its completion, but uh it's absolutely one of my favorite basilicas in Rome.

[00:03:15]It's absolutely [music] stunning. So, go tour that. It's fantastic.

[00:03:32]Before we head to the Moses, there are a couple of places I want to share with you. One of my favorite little pizzerias and one of my favorite gelaterias are right in the area. So, depending on the time of day, it might make sense to head over there and grab some pizza from Pinsere. Pinsere is one of my favorite little pizzerias. It's the pinsa style pizza. So, if you're in the mood for pizza, you're going to love it.

[00:03:55]>> La mia favorita è cipolla e nduja, spicy salami and onion. But, if you want to try our best, where is the camera? This one is our best, pumpkin sauce, provola cheese and bacon.

[00:04:09]>> If you're in the mood for gelato, nearby [music] there's a place called Come Il Gelato House of Gelato. This place won't let you down, so grab some gelato if you're in the mood for it before heading to the Moses.

[00:04:27]From the Piazza della Repubblica, uh from the basilica here, we're going to head over to the Moses. Now, the Moses was designed by Michelangelo. It's sculpted by Michelangelo, and it's located very close to the Colosseum. It's right down here. It's probably about a 10 or so minute walk. Let me zoom in here, show you where it's at.

[00:04:47]It is actually, got this zoomed in pretty good. It's right in this basilica right here, called La Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli.

[00:05:03]>> [music] >> After leaving the Moses, we're going to head over to Capitoline Hill, where we're going to find a square that was designed by Michelangelo when he was 63, and it took almost a century to complete. So, no, he didn't get to see this one either completed. It is the Campidoglio.

[00:05:36]A couple of things you may want to do while you're in the area, in addition to seeing the Capitoline Museum, you may want to go tour the Victor Emmanuel Monument. You may want to save that for another day. It's free to go into this monument. There are a couple of paid, you know, excursions, little museum in there, and this other thing is go up the rooftop on the elevator. It does cost you, I think, €10, but to go walk around and some of my favorite things are just to walk around these through these big [clears throat] pillars. It's just some really It's elevated view. You get some great views of Rome. And so, yeah, I highly recommend you do that at some point. Check out this Basilica or this uh not Basilica, this monument, this massive monument. And this Basilica here, this is the Basilica. This is a beautiful church.

[00:06:29]Once we're ready to leave the Campidoglio, we're going to head over check out the Cristo Risto. It's a statue of Christ that was designed or sculpted by Michelangelo.

[00:06:40]And it's in another church called La Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva, La Santa Maria's. It's over right next to the Pantheon. This is the Pantheon right down here.

[00:06:51]And there's a church right here. Now, besides this having the you know, the the statue Cristo Risto, this is also I know I say this on all these other ones, but this is There's like 900 churches, 900 basilicas in Rome, but this one is one of the top 10 for sure. Love it. So, be sure to check it out, walk around, check out the church and the Cristo Risto.

[00:07:17]Now, we're going to head to three of Michelangelo's greatest achievements in Rome. On the way, we're going to pass by some great sites. It's quite a walk. Not not super far, but lots to see along the way. But, on the way, let's get some things to eat. You might be hungry.

[00:07:32]Right around the corner from the Cristo Risto, right in front of the Pantheon over here, there's a small coffee shop, one of the most famous coffee shops in Rome called Caffe del Caffe.

[00:07:43]If you're into coffee, this is a great little stop. Even if it's hot summer day, they sell what they It's a frozen coffee called granita coffee. You can grab that.

[00:07:53]Regular coffee, cappuccino, just depending on the time of day. If you're into coffee, definitely swing on in to Caffe del Caffe before heading towards Vatican City. That's where the other achievements, the other artwork of Michelangelo are at. So, what we're going to do, the GPS again is going to guide you, but it's going to guide you right Let me zoom out a little bit. This is Piazza Navona here. You're going to walk right through Piazza Navona and again, if you're in the mood for some gelato, because we're going to be walking this way right on this street, pretty much right on our on our route to the Vatican City, there's a gelateria called Frigidarium.

[00:08:30]Absolutely my favorite gelateria in Rome.

[00:08:34]Great fruit flavors. They don't have a ton of flavors. They probably only have maybe 30 different flavors in there, but it They're always fresh. They're reasonably priced. They're displayed great. They've got great Get the cream on top. You can also have them dipped in chocolate if you want to have a chocolate dip. They'll stick them into.

[00:08:52]But, uh yeah, they're fantastic.

[00:09:04]For what that's worth, go ahead and grab some gelato.

[00:09:07]And then, let me zoom out here just a little bit. We're going to walk here past Castel Sant'Angelo as we make our selves or make our way towards Vatican City right here. Let's turn this around.

[00:09:20]In Vatican City, there are three of Michelangelo's greatest works, in my opinion.

[00:09:26]One of them, a lot of people Maybe Maybe you do know. I Maybe it's just me that didn't know this. The dome on St. Peter's Basilica, this dome here was actually designed by Michelangelo.

[00:09:37]>> [music] [music] [music] >> Many of the things that we mentioned Michelangelo never saw to fruition.

[00:09:57]Right inside of St. Peter's Basilica, you walk in the door there on your right hand side, there is one of the most beautiful statues. In my opinion, it's my favorite statue Michelangelo did. I like it better than the David that's in Florence. It is the Pietà, La Pietà.

[00:10:15]Michelangelo sculpted La Pietà when he was just 23 years old. I don't think it was beginner's luck. The guy was just incredibly talented.

[00:10:26]Also in Vatican City is probably one of Michelangelo's greatest achievements.

[00:10:33]We've talked about him being a sculptor, uh architect, a designer, but he was also a painter. He's the one, you probably know this, he painted the Sistine Chapel. And the Sistine Chapel is part of the Vatican Museum. So, on this walking tour, you may want to do this on another day because going in here to see this at this time might be a little bit difficult. You need to have tickets and uh yeah, so one point you want to check out one of Michelangelo's greatest works, head over to the Vatican Museum and walk through and look at the ceilings at the Sistine Chapel. Just fantastic.

[00:11:10]So, there you have it. Michelangelo had some great influence. One of the probably is undisputed greatest artist, architect, designer to ever live, was right here in Rome and has left his footprint on so many things. Now, to end this walking tour, I'm not going to leave you hungry. Just in case you're hungry for some pizza.

[00:11:34]Every time I'm in the area, right down this road as you walk towards the Ottaviano Metro Station, this is the street that heads out to the Ottaviano, when you cross this little square here, right down here is one of my favorite little pizzerias called Pizza e Paolo.

[00:11:54]Just fantastic. So, if you have the chance and you're hungry, swing in there, say hi, you're going to love it.

[00:12:08]To end this video, I'm going to share a song with you that I made using AI. Now, I know AI, you roll your eyes, but before you roll your eyes, give it a listen. The song is called La Pietà, or if the Pietà could speak. That's what it's about. If the Pietà could speak, what would it say? This is the song. I'm going to put it to videos of Michelangelo's work, including the Pietà. Here we go.

[00:12:46]>> Stone [singing] arms heavy, but I never let go.

[00:12:57]Weightless [singing] sorrow, carved in the floor.

[00:13:02]>> [singing] >> Chisel kiss me where the tears [singing] won't show.

[00:13:16]If I could cry, I'd flood the floor.

[00:13:22]If I could scream, [singing] I'd shake the core.

[00:13:28]But I am am silence holding pain, a mother's grief that can't [singing] explain.

[00:13:46]My hands are frozen, yet they [singing] cradle the light.

[00:13:57]His body cold, but still bathed [singing] in light.

[00:14:06]A moment eternal in the marble's bite.

[00:14:12]>> [singing] >> Do you see my cracks [singing] or the love beneath? [music] Do you [singing] feel the stillness or the endless scream?

[00:14:31]If I could cry, >> [screaming] >> I'd flood the floor.

[00:14:38]If I [singing] could scream, it would shake the core, >> [screaming] >> but I am silence holding pain, [singing] a mother's grief that can't explain.

[00:15:02]Oh.

[00:15:02]>> [screaming] >> Oh.

[00:15:29]>> The stone [singing] doesn't break, but it bears the weight. Time comes [singing] to rot what the heart creates.

[00:15:42]I'm not alive, but I'm not gone.

[00:15:50]I'm the hill you lean upon.