James Joyce once wrote, ‘Rome reminds me of a man who lives by exhibiting to travellers his mother’s corpse’.
This I might wholly agree with if it weren’t for that one single factor that the exhibits to which Joyce refers are in fact timeless; vestibules of a time once glorious, when tourists did not run the world and celebrities were worth celebrating. My first visit to Rome was a fairly rushed experience yet abundant in cultural gems. Admittedly the fact that these gems are no longer particularly sacred due to co-inhabiting with a mass of sweaty spectators each mimicking one another’s sordid attempts to prove to the world that ‘they were there’ (with selfies) can be off putting. However, if one searches for long enough, one might find that rare sight, so hidden away that it is yet to be disturbed by the masses. Personally, my favourite ‘hidden gem’ is The Tempietto by Bramante, the epitome of a Humanist masterpiece made only better by its unusually small scale and circular design within a circular courtyard.
Victoria Ellison guides us through Italy's capital and its hidden beauties
Roma