Exploring the Eternal City on Vespas! 🛵 🛵

The obligatory "Pretend you're driving the Vespas" shot!

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” - St. Ambrose.   

And what do the Romans do?  They all drive Vespas!  So that’s what we did too.  Well, actually we rode on Vespas while someone else drove, because we weren’t about to risk our lives trying to drive a scooter in the crazy Roman traffic!  One of us may have been inspired by a certain Audrey Hepburn movie to find a Vespa tour around the city…

We were picked up by our guides, Marco and Riccardo.  They asked us if there were specific areas we wanted to see. We weren't sure and told them where we had already been, so they put together a custom tour for us on the spot. After a quick adjustment of our helmets and instructions on how to get on and off the scooters, we were off! 

Drivers in Rome are fast and fearless, so we hung on tight as we weaved through rush hour traffic!!

Our first stop was at the lip of the Circus Maximus.  During Julius Caesar’s reign, this was where the famous chariot races were held, and sometimes Roman games, public executions, and gladiator fights.  At one time the Circus Maximus was one of the largest sports arenas ever built, originally with seats for about 150,000 spectators, and later enlarged to seat around 250,000 people!  Riccardo told us how the seats of the arena came way above where we were standing.  Overlooking the arena is Caesar’s Palace, where Julius Caesar lived during his reign from 49 BC to his tragic death in 44 BC.

Standing on the lip of Circus Maximus with Caesar's Palace in the background

Next we zipped over to the Baths of Caracalla.  Built sometime between 206 AD and 216 AD, these once luxurious and beautiful baths were the second largest public baths in Italy.  In it’s heyday, the Baths of Caracalla would have been lavishly wrapped in marble with large open-air swimming pools, sculptures, mosaics and frescoes, walking paths and fountains.  The ruins, together with modern excavations and restorations, are the most extensive of any surviving Roman bathing establishments.  Unfortunately, the Baths were closing when we got there, and we wouldn’t have had time to tour them anyway, but they are quite a site worth seeing if you get the chance to go!

The exterior of the Baths of Caracalla

Our guides also pointed out the Stone Pine trees, aka “umbrella trees” surrounding the area and are seen everywhere around the city.  Mussolini planted the first umbrella pine in the late 1920s, the first in a row of 2,000 along the Piazza Venezia.

L: Umbrella trees can be seen all over Rome

R: Riding along the Piazza Venezia

After an exciting(!) drive through Rome’s rush hour traffic, we headed to Via Appia Antica, aka The Appian Way.  All roads lead to Rome, but this road was one of the most important roads for commerce in the city.  The Appian Way was built in 312 BC, and by 191 BC, extending all the way from the Roman Forum to the port of Brindisi, almost 310 miles southeast of Rome on the Adriatic Sea.  The road was originally built for military purposes, enabling the conquest of new territories in the southern provinces, and victorious generals and their armies marched back on the road to celebrate their successes. The Romans also crucified 6,000 enslaved people along the Appian Way as a warning to others who might consider rebellion.

L: One of the two gates at Porta San Sebastiano. Here is one of the oldest sections of the road.  The entire road is made of slabs of stone, and construction required advanced engineering techniques such as building viaducts and bridges to traverse difficult terrains like marshlands and rivers.

R: Porta San Sebastiano, one of the largest and best-preserved gates in the Aurelian Walls. There is also a museum inside this gate you can visit!

The Via Appia Antica eventually became Rome's most important road—and perhaps the most important road in the world.  It was crucial for trade between the city and southern Italy.  Along this ancient highway you can see the tombs of notable Romans, such as the poet Horace and the orator, Cicero, as well as a couple of catacombs which house the remains of early Christians and martyrs (one of which we visited on another day and will tell you more about).  Via Antica is also where the origin of the word “mile marker” came from, as a way to mark the distance along the way.

Next we took a little break in the Testaccio neighborhood and stopped at a local cafe to enjoy some pastries and Ichnusas, a Sardinian beer our drivers recommended, which was pretty good!

Enjoying our ice-cold Ichnusas, a Sardinian beer.

Lastly, we visited Parco Savello, aka “The Orange Garden”.   This is a beautiful public garden with pretty orange trees and a stunning view over Rome and St. Peter’s dome, framed by the branches of beautiful pine trees.

Parco Savello at sunset

The Savello Park stands on the Aventine Hill (one of the seven historic hills of Rome), in the area of the ancient fortress built by the Savelli family (an influential Roman aristocratic family), toward the end of the 13th century at the church of Santa Sabina.  The garden is bordered by a wall that once surrounded the Savelli castle, and traces of the towers and the drawbridge of the castle can still be seen today.

The castle was later given to the Dominican Order of the church of Santa Sabina, which transformed it into a monastery with a vegetable garden, but plans were drawn to turn the friars’ garden into a beautiful terrace.  The idea was to get a viewpoint in Rome that could match the beauty and grandeur of Pincio and Gianicolo, two very famous terraces in Rome. And the garden, at the top of a hill, was a perfect choice.

The orange trees that give it its name were planted in memory of Saint Dominic, who founded the convent here in the thirteenth century.  The idea of adding the orange trees came as a homage to the Dominicans and the peculiar role that the orange tree has in the history of their order.  They say that Saint Dominic loved to sit and preach under the shade of an orange tree.  He is also said to have brought to Rome the first orange tree that is still kept in the nearby cloister of Santa Sabina, which is still visible through a hole in the wall of the church porch.  According to legend, Saint Catherine of Siena gathered the oranges from this tree and created candied fruit for Pope Urban VI, who was known for his difficult character, showing him that even a sour fruit could potentially turn sweet.  😏

Orange trees in Parco Savello

This spot has one of the most outstanding views of the Roman skyline, spanning the Tiber River to the Temples of the Forum Boarium, Santa Maria in Cosmedin to the Janiculum and St. Peter’s Dome. Many foreigners don’t know about it, but locals love it as a place to hang out, get away from the crowds, and as a fabulous sunset spot.  It is a peaceful green space and one of the most romantic spots in the city.

On the terrace of Parco Savello overlooking the city with St. Peter's Basilica in the background

A panoramic view of the view of the city from the Parco Savello terrace

Want to learn more about the Vespa tour we took around Rome? Click here!