Rome, worth knowing.

Fun facts about Rome

1. 1Rome has around 2,500 always-running street fountains nicknamed 'nasoni', or big noses. Block the spout with a finger and the water shoots up from a little hole on top, so you can drink.Source: Turismo Roma; Wanted in Rome
2. 2The Pantheon has a giant hole in its roof, open to the sky. When it rains, it rains inside, and 22 small drain holes in the marble floor carry the water away.Source: Turismo Roma; Pantheon Roma
3. 3Every coin tossed into the Trevi Fountain gets scooped out and given to charity. The city hands it to Caritas, which turns it into meals and help for people in need.Source: Caritas Roma; CityNext
4. 4You can climb the Spanish Steps, but don't sit down. Rome's city rules ban sitting or lying on them, so you just keep walking.Source: Finestre sull'Arte; Wanted in Rome
5. 5Rome's street cats have rights. Under a 1991 Italian law, cat colonies can't be moved from the spot they call home, which is why some live among ancient ruins.Source: Animals journal via PubMed Central; International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
6. 6One of Rome's hills is ancient rubbish. Monte Testaccio is a mound made of millions of broken Roman clay jars, most of them once used to ship olive oil.Source: Turismo Roma; ArcheoRoma
7. 7Romans have cheeky nicknames for the huge white Vittoriano monument, 'the wedding cake' and 'the typewriter', because of its gleaming marble tiers and rows of steps.Source: Mama Loves Rome; From Home to Rome

Things to do in Rome

• ◦At Largo di Torre Argentina you can look down on the ruins where Julius Caesar was killed, and spot cats lounging among the old stones. A cat sanctuary looks after them right on site.Source: Sovrintendenza Capitolina; Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary
• ◦Quartiere Coppedè looks like a storybook: a giant wrought-iron lamp hangs under its arch and twelve frogs sit on its fountain. The story goes that the Beatles jumped in, in 1965.Source: Turismo Roma; Wanted in Rome
• ◦Yes, Rome has a pyramid. The Pyramid of Cestius is a Roman official's tomb about 2,000 years old, and its own inscription says it was built in 330 days.Source: Turismo Roma; Wikipedia
• ◦Turn your back to the Trevi Fountain and toss a coin over your shoulder. Roman custom says it means you'll come back to Rome.Source: Turismo Roma; Wikipedia
• ◦Put your hand in the Mouth of Truth. A medieval legend says this ancient marble face bites liars, and Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck made it famous in Roman Holiday.Source: Italia.it; Wikipedia
• ◦Watch the sunset from the Orange Garden on the Aventine, then walk a few steps to peek through a famous keyhole that frames St Peter's dome between garden hedges.Source: Turismo Roma; Italia.it

Questions to bring to Rome

From Sojourn's journeys. Ask one over a long dinner or on a slow walk, and let the place do some of the work.

Going together

• When do you feel most like yourself?
• What does rest actually look like for you?
• What is one thing you wish we did more of?

Going solo

• What is the first thing this place is showing you that you didn't expect?
• What does this version of you know that the home version tends to forget?

More destinations

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