1: Platforms overlooking Coliseum

Via dei Fori Imperiali, Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

2: Wedding Cake Monument

Piazza Venezia, Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

Hours extended in summer hours. Last admittance will be ~1hr before sunset.

3: Bocca della Verita / Mouth of Truth

Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 00186 Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

4: Aventine Keyhole

Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, 00153 Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

You can fit all that Dome through that little keyhole.

5: Piazza Quirinale

Piazza del Quirinale, Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy   website

Just 5 minutes from the Trevi Fountain.

6: Top of Spanish Steps for sunset

Piazza della Trinità dei Monti, 6, 00187 Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

7: St. Peter's Cuplola

Piazza San Pietro, 00193 Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

8: Janiculum Hill

Piazzale Giuseppe Garibaldi, 00165 Roma, Roma (Lazio), Italy

Ciao Travelers!

Let’s face it, when the traveling is finished and the experiences fade from memory, all that will be left are the photos. So why not get the best ones? Frequently tourists waste time and energy trying to find the perfect angles of monuments only to snap shots of strangers’ heads. iKangaroo has created and mapped out this list of some of Rome’s best and most famous photo locations to save you the chance of unwittingly passing the Coliseum’s best angle or wandering for hours to find the Bocca della Verita or Aventine Keyhole.

1. The Colosseum or Coliseum: From any angle this classic beauty is going to shine, however, the higher vantage points get you above the crowd and a better overall Coliseum picture.

Around the Coliseum there are a few platforms to take fantastic pictures, here are two:

• Just above the Metro stop. To get there take either the escalator in the station or the stairs around on the station’s right side, which are a favorite pickpocket hangout.
• The road that stretches from the Coliseum to Piazza Venezia is called Via dei Fori Imperiali. On this Via, facing away from the Coliseum you will see four maps on the left hand side that represent the growth of the Roman Empire. Facing the maps, go up stairway next to the left map, which leads to the terrace. I think that this is the best spot because with the trees positioned just right on the right it looks like the Coliseum may have looked when it was fully intact. Furthermore, this point offers only the Flavian Amphitheater and no unwanted people in the background. (see headline picture).

Hot tip: About the costumed people near the Coliseum and why they are there. Plain and simple: they are working for tips, so if you take a picture with them then give them a Euro or two, not more.

2. Monument to Victor Emmanuel (a.k.a. Wedding Cake): This huge white monument imposes itself smack in the middle of the city. Tourists are allowed to ascend this structure, which presents a different panoramic of Rome in that it is not present. Free of charge. Last admittance: 4:30 winter / 5:30 in the summer.

3. Bocca della Verita: Located in Santa Maria in Cosmiden the Bocca della Verita is an iconic Rome photo op. Made famous by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in 1953 movie ‘Roman Holiday’, The Mouth of Truth may be the world’s most famous drainage cover. The tradition is that if you are telling a lie with your hand in the Bocca (i.e. Italian for mouth) then it will bite you. If you stand in front of this random disk long enough you will notice that about two out of three people flinch when they insert their hand, as if they came up with the clever reaction themselves. Not! Mr. Peck played this gag (i.e. lie) on Miss Hepburn during the famous scene without telling her beforehand, so her reaction is supposed to be real. The line to get at the Bocca can be challenging because it is a favorite destination for tour buses, however, they have tight schedules so they usually move along pretty quickly.

Make sure to pop into the church called Santa Maria in Cosmedin. It’s built on a 2000 year old foundation and the modern structure is made of recycled Ancient Roman buildings; look closely to see that the columns don’t match. Hot tip: ask inside the gift shop for a tour guide (they work for tips, but are not the hustlers found in the Forum). This church has a fantastic history which includes the face of Jesus in a column, an underground pagan temple, a rock used to kill Christians and the 1800 year-old head of St. Valentine.

4. Aventine Keyhole: Seen quite frequently on postcards, the Aventine Keyhole is a bit of a hassle to get to but getting there will bring you through the Aventine which is one of Rome’s most exclusive neighborhoods. The famous keyhole view frames St. Peter’s Basilica by two rows of trees. Getting an actual good shot through the keyhole is tough but it is only a 15 minute walk (1/2 mile, .9km) form the Bocca della Verita, so within 20 minutes you could knock out two of Rome’s most difficult to find picture opportunities. Specifically located in Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.

5. Piazza del Quirinale: One of Rome’s original seven hills, the Quirnale offers an excellent photo opportunity in the middle of Rome. Just 5 minutes from the Trevi Fountain getting to this terrace will get you an excellent shot of St. Peter’s Dome and the open space will give you a break from the crowds. The Quirinal Palace is the official residence of the Italian Head of State, who is the figurehead of the Italian Government.

6. Spanish Steps: As with most places this vantage point gives a great view of St. Peter’s Dome. However, I am putting this point in because it is particularly great for sunsets.

7. St. Peter’s Dome: Towering 440 Ft. (137 meters) above The Eternal City this dome seems to be, and to a large extent is, the focal point of the Roman cityscape. To reach the ecstasy of the top of Rome there is a bit of agony that must be endured in the form of 500 narrow stairs (or 300 with the help of a lift). Granted it can be done, but note that climbing the dome is time and physically intensive.

Cost 4 € without lift and 7€ with lift. The line can take sometimes two or more hours. Also, and this is very important: Do not confuse St. Peter’s Dome / Cupola with the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, because they are two different things. Yes, this happens.

8. Janiculum Hill: The site of one of the definitive battles for Italy’s Independence in 1848, which is why there are busts of Italian patriots that line the way. Go to Piazzale Giuseppe Girabaldi and make your way down the Passeggiata del Gianicolo to the lighthouse (i.e. faro) given to the Italy by Argentine Italians. The view from the faro is considered by many to the most spectacular Roman panorama.

Happy Travels,

Chris