The Hidden Beauty Of Rome

Is this your second time visiting Rome? Have you seen all of the must-see attractions? Then it is time to get off the beaten track and explore a quite different Rome. A not-so-chaotic one. A city of tranquil nature and hidden sights.

Goethe's quote said it all. "Only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome.” Not until a month after arriving in Rome did I fall in love with the Eternal City. Like Goethe, I felt like I had finally arrived at the Capital of the World. And yet, I hated it at first. it was during mid-August. Locals were away on vacations. Rome was hot and aggressive.

As the temperature cooled down and after a few explorations, I started to be enchanted by the hidden side of Rome - the side about which most of the first-time tourists would not know.

Some of my favorite places in Rome are Biblioteca Angelica (some parts of my thesis were written there), **Villa Doria Pamphili **(which shows the tranquil side of Rome; plus, it is free for everyone), and the Aventine Keyhole (although it is not so much a secret place, as soon as you look through the keyhole, you will feel like it is the greatest mystery on Earth; perfection at its best).

Other locations which will give you a whole new perception of Rome are **the Protestant Cemetery **(the tomb of the English poet John Keats is here), the Pyramid of Cestius, **Fontana dell'Acqua Paola **(not at all as crowded as the Trevi Fountain), the Janiculum Terrace, Villa Sciarra, The Orange Garden, and many more which I have not discovered yet.