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A Religion Scholar’s Rome Recommendations

A Religion Scholar’s Rome Recommendations

Last updated on: June 8, 2026 at 6:21 pm by James F. McGrath

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A Religion Scholar’s Rome Recommendations 2026-06-08T18:21:39-04:00 James F. McGrath

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Rome recommendations are everywhere. Maybe you’ve been thinking about going to Rome. Perhaps you’re already planning a trip. Either way, social media algorithms will have begun showing you short videos. Some of those are extremely helpful. Some are just trying to get you to pay for a service. Some repeat things you can find out more easily elsewhere.

Having just returned from about a week in Rome, I want to share my own Rome recommendations. See things that will take your breath away, without wasting time and money.

Wasting Time and Money

If you absolutely want to see things in the Vatican Museums, that can be worth it. You’ll see famous Chagall paintings, ancient Egyptian artifacts, and of course the Sistine Chapel. The latter will impress you with its size and height, but you’ll be looking at it in a crowd from a significant distance. If that is what you want to do, do it. Even the ceilings in the museum corridors are impressive.

What is crucial is to get your tickets online months in advance. It is not worth spending one of your precious days in Rome in line for hours.

If you are in the United States, you may find that the official Colosseum website won’t load. Don’t despair, and don’t go for a third party that will charge you more. Use a VPN to connect. You can get a ticket that includes the Palatine Hill and Roman Forums

Seeing the inside of the Colosseum may underwhelm you. I will never try to talk someone out of doing something that they want to. What I will focus on in what follows are the many amazing things that you can do that I guarantee will not leave you disappointed. Many of them are free.

The last Sunday of the month is free entry to the Vatican Museum until 12:30. This is what the line is like:

@religionprofIf you go to Rome and want to visit the Vatican Museums, book tickets in advance. Otherwise, this is just part of the line that awaits you…

♬ Dirty Bomb – Alex McGrath

Enter Every Church

The first time I was in Rome, I popped into every church I passed. The reason? I did it once and was face to face with artwork by famous masters, as well as their equally skilled (if not equally famous) contemporaries.

To see Michelangelo’s Moses, for example, you don’t go to a museum. You go to the Church of St. Peter in Chains (Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli). No charge to enter. That is true of all churches (although some may charge for specific tours or areas).

Go to the Vatican itself, and visit St. Peter’s. You might catch a glimpse of the pope, depending on when you are there. You will definitely see Michelangelo’s Pieta, and much other spectacular art and architecture. There are many other sculptures in the churches around Rome, including versions of the Pieta. There is also a depiction of Moses and other prophets on the Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli.

The Basilica of St. Mary Major is worth a visit for one reason in particular. It is the burial place of Pope Francis. His tomb is striking and moving in its simplicity. You could easily miss it.

Be aware that churches often close in the afternoon during the period when locals have their after-lunch siesta. Not all of them do, so you’ll have plenty of options during that time of day.

Walk Everywhere. Don’t Eat Just Anywhere

Walking is challenging for many Americans, accustomed to a lack of sidewalks even in major cities. Let Rome be your first steps towards getting in better shape.

As you walk slowly between various churches, fountains, and squares, you will randomly find more beautiful churches that are not highlighted in any tourist guidebook. They will probably not be striking or appear beautiful from the outside. This is typical in Italy. Plain exterior, breathtaking art within.

You will also pass many small places to get a nice panini, a pastry such as a cannolo (plural cannoli), and of course pizza and gelato.

Informational videos wisely recommend avoiding restaurants directly adjacent to big tourist sites. They are expensive and the food tends not to be as exceptional as Rome has to offer. Go down a side street. Look for a place where lots of locals are eating.

My personal recommendation in Rome is Il Falchetto. When you eat somewhere twice, 10 years apart, and both meals were equally fantastic, you know you’ve got a good restaurant.

If you find yourself in the Aurelia neighborhood (near the Cornelia metro stop) the restaurant Fusioni. I ate there twice and enjoyed both meals.

For wine, I recommend ordering Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. I’ve never been disappointed.

If you need a snack, suppli are the traditional rice balls filled with cheese. Worth trying!

Ancient History on Display

The Colosseum is impressive from the outside, and you will have ample opportunities to view it from the outside. Passing by the massive and relatively recent Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, you can find yourself at Trajan’s Column. It depicts the Roman war to conquer Dacia, what is today Romania. I thus have a particular interest in that monument.

Then wander among the ruins of the Roman Forums which start there. If you are very interested in history, get a ticket and get down into the site. For many, the views from above for free will be just fine. The Roman Forums are just one particularly vast area of ancient history on display for all to see. The Largo di Torre Argentina has nothing to do with the country of Argentina. It is the large open space where the Silver Tower was located.

Museums: Go Small

The Vatican Museums get all the attention, yet there are smaller museums that not only contain equally impressive artifacts, but give you the chance to see them up close in a way that the crowds at the Vatican Museums prevent.

The Giovanni Barracco museum of ancient sculpture was free the first time I visited Rome. It is still free for locals and some others. The entry fee is small, and you’ll see heads from statues, inscriptions, and other things that are two or three millennia old.

Conclusion: Rome Recommendations

These are some of my Rome recommendations after my recent trip. I literally just got back. This was my second visit to Rome. You can see my posts about my previous trip, also connected with an Enoch Seminar conference. Then I visited the Jewish quarter and did other things that I did not do this time around.

Rome is simply incredible. I took students to Israel regularly until the recent flare up of increased violence. Rome is unlike Jerusalem inasmuch as Rome doesn’t have an old city that has one feel and a wider modern metropolis with a different one. In Rome, it is all the modern city with ancient history all throughout it. That’s why it is such a good idea to walk rather than hop on and off the metro or busses. History is everywhere. So too are Italian food and culture.

I hope you enjoy visiting Rome. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comments here!

Castel Sant’Angelo

Me in front of the Trevi Fountain

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Travel and Religion

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About James F. McGrath

Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes. You can read more about the author here.

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