Archive for 'Latium'

In the last post in this series, we round up your “Roman Holiday” tour of Rome! Just find a holiday rental in Rome and take in the city where Audrey Hepburn, as a princess, and Gregory Peck, as a journalist, fell in love. Here are the last few of the key sights that you need to include in your itinerary if you are a fan of the film!

When making the film, as we have discovered thus far, the most iconic and popular tourist spots were featured heavily, which is good for you as it means you can kill two birds with one stone and double up on visits. Another famous attraction that features in the movie is the Roman Forum.

In fact, it is where the two main characters first meet after the princess escapes the stifling atmosphere of her country's embassy in Rome and wanders. However, having been just given a sleeping pill to help her rest, he falls asleep on a bench near the Temple of Saturn and the Arch of Septimus Severus. This is where Peck's character finds her and tries to get her back to her home.

Continuing on from our last post, in which we discussed the iconic Hollywood classic, “Roman Holiday” and how it was filmed and set in Rome, here are some more of the key locations in the film in order for you to create you very own Roman romance, a la Hepburn and Peck. Just find a holiday rental in Rome and begin exploring the Eternal City in style!

You probably would have had the Pantheon on your must-see list if visiting Rome anyway but it is also part of the Roman Holiday itinerary. In the film, the two characters enjoy coffee and champagne in a cafe in the Piazza della Rotonda, in front of the Pantheon. While the cafe in question is not longer there, you can still easily grab a similar treat to cool down and relax on your travels at another cafe in the piazza. Then, once you're done, be sure to stop by the building itself and, if you happen to be looking for mementos from the movie, there are a series of souvenir stands selling all of the classic prints from the film on Via delle Murate.

For many, a big factor in constructing their notions and expectations of Rome is the classic 1950s Hollywood romance, “Roman Holiday”. Starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck as a European princess and an American journalist who shows her around Rome before the two ultimately fall in love, it is the movie that launched Hepburn's career, won her an Oscar and made millions fall for the city.

If you, too are a fan of the movie and have always wanted to recreate your own Roman Holiday, just find a holiday rental in Rome and check out these locations that were featured in the film.

One of the first sights on your list should be the Spanish Steps, the beautiful 18th century Baroque steps between the Piazza di Spagna (at the base) and Piazza Trinità dei Monti. These 135 steps were built by French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embass, and the Trinità dei Monti church and was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi.

In our final post in this series of our picks of our favourite vacation rentals with incredible views in Italy, here are two of the best of the best; one property with amazing views onto the bustling and historic streets of Rome from the very centre and one with canal views in Veneto that will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time.

9. Roma

This elegant 2nd floor apartment that has been recently renovated, is located right in the old city centre of Rome, near Vatican City. Compact but spacious, it is a comfortable and tastefully decorated apartment, largely executed in neutral tones of cream and white, that makes for a lovely and restful place to come home to at the end of a long day of sight-seeing. Perfectly located, it is just a short distance from the Vatican Museums, Castel San'Angelo and renowned Via Cola di Rienzo (for a spot of shopping).

St Peter's in Rome is already a must-see. It is an extraordinary, massive building that is steeped in history and incredibly photogenic. However, many visitors skip out on, arguably, the best part of a visit to the building: the view from the top.

Once you have found a vacation rental in Rome, have gone through security, entered the building and wandered around the awe-inspiring interior, be sure to follow the sign that reads “cupola”. This will take you to a ticket office and then a staircase and elevator that lead up to the famous dome of the church.

The dome is one of the greatest architectural feats of the era and one of Michelangelo's great works. Begun in 1546, during the papacy of Paul III, work paused at the height of the work with Michelangelo’s death but was continued 15 years later under Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana.