Key to map below

This walk begins at the Flaminio metro station. (Find out how to use the Rome Metro.) Coming out of the main station exit in Piazzale Flaminio, turn left and cross the road through the distinctive arches of the Porta del Popolo, placed into the still-visible Roman Aurelian Walls by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1655 on behalf of Pope Pius IV to celebrate the arrival in Rome of the abdicated Queen Christina of Sweden following her conversion to Catholicism.

Just to the left of the arch is the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, which dates back to 1099, in the back chapel of which you can view two original Caravaggio paintings in their original setting for free (though it will cost one euro to turn the lights on!).

Admire the piazza and its San Pietrini (‘little St Peters’, the local word for Rome’s many cobblestones). In the center of the piazza is an Egyptian obelisk by Pharaoh Seti I, which was already nearly two thousand years old when it was brought to Rome by Augustus in 10BC! It used to be the centerpiece of the Circus Maximus, and lay beneath the ground until it was moved here in 1589. The fountains and lions that surround it were created in 1818.

Behind the obelisk you will see the twin churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto, finished around 1680 in competition between Bernini and Carlo Rainaldi. These similar (though not duplicate) churches are the meeting point of Rome’s three great baroque thoroughfares, including the famous Via del Corso, which we will arrive at later in this walk.

We are now going to go up the hill that overlooks the piazza. Head towards the hill and you’ll see a winding path (Viale Gabriele d’Anunzio). It’s kind of steep but is only about a five minute stroll. And it’s well worth the hike: at the top is a balcony called the Pincio, that overlooks Rome in its entirety. From here you can see the roofs of the city, the hundreds of churches, the imposing dome of St Peter’s. Also worth noting to our left is the flatter and less flamboyant dome of the Pantheon (though no less impressive, given its age), and the big white ‘Wedding Cake’ of the Altare della Patria in Piazza Venezia, almost the exact center-point of the city, a fantastic landmark for visitors, but rather despised by modern-day Romans.