The Rome less travelled? I visited the super-popular Italian capital, full of iconic sights, to explore its quieter corners

Hamilton Spectator

05-06-2025

The swift current of late-morning foot traffic is moving steadily over the cobblestones of Via dei Condotti. It streams down the iconic Spanish Steps, then flows past all the glamorous storefronts along one of Rome's most famous shopping streets. You know the names: Prada, Valentino, Gucci.
But my tour guide Dario Cortese, steering us around in a golf cart, takes me just one block beyond this busy scene, to a tucked-away lane,
Via Margutta
. 'Can you smell the jasmine?' he asks, then goes silent for a moment, in deference to a nearby fountain. 'Can you hear the water flowing?' Yes, indeed, to both. It's a surprise urban oasis.
Almost as an afterthought, Cortese points out Pablo Picasso's former apartment, where his two-month stay in 1917 is now marked by a discreet plaque. This quiet street was once a hub of artist studios. This is also where the character Joe Bradley, played by Gregory Peck, lived in 'Roman Holiday.' Scenes from the 1953 rom-com were filmed on this block.
'Nobody knows about this street,' claims Cortese, as we scoot to the next stop. 'But you can find a place like this around every corner in Rome.' Today's itinerary is a custom tour with
Access Italy
, a family-run company that promises to 'unlock the Italia less travelled,' taking visitors to less obvious sights.
Via Margutta, a quiet street whose famous former residents include Pablo Picasso, feels like a surprise urban oasis in the heart of Rome.
Italy's ancient capital is, of course, one of Europe's most popular travel destinations. And this year, for a (probably) record-breaking number of visitors, all roads lead to Rome. Tourism is set to soar due to excitement over the newly elected pope, Leo XIV, coupled with the fact that this is a much-anticipated
Jubilee year
. The holy occasion is expected to draw 35 million pilgrims to the Vatican over the course of 2025.
But even amid the exhilarating busyness, the Eternal City has lesser-known corners that reveal the spirit of this place in a quieter way, as I learn on this trip in May, my eighth visit to the destination.
'There's a whole hidden side of Rome,' says Roberto Wirth, soon after my arrival at the storied
Hotel Hassler Roma
, a landmark property that's been in his family for generations. (He co-owns the Hassler with his twin sister, Veruschka.) Perched at the crest of the Spanish Steps, the hotel's open-air, top-floor patio restaurant is a perfect place to get a lay of the land.
The noontime cannon, across the way at Janiculum Hill, fires moments after I step onto the terrace, a puff of smoke rising above the trees. I spot the Monument to Victor Emanuele II (a.k.a. 'the typewriter') over to the left. The dome of St. Peter's Basilica stands soaring straight ahead. I can picture the
fumata bianca
that was rising over it just a few weeks before my trip, signalling the end of the Papal conclave, and the selection of a new Holy Father.
After lunch, I follow the advice of the Wirth twins, who recommend I explore Rome by simply finding some shade and room to walk. I take a short stroll over to the huge hilltop park surrounding the Villa Borghese, where rambling paths offer shelter from the baking sun.
The next day, I'm happy to trade my walking shoes for a golf cart ride, settling into the front seat next to Cortese. One of the stops on his guided tour takes me to meet an artist, an eccentric and well-known local character, at his al fresco 'workspace,' near Piazza Navona.
Dario Cortese is a tour guide with Access Italy, a family-run company that takes travellers to less obvious sights.
'These are all made here, on the street,' says Giancarlino Benedetti Corcos, bringing out a series of his contemporary paintings, which he creates at a little table two steps away. One, appropriately enough, is his abstract take on a map of Rome.
While Corcos shows me his art in the little lane, where he's been working for 20-some years, people push through on Vespas and bicycles. A stylish woman with a leather jacket and oversized sunglasses chatters away to us in Italian (which nobody ever interprets). The scene all feels a bit chaotic, and very Roman.
Almost lost amid the other sites — we also swing past the Colosseum and the uber-trendy Trastevere district — is Cortese's advice to visit a small church, the
Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo
. 'You can see the most beautiful artworks,' he says, 'for free.'
Following his counsel to double-check the church's often limited schedule, I breathe a sigh of relief to see the door open. Most people apparently come to Santa Maria to pray, evidenced by rows of the faithful seated in the pews. But a smaller group, less than a dozen visitors, has clustered in a chapel to the left of the altar.
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo is home to beautiful artworks, including paintings by Caravaggio.
Joining them in the corner are two large paintings by Michelangelo Merisi, the master better known as Caravaggio. One depicts a young Saul, who would become St. Paul, in the throes of a dramatic and divine intervention, knocked from his horse and blinded by heavenly light. Normally, paintings like these would draw a lot more art lovers, but these are a little hidden — and sometimes even literally shrouded in darkness.
The light overhead goes out after a few moments. Turns out, there's no fee to enter the church. But lighting up the artwork for perhaps three minutes? That'll set you back two euros. The light is activated by dropping coins through a slot. Soon, someone rattles a couple of coins out of their pocket to illuminate the chapel again.
When the light goes out a second time, then a third, it's time to leave the hushed silence. It seems like my time to kick in, but I only have bills on hand. So I head back out to the crush of the square out front, eager to search out more of the city's hidden corners.
Tim Johnson received accommodation from Hotel Hassler Roma and a guided tour from Access Italy; neither reviewed nor
approved
this article.