American author Erica Jong once asked "What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else?" She then concluded that Italy gives visitors "...a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago."
I wholeheartedly agree with Miss Jong. It is only when I am visiting my folks back in my home country that I truly feel alive. Italy delights the eyes and heightens the senses. Whether it is the aroma of a freshly poured espresso, the taste of exquisite porcini mushrooms or the sound of distant church bells, you notice every one of life's details when in Italy.
ROME AND CHILDREN
Italians have kids cinema always adored children and now that the country is suffering from rapidly declining birth rates, they do so even more. Wherever you go in Italy, your children will receive a lot of attention and special courtesy; an extra cherry on their ice cream here, a friendly 'Ciao!' there and many genuine, warm smiles.
Rome however may not be the ideal place to bring children under six for numerous reasons. Loose cobblestones, narrow or no pavements, narrow streets, crowds, traffic congestion, Vespas and bicycles darting around - all these difficulties make getting around Rome very challenging for those pushing carriages or strollers, or even carrying or walking small children.
Also, many of the streets are still ancient cobblestone, which makes it quite a bumpy ride for sleeping babies and also difficult to navigate with a pushchair. Another problem is the lack of public restrooms and/or changing areas in which to perform diaper-changing duties. However children aged six and over will enjoy visiting this eternal city just as much as their parents.
ARRIVING
Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) airport is 26km southwest of Rome. One of the most convenient ways to get into the city is by the Stazione Termini direct train, which runs hourly from the airport. A night bus runs to Stazione Tiburtina. If you're driving, an autostrada runs from the airport to the city - it's a 45-minute drive and will cost you a small fortune by taxi.
WHERE TO STAY
If you are visiting Rome with small children it is best that if you reserve accommodation in a hotel somewhere in the old centre that is about equal distance from any direction you wish to go. This way you can go back to the hotel several times daily to freshen up the young ones, as well as yourself, and perhaps take a siesta between sightseeing, shopping or eating.
DRESS
If you are accustomed to wearing shorts and t-shirts, especially when the weather is hot and humid you will soon find that Italians never dress this way. You will feel under-dressed mostly everywhere you go in Rome. The way you dress is very important in Italy and in Rome in particular - you will not be allowed in most churches if you're dressed too casually. So don't undergo the humiliation and frustration of being turned away at St Peter's based on your attire. Wear longer length shorts and t-shirts with sleeves.
TOILETS
Public toilets are as rare as hen's teeth. Try to time your toilet stops with lunch and dinner and use the facilities of a well-heeled bar or restaurant. If you're stuck there's many McDonald Restaurants in Rome where you can have a toilet stop and an ice-cream!
WHEN TO GO
Italy is at its best in spring (April-May) and autumn (October-November). During these seasons, the scenery is beautiful, the temperatures are pleasant and there are relatively few crowds. Try to avoid August, as this is the time that most Italians take their annual holiday, and many shops and businesses are closed as a result.
SIGHTSEEING WITH KIDS
That it wasn't built in a day is quickly evident when you start exploring the temples, residences, basilicas, churches, palazzi, piazze, parks, museums and fountains!
One of the most enjoyable things to do with kids in Rome is to climb to the top of St. Peter's Dome at the Vatican. The view from the top is spectacular and worth the trek. You must remember, however, that this is a church and, as such, unnecessary noise is strictly prohibited, especially while inside the Dome and basilica itself. Always be aware that if you take children into churches in Italy, they must remain quiet and reverent at all times or you will be asked to leave very quickly.
As you walk from one sight to another, you will find that Rome's many squares are traffic-free, with plenty of space for little ones to run and feed pigeons while Mum and Dad have a rest and enjoy a coffee at an outdoor table.
Another fun place to take children to is Castel Sant'Angelo. Reached by one of the world's most beautiful bridges - Bernini's billowing, angel-clad Ponte Sant' Angelo - this strange, circular tank of a building was originally constructed as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian. Kids enjoy the wide circular ramp leading up to the different levels of the castle, looking at the nice views of the district from the different terraces and visiting the museum inside which contains armour and weaponry. The Castle Sant'Angelo Snack Bar is a great, casual eatery and a wonderful place to break from a day of sightseeing. The food is good and the view is stupendous.
The Villa Borghese is Rome's sprawling central park and is a wonderful place to take children. It has pony-cart rides and rowboats you can rent and a zoo called the 'Bioparco' which is in the northeast section of the park. The Bioparco houses about 900 animals including the endangered black lemur, pygmy hippopotamus, Gila monster and painted hunting dog. At Villa Borghese you will also find the Cinema dei Piccoli (the Children's Cinema) that mainly shows cartoons and there's also a little fun fair.
On Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo) during the summer months, on every afternoon except for Wednesdays, there are traditional puppet shows that will totally amuse your little ones while at Villa Celimontana there's an open-air theatre performance in the summer months as well as bike trails to explore.
Children are perhaps most amused if visiting Rome during December and the Christmas holidays. Quite apart from the novelty of the colder weather, if you are travelling to Rome during the Christmas season, there is the Befana Christmas Toy Fair in Piazza Navona and the awesome larger-than-life-sized Nativity at St. Peter's Square that is not to be missed.
Explora is the name of the children's museum in Rome and is a hands-on wonderland for kids 12 and under. The exhibits are in Italian, but kids probably won't care and all the helpful staff speak English anyway.
The Colosseum, or Flavian amphitheatre, is one of the few remaining evidences of the glory of ancient Rome, it's the largest amphitheatre ever built in Rome. The name 'Colosseum' derives from the colossal statue of Nero which once stood near the amphitheatre. Its monumental size and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient organization for producing spectacles and controlling large crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans. The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly.
One of the quirks about the Colusseum is that it is home to over 200 cats. They are not strays as such because they are cared for by a team of volunteers who keep them well fed, happy and healthy. You will find that cats are omnipresent in Rome. They are so popular that a regional law states that a group of more than five cats in the natural urban habitat constitutes a protected feline colony and they are trapped only for the purposes of sterilisation, to keep the feline population under control, and then released.
The ghoulish Cappuccin Crypt (embellished with skeletons) and the tunnels of the Catacombs will fascinate older children and you cannot leave Rome without visiting the legendary Mouth of Truth, known locally as La Bocca della Verit£. The Mouth of Truth may have been a Roman drain before it was moved to Santa Maria in Cosmedin's wall. It is said that the hands of liars will be cut off if placed within the mouth (hence the name). To keep the superstition alive, the caretaker-priest used to stick a scorpion in the back of the mouth to sting the fingers of suspected fibbers. The Bocca made a cameo in the 1953 movie 'Roman Holiday'. During filming, Gregory Peck stuck his hand in the mouth and jokingly hid his hand in his sleeve when he yanked it out, causing Audrey Hepburn to gasp in shock. The scene wasn't scripted, but it worked so well that it was kept in the movie.
In the 1950s, movies like 'Three Coins in a Fountain' epitomized the romance of Rome for a generation of young people. Of course, the title referred to the Trevi Fountain, completed in 1762, which also stars in another classic film, 'La Dolce Vita'. This Federico Fellini 1960's iconic movie showed Anita Ekberg bathing in the Trevi Fountain as an amused Marcello Mastroianni looked on. Legend says that if you throw a coin into this fountain, you will be assured a return to the Enternal City.