Hey you’ve Gotta see this!
Throughout Italy, there are many tourist attractions and monuments that explain centuries of Italian history. If you plan on making your way down south to the beautiful country, I suggest on making a checklist and a plan so that you don’t get overwhelmed with all the crazy tourist sites. 
The Colossem, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps are a couple of the places I went on my trip to Italy and I recommend going to all of them. Spend your time learning as many things about each of your stops that you can because time is limited and their are dozens of sites to see.
The Colossem, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps are a couple of the places I went on my trip to Italy and I recommend going to all of them. Spend your time learning as many things about each of your stops that you can because time is limited and their are dozens of sites to see. The Colosseum is one of the main tourist attractions that we would recommend to anyone who is planning to visit Rome. If you didn’t know already, the Colosseum is an amphitheatre located in the center of Rome. According to Kristina Kaldis’ blog, the construction of the building started around 72 AD under the reign of the Emperor Vespasian and was completed byEmperor Titus in 80 AD. It was built in the heart of Rome, as a gift to the people by the Emperor when he realized he was elected and ruled because of the consent of the people. The Colosseum was the largest structure built in the Roman Empire. It is 188 by 166 meters long, with a height of 48 meters, and was and continues to be famous for its Romanesque architecture.One recommendation I would make would be to take a guided tour of this magnificent monument in order to fully understand what you are viewing and taking pictures of.
The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is another one of the main attractions in Rome. Its dimensions are 26 meters in height and 20 meters wide. It is located in the Piazza Poli. Nicola Salvi was commissioned by Pope Clement XII to construct the fountain in 1732 and it was completed by 1762.
The fountain is one of the most beautiful and most famous fountains in all of Italy. The Trevi fountain is at the end of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC that brings water all the way from the Salone Springs. The central statue on the fountain is of Neptune riding a chariot pulled by two sea horses guided by two Tritons.
The statues besides Neptune are Abundance (God of Wealth) and Salubrity (God of Health). According to Kristina Bushie’s blog, there are around 3,000 Euros tossed into the Trevi fountain on a daily basis and as the legend tells it, you must throw two coins from your right hand over your left shoulder into the fountain to receive good luck. If you have the time, try and find a seat around the magnificent structure and just take in the beautiful fountain for what its worth. At the end of your visit, make sure to take your two coins, make a wish, toss, and don’t forget to take a picture!
This is true in Italy especially in Rome when you will experience pub crawl directors approaching you as you take in the sights of the Colosseum and Spanish Steps. However, Rome has recently made laws to outlaw pub crawls entirely as of May 26, 2010. As our pub crawl director explained to us, the banning is due to an attempt by authorities to eliminate tourist intoxication in historic areas of Rome. As our pub crawl director described to us, “It is the attempt by the mayor of Rome to preserve the historical holiness of Rome.” The elimination of pub crawls is expected to also limit the noise and litter within the city. A helpful hint to future students is: pub crawls are illegal but still run. As our pub crawl director also explained, “pub crawls are more restricted than illegal, there are certain rules they must follow such as traveling in groups of under 15 from bar to bar.” 
In addition, this law has only been implemented until December 31, 2010 when the government plans to further discuss these issues. So as they say when in Rome…. In addition to pub crawls, Italy is home to pubs and clubs that students will find meet their night life needs. An important note about Italian bars is that many of them view drinking as more of a casual, social experience. Unlike many Americans, Italians go to the bar to socially drink and rarely get to the point that we would consider “wasted”. Keeping these customs in mind will help you assimilate to the culture and avoid many awkward stares from the locals. Likewise, bars in Italy follow a different sort of price mechanism. When ordering a drink, it is always cheaper to be actually standing at the bar. While in Italy, you may experience the terms al banco and al tavolo, which refer to the bar and the table. This little tip will actually save you quite a bit of money. The last form of entertainment that Italy excels at is night clubbing. Italy seems to have any type of club you could be looking for. From open air dance areas to 5 story buildings, clubs in Italy really know how to show a tourist a good time. The best part of many of these clubs is that they tend to play a mixture of techno, American, and Latin music. This mixture gives a different club feel. If you are planning on visiting a club, expect a relatively high cover fee and to be returning to your hostel very early in the morning. Typical clubs in Italy will stay open until 5 am.
Pasta, Gelato, Pizza, and more! Italy has perhaps some of the most delicious foods you will find in all of Europe. Annie Kishman describes the food perfectly in her blog “Bon Appétit!” In this blog, she says, “the Duomo, Academia, and Roman ruins weren’t the only tourist attractions Italy has to offer” when she refers to the gelaterias that lined the streets of Florence. Italy is known for its food and for good reason. The simple trick to follow when in Italy is to stick with the 3 P’s: pizzas, pastas, and paninis. These three things along with gelato will never let you down. Another suggestion is to visit restaurants that are down small alleys opposed to on main tourist streets. These restaurants will have a better selection of authentic Italian cuisine and tend to be cheaper.
The statues besides Neptune are Abundance (God of Wealth) and Salubrity (God of Health). According to Kristina Bushie’s blog, there are around 3,000 Euros tossed into the Trevi fountain on a daily basis and as the legend tells it, you must throw two coins from your right hand over your left shoulder into the fountain to receive good luck. If you have the time, try and find a seat around the magnificent structure and just take in the beautiful fountain for what its worth. At the end of your visit, make sure to take your two coins, make a wish, toss, and don’t forget to take a picture! The Spanish Steps, one of the free tourist attractions in Rome, ties the culture, history, and the people of Italy all in one. The bottom of the steps is located on the Piazza di Spagna, the top of the steps is located alongside the Trinita dei Monti, which is the name of the church at the top of the steps. According to Wendy Bolen’s blog, The Spanish Steps contains 138 steps, which is the longest and widest staircase in all of Europe. 
They were built at the request of Pope Innocent XII in the seventeenth century. Originally the steps were named Trinita dei Monti, after the church at the top, but they came to be known at the Spanish Steps after a Spanish ambassador who had his embassy on the square. Getting your picture taken in front of the steps is something every other tourist in Rome will do, so just warning you it will be crowded, so be ready to push through the crowd to get it. The neighborhood around the steps is an upper class residential area, inhabited by Roman families who don’t seem to notice the mass amounts of tourists that come through on a daily basis. If you make your way to the outskirts of the neighborhood passed the main shopping streets like via Condotti and via Frattina, you’ll find local Roman’s doing their day to day shopping at fresh vegetable, fruit, and even fish stands.
They were built at the request of Pope Innocent XII in the seventeenth century. Originally the steps were named Trinita dei Monti, after the church at the top, but they came to be known at the Spanish Steps after a Spanish ambassador who had his embassy on the square. Getting your picture taken in front of the steps is something every other tourist in Rome will do, so just warning you it will be crowded, so be ready to push through the crowd to get it. The neighborhood around the steps is an upper class residential area, inhabited by Roman families who don’t seem to notice the mass amounts of tourists that come through on a daily basis. If you make your way to the outskirts of the neighborhood passed the main shopping streets like via Condotti and via Frattina, you’ll find local Roman’s doing their day to day shopping at fresh vegetable, fruit, and even fish stands.Tourists Gone Wild- Night life
Traveling to foreign countries with a group of college peers is always an adventure. From reading many of these blogs and personal experience, it seems highly likely that students will participate in a pub crawl at some time during their travels. Pub crawls represent a chance to socially drink with your peers and experience different bars throughout a city for a very fair price. They also tend to give Americans the chance to play familiar drinking games and receive free t-shirts. Italy is no different. As we can see from Maudie Banta’s blog entitled “Crawling into Trouble” many pub crawl promoters seek out young Americans to sign up for these types of events.
This is true in Italy especially in Rome when you will experience pub crawl directors approaching you as you take in the sights of the Colosseum and Spanish Steps. However, Rome has recently made laws to outlaw pub crawls entirely as of May 26, 2010. As our pub crawl director explained to us, the banning is due to an attempt by authorities to eliminate tourist intoxication in historic areas of Rome. As our pub crawl director described to us, “It is the attempt by the mayor of Rome to preserve the historical holiness of Rome.” The elimination of pub crawls is expected to also limit the noise and litter within the city. A helpful hint to future students is: pub crawls are illegal but still run. As our pub crawl director also explained, “pub crawls are more restricted than illegal, there are certain rules they must follow such as traveling in groups of under 15 from bar to bar.” 
In addition, this law has only been implemented until December 31, 2010 when the government plans to further discuss these issues. So as they say when in Rome…. In addition to pub crawls, Italy is home to pubs and clubs that students will find meet their night life needs. An important note about Italian bars is that many of them view drinking as more of a casual, social experience. Unlike many Americans, Italians go to the bar to socially drink and rarely get to the point that we would consider “wasted”. Keeping these customs in mind will help you assimilate to the culture and avoid many awkward stares from the locals. Likewise, bars in Italy follow a different sort of price mechanism. When ordering a drink, it is always cheaper to be actually standing at the bar. While in Italy, you may experience the terms al banco and al tavolo, which refer to the bar and the table. This little tip will actually save you quite a bit of money. The last form of entertainment that Italy excels at is night clubbing. Italy seems to have any type of club you could be looking for. From open air dance areas to 5 story buildings, clubs in Italy really know how to show a tourist a good time. The best part of many of these clubs is that they tend to play a mixture of techno, American, and Latin music. This mixture gives a different club feel. If you are planning on visiting a club, expect a relatively high cover fee and to be returning to your hostel very early in the morning. Typical clubs in Italy will stay open until 5 am.top rated clubs around Italy
Why can’t I just Teleport?
For something that seems so simple, this area of your travel can become the most stressful. In order for your trip to run as smoothly as possible, advance planning is necessary. Especially when it comes to planning trains from city to city. From Leah’s blog we see can see that trains can be tricky. By visiting your nearest train station and reserving train seats in advance you can avoid this dilemma. Simply plan out which cities you want to go to and when then look up train times. The people at the train station are very helpful and will probably recommend the best trains and routes to take. From personal experience, I can safely say that making seat in reservations in advance makes a huge difference in the stress levels of the trip. In addition to train tickets, you should consider buying multiple day metro passes. This saves money and time. When spending more than one day in a city, it is advantageous to make this purchase. However, if the metro isn’t your style, taxis tend to be very cheap in Italy. In Rome, we took a 40 minute taxi ride that cost a group of 6 of us around 10 dollars each. The fare was ridiculously cheap compared to other city taxis we have experienced previously. 
Another form of transportation that is helpful is the infamous “Hop on, Hop off” bus. With so many sights to see, this is a great way to see Rome especially. Fares for this bus are relatively cheap and usually come in 24 hour periods. This bus also eliminates the stress of trying to navigate the city. The tour takes you to all of the main attractions in the city and is great to do in groups. In addition, the open second floor of the bus provides picturesque views of the city as well as a fantastic opportunity to tan. 
With the beauty of Italy, many prefer to walk the cities. From firsthand experience to do so, you will need supportive, preferably closed shoes. After walking throughout Rome each day, the arches of my feet would ache for hours. In addition, they would be completely covered in dirt and who knows what else. So when in Rome…..bite the bullet and pick comfort over fashion! The last transportation recommendation relates to Venice specifically. Venice is home to a series of canals that lead to almost all buildings. The people of Venice use canals as if we would use roads. The catch is: only Venice has canals, not all of Italy. So if you visit this city be sure to take a gondola ride! My group missed out on this opportunity because we naively thought all Italian cities contained this kind of transportation.
Another form of transportation that is helpful is the infamous “Hop on, Hop off” bus. With so many sights to see, this is a great way to see Rome especially. Fares for this bus are relatively cheap and usually come in 24 hour periods. This bus also eliminates the stress of trying to navigate the city. The tour takes you to all of the main attractions in the city and is great to do in groups. In addition, the open second floor of the bus provides picturesque views of the city as well as a fantastic opportunity to tan. 
With the beauty of Italy, many prefer to walk the cities. From firsthand experience to do so, you will need supportive, preferably closed shoes. After walking throughout Rome each day, the arches of my feet would ache for hours. In addition, they would be completely covered in dirt and who knows what else. So when in Rome…..bite the bullet and pick comfort over fashion! The last transportation recommendation relates to Venice specifically. Venice is home to a series of canals that lead to almost all buildings. The people of Venice use canals as if we would use roads. The catch is: only Venice has canals, not all of Italy. So if you visit this city be sure to take a gondola ride! My group missed out on this opportunity because we naively thought all Italian cities contained this kind of transportation. Love it like a fat kid loves gelato
Pasta, Gelato, Pizza, and more! Italy has perhaps some of the most delicious foods you will find in all of Europe. Annie Kishman describes the food perfectly in her blog “Bon Appétit!” In this blog, she says, “the Duomo, Academia, and Roman ruins weren’t the only tourist attractions Italy has to offer” when she refers to the gelaterias that lined the streets of Florence. Italy is known for its food and for good reason. The simple trick to follow when in Italy is to stick with the 3 P’s: pizzas, pastas, and paninis. These three things along with gelato will never let you down. Another suggestion is to visit restaurants that are down small alleys opposed to on main tourist streets. These restaurants will have a better selection of authentic Italian cuisine and tend to be cheaper.Is the Pope Catholic?
After touring around all day, visiting a church or cathedral can often be a nice time to relax quietly away from your hectic touring schedule, or to even learn more about that religion. Although one might think that churches are for free, many of the times there is a small fee to pay to go inside and or to see different parts of the church. 
I would suggest spending that money on the better-known churches and cathedral, ones that you will remember your experience at and the actual name of it. Also to look for dress codes before going, almost always you are not allowed shoulders or skirts or shorts above the knees, so remember to bring some type of shawl if you are planning on wearing tank tops, skirts or shorts. While visiting Italy, home to some of the world’s largest and beautiful churches, it is definitely worthwhile to make time to visit the Vatican, Milan’s Duomo, and St. Mark’s Basilica. But before going to either we have learned that it is helpful to do a little research on them first, so that you aren’t just looking at another church. When visiting Rome, it is a must to go see Vatican City. With its own government, military, post service and specialized currency, the Vatican City is considered its own country, and is not identified as in Rome City. Vatican City languages are Latin, Italian, French and English. The Government is a monarchial society with the head of state and clergymen. 
Katie Hicks talks about all the different duties that the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, successor of St. peter, Prince of Apostles, Patriarch of the West, and sovereign of Vatican City. He is also in charge of creating cardinals, names saints and intervenes in disputes between the Vatican and local bishops. Here is a little history of the Vatican City before you go, the Swiss Guard was founded in 1506, but the founding of the actual city was not until 1929. The Swiss guards were hired to protect the pope and the Vatican City. Still today they are trained as military defense and have the requirements of being male, catholic, good moral, between the ages of 19-30, at least 174 cm tall, not married, and have a professional diploma or high school degree. Just be aware, you can’t take pictures with them unless you are under 13. When picking out your outfit for the day you go to visit the Vatican, you need to make sure to check the dress code so that you can actually go in and get the whole experience. For girls, you are not permitted in with any skirts above the knee, no shorts, and no bare shoulders; this is similar for the guys. If the weather is too hot to travel all day with these dress codes, you are allowed to bring some type of shawl for your shoulders or to drape around your waist. As you arrive to St. Peter’s Square chances are you will be bombarded with people trying to offer you tours. This can be a win win situation or win lose. It is normally safe to pick the tour with English guides, because they will be from the states and speak English. The line to get in is definitely long and the tours often allow you to skip them, with an additional cost. To get into the Vatican without a tour guide is 20 euro. Tours can range from 25-40 euro, and some even have student discounts. There is so much to see in Vatican City, make sure you don’t just go straight to Michael Angelo’s, Sistine Chapel Fresco. With over 19 museums as mentioned in Katie’s blog, there is so much to see. The Vatican Museum, Musei Vaticani, is full of painting, frescos, tapestries, mosaics, and sculptures which are all part of identifying Vatican and its’ history. When you do go into the Sistine Chapel, besides the dress code, they are very strict about talking and taking pictures. Unless it is your lucky day, don’t take the chances of taking a picture, the guards will find you and make you delete it then kick you out. A good tour time would probably be around 2 hours, which seems like a lot of walking, but is a good amount of time to cover the importance of the city. If you are hungry after all this walking, I strongly suggest walking around that area and finding a nice outdoor restaurant to sit down and eat the fine Italian cuisine. 
After visiting the Vatican City outside Rome, there is Milan, where Milan’s Duomo, Saint Ambrose is. This is the Second Largest Catholic Cathedral in the World, as said in Catherine Schaser blog. It ranges from 157 meters long and can fit 40,000 people. It is a mix between Gothic and Neo-Gothic architecture and designed by Giuseppe Brentano. You do have the chance to climb to the roof, for it will create a unique and memorable opportunity to walk on the Gothic Cathedral along with a great view of Milan. Another Cathedral worth visiting is St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, easy to get to, by waterbus; It is free to get into and shows examples of Byzantine architecture. It is a beautiful Cathedral and shows the wealth and power of Venice.
I would suggest spending that money on the better-known churches and cathedral, ones that you will remember your experience at and the actual name of it. Also to look for dress codes before going, almost always you are not allowed shoulders or skirts or shorts above the knees, so remember to bring some type of shawl if you are planning on wearing tank tops, skirts or shorts. While visiting Italy, home to some of the world’s largest and beautiful churches, it is definitely worthwhile to make time to visit the Vatican, Milan’s Duomo, and St. Mark’s Basilica. But before going to either we have learned that it is helpful to do a little research on them first, so that you aren’t just looking at another church. When visiting Rome, it is a must to go see Vatican City. With its own government, military, post service and specialized currency, the Vatican City is considered its own country, and is not identified as in Rome City. Vatican City languages are Latin, Italian, French and English. The Government is a monarchial society with the head of state and clergymen. 
Katie Hicks talks about all the different duties that the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, successor of St. peter, Prince of Apostles, Patriarch of the West, and sovereign of Vatican City. He is also in charge of creating cardinals, names saints and intervenes in disputes between the Vatican and local bishops. Here is a little history of the Vatican City before you go, the Swiss Guard was founded in 1506, but the founding of the actual city was not until 1929. The Swiss guards were hired to protect the pope and the Vatican City. Still today they are trained as military defense and have the requirements of being male, catholic, good moral, between the ages of 19-30, at least 174 cm tall, not married, and have a professional diploma or high school degree. Just be aware, you can’t take pictures with them unless you are under 13. When picking out your outfit for the day you go to visit the Vatican, you need to make sure to check the dress code so that you can actually go in and get the whole experience. For girls, you are not permitted in with any skirts above the knee, no shorts, and no bare shoulders; this is similar for the guys. If the weather is too hot to travel all day with these dress codes, you are allowed to bring some type of shawl for your shoulders or to drape around your waist. As you arrive to St. Peter’s Square chances are you will be bombarded with people trying to offer you tours. This can be a win win situation or win lose. It is normally safe to pick the tour with English guides, because they will be from the states and speak English. The line to get in is definitely long and the tours often allow you to skip them, with an additional cost. To get into the Vatican without a tour guide is 20 euro. Tours can range from 25-40 euro, and some even have student discounts. There is so much to see in Vatican City, make sure you don’t just go straight to Michael Angelo’s, Sistine Chapel Fresco. With over 19 museums as mentioned in Katie’s blog, there is so much to see. The Vatican Museum, Musei Vaticani, is full of painting, frescos, tapestries, mosaics, and sculptures which are all part of identifying Vatican and its’ history. When you do go into the Sistine Chapel, besides the dress code, they are very strict about talking and taking pictures. Unless it is your lucky day, don’t take the chances of taking a picture, the guards will find you and make you delete it then kick you out. A good tour time would probably be around 2 hours, which seems like a lot of walking, but is a good amount of time to cover the importance of the city. If you are hungry after all this walking, I strongly suggest walking around that area and finding a nice outdoor restaurant to sit down and eat the fine Italian cuisine. 
After visiting the Vatican City outside Rome, there is Milan, where Milan’s Duomo, Saint Ambrose is. This is the Second Largest Catholic Cathedral in the World, as said in Catherine Schaser blog. It ranges from 157 meters long and can fit 40,000 people. It is a mix between Gothic and Neo-Gothic architecture and designed by Giuseppe Brentano. You do have the chance to climb to the roof, for it will create a unique and memorable opportunity to walk on the Gothic Cathedral along with a great view of Milan. Another Cathedral worth visiting is St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, easy to get to, by waterbus; It is free to get into and shows examples of Byzantine architecture. It is a beautiful Cathedral and shows the wealth and power of Venice. 
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