My Solo Trip to Rome
WHY I WENT TO ROME
Just over a year ago, in June 2022 I went to Rome for a solo trip to romance myself and to embark on a journey of self-empowerment. I wanted to experience traveling alone as a woman to take myself on art and dinner dates and prove to myself that I am worthy of my own love, time and money. I wanted to feel reinvigorated in my love of art, architecture and history and be further inspired. I could have gone with a partner, friend or family member but the point was to prove to myself that I am capable of being happy alone and be able to do all the things that I wanted to do when I wanted to do them, without anxiety having any power over me or my decisions. It felt like such a 180 to be able to do this because just 5 years prior my anxiety made it hard for me to travel around Toronto while I was in school and preferred having a friend with me whenever I did anything.
HOW I GOT THERE, WHERE I STAYED
Before leaving for my trip, I planned every single day of it and pre-booked as much as I could with the help of my best friend who had been there before. For organizational purposes and as a safety measure, I recorded it all in a document to send to family and my boyfriend in case anything happened. I took two flights that connected in Toronto and when I arrived I decided to take a train into the city and walk to my apartment. My apartment was a three-bedroom shared Airbnb with private bathrooms connected to the bedrooms but with a shared living room and kitchen. It was close to the train but not in a nice neighborhood, with graffiti covering most of the walls and lots of interesting looking men. I did notice that when I looked confused and lost that more eyes were on me so I quickly changed my composure to look like I had been living in Rome all my life, though I know virtually no Italian.
WHERE I VISITED
I did my best to visit all the major cultural and historical places. I did lots of reading before and during my visits so I would know what I was looking at and experiencing when I got there. On my first night I went to a restaurant down the road and had lamb and potatoes with a glass of wine.
Capuchin Crypt, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon
On my first full day I went to the Capuchin Crypt to satisfy my need for the macabre as it is a space decorated with bones and skulls. It ended up being a lot more holy and thought-provoking than gory and strange like I thought it would be. They did have a rule not to take photos, however, I knew I would probably never go there again so I got a couple of snaps which resulted in me being threatened over the loudspeakers that they would remove me from the premises if I continued. I feigned confusion. I then visited the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon where I began my shameless habit of asking strangers to take a photo of me which most people were happy to do so and asked for me to return the favor. Sometimes I would offer first and ask after just to sweeten the deal.
The Pantheon was a beautiful space and I loved the idea of the building working like a clock or calendar as it tracks the sun through the opening (or oculus) of the ceiling. The building technically works as a massive sundial. I also found it interesting that this space, along with other historical spaces, were actually still in use by churches and other groups for praying and other activities instead of just as an historical site.
The Colosseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill
The following day I went to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This had to have been the most physically exhausting and hottest day of the trip when I got my most steps in but it was also the most rewarding. It felt powerful to be surrounded by such history. These three areas are made up of lots of structures over massive amounts of land. Some of the structures required a good deal of imagination as they were lost to time but what remains is beautiful. I will never get enough of arches and colonnades. In my last year of university I took a course that focused quite a bit on historical Roman architecture so it was refreshing to be taken back to that period and have it apply to what I could physically see standing in front of me.
The Vatican Museum & St. Peter’s Basilica
The following day, after much needed sleep, I went to the Vatican Museum where I saw the Sistine Chapel and later to St. Peter’s Basilica. I think I could’ve spent an entire two days just in the Vatican Museum with thousands and thousands of murals, artwork, sculptures and tapestries. There was so much to take in with almost every inch of wall and ceiling painted and beautiful mosaic floors. The Sistine Chapel had to have been the most crowded room in all of the buildings with people sitting on the walls and floors staring directly up or waiting for family members to be finished so they could move on.
St. Peter’s Basilica had a line wrapping all along the front end of the building with people waiting to get in. When I got inside I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. The exterior of the building was massive and beautiful and although everything inside was also massive, it seemed to be a shrine to past Popes. I’ll talk more about this later. I did however greatly enjoy the many beautifully painted domes.
Palazzo Barberini Gallery
The next day I visited the Palazzo Barberini Gallery which was definitely a favorite for me. Winding staircases and beautiful art at a slow pace was needed after many days of walking and trying to fit everything in. For the most part it was quiet so I could get better views of the work and spend more time reading the stories. The gallery didn’t seem to be as well known as other tourist attractions, or at least not at the time that I went, so I could avoid some crowds.
There were a lot of places that I randomly stopped to see or enjoy, a few churches, parks and ruins. There were a couple of places I didn’t get to see because I was so extremely tired mentally and physically. I had decided from the beginning that I would walk everywhere to save money and so that I wouldn’t miss anything if I wanted to just stop and take a look. By the end of the trip I was so tired I decided I would take a bus on my final full day back to the apartment. It was so crowded that I spent the entire ride standing up in the armpit of a sweaty man. I also didn’t know I was meant to validate my ticket so once we arrived at the train stop nearest my apartment, a police officer decided he would ticket me and a few others $50 USD no matter how much I pleaded (I considered running off but he had my ID and my legs were no longer functioning).
MY TAKEAWAYS
I’m absolutely in love with natural stone in architecture and interior design. I believe every space should have at least a touch of marble or travertine stone in it. It just feels so calming and adds such lovely texture.
I found that a lot of people appreciate art that they are told to appreciate. There are pieces made famous by historians who mystify and heroicize them and their makers. These are the pieces that I found were most crowded even if the level of skill, beauty or story didn't match up to the countless other works displayed. I didn’t believe that the figures in the Sistine Chapel were as well done as other works throughout the Vatican but because people have heard of Michelangelo and his work has been lauded throughout history, he was the main focus of many people's visits. I watched people rush past hundreds of other paintings and sculptures just so they could see this one ceiling. Now don’t get me wrong, he was extremely talented and worthy of praise and I aspire to be so talented, however, there were hundreds of other murals that I believed were more beautiful and more technically proficient than his. The only difference was who had made the works.
It was depressing to see how much money would have been put into these grand buildings back in time when I’m sure more of those funds should have gone to helping the general public. It seemed that most of Rome was built by and for Popes who wanted to be remembered long after they were gone. I just can’t fathom how churches could have thought it okay to allocate their money to over-embellished and grand structures. But on the flip side, I do appreciate their beauty and having these artworks and structures to look back on and know that a lot of the Popes wanted to support art and artists. I had a lot of conflicting emotions during my trip, feeling awe and inspiration while also feeling shame and disgust.
I am still madly in love with traditional art.
I would never do an Airbnb again that hosts multiple people in one apartment. I will always get a one bedroom place if I can afford it. I thought I would make friends but instead there was a girl who would talk on the phone every night after 2 am. Even when I asked if she could be quiet she thought whisper-talking would help which it very much didn't due to thin walls. Also someone ate my food I put in the fridge. I am still cheap at heart but now I think splurging on where you stay is worth it.
Taking the long route with open eyes and an open mind is sometimes the best because you get to see things that weren’t on your list and that most tourists don’t normally take time to see. There was a church on a street I walked leading back to where I was staying that had this big blue door. When I went inside I was the only one there besides for a caretaker/member of the church who told me about ruins that they had downstairs. It was only me and later a small tour group that was in the entire place.
Although in the end I think I would’ve enjoyed visiting Rome more with my significant other, I do think it was an amazing experience and taught me more about trusting myself. I was able to decide fully what I would do with my time, when I wanted to be out and about and when I wanted to rest. I would stop and eat wherever interested me whenever I felt hungry. I could take as long or as little with an artwork as I wanted and got to push myself to stay out as long as possible without having to worry about anyone else’s tired feet. I highly recommend a solo trip to any woman who struggles with anxiety and decision making or even just taking time out for self-love. It will teach you to rely on yourself and trust your instincts more.