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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Rome

154 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Rome, Italy

Updated June 3, 2025

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Unusual Attractions in Rome

Crypt of the Three Skeletons.

Rome, Italy

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."
Cats lounging on ancient architecture

Rome, Italy

Torre Argentina (Roman Cat Sanctuary)

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.
The beautiful Art Nouveau Galleria Sciarra.

Rome, Italy

Galleria Sciarra

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.

Rome, Italy

Quartiere Coppedè

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.
The entire ceiling

Rome, Italy

The Dome Illusion

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.
The Aventine Keyhole

Rome, Italy

The Aventine Keyhole

Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.
The Mouth of Truth

Rome, Italy

The Mouth of Truth

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

Rome, Italy

Porta Alchemica

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.
See All 154 Things To Do in Rome

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Rome

The crostata, with the storefront in the background.

Rome, Italy

Pasticceria Boccione

In Rome’s Jewish ghetto, a 200-year-old bakery still makes the neighborhood’s historic sweets.
Servian Wall at McDonald’s

Rome, Italy

Servian Wall at McDonald's

Inside this McDonald's you can dine on your Big Mac and fries next to a 2,500-year-old Roman wall.

Rome, Italy

Garum Biblioteca e Museo Della Cucina

Rome is now home to a stunning food museum and library.
Crunchy and supremely satisfying, suppli might be the ultimate street food snack.

Rome, Italy

Supplizio

Crispy, cheesy rice balls—the Roman answer to arancini—take center stage here.
See all 14 Places to Eat in Rome
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From a rooftop bar opera show to gladiator school and espresso tasting.

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Flavors of Italy: Roman Carbonara, Florentine Steak & Venetian Cocktails

Savor local cuisine across Rome, Florence & Venice.

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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Gastro Obscura’s 10 Essential Places to Eat and Drink in Rome

For decades, Roman gastro-itineraries revolved around the same old set pieces: cappuccinos at Sant’ Eustachio Il Caffè, fried artichokes at Piperno, Berniniesque swirls of gelato at Giolitti on Piazza Navona. They’re all still there, frozen in some eternal Grand Tour glow (and besieged by tourists). But since the start of the 21st century, a new generation of passionate chefs, bakers, and gelato-makers have been updating classics with stellar ingredients and sharp attention to detail. Luckily, cucina romana never lost its brash gritty character—worlds away from the baroque, Arab-inspired cuisine of Sicily or the opulent butter-and-egg-fueled cooking of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. In part, Rome’s distinct food identity stems from the fact that, until it became the capital of unified Italy in 1870, the city was split into two worlds: the Vatican with its wealth, formality, and ceremonious banquets; and the popolino (common folk), who merely subsisted while the papal state feasted. The Eternal City’s cuisine has also been influenced by the rustic pastoral traditions of the surrounding regions like Abruzzo and Lazio. True to these vernacular roots, both old and new osterie and trattorie in Rome stubbornly cling to a roster of populist cucina povera classics. Invariably, there is the triumvirate of guanciale-based pasta sauces—carbonara, amatriciana, and gricia—plus cacio e pepe (senza guanciale). And certainly quinto quarto (that’s offal), ranging from tripe in tomato sauce to far more graphic innards. Winter means puntarelle, spring brings favas and artichokes. Romans eat gnocchi on Thursday, salt cod on Friday—and abbacchio (roast baby lamb) around Easter. On such certainties does Roman dining rest. But with some 30 million visitors expected to descend on the Eternal City for its Jubilee Year, how to uncover true gems amid the glut of checkered-tablecloth tourist traps? Read on! From a porchetta sandwich den lost in a time warp near Termini Station to the creamiest pistachio gelato in the district of Prati, from authentic Roman–Jewish cuisine in Trastevere to a perfect new pizzeria by Circo Massimo, we’ve curated a list of places that show off cucina romana at its eternal best.

View Itinerary
Cesare al Pelligrino is home to pillowy gnocchi.

Explore Rome, Italy

Roman 36
Architecture 36
History & Culture 25
Sacred Spaces 24
Ancient 22
Churches 20
Ruins 16
Statues 13
Relics And Reliquaries 11
Food 10
Art 10
Relics 9

Rome Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. LatiumMirabile
    33
  2. StepYoshi
    15
  3. Fred Cherrygarden
    10
  4. Annetta Black
    8
  5. CadaverFormosus
    6

Places Edited

  1. rbenn250
    59
  2. Collector of Experiences
    37
  3. katielou106
    20
  4. Annetta Black
    17
  5. Rachel
    15

Places Visited

  1. Kan Cho
    112
  2. LatiumMirabile
    109
  3. alessissimo
    103
  4. hrnick
    103
  5. kattubato
    92

Recent Rome Activity

  • Rey

    wants to go to Ospedale delle Bambole (Doll Hospital)

  • Rey

    wants to go to Natural Monument of Galeria Antica

  • Rey

    wants to go to The Water Clock

  • christopherbuckley

    has been to The Catacombs of San Sebastian

  • Rey

    wants to go to Arco dei Farnesi

Stories About Rome

Developed by Farrell Monaco, our Black Banquet included dark loaves of bread, beans, dates, and fish—all inspired by an ancient tombstone.

Recreating an Ancient Roman Dinner of Death

To investigate the legend of Emperor Domitian’s Black Banquet, we made our own macabre feast.
by Sam O'Brien & Farrell Monaco
June 9, 2025
This detail from the 12th-century Aberdeen Bestiary shows a dragon wrestling an elephant.

That Time Portugal’s King Gifted an Elephant to the Pope

Hanno the elephant suffered much at the hands of power-hungry Europeans.
by Devon Field
August 21, 2024

The Badass Female Gladiators of Ancient Rome

Gladiatrices were fierce athletes who drew crowds of thousands.
by Asia London Palomba
July 26, 2024
Roman emperors threw opulent feasts and parties to demonstrate their wealth and power.

Inside Roman Emperors’ Outrageously Lavish Dinner Parties

From Nero's revolving dining room to Augustus’s rigged lottery.
by Guy de la Bédoyère
May 21, 2024
This first-century bust shows a stern matriarch carved sometime during Roman Emperor Trajan’s reign.

The Forgotten Women Who Shaped the Roman Empire

From a first-century poet to a Roman consul’s wife.
by Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing
February 28, 2024
A detail from a third-century mosaic depicting two gladiators in combat from the House of Gladiators on Cyprus.

The Surprising Roots of Ancient Rome's Gladiator Fights

The quintessential Roman spectacle, originally a way to honor the dead, was not Roman in origin.
by Nicky Nielsen
January 9, 2024
Apicius doesn’t specify decorating this dish with rose petals, but it adds a nice touch.

Make Ancient Roman Brain and Rose Soufflé

Somebody in the fifth century combined these ingredients into one recipe, and probably no one has since.
by Andrew Coletti
November 14, 2023
Jupiter riding an eagle in a detail of Caravaggio’s painting.

A Hidden Caravaggio Masterpiece, An Inheritance Feud, and a Roman Villa up for Sale

The future of a mysterious painting by the famed 17th-century "rebel artist" hangs in the balance.
by Monika Schmitter
April 21, 2023

Lists Featuring Rome

Inside the Golden House.
The Colosseum seen from the Ludus Magnus.
St. Francesca Romana

The 11 Most Interesting Places to Visit Near the Colosseum for Curious Travelers

11

Including Domus Aurea, Ludus Magnus, and Santa Francesca Romana

Crypt of the Three Skeletons.
Inside the Golden House.
Mithras slaying the bull - Context Travel
Vatican Necropolis.

10 Places to Explore the Dark Underbelly of Rome

St. Valentine's city isn't all roses and romance.

10

Including Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts, Domus Aurea, and The Mithraeum at Circus Maximus

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