Ancient Sites in Rome: Tip

I've done this online course twice (I did the work once). I would love to take this class in person. I was a museum professional for years and learned so much from Dr. Kleiner. KhanAcademy also has some great shorter videos about specific monuments and Roman art and architecture. Just last night I was watching a video on the Ara Pacis, which I hope to visit on my next trip to Rome in November.

Thanks for this valuable information. We’ll need to return to Rome. I’ve been there three times and still want more.

Sounds great, and I will definitely take advantage of this before our next trip to Rome, my favorite city in the world.

But...part of the allure of being in Rome is having the time to wander. Not aimlessly, but we'd have our trusty laminated StreetWise Rome map and we'd get off the Metro or bus, knowing we had a few blocks to walk before we'd arrive at a pre-chosen destination. And invariably, we'd get sidetracked and oft times the place on the way was better than what we had earmarked. The Baths of Diocletian, right across from Termini Station, and also St. Agnese, up north of Porta Pia when we were on our way to Villa Torlonia, Mussolini's wartime abode, were perfect examples of this.

For these unexpected discoveries, we were constantly gobsmacked at these historical relics right under everybody's noses, that locals would walk by without so much as a glance. Maybe that's the allure...

Thanks for this tip, Mike, we've just started looking at these videos and are already learning a lot. And now, thanks to erodgreg, I'm looking up the KhanAcademy videos as well. We've looked at several of the Great Courses classes on Ancient and Renaissance Rome (including some very interesting lectures about Roman engineering) and have a few weeks before our Rome tour starts, time enough to soak up a little more knowledge!

Mike, I am watching these right now. Thank you so much for sharing! Erodgreg, thanks to you also!

Excellent! Thanks very much for sharing this tip, Mike. While I’ve visited Rome 3 time (so far!), I realize this only scratches the surface. Looking forward to these videos for more inspiration of sites for future trips - much appreciated!

I will absolutely have to watch that! I usually turn to The Teaching Company and their series called Great Courses. They offer both video and audio lectures on a variety of topics. Last time we went to Italy we did the history of the Etruscans audio book and listened to it on the bus for refreshers.

Thanks for the heads up!

Highly recommend Great Courses Plus. It is $20 / month for unlimited viewing. (There are deals for signing up.). Be sure to look for PLUS not regular Great Courses.

There are many many courses on Ancient Rome and many other subjects. One tiny example: one course shows how the Coliseum was constructed with cranes etc. We had visited the Coliseum several times and watched many shows about it, but had never seen this very interesting info. You could sign up for just one month and then cancel if you see everything you want / need.