Hidden gems near the Colosseum

Four must see churches near the Colosseum.

Santa Maria Maggiore, St. Peter's in Chains, Basilica of San Clemente, San Giovanni in Laterno.

Thanks, Gerri! A "church crawl" would be perfect! I've seen (and love) San Clemente. Have not explored the others yet. Walked all the way to San Giovanni in Laterno and arrived just as they closed the doors.

If you head over to Circus Maximus, cross the street, wander thru the Rose Garden to Giardino degli Arancia, to the Aventine hill overlook, than to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, you'll have a nice walk, a view of Rome and another beautiful church.

Edit: yep Kathy is right, Santa Sabina. See below.

If you head over to Circus Maximus, cross the street, wander thru the
Rose Garden to Giardino degli Arancia, to the Aventine hill overlook,
than to Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, you'll have a nice walk, a view of
Rome and another beautiful church.

This is a really nice walk. The Rose Garden may not be completely open if it's out of bloom season (you didn't mention what month you'll be traveling) but you get an interesting look at the backside of the Palatine from there. I'm wondering if Gerri meant Santa Sabina instead of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva? That's the wonderful, very old church on the Aventine that's right next to Giardino degli Aranci. Oh, and peer through the keyhole in the gate of the Priory of the Knights of Malta just up the street from the church to see this....

https://www.thewingedsandals.com/the-keyhole-of-the-priory-of-malta-rome/

Santo Stefano Rotondo is a "hidden gem" not far from the Colosseum. The purpose of its disturbing frescoes was to remind Jesuits going into the mission field that they might suffer for their faith, just as many before them had. I always take my students there.

By the way, I love Il Rosario! It's centrally-located. The rooftop terrace is a great place to relax after a long day of sightseeing.

Up the hill from the rose garden is the Basilica Santa Sabina, a 5th century church with wonderful views from the garden. It is the church where the Pope celebrates the first Sunday in Lent. We are not Catholic, but still enjoyed exploring the grounds. After exploring the basilica, we walked down the back of the hill (very steep) to the Testacccio neighborhood which has many great restaurants. We also enjoyed exploring the Testaccio Market.

These are great suggestions to see wonderful things without huge crowds. Keep them coming! Casa il Rosario is indeed a perfect home base. By the way, I will be in Rome the end of April.

Check Santa Stefano Rotondo, it might still be closed for restoration work.

Does anyone know if the roses will still be blooming in late June/early July?

Roseto Comunale's opening dates for 2019:

https://www.wantedinrome.com/whatson/romes-rose-garden-2019-dates.html

Adrienne, looks like the best you can do in late June and July is peer through the fencing.

Thank you, Kathy. :o)

Have you been to the Case Romane del Celio? Last we were there, very lightly visited and extremely interesting.

I also agree that Santa Stefano is fascinating.

Another fan of Santa Stefano here! Its website (http://www.santo-stefano-rotondo.it) is denying me access but recent reviews indicate that the martyr paintings are still temporarily covered up by printed facsimiles.

I found it amusing that this is a popular church for weddings. It's a fascinating thing with a long history but methinks being surrounded by boiling, flaying, squashing, hacking, roasting and other illustrated methods of dispatching the faithful would take a bit of joy out of a nuptial event! Ew.

Agree with Laurel about Case Romane del Celio. I was in Rome a month ago, I stopped by San Clemente, and 2 mid-sized tour groups were headed down the stairs to the lower levels (some difference from my last visit there 10 years ago, then in June, and very few people there.) Went to Case Romane this time, had the whole place to myself for half an hour. There is also a very well-presented, if small, museum at Case Romane.

You all are the best! Thanks so much for taking the time to post your ideas. This is exactly what I was looking for!

Regarding less-attended museums, one of my favorites is the National Roman Museum's Palazzo Massimo location right next to Termini station. Interesting statuary, mosaics and coins of ancient Rome. One of the particularly interesting items are the frescoed walls from Livia's villa (the wife of Caesar Augustus) from the first century.

Thank you, ABrett! I love museums, especially quiet ones! The description of this sounds wonderful.