Revised itinerary, Italy, 2 weeks max, July 2017

I think you can buy a rail ticket(s) all the way to Florence at the airport train station; easier that queueing at Termini. Note that some trips to Florence involve a change at the smaller Tiburtina Station rather than Termini, which would mean taking a different (cheaper) train from the airport, so look at your ticket carefully.

Don't pay for any Day 1 activities in advance. You may be too dead to do anything other than wander aimlessly. I usually am.

I'd pre-book and pay for only those activities that need such attention because they may sell out. (I value flexibility and admit to being biased.) Keep in mind that you may have a lot of really hot days during your trip. You may want to configure your time so that you're indoors at an air conditioned site during the hottest part of the day. Or you may get tired of museums and want to do something different.

Pisa will not take all day. Many folks combine Pisa and Lucca on a day trip from Florence. Someone here suggested going to Lucca first and hitting Pisa around mid-afternoon when the other day-trippers are starting to leave.

The Colosseum Underground tour is very popular and does sell out. That's one to buy ahead of time if you're interested in it.

People who've been to the Vatican Museums recently say they are a zoo if you don't pony up the money for a tour that gets you into the museums before they open to the public. Walks of Italy has one or more such tours, and so does Dark Rome (cheaper). There may be other options as well.

The Vatican Scavi tour is also very popular and must be booked early.

Research possible side trips so you'll have something in mind if you find yourself with extra time at the end of the trip. You might enjoy a food tour in Rome. I know there's one that walks through Trastevere. It would make a nice change from your museum-intense schedule. I wouldn't book it in advance, though, since you already have so many activities on your To-Do list.

Heavens, no, don't leave Italy early! You'll easily find things to do in and around Rome. It's impossible to know how much time an activity will take unless you're looking at a closed-ended time slot (as at the Borghese Gallery). Edited to add: And it's hard to know, on a first trip, how long it will take you to move from Sight A to Sight B, or how much time to allow for lunch.

What other people call flexibility or spontaneous-ness, I may consider randomness, uncertainty, or doubt. You can't ride an amtrak train in the USA without buying a ticket in advance, why shouldn't I buy long distance train tickets in in Italy, in advance, if possible? But how do you know that they will keep your reservation; how do you get your ticket you reserved?

Is my supposed itinerary for Rome too much crammed into too little time or does it seem typical or doable?

It's great to plan what you want to do and figure out your priorities in advance, and to make the few reservations that are most necessary. However, you will probably find out that once you're on the ground, you can't keep to a schedule - and you there will be times when you won't want to. Some of your best memories will come from unexpected encounters and unplanned events.

If you are friendly and outgoing (and you may need to force yourself to be so), you'll find that wherever you are, you'll have people to talk to and share moments with. It can be the people at the next table at a cafe or the person standing next to you admiring the view, or the couple waiting in line with you. I've had great conversations in all those situations - some led to sharing a meal or a walk or just passing an hour on a train ride.

Being truly organised does mean allowing for flexibility, and catering for possible changes in your mood, your energy levels, or the weather. For some people you can even add the possibility of a hangover.
Lock in the big ones that absolutely need reservations - Uffizi, Academy, Vatican Museums, Colosseum. Then categorise your remaining wish list as either "really want to see this", or "would be nice if I have time". Leave yourself free afternoons as well as the odd full day. Use your lists and fill in the blanks to make your day unfold as if you are playing a game of Tetrus.

I struggle with the spontaneity question, too. As for getting out of the airport, any guidebook (as well as advice on this thread) will have good directions for that.

The reason not to buy museum tickets in advance for most places is that the lines are not very long. For the sights that require reservations, make them in advance. Then look at some guidebook city maps and plot out what you want to see that's nearby, and check hours. For example, if you are going to the Pantheon (which now requires an entry fee), the church of San Luigi dei Francesi is on the way to Piazza Navona, so you may want to check opening/closing hours to see the Caravaggio paintings.

I always buy Freccia train tickets as far in advance as possible because I must turn money into time (long trips on a budget).

As for your empty day, there is no such thing. You'll find that out when you get there.

A couple of possibilities for that last day: 1) day trip to Ostia Antica, which would satisfy your interest in ancient history; 2) day trip to Orvieto, a beautiful Umbrian hill town.

My mother and my aunt think I am totally nuts or worse for planning a trip alone. They have mental lists of bad things that could happen on a trip; they think the purpose of an organized tour is to provide "safety in numbers"; they are also - probably irrationally - afraid of anti-semitism or hatred of jewish people; I am jewish according to heritage but I am reformed or secular/ I normally don't observe any of the religion, I'm not sure whether I look like a suspicious middle-eastern refugee, although my ancestors who came to the USA actually were from Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus.

They have mental lists of bad things . . . That's often typical thinking for people who have never been abroad or had much (any) contact with people who have. I think it's great that you are ready to do this. Remind them that there is a whole lot less violent crime in Italy than in Detroit or any other large US city. If you can, make some kind of arrangement to stay in contact with them while you're away. If you and they have Apple devices, you can use Facetime to speak with them for free whenever you have wifi access. Maybe Skype? (try these out before you go, so everyone's proficient with using it). At worst, plan to email them daily and let them know in advance if you won't have wifi access for any period of time. It is scary for them, so it's also worth investing in a tablet or smart phone or maybe a simple mobile phone with some kind of calling plan for Europe. Others here are very knowledgeable about the various options. If you need to ask, start a new thread just for that. Here, it's likely to get buried among all the other stuff.

afraid of anti-semitism or hatred of jewish people There are places in Europe where it's an issue, but not in Italy (without looking under some rocks). Most people will simply identify you as an American tourist. Thousands of Jewish Israelis visit Italy every year, many of them obviously religious Jews, without a problem. If you want a Jewish experience in Rome, you can look for Chabad there. They always have a Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch for anyone who wants (though they may ask you for a donation before or after Shabbat), and you'll have a chance to meet other Jewish tourists. If you're in Naples on Shabbat, I think there's a Chabad organization there too.

Rick Steves has a free audio tour of the Rome Ghetto that you can download (be sure to get the map too). He has other tours for Rome, Florence, and Pompeii. Visit the Great Synagogue in Florence. There is a private guide in Rome who gets rave reviews, but it will be pretty expensive.

If you read the itinerary descriptions for the RS tours, you see that they build in a lot of free time - there's no 'safety in numbers' or herd mentality. (I'm saying this for the benefit of your mom and aunt.). Italy gets visitors from all over the world. Unlike the U.K. (I read about your unfortunate experience there), when you enter Italy they just stamp your passport.

About keeping in touch with relatives: as Chani suggested, it would be the kind thing to do, and wouldn't take anything away from your enjoyment of the trip. I also wanted to mention a few customs and rules of Italy that I found helpful to know about. When you check in to your lodging, you'll be asked for your passport - they are required to copy it and give a copy to the police. Rest assured, you'll get it back, but not always immediately. When you check out, in addition to settling your bill, you pay a small city tax in cash. Bigger cities charge more, but it's never much. As Kathy mentioned, when you're buying produce, you don't pick it up yourself - ask the proprietor for help. (No bruised peaches!). Also, in any kind of business establishment, greet the people working there first rather than heading straight for the merchandise. If you do decide to eat at a restaurant, you will not be rushed at all - when you want your check, you need to ask for it, and in many places you can just stop by the counter and pay rather than asking the waiter for your check. Waitstaff are paid a living wage, so tipping is not expected, although you can leave a euro or two if so inclined.

This will be my third solo trip. In 2015 I went to Montreal, Canada, for 3 days, just to try traveling to a foreign place. I didn't tell my parents about my trip, until the evening before I left. The news nearly panicked or scared or astonished my mother to death. I was 32 at the time. I talked to my dad for 10 or more minutes on pay phones each day I was in Canada. In 2016 I went to London, England, for 8 days. I felt like I spent too much time in the one place. I thought about going to bath and/or Stonehenge, but I wasn't bold enough. I told my parents my plans weeks in advance; my mother tried convincing me not to travel, then she insisted that Inonly travel on an organized tour group. I exchanged my lowest end cell phone for a sort of smart-phone which was the cheapest model which will work outside the USA, in early 2016; I did have some contact with my parents in London using the phone. So I have the cell phone to maintain some contact with my family.

Mike, first I want to address the concepts of your travel, not the minutiae of what you will do every day.
Nobody will notice you are a Jew. You will be obviously, and treated as, a US tourist. Even if you were dressed as a Sephardic Jew (Black clothes, curly hair, etc. as a Gentile I do not know the correct terminology), nobody would care. Do not get hung up on how you will be treated, and definitely do not let your family worry about it.

You have over-planned your trip. It is good to decide you want to spend xx nights in place yy, and list the places you want to visit; but to decide what on which day is too much. Start out with day 1, and as you learn about the city modify your plans according to what you discover about the place.

"You can't ride an amtrak train in the USA without buying a ticket in advance, why shouldn't I buy long distance train tickets in in Italy" - That may be so, and long distance trains are cheaper if booked in advance, but that doesn't apply in all cases.
* Trains in Italy, and most of Europe are frequent (1 per hour is considered normal). "there is always another train soon".
* Local trains ("Regionalle") have no discount for advance purchase, they are designed for spontaneous travel. If I wake up one morning and decide I want to go somewhere 1-2 hours away, I just go to the station and buy a ticket.
* Full fare, buy-on-the-day tickets are still relatively cheap in Italy (even if you pay 25%-50% of the full fare when you buy in advance).
* If you are arriving on an Intercontinental flight, you cannot predict the time you will get out of the airport +/- 1-2 hours. this is one case where not booking in advance, and paying the full fare, is the way to go.

Mike, I agree with you in that I like to have an idea of where I am going when I wake up, but time for wandering. We are 3 couples traveling to Rome at the end of the month. I have booked already
Saturday - Airport pickup - wandering around near Pantheon, Trevi, Spanish Steps
Sunday - Borgese tickets for 11:00
Monday - walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour 7:30
Tuesday - SCAVI tour 9:00 - then Wandering around Trastevere
Wednesday - Papal audience tickets
Thursday - Orvieto (one couple going to Florence for the day)
Friday - walks of Italy VIP Colosseum tour 9:00
Saturday - free day.
Sunday - home

All afternoons are free for museums, crypts, villas, piazzas, churches, strolls, etc. I will have a list of sights by neighborhood so we have choices. Just working on restaurants now. I feel we are loosely structured, if that makes sense. Of course with 6 people you move slower, stop more often, and linger longer at meals which is why I only booked the mornings. Being one person you will move around faster and probably see more. If it was just my husband and myself, we would follow more of Rick's self- guided and audio tours. No matter what, I know we will have a great vacation and loads of fun. I hope you do too.

Chris F: I thought I read that longer distance trains between cities in italy need to be reserved in advance. Were you thinking that I ought to try buying my ticket from Rome to Florence at the last minute, to minimize time waiting in the train station, but buy tickets for Florence to Naples, and Naples to Rome, in advance? I feels risky to try buying a train ticket at the last minute. Suppose the trains to Florence are all sold out?

When you buy a ticket for a high-speed train, it includes a reservation for a particular seat, whereas a ticket for one of the Regionale trains does not. The former is not really the same as reserving in advance. If you do reserve in advance online, you are committed to that particular train - you would have to buy another ticket if you miss the train, which is why it is not recommended to reserve your train in advance on the day you are flying in, in case your plane is delayed. For a day on which you feel certain you will be able to catch a particular train, it might make sense to reserve in advance if you don't mind being tied down to a particular departure time, and if it can save you some money. However, if you look at the trenitalia.com website, you'll see that there are three or four trains per hour between Rome and Florence, so you really don't need to worry about not being able to get there.

Chris F: I thought I read that longer distance trains between cities in italy need to be reserved in advance.

Yes, they have to be reserved, but "in advance" just means before you get on the train. Reservation is not a separate process. when you buy a ticket for a train which needs reserving you automatically get a reservation.

As lnbsig sys, buy early when you can to save money. When you can't just buy at the station. Plenty of people do that, and there are nearly always seats. If not, there is another train in 30 minutes.

Mike, as kindly explained by the gang above, you're overthinking much of this. :O)

The train situation should be clear now: buy tickets in advance only for the fast, longer--distance trains (to try and get in on limited, low-price tickets) and "reservation" means only that it's for a specific seat in a specific carriage on a specific train at a specific time. Miss that train and you have to buy a new ticket UNLESS your original ticket was base priced, in which case you can change it for no cost. Economy tickets can also be changed but you have to make up the difference between purchase price and last-minute base price. Super Economy tickets can't be changed.

Trains rarely sell out; this should not be a concern at all.

Pre-purchasing super economy tickets for day of arrival means you're willing to take the risk of missing your train/buying a new ticket if your flight is delayed. Some travelers are willing to do that if the price of the ticket is low enough to eat the cost, should that occur.

No one is going to know you're Jewish and wouldn't care in the least even if they did. The country recorded over 50 million tourist arrivals from all over the world in 2015.

Pre-purchase advance tickets/reservations only for the busiest museums/attractions or those which require them (e.g. Galleria Borghese). Leave the rest reasonably open to flex around weather, fatigue and other stuff. It's always a good idea try and group sightseeing by area but not to expect a tight master plan to come off like clockwork. Some of our best moments in Italy have been during 'free' hours for just wandering around or sitting and doing some people watching.

There is no such thing as too long a stay in Rome.

Your family is giving you a hard time because they probably don't travel much, don't travel out of the country, and/ or have never done so alone. As I said in a previous thread, I know women who travel alone - with no tours - all the time and do just fine. The locations you're going are not difficult and not scary in the least, trust me! We don't even travel with phones and just use free wifi (or paid, if necessary) at the hotels and whatnot to check our email and send the occasional note home to friends/family.

My mother grew up in the ghetto in the city of Detroit, Michigan. She feels that her hometown, along with big cities in general, are dangerous; she is afraid of heights, boats, bridges, tall buildings; she has never taken an airplane flight; my parents have been taking some road trips in the USA and Canada but my mother insists on driving the car all or most of the time. My dad is not so afraid for me to take a trip; one time I convinced him to ride with me in a very small airplane at a small airshow and open house at a small airport in Michigan; I am not afraid of airplanes.

I feel like a defiant kid doing something I am not supposed to do; I already bought my airplane tickets, I just need to make hotel or hostel reservations, and a few museum and mounment reservations and one or more guided tour reservations; why am I traveling if I feel silly about doing so? Because human beings are not inherantly rational, and I don't want to risk reaching the age of 80 and realizing that I did not do enough earlier in my life; I plan to rewrite my itinerary, listing only the times of the museums and tours I make reservations for, with a separate list of supposed sites that look appealing which I will randomly fit in as time allows, around what I make reservations for.

Good for you, Mike!

I tend to overplan, especially for cities I haven't been to before; I like to know what's available, then choose among too many alternatives to narrow it down once I am there. Extra time someplace? Have a coffee or something in a piazza.

You can find lots of economical hotel options on booking.com; read the reviews carefully (only guests who have stayed at the property are invited to write reviews). You can also filter for the amenities (breakfast, quiet room, wifi, location) you want. Many hotels have guest computers if you are not taking an electronic device with you. If you are worried about accessing your email from a hotel computer, create a special email account for this trip, just for your friends and family.

Have a great trip!

Mike, I see that your mother is a person who has allowed fear to rule her life, and is trying to pass that on to you. Since this is a travel forum and not a psychotherapy office, I'll simply say that I'm very glad you are following a different path.

If you did well in Montreal and London, you have the necessary skills to do well in Italy.

I'll just add my voice the chorus: it's fine to have a plan, but don't be afraid to change it on the fly. If you planned to spend one hour at a sight, but are enthralled and spend three hours, you just cut back on something else. Similarly, if you go to a sight and don't like it, don't be afraid to leave and see something else - even if the sight is famous, and is designated a "must see" (or even worse) a "must see before you die." It's YOUR trip - make it good for YOU.

My personal motto about worrying about missing things in travel is, "I will see what I see and I will miss everything else, and that's OK because it's all good."

I also agree with making the mandatory reservations (Borghese Gallery, Uffizi, etc), but don't sweat the other things. You've already gotten good advice on the trains. If you know for sure when you're taking a long distance train, book it in advance to save money. If you don't, just buy it in Italy, and pay the extra (fortunately unlike in some other countries, it's not that much extra in Italy).

Mike, with regard to "...risk reaching ... 80 and realizing ... did not do enough...", someone once said something to the effect that it is ok to regret doing something -- it is not ok to regret not doing something. Go for it and have a great trip!!

A couple of years ago, I attended a music workshop in Corsica. During free time, I did a lot of wandering around the small, humble village where we were staying. At one of the houses, someone had created a charming, eccentric, tiny garden - on the wall there was a plaque with a map of the world, and the words 'Citoyen du Monde'. You too are now in the process of becoming a citizen of the world, and there's nothing wrong or silly about that; it's profoundly right. Bravo to you!

I have bought my airplane tickets and I edited and revised my itinerary just a little; see the top of this thread. Does it make rational sense? I did notice that nobody else posts such a detailed itinerary; but I need to be able to rationally justify the number of days I want to spend in Florence and Rome so I know which dates to reserve my hotel or hostel rooms, right? Some of you are right to assume that I am likely to deviate from this supposed itinerary. I plan to make advanced reservations for certain museums or sites. Does this seem reasonable? Or should I get the Firenze Card in mentioned in the guidebook which costs 72 Euros?

A couple of comments:

I need to be able to rationally justify the number of days I want to
spend in Florence and Rome so I know which dates to reserve my hotel
or hostel rooms, right?

There is so much to see in both (and in day trips from both) that there's no need to justify your days. We've spent a total of nearly two weeks just in Rome without running out of things to see! It's in our future plans to spend even more time in both.

That said, I didn't give your itinerary more than a quick glance as I believe you'll end up shifting some things around but there's no need to do the Campidoglio and the Capitoline museums on two separate days; the museums are ON the Campidoglio.

Also, the National Museum of Rome encompasses 4 different sites under one ticket good for 3 days: Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi, Baths of Diocletian.

http://archeoroma.beniculturali.it/en/museums/national-roman-museum-palazzo-massimo-alle-terme

At the very least, the baths and Palazzo Massimo should be done at the same time as they're very close to one another. You should also do the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, while you are there, for the architecture if nothing else, as it encompasses part of the baths. It also has an especially ornate meridian line. Which leads me to....

Was not raised Catholic, don’t need to see the pope or dwell on
churches.

You don't need to cram a bunch of them in but at the same time don't pass them by because you're not Catholic. Neither are my husband and I, and neither of us are all that religious. We go for the architecture, the art and the history. A number are old enough to have Roman-era temples in their basements or have been converted from earlier Roman basilicas, and others have enough very old and/or valuable works to be considered art museums in and of themselves.

As you have the Uffizi, Accademia, Pitti, San Marco, Brancacci Chapel, Vatican Museums and the Borghese on your list, you obviously have an interest in art so slip in at least a few of the most notable churches listed in your book if you can?

Kathy's advice is excellent.

When you go to the Great Synagogue, there are two places that will only take a few minutes to see: across the street from the Synagogue entrance, there is an apartment building with a "stumbling block" in the pavement at the entrance. It's a small square that gives information about one of the residents who was deported to Auschwitz. Nearby, on the wall of a building at the Porta d'Ottaviana, are two plaques about the deportations.

I am utterly irreligious, but I check out many of the churches along my path for the reasons already mentioned. Those still serving as working churches usually have no admission fee, so I try always to have 1- and 2-euro coins for the offering box, to help with maintenance. Or sometimes there's a coin-fed meter to turn on lights to illuminate the altar.

Since you'll be traveling in mid-summer, you may also appreciate the much lower temperature you'll often encounter in large churches.

so I try always to have 1- and 2-euro coins for the offering box, to
help with maintenance.

We do the same to compensate for the wear-and-tear we add.
And for the free prayer cards with nice illustrations they often have scattered about; they make lovely bookmarks.

As far as timing goes - don't discount the pleasures of just wandering around, seeing how people do things, enjoying the views and the architecture, discovering, on your own, places to stop in and visit.

Download Rick's audio tours (I mentioned them in a previous response). Every church in Italy (and most other places in Europe) is a museum, with wonderful sculpture, frescoes, paintings, and more. One of the things that pleases me in Italy is there is a lot more focus on Madonna and Child (a universal scene I can relate to as person and a Jew) than on the crucifixion. Of course there are many works that tell stories from the New Testament, but there are as many (or so it seems to me) from the Old Testament.

Does 3 nights in Naples, Italy, seem excessive?

I normally don't pay attention to the religion but I read that there is a synagogue in Florence which was built between 1874 and 1882. It is not listed in my copy of Rick Steves Italy 2017. I haven't figured out whether it is open to visitors.

If you mean the Synagogue and Jewish Museum of Florence, it is open to the public.

If you have three nights in Naples, that gives you an afternoon, two full days, and however much of a morning you wish before you leave. Your itinerary says you plan on getting acquainted with the city that first afternoon, visit Pompeii and Herculaneum the first full day, and visit two major museums the second day. The last morning, you can see anything appealing that you missed previously, then be able to get to Rome in a relaxed fashion. Sounds perfect to me.

Hi Mike, interesting interchanges here, and congratulations on your upcoming trip! I have been traveling the world, often solo, for several decades of my life, and highly recommend it, especially if you do not have a significant other to travel with. Fortunately, I did not have to contend with a parent who was holding me back from travel, due to fear or anything else. Traveling in central Italy in July, you will encounter maximum crowds and maximum heat, but fortunately also maximum hours of daylight to visit many places. You can still enjoy the cooler and often illuminated evening hours, just also be sure to get enough good sleep so you don't run out of stamina half way through your trip!
I just wanted to comment on on a few specific points that you and others have touched on:
(1) It is definitely a good idea to make reservations for certain very popular museums and sites, as mentioned here, and then have a list of other visits that you can fit in on a more flexible schedule. It is also a good idea, I think, to arrive with a map of each city you visit, with all your prospective visits prominently starred in red, or something like that, so it is obvious which are close to each other, allowing you to group your visits, rather than use up unnecessary time criss-crossing the city. You could just use an existing map in an RS guide book, or other book, maybe make a photocopy for this particular use. Also make note of the days of the week that sites on your list may be closed, if any.
(2) While it is often not necessary to buy train tickets "in advance", it is also not a great idea to buy the tickets immediately before departure time. Several times I have found myself missing a train because of long line at a ticket window, or a ticket machine that was not working or could not make change, etc. So, I generally try to buy my ticket the day before, or first thing in the morning of the day of travel, either at a train station or at a travel agent (for generally a very small fee, like 5%). I remember buying three tickets a few days before traveling at a travel agent in Spain and I thanked the agent and said it was well worth the very few euros fee just to sit in a comfortable chair in her air-conditioned office, and let her punch in the information.)
(3) One thing about your itinerary, it pretty much just includes major cities. Small towns can be very different and very wonderful. One possible and lovely day trip, or even overnight, can be to Orvieto in Umbria, just a direct 70 minutes from Rome by train. The old hill town of Orvieto, reached via funicular from the train station, is very different from any other place on your itinerary. Of course many other travelers will have the same idea, so I really recommend trying to spend an evening or an overnight there if possible. Small town, mazes of small streets in a stone town, lots of thing to see and do, great food and wine, and small craft shops.
(4) Finally, you ask about Naples. Some people really love it, including me, some people really don't. It is an easy jumping off point for Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the Archeology Museum is wonderful and a must see! Most of the finest art pieces from Pompeii are in the Museum. From Naples, I took a glorious day trip to 3 of the best Greek temple ruins anywhere, in Paestum. There is also a very nice small museum about them, right beside the ruins. From Naples, it is 60 minutes by train to Salerno, and then 30 more by train or bus to Paestum. I wandered through Naples in the morning, took the train to Salerno, wandered around Salerno for a couple of hours, then took the train to Paestum for the afternoon, and was back in Naples for a mid-evening dinner. Just food for thought, speaking of dinner.
Enjoy, and come back and tell us how your trip went, once you return!

Mike: Good for you! You'll have a fabulous time. As one who has traveled solo to Italy 3 times now, I've learned that you will meet locals much more easily and have some wonderful experiences that you might not well have when traveling with a group, or even a friend. Two suggestions here: The Synagogue in Florence (about a 15 minute walk north and east, I believe, of the Bargello; it's on maps) is absolutely beautiful and, although not all that "old" in Roman terms, is quite historic and moving, with a wonderful small museum on an upper level (the same stairs that you will climb to the women's section). If you poke around and inquire, you might find a guide or volunteer available to give a tour of the sanctuary, explaining the history of the Florentine Jewish community, the synagogue architecture and art, and the history of how the building was used during WW II and then reclaimed by the Jewish community. They are serious about security, and you will be given a key to a locker in which to lock up your phone, camera, etc. While you are in the Synagogue neighborhood, Ruth's Kosher Restaurant, next door, has great food and very friendly people. (It's dairy kosher. Yay!) Look it up online. I've taken each of my now-grown Reform/secularish children to the Synagogue and to Ruth's for lunch, at various times, when they were in their late teens or early twenties, and each found the Synagogue fascinating and beautiful, and felt a deep sigh of connection while eating at Ruth's. Second suggestion: Since you have a full 4 1/2 days in Florence, consider doing a day trip to Venice. Fast direct train (look on trenitalia.com) will take 2 hours almost exactly each way, and will spit you out at the Venice S. Lucia train station on the Grand Canal. Buy a one-day vaporetto pass and explore like crazy. But do NOT miss walking around the Ghetto area, about a 20 minute walk from the train station, and taking the guided tour of three very old, beautiful and historic synagogues in the Ghetto. The tour is available from the Jewish Museum in the Ghetto. Rick's Italy book - and Venice book - has the info. And then, eat at one of several delicious kosher restaurants nearby.

Mike, you're going to have a great trip. I highly recommend that you watch this RS video on back street Rome. I think you may see some surprises.

The reason so many people recommend churches to visit is that the church was the primary patron of artists for many centuries. I'm neither a fan of organized religion nor religious in any way, but Michelangelo's Pietà is in my top 5 favorite sculptures. If you don't go into St. Peter's Basilica, you'll miss it.

The last time I was in Rome, the church I was most impressed by is the Basilica of San Clemente, an excellent example of places of worship being built over each other from about the 1st century CE to about 1100. The history is fascinating and you can explore it in person.

My point is that much of the history of Rome is closely tied to the church. However, Jewish history in Rome is even older. Here's a link about that in case you haven't seen it before.