Rome for those who Dislike Museums

Try Rick's guidebook on Rome, there are suggestions about churches that have great in-situ art (Santa Maria Sopra Minerva houses a Michelangelo). There are great fountains throughout Rome (some by Bernini) and some lovely sculpture (I loved the one that has an elephant and obelisk). Frankly the whole city is art in itself - I found the gelato displays as artistic as anything found in a museum. If you can manage to tolerate one art museum, the Borghese is lovely, not huge, and easily accomplished in under the two hour visit limit.

I posted a suggestion on a topic that starts "A kid's tour of Europe" in the "to the boot" section from 10/3/07. We watched PBS shows about Caravaggio and Bernini and probably visited 6-8 churches in Rome just to see art we saw on those shows. You can buy the DVD from PBS, or check your local library. I also bought a book titled "Art for Travellers, Italy" (probably from Amazon) which covers all of Italy and both museums and other places. In Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore has great mosaics, and the nearby San Pietro in Vincoli has a large Michelangelo sculpture.

umm..pretty much any church in rome you stumble into has what u think you are looking for..that's like asking "what flower has the best aroma i should smell".
i had the same attitude: i hated* the uffizi [florence ] WAAAAY too many ppl.i left after 20 min.avoided the vatican, but by accident[ok..i over slept my departure], went there when the pope was NOT there..it was great..NO ppl[relatively speaking]..but man...churches are like weeds in rome...just walk a few blocks you will find another."santa maria maggorie", 3-1/2 blocks from the termini is a good start...and once there or any church, just ask whoever looks like they might know where another church is..in all fairness: you SHOULD go for the borghese..just bring a neck brace: a LOT of the coolest stuff is on the ceilings.umm...for that matter, ditto for the churches.

I think most of Rome's great art is not in museums. The Vatican museum is mostly second-rate art meticulously preserved.

I know what you mean, Chris - I love art but often find museums overwhelming, time-consuming and uncomfortably crowded. The former posters did well to guide you to the churches - they often have amazing and important works of sculpture, paintings and mosaics and are usually blessedly free of pressing crowds so you can enjoy them in some relative peace! Look at one of the Eyewitness Guides (Regular or Top Ten versions) for best churches, fountains, bridges and the like for great ideas.

I thought I was alone in my dread of museums. My poor hubby wanders through them and I wait at the closest restaurant or bar!

In Rome there are many neighborhood churches, piazza's and parks that contain incredible "art". Just wander around and try the doors of every church. Some will be open and some will not. The area around Piazza Navona is rich in architecture and sculpture.

As others have pointed out, almost every Catholic church in Rome will have artwork (statues, paintings, mosaics, etc.) worth seeing. Ponte Sant'Angelo is lined with statues done by Bernini. There are piazzas everywhere with amazing statues and fountains and they are great places to rest and people-watch, especially when you're getting sensory overload from seeing such beautiful art. And as some people look at architecture as art, the Pantheon and the Colosseum are worthy of a look too. I would recommend BLUE GUIDE: ROME, which is an excellent guide to the cultural aspects of Rome.

I understand how you feel I use to work at the museum of Mann in San Diego and did all kinds of archaeology prep work on artifacts and I find most museums a bit dull. Especially if I'm not working on the pieces. I only went to 1 museum the Borghese Gallery which was just ok in my opinion. Just wandering around Rome you will find all kinds of stuff. Hit several churches a day and walk through the Villa Borghese. I do highly recommend the Pantheon in Rome. Angle Tours gives a free tour of it at 7pm every night they meet out on the steps in front. I think its my favorite building. Just give yourself plenty of time.
I also did a kind of treasure map of things like I tried to find all 13 of the Egyptian Obolisks (?sp) and other things of interest to make it more fun for myself. Certain fountains, steet signs, unusual roman oddeties ect. Ricks books have a decent lay out but if you do a few searches on the web you will find stuff as well. Good luck with it