Something different to do in Rome

Have you been to Ostia Antica? It's the site of some really fascinating ruins of an ancient town. Many of the ruins are very intact (like the stone toilets, the amphitheatre and so on) and the setting is lovely. I brought a picnic lunch the day I was there and enjoyed it sitting in the grass and watching people meander around the ruins. It's a short 30 minute bus ride outside of town and I highly recommend it. https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/ostia-antica-near-rome

How about this area of Art Deco buildings.

https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/art-deco-in-rome/

There is a small church near S. M. Maggiore with amazing mosaics.
https://www.walksinrome.com/blog/the-mosaics-of-santa-prassede-rome

Or the Fascist architecture in EUR.
https://www.cityrometours.com/en/blog/travel-in-rome/fascist-architecture-eur-rome.html

Lots for you to do!!

I hope these two previous threads will give you some new ideas:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/unusual-ideas-for-rome

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/recommendations-for-off-the-beaten-path-underground-ancient-sites-in-rome

I very much enjoyed visiting Ostia Antica and doing a food tour. We did the Testaccio tour through Eating Italy and it was wonderful.

From my notes for an upcoming trip; no personal experience except for the Non-Catholic Cemetery, my interest in which is no doubt affected by my love of cats.

Sights:
- Domus Aurea (book ahead)
- Great Synagogue, Lungotevere de Cenci: Remarkable turn-of-20C building.
- Non-Catholic (aka Protestant) Cemetery
- Galleria Alberto Sordi (formerly Galleria Colonna): Multi-story, Art Nouveau shopping gallery.

Neighborhoods:
- Quartiere Coppedé: Offbeat Art Nouveau district walkable from Parioli. Source says 2-4 hr.
- Garbatella: 1920s housing project with interesting architecture and gardens
- EUR: Suburb with Fascist-era architecture
- Ostiense: District with much street art
- Pigneto: Bohemian district
- San Lorenzo: Student district

Museums you might have missed:

• Museo Storico della Liberazione: Former Gestapo headquarters with small but good exhibition
• Museo Nazionale Etrusco: Italy's best museum of Etruscan/pre-Roman artifacts
• Musei di Villa Torlonia: Sculpture, paintings, furnishings and Art Nouveau stained glass in three villas
• Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti: Collection of over 3000 musical instruments
• La Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM)
• MAXXI (Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo): Emerging art and architecture
• Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Roma (MACRO): Post-1960s art (Via Nizza)
• MACRO Testaccio: Contemporary and modern art exhibitions (Piazza Orazio Giustiniani)
• Mattatoio Contemporary Art Museum.

Shelley, for something completely different my adult daughter & I went to the Borghese Park which was near our hotel. Our feet were literally worn out the last day of our trip, so we rented the two-person Bici Pincio, covered bike and had so much fun laughing & riding all through the park, enjoying the panoramic view and having a cool drink in the shade. We had seen so much that this was the perfect finale to our trip.

Here are some ideas, the first two are great if you enjoy Renaissance/Baroque architecture:
- Villa Farnesina if you haven't already been to see the Rafael frescoes, plus you can combine it with a walk up the hill to see Bramante's Tempietto and then the view from the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola is lovely
- I also love to do a church architecture walk down Via del Quiranale: start at Sant'Andrea al Quirinale (for which Bernini was the architect), then stop in San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane (designed by Borromini and one of the most beautiful spaces in Rome, in my humble opinion) and down the road is Santa Maria della Vittoria (which houses the Saint Theresa in ecstasy sculpture by Bernini), and finish your walk at Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (designed by Michelangelo in a wing of Diocletian's baths).
- Montemartini Museum for classical sculpture in a factory setting, it's a fun way to see classical sculpture

We took a bus to The Protestant Cemetery - mentioned in a reply above as the Non-Catholic Cemetery, with graves of Shelley and Keats. Really pretty, with fascinating grave stones. Also home to adorable cats. We spent several hours there and took a picnic lunch as it was a sunny day in March. We also enjoyed the Baths of Caracalla, if you haven't seen that yet.
We wanted to visit the Pasta Museum, but it was closed for renovation when we were there. Museo Nazionale delle Paste Alimentari.

Another vote for the 'Non-Catholic Cemetery' or 'Protestant Cemetery'. I spent several quiet hours there one afternoon and loved it. It was easy to get there on the bus. There was a friendly English speaking docent. And lots of cats, of course.

hey hey shelley
how about a trip out to the countrysides of frascati and the pope's summer home.
withlocals.com/ rome
beautiful countryside day trip: castelli romani. take the train 20-30 minutes to frascati and host picks you up for the tour. known for wine growing, lake nemi & goddess diana, small villages, ceralli.it (bakery/pizza oven making "best porchetta sandwiches)
lacucinaitaliana.com/ the buxom cookie from frascati
nona is 96 years old and still baking. son make pizza and porchetta in oldest oven
italymagazine.com/ lake nemi and it's wild berries
older article but info about the area.
oldfrascati.com
read up about the winery and it's tours, along with "about us"
get out of the hustle and bustle of rome and enjoy the day away.
GO NINERS
aloha

Thank you all for the plethora of information. It has taken me several days to peruse all he suggestions.
Am looking further into Art Deco suggestions and Castelli Romani.
This site and the people on it are the best.