Hello and thanks in advance for your advice.
I'm trying to decide if these sites are worth a day trip from Rome please.
I would be visiting in mid May with my adult daughter who is very interested in mosaics. In fact that would be our primary reason for visiting these sites.
Or is there another site in the Roman area that you would recommend for mosaics?
Thanks again.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7943 posts
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/tivoli-day-trip-from-rome
Just to be sure, you didn't say "classical period mosaics", you just wrote "mosaics". Villa D'Este may have some classical pieces, but it's primarily from the Renaissance. I would suggest that there are mosaics, but most visitors have much wider interest in the sites. You may wish to search specifically for mosaics that have been moved to Rome. That said, the two places you named are UNESCO WHS, and are quite important to the history of art and architecture. They are not minor monuments.
Are you going to Venice? That's a more logical site for concentrations of mosaics. I don't have enough knowledge of Roman churches to say where you should go in town, besides St. Peter's.
Month of year? Hadrian's villa has more shade than Pompeii, but it gets pretty hot in the summer.
Posted by
New York
147 posts
The museum at Palazzo Massimo alle Terme has many beautiful mosaics.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7886 posts
For mosaics in Rome, if you Google images for Rome mosaics, you can see several options in churches. One of my favorites is Santa Maria in Trastevere. Is that what she is wanting? Also, at Ostia Antica which is on the edge of Rome - easy to go see, there are some very interesting black & white mosaics used in their shop/market area, etc.
For amazing mosaics, Ravenna is the city…if you happen to also be in that area of Italy.
Posted by
Vignola, MO, IT
705 posts
Ravenna is the city for mosaics.... you won't find anything better in Italy. Wonderful town to visit also.
Posted by
Washington DC
28249 posts
Two small churches not far from Santa Maria Maggiore have beautiful, early mosaics: Santa Prassede and Santa Pudenziana. At the time of my early 2023 visit, these were their hours:
Santa Prassede: daily (I think) 10 AM - noon and 4 - 6 PM
Santa Pudenziana: Mon-Sat 9 - 11:30 AM
It's important to have some 1-euro coins with you to feed the meter that illuminates the mosaics.
There were many mosaics to enjoy at Centrale Montemartini, a branch of the Capitoline Museums, when I visited in early 2023. It's my understanding that facility always displays mosaics (though it primarily shows sculpture), but I think there was a special exhibition going on, so I saw more mosaics than usual and really have no idea how many you'd see now. Here's a Walks of Italy article about the facility, which is a bit of a trek from central Rome:
https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/art-culture/centrale-montemartini
Posted by
OP
Colorado
9 posts
Thanks to all for your advice.
We will be visiting in mid May.
I think we will visit these sights and take a guided toour from Rome as the transport looks problematic from Rome.
Can anyone recommend a solid group travel company please?