What's New

Today a newer and brighter Rome awaits visitors. It's gotten a bit dusty since everything was dusted off for the millennium, but ruins and decay are what you expect in such an ancient city. Augustus boasted that he found Rome a city of brick and left it one of marble. In the historic core, the emperor's claim largely rings true. Museums are better lit, hotels vastly improved, the food as good as ever, transportation modernized, and the "second Renaissance" proclaimed that the millennium is in full swing.

Here are some of the latest developments in the city that always changes but is still "eternal."

Accommodations

Among the new hotels, the oddly named Yes Hotel, Via Magenta 15 (tel. 06-44363836), is an affordable choice in a restored 19th-century building near Stazione Termini. Bedrooms are simply but comfortably furnished. A much more expensive and more elegant opening is the Inn at the Roman Forum, Via degli Ibernesi 30 (tel. 06-6919070), in a restored 15th-century building dripping with antiquity. The inn, though thoroughly modernized, even incorporates a small section of Trajan's Marketplace on site. For supremely elegant living, check into Portrait Suites, Via Bocca di Leone 23 (tel. 06-69380742), in a historic building, restored in the vicinity of Piazza de Spagna. It's decorated in an elegant La Dolce Vita style with spacious, well-decorated bedrooms. Its special feature is a rooftop terrace opening onto panoramic views of Rome.

In other hotel developments, Villa Spalletti Trivelli, Via Piacenza 4 (tel. 06-48907934), has opened on a side street near the elegant Quirinal Hill district. Once the home of a Roman nobleman and his family, this early-20th-century Neoclassical villa has been restored at a cost of $4 million. Lying only a 5-minute walk from the Trevi Fountain, it offers spacious, romantically decorated bedrooms.

Completely redesigned, the palatial Visconti Palace Hotel, Via Federico Cesi 37 (tel. 06-3684), has restored all its 242 accommodations, lying in the Prati district between Piazza di Spagna and St. Peter's. It's a stunning showcase of modern design, with bright, jazzy colors, marble bathrooms, and the latest technology.

Anna Fendi of the fashion dynasty has opened the super-chic Villa Laetitia, Lungotevere della Armi 22-23 (tel. 06-3226776), which lies along the Tiber, opening onto its own private gardens between Piazza del Popolo and the Prati quarter. The bedrooms, decorated with art and antique tiles, are among the most sophisticated in Rome.

Close to St. Peter's, Il Gattopardo Relais, Viale Giulio Cesare 94 (tel. 06-37358480), is an elegantly restored, family-run pensione in a building from the 19th century. The Art Nouveau structure houses individually designed bedrooms with antiques, modern fixtures, and a scattering of art.

Dining

An excellent wine restaurant, Oscar Wine, Via Palermo 6 (tel. 06-4822099), offers one of the finest wine cellars in Rome as well as some of the finest cuts of charcuterie (cold cuts), especially products from a rare breed of pig that once faced extinction. Their selection of rare virgin olive oils bows to no other restaurant, and even their wheels of Parmigiano lure serious foodies from all over the city.

One of Rome's most sought-after dining tables at night is F.I.S.H., Via dei Serpenti 16 (tel. 06-47824962), a tiny but choice dining room with a sleek, minimalist decor and a tropical aquarium that whets one's appetite for a seafood dinner. The sushi and sashimi are also some of the finest in Rome.

A new restaurant, Imàgo, has been installed on the rooftop of the chic, deluxe Hotel Hassler, Piazza della Trinità dei Monti 6 (tel. 06-69934726), at the top of the Spanish Steps. In days of yore, everyone from the Kennedys to Princess Di could be seen dining here; today they've been replaced by some of the movers and shakers of Italy along with the most discerning of visitors. Under a brilliant Neapolitan chef, you'll experience a cuisine that seems "soaked in sunshine," in the enthusiastic words of one diner. Our idea of happiness in Rome is to dine on this warm, generous cuisine that never overreaches and that always satisfies.

In yet another deluxe hotel, the Regina Hotel Baglioni, Brunello Ristorante, Via Vittorio Veneto 772 (tel. 06-489028670), may not scale the heights of the rooftop restaurant at the Hotel Hassler, but it is a sublime, elegant, and chic choice nonetheless. Its most enthusiastic patrons claim that it has returned those heady days of La Dolce Vita to the touristy Via Veneto. Even your martini arrives with Chanel No. 5 rubbed along its glass stalk. Much of the fare is innovative -- wild goose liver in Armagnac sauce and chocolate flakes, for example.

A modern and innovative cuisine is also served at one of Rome's newest and best restaurants, Rhome at Piazza Augusto Imperatore 42-48 (tel. 06-68301430). Based on traditional Italian fare, the market-fresh cuisine is a delight in any season, since its menu is adjusted to take advantage of the best produce for any month. The chef has a great knack for pairing ingredients, sometimes in surprising combinations.

Deep in the heart of Testaccio, Ketumbar, Via Galvani 24 (tel. 06-57305338), has brought a culinary chic to this rustic Roman neighborhood with its Japanese and modern Italian cuisine. It's also a good choice for late-night dining, as it serves daily until midnight. The cooking is fresh and appealing as well as seafood oriented.

Exploring Rome

For more than a decade, visitors could wander free of charge through the ancient ruins of the Forum. But no more. Travelers must now buy a 9€ ($14) ticket, which also covers admission to the Palatine Hill (adjoining the Forum) and to the Colosseum, which is within walking distance. Four rooms of the Emperor Augustus' palace on Palatine Hill have been reopened to the public following a restoration. The frescoes in these rooms, including his studio and main hall, have been magnificently restored.

Domus Aurea, or the Golden House of Nero, regrettably has been closed once again to the general public for renovations. This has consistently been one of the major attractions of ancient Rome. No date of reopening has been announced at press time, although you can check locally with tourist authorities at the time of your visit to Rome to see if it has reopened. But restoration may take a very long while, according to some authorities.

Near the Circus Maximus, Casa Romane del Celio, Piazza Santi Giovanni e Paolo 13 (tel. 06-7045444), has opened to the public and is found under the 5th-century Basilica of SS Giovanni e Paolo. Casa Romane is unique in the city, a residential complex consisting of several Roman houses of different periods. Two Roman officers, among its occupants, were named John and Paul (not the apostles), and they were beheaded during the reign of Julian the Apostate (A.D. 361-362). They were later granted sainthood. On site you can see everything from a residence from the 2nd century A.D. to a 3rd century A.D. apartment building for artisans.

In the Salario district of Rome in a former brewery, MACRO (an acronym for Museum of Contemporary Roman Art), a daringly avant-garde gallery of modern art, has opened at Piazza Orazio Giustiniani 4 (tel. 06-6710-70428). In addition to its permanent collection of modern art, the museum also stages international exhibitions. MACRO also has an annex in a former slaughterhouse in the Testaccio section, where it also exhibits cutting-edge art.

On the site of a former army barracks, MAXXI at Via Guido Reni 10 (tel. 06-3202438), lures visitors to the Flaminio district of Rome. This museum is devoted to modern art of the 21st century. Ever since the millennium, Rome's collection of contemporary art has been growing, and this is the best showcase for it. There is a permanent collection of art, but many salons are also devoted to temporary exhibitions. One part of the museum is also devoted to architecture.

Also in the Flaminio district, Museo Carlo Bilotti, Viale Fiorello La guardia (tel. 06-82059127), displays the collection of modern art assembled by Carlo Bilotti, who made his fortune in international cosmetics. His collection, ranging from Andy Warhol to de Chirico, was donated to the city of Rome upon his death in 2006. The works are displayed in a restored Orangery, which had been allowed to decay for many decades.

Along the Via Nomentana, Il Duce (Mussolini) and his family lived for 18 years at a noble residence, Villa Torlonia, Via Nomentana (tel. 06-8205-9127). It has now been turned into a complex of museums. The Italian dictator paid a token rent of one lira a year to the Torlonia family. One part of the museum contains rooms devoted to a display of Roman art from the 20th century; another section houses a museum of the Holocaust. Two minor museums are located on the parklike grounds, including a museum of statuary from the Torlonia collection and another devoted to rare stained glass.

Walking seminars for intellectually curious travelers are conducted by Context Travel, Via Baccina 4 (tel. 06-4820911). These tours of ancient Rome are conducted by a network of architects, historians, and art historians.

Side Trips From Rome

Nemi, one of the Castelli Romani hill towns around Rome, is famous for its lake, said to be the "looking glass" of the huntress Diana. A popular attraction here, the Roman Ship Museum, has closed for renovations. The museum displays two scale models of the original Roman ships destroyed by the Nazis in World War II. Check the status of the museum before heading to Nemi.