Rome's
city centre is
divided neatly into distinct
blocks. The warren of
streets that makes up the
centro
storico occupies the
hook of land on the left
bank of the River Tiber,
bordered to the east by Via
del Corso and to the north
and south by water. From
here Rome's central core
spreads east: across Via del
Corso to the major shopping
streets and alleys around
the
Spanish Steps
down to the main artery of
Via
Nazionale ; to the major
sites of the
ancient city
to the south; and to the
huge expanse of the
Villa
Borghese park to the
north. The left bank of the
river is oddly distanced
from the main hum of this
part of the city, home to
the
Vatican and
Saint
Peter's , and, to the
south of these,
Trastevere
- even in ancient times a
distinct entity from the
city proper and still with a
reputation for separatism,
as well as the focus of much
of the city centre's
nightlife.
To see most of this,
you'd be mad to risk your
blood pressure in any kind
of vehicle, and really the
best way to get around
the city centre and points
east to Termini is to walk.
The same goes for the
ancient sites, and probably
the Vatican and Trastevere
too - although for these
last two you might want to
jump on a bus going across
the river. Keep public
transport for the longer
hops, down to Testaccio, EUR
or the catacombs, or other
more scattered attractions.
