Walking with celebs

What a fantastic place Rome is for name dropping! First, the city of Julius Caesar, Augustus and Titus (in whose reign the Colosseum was completed). Then. Michelangelo, Raphael and Bernini! Some of the classical sites are fenced off for security or restoration to prepare for the Jubilee Year of 2025, but both the Roman and Renaissance creations are magnificent. One of the baroque sculptures seems to be reclining for a selfie. Dog walkers exercise in the grounds of the Castel Sant'Angelo, while seekers of religious relics satisfy a thriving trade.

Away from the grander monuments, I find a quirky base to an obelisk, one of Rome's best gift shops (which does chocolate as well as coffee) and a flower market where Christmas is in full swing. But not forgetting one of Rome's other communities, "stumbling stones" in the Jewish quarter commemorate a World War II atrocity.Read more