Dick Bird's Sculpture Tour of Rome

Rome, the eternal city, definitely has it all—great food, great shopping, and fabulous tourist attractions. Of course, everyone knows to go to the Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum but there are some exquisite pieces of sculpture scattered around the city that are not on the regular tours. I don't pretend to know where all of the secrets are but here is my personal list of favorites.

1. As I said everyone knows about the Sistine Chapel, and you should definitely go there despite the intimidating blocks-long lines. I believe you now have to make a reservation to get in, but trust me—it is worth whatever agony you have to go through for the ecstasy of the Sistine Chapel. While inside, go to the Pio Clememtino Museum, a small sculpture garden down a side hall of the Vatican Museums. It has several sculptures that are in every art book you have seen, like the Apollo Belvedere and Laocoon, which will knock your eyes out, as well as several other classical art works just sitting there.
2. While you are in the neighborhood, don't miss La Pieta by Michelangelo, which is inside of St. Peter's. The first time I saw this magnificent sculpture was at the World's Fair in New York. Crowds of people, some on their knees, were swept by on a conveyor belt. La Pieta was behind a Plexiglas wall which reflected the flashbulbs of the crowds of tourists. In St. Peter's, it is in a quiet alcove, and when Anat and I visited Rome for the first time, we were the only two people looking at this moving piece of artwork.
3. My favorite obscure piece of sculpture is Moses, also by Michelangelo, which is located in the hard-to-find church of San Pietro in Vincoli [St. Peter in chains]. Once you find this church you will be eyeball to eyeball with one of the great works of sculpture in the world. You can feel the majesty and power of Moses the lawgiver from about 8 feet away. It took me 4 tries to get into this church; once we got there after it had closed, once there was a Mass going on, and once I just could not find it. Follow the directions in Frommer's carefully, because the effort is well worth it. As an added bonus, the church also contains the chains which bound St. Peter when he was brought to Rome as a prisoner.
1. a. A note from Liat: I totally remember wandering around for probably twenty minutes trying to find this freaking statue so Dad could go look at it. We thought he was crazy (even me, and I LOVE museums), but he was absolutely right—totally worth it.
4. The next great cluster of sculptures is around the Piazza Barberini. The main sculpture of Triton by Bernini in the center of the Piazza is obvious. Not so obvious is the Fountain of the Bees on the right corner of the Piazza going up the Via Veneto. This small sculpture, also by Bernini, is so unassuming you might trip over it, but by all means don't miss it.
5. The Ecstasy of St. Theresa. This is another masterpiece by Bernini in an obscure baroque church at the top of the Via Barberini. The church is very plain on the outside but very ornate on the inside. And, as with Moses you will be right on top of this sculpture.
6. In the Catacombs of St. Callixtus there a small replica of a larger piece of a young girl dying for her faith, a martyr. The original is in some other obscure church is Rome but this beautiful little statue in the cramped darkness of the catacombs is moving in a different way. The catacombs themselves are well worth visiting. A short cab ride from the Coliseum across the Appian Way will get you there. Getting back is another story. There is no regular cab stand but when my four children and I wandered out of the catacombs an ancient cab with an equally ancient cab driver sped into the parking lot. He spoke no English, his cab had no shocks, and he seemed to have known Mussolini personally, but he delivered us to our hotel, narrowly missing pedestrians, bicycles and other cars while singing Italian songs the entire way. I literally kissed the ground when we arrived.
1. Liat again: IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN AN ACTUAL CAB!!!!! Seriously, this is one of my favorite memories of Rome, and if you live through it, it will be one of yours too. The best part is the cabbie (if we're using the term loosely) almost never looks at the road, but instead makes constant eye contact with the passengers as he boisterously sings. It's awesome. Oh—and the catacombs are really amazing too.
7. There are several other famous sculptures that every tourist visits...and you should too. My favorite is the Trevi Fountain. Everyone [and I mean everyone] knows where this magnificent, fairly modern sculpture is. Stand with your back to the fountain and throw a coin over you shoulder: this means you will always return to Rome. I was originally told that Roman soldiers did this so they would be sure to return home after conquering some hapless country. However, the Roman Empire was long gone when this fountain was created. In any case, it works for me. I have been to Rome several times and I always visit the Trevi fountain at least once. It is also near Giolitti's, where they serve the best gelato in the known universe.
1. Liat (last time, I promise): the Trevi is my favorite too! We always have to go, usually numerous times, to satisfy Dad and me.
8. Another tourist favorite is the Piazza Navona. There are three spectacular fountains in this rectangular square. The best is the Fountain of the Four Rivers in the center, by Bernini. As with Trevi, everyone knows where this piazza is located.

Rome is full of magnificent art and sights, sculptures being just one dimension. These few are my favorites and I am sure there more I have never seen. If you have been to Rome and have favorite, hidden, off-the-beaten-track sculptures of your own, I would love to hear about them. I will be going back to Rome this summer because I remembered to throw that coin into the Trevi Fountain.