10 most beautiful churches in Rome

Of the 900 or so churches you could visit in Rome, I've made a selection of my favorites, in descending order. I don't know if you can figure out which one is in my top one, but maybe you haven't taken into account which ones you want to visit during the rest of your Rome travel itinerary and there's still time to change that. Without further ado, here's a list of the best churches in Rome.

This building, built around 118 AD, was originally a temple dedicated to the ensemble of Roman gods. The coexistence of pagan customs and the religion inherited from the Hellenistic culture with the growing Catholic cult led the first Christians to transform the Pantheon of Rome into the Basilica of Santa Maria and the Martyrs, also known as Santa Maria Rotonda, in the 7th century.

The Pantheon is the best preserved building of Ancient Rome, and architecturally it is a marvel. The building was built with the idea of uniting the human being with the divinity and the emperor, and hence the proportions and structure of the Pantheon: a circular room that forms a perfect sphere with the dome, whose zenith opens an oculus that serves as the Sun.

Many tours of the city of Rome pass through the Pantheon and then continue the itinerary to other major monuments of the city, an experience that I recommend if you want to know in depth the Eternal City.

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This small basilica, which I discovered almost by chance on my last trip to Rome, is a jewel located at the top of the Capitoline Hill, at the top of a staircase next to Piazza del Campidoglio where the Capitoline Museums are located.

The church is a mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, with three impressive naves illuminated by an endless row of chandeliers that cast dazzling colored reflections throughout the interior.

On the altar is the church's most important piece of art, a carving of the Infant Jesus that according to legend is carved from the wood of an olive tree from the garden of Gethsemane, where, according to the New Testament, Jesus prayed for the last time before being crucified.

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Santa Maria dell'Anima is a German parish church, founded as a place of welcome for pilgrims from the Germanic country and whose interior is going to leave you open-mouthed.

During the Napoleonic occupation of Rome in the 18th century, Santa Maria dell'Anima, in Gothic style, was sacked and used as a stable, but the temple still maintains some important works of art such as the funerary monument of Pope Adrian VI, an altarpiece by Giulio Romano depicting the Holy Family and a Roman sarcophagus in the inner cloister.

A great excuse to visit it, moreover, is that it is located in one of the most beautiful squares in Rome. So I'm sure you'll definitely walk past it, probably on one of the guided tours. Go for it!

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Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome. The church is featured in most Rome guidebooks for the impressive 12th and 13th century Byzantine mosaics that decorate the interior apse and exterior facade. The interior images show six moments in the life of the Virgin Mary, and the façade features an unusual scene of Mary on the throne with the infant Jesus and accompanied by ten women.

But for me, the really impressive thing is the history of this place: according to legend, in 38 BC, on the very site where this temple now stands, a gush of oil gushed from the earth and this was interpreted as an announcement of the coming of Christ. This spring was given the name Fons Olei, and is now the presbytery of this church which was the first official place of Christian worship in Rome.

The church is a popular meeting point for tours of the Trastevere neighborhood, a great way to get to know this neighborhood and its charming nooks and crannies in depth. Since the church closes late, my advice is to visit Trastevere at night or go for dinner at one of the restaurants in the neighborhood. This place will make you fall in love at sunset.

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The most important church of Christian worship worldwide, one of the architectural wonders of the West, and sometimes the only reason millions of tourists need to travel to Rome.

Logically, I could not end this list without naming St. Peter's Basilica, a must-see on any visit to Rome, even though it is technically located in Vatican City and not in the Eternal City. The main church of Christianity, designed by the celebrated artist Michelangelo and built over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, houses tombs of Popes, a sacristy and a Treasury, converted into a museum that you can visit.

On your visit, either on your own or by taking a guided tour of St. Peter's Basilica, be sure not to miss **Michelangelo'**s Pieta, located in the first chapel on the right as you enter the basilica, peruse the impressive Baldacchino over the high altar, look up and lose yourself in the dome and its beautiful frescoes, and marvel at the baroque art spectacle of the tomb of Alexander VII.

And while you're there, I can't recommend you enough to visit the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museums- you won't regret it!

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Besides being one of the most beautiful churches in Rome, the Basilica of San Clemente is also a witness of the beginnings of Christianity in Rome until the Middle Ages.

Entering this temple dedicated to Pope Clement I is not only exciting from a spiritual point of view, but also from an archaeological point of view, as the different levels on which the building is built take you on a fascinating journey through time centuries ago by descending the stairs.

Excavations carried out in the 19th century revealed the existence of a much older church that serves as the foundation of the present church and underneath it, an ancient mithraeum and some amazing structures from the 1st century that underlie the whole structure. You will literally be left in awe!

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• Admission: Entrance to the Basilica is free, but visiting the excavations costs 10 euros, with free admission for children under 16 years old.
• Hours: Monday to Friday the schedule is from 9:45 to 12:30 in the mornings and from 15:00 to 17:30 in the afternoons. On Saturdays, the morning hours remain the same (9:45 am to 12:30 pm) and the afternoon hours are from 3:00 pm to 5:45 pm. On Sundays it is open uninterrupted from 12:00 to 17:30.
• How to get there: It is located in Via Labicana, 95. By subway you can reach it on line B, station Colosseo.

Unlike other churches in Rome, the interior decoration of the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione is not so impressive and is characterized by its modest dimensions. However, it is a place much visited by tourists because of the peculiar crypt of the temple, the so-called Crypt of the Capuchins.

A surprising place whose small chapels are decorated with the bones of thousands of Capuchin friars who died between the sixteenth and nineteenth century to remember the ephemeral nature of human life and the immortality of souls.

Most visitors come to the church of Santa Maria della Concezione to contemplate exclusively this chapel, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Gothic church of Sedlec in the Czech Republic.

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• Admission: Entrance to the church is free. The visit to the museum and the crypt costs 6 euros.
• Opening hours: Closed on Tuesdays. The rest of the days, including weekends, it is open from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.
• How to get there: It is located in Via Vittorio Veneto, 27 and can be reached by metro, line A, Barberini station.

Alex's Traveler Tip

The Crypt of the Capuchins of the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione is a place that makes quite an impression. That is why it may not be an appropriate visit for very sensitive people.

Another of the churches in Rome that should be included in your route through the temples of the city is Santa Maria in Cosmedin, famous because inside is the Mouth of Truth and the glass reliquary that preserves the relics of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers.

Two powerful reasons to know this Romanesque temple of the sixth century A.D. whether you are a religious person or not. Compared to other churches in the city, this temple has hardly any decoration although it still preserves very interesting ornaments such as the mosaics on the floor, the baldachin and the choir or the bishop's throne.

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• Admission: free access
• Hours: open Monday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• How to get there: located in Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 18. It can be reached by metro, line B, Circo Massimo station.

The Church of the Gesù is located in a very central area of Rome, near Piazza Venezia and the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II. You can take advantage of the visit to the viewpoint of the "Vittoriano" (one of the best views of Rome) to approach this temple, the first of the Society of Jesus that was built in Rome and that at first perfectly embodied the values of the Council of Trent with which it was built.

However, it soon began to change its decoration for a more sumptuous baroque style whose model soon spread to other parts of the world.

Some of the most striking parts of this church are its single nave plan and its façade (a revolution at the time) but especially the beautiful frescoes on the vault that leave you speechless as soon as you enter.

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• Admission: The entrance to the church of Gesù or church of Jesus is free.
• Hours: Every day from 7:00 am to 12:00 noon and in the afternoon from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
• How to get there: Located in Via degli Astalli, 16. It can be reached by subway, line B, station Colosseo.

If you have the opportunity to stroll through Piazza del Popolo, one of the most popular squares in Rome, I recommend you to visit the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, a very special temple from a decorative point of view because some of the most famous artists of the time, such as Caravaggio, Raphael, Pinturicchio or Bernini, intervened in the chapels.

The church of Santa Maria del Popolo presents, therefore, a great ornamental richness worth seeing. Not so much on the ceiling, as is the case with other Roman temples, but on the walls of the building.

In addition, as an anecdote, the origin of this church has a very striking story and is that the Romans thought that in the place where Nero was buried had grown a tree that was haunted because it attracted many crows.

To put an end to the rumors, Pope Paschal II ordered to uproot the tree and build there a Romanesque chapel that eventually became the current temple. Curious, isn't it?

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• Admission: Admission is free
• Hours: Monday to Thursday from 7:15 to 12:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00. Friday and Saturday open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. uninterrupted. Closed on Sundays.
• How to get there: Located in Piazza del Popolo. Accessible by subway, line A, station Famino.

Churches in Rome are sacred places where Catholic worship is celebrated, so they enforce a strict dress code that requires shoulders and knees to be covered regardless of gender. Since summers in Rome are very hot, my advice is to wear a large scarf or shawl to cover your shoulders and knees or wear very light long pants. You should also remove any hats and caps when entering.

Admission to the vast majority of Rome's churches is free. You will find many ways to leave a donation, although in no case are you put under any obligation to do so.

Especially in the case of St. Peter's Basilica, I advise you to buy a combined ticket for the basilica and the dome of St. Peter's or hire a guided tour, as it will save you the tremendous queues that form at the entrance.