2 days in Rome itineraryBones, Stone & Candlelight

Two days tracing Rome's quieter, darker layer — the dead cities beneath the living one

2 days14 stopsSMOVECITY EditorsUpdated November 2026

Rome, Italy — Photo: User GerardM on nl.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Rome keeps its most profound stories underground. This weekend moves through catacombs tunnelled by early Christians, a monumental cemetery that held a city's grief for generations, and the ancient Appian Way that once lined the road to Rome with tombs. Between descents, the city's surface offers its own solemn grandeur — triumphal arches, an old basilica, a bridge lit like a stage set. Evenings slow down into candlelit rooms and low-lit bars, the right pace for a city this old.

weekend
culture
food
classic

At a glance

2
days: 7
sights: 6
food & drink stops

Day 1Catacomb of Callixtus, Walk the Appian Way and Arch of Titus & the Colosseum district
Day 2Protestant Cemetery, Baths of Caracalla, Catacomb of Priscilla and Ponte Sant'Angelo at dusk

Day 1 Day 2

Day 1 in Rome

7 stops · 10:00 to 21:45 · about 11 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Catacomb of Callixtus, Walk the Appian Way and Arch of Titus & the Colosseum district.

10:00about 45 min
Arrive & settle in
Check in and let the city come to you slowly. Rome rewards the unhurried traveller — drop your bags, open the shutters, and resist the urge to rush anywhere for the first half-hour.
10:45about 90 minSight
Catacomb of Callixtus
Begin underground, where the Via Appia Antica still feels like the edge of the ancient world. The Catacomb of Callixtus was Rome's first official Christian burial ground, begun in the second century and eventually holding the remains of sixteen popes. Guided tours move through galleries carved directly into the tufa rock — the scale and the silence do all the atmospheric work without any embellishment needed.
About 2.6 km to the next stop
12:30about 60 minSight
Walk the Appian Way
Step out of the catacomb and onto the oldest trunk road in the Roman world. The ancient paving stones are still here beneath your feet, flanked by the ruins of tombs that wealthy Romans built beside the road to be seen by every traveller entering the city. A long, unhurried walk along this stretch puts the morning's underground world into geographic context.
About 6.9 km to the next stop
13:30about 75 minLunch
Lunch at La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali
Head back into the city for a proper Roman lunch at this straightforward, honest trattoria tucked into the Monti neighbourhood, close to the Imperial Forums. Roman classics on the plate, stone walls around you — nothing showy, exactly right after a morning of deep history.
About 350 m to the next stop
15:00about 60 minSight
Arch of Titus & the Colosseum district
The Arch of Titus stands at the Sacred Way's highest point, its inner reliefs showing the spoils of Jerusalem being carried into Rome in 70 CE. It is one of the oldest surviving triumphal arches in the city, and the Colosseum looms close enough to frame the whole panorama. Walk the perimeter and feel the weight of the place without rushing inside.
About 850 m to the next stop
20:00about 90 minDinner
Dinner at Taverna Urbana
Via Urbana is one of Monti's quieter streets, and Taverna Urbana fits its mood — a warm, low-lit room with proper Roman cooking. A good place to decompress after a day spent in deep time, over a slow meal and a carafe of house wine.
About 100 m to the next stop
21:45about 75 minDrinks
Nightcap at Black Market Hall
End the evening a few steps away on Via dei Ciancaleoni, where Black Market Hall keeps the Monti energy going late — dark interiors, a considered drinks list, and the kind of crowd that actually lives in the neighbourhood. The right close to a day spent among Rome's oldest stories.

Photos: User GerardM on nl.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Livioandronico2013 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · www.latavernadeiforiimperiali.com (© venue website) · www.tavernaurbana.com (© venue website) · 1 more

www.blackmarkethall.com (© venue website)

Day 2 in Rome

7 stops · 09:30 to 22:00 · about 13 km between stops, in a straight line

Highlights: Protestant Cemetery, Baths of Caracalla, Catacomb of Priscilla and Ponte Sant'Angelo at dusk.

09:30about 75 minSight
Protestant Cemetery
Start the second day at one of Rome's most quietly affecting places. The Protestant Cemetery — formally the Non-Catholic Cemetery — has been receiving the city's foreign dead since the early 18th century. Keats is buried here, and Shelley's ashes. The graves are shaded by cypress and umbrella pine, the inscriptions often achingly personal. It asks for slow reading and quiet.
About 1.1 km to the next stop
11:00about 75 minSight
Baths of Caracalla
A ten-minute walk from the cemetery brings you to the vast ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, completed in 216 CE. At their height they served thousands of Romans daily. What remains are towering brick shells, mosaic fragments underfoot, and underground service tunnels that give a sense of the engineering ambition behind even a public bathhouse in imperial Rome.
About 2.2 km to the next stop
13:00about 90 minLunch
Lunch at Open Colonna
Cross the city for lunch at Open Colonna, chef Antonello Colonna's glass-roofed restaurant inside the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Bright, contemporary, and genuinely good — a deliberate contrast to the morning's ruins, giving the afternoon a lighter footing before you descend underground again.
About 3.7 km to the next stop
15:00about 90 minSight
Catacomb of Priscilla
The Catacomb of Priscilla lies beneath the Via Salaria in the north of the city — less visited than the Appian Way catacombs and, for that reason, all the more striking. It contains some of the earliest known images of the Virgin Mary in Christian art, painted directly onto the tufa walls in the third and fourth centuries. The Greek Chapel inside is decorated with remarkably preserved frescoes. Guides lead small groups through a labyrinth that was active for several centuries.
About 4.7 km to the next stop
18:30about 45 minSight
Ponte Sant'Angelo at dusk
Make your way to Ponte Sant'Angelo as the light drops. The bridge was built by Hadrian in the second century as an approach to his mausoleum — now the Castel Sant'Angelo. Bernini's angels line the parapet, each holding an instrument of the Passion. At dusk, with the Tiber going dark below and the castle floodlit, it is one of the most theatrical views in Rome.
About 1.3 km to the next stop
20:00about 90 minDinner
Dinner at Baccano
Baccano on Via delle Muratte is a grand, warmly lit brasserie with a long bar and a menu that runs from aperitivo through to a full late dinner — the kind of place that suits a final evening in Rome perfectly. Dark wood, good wine, unhurried service.
About 250 m to the next stop
22:00about 60 minDrinks
Late drink at Salotto 42
Close the weekend at Salotto 42, a bar facing the Temple of Hadrian in the Pantheon district. The shelves are lined with design books, the lighting is amber-low, and the cocktails are made with care. Sit near the window and let ancient Rome watch over your final drink.
More about Salotto 42

Photos: Ethan Doyle White (CC BY-SA 4.0) · antonellocolonna.it (© venue website) · Sergio D’Afflitto (CC BY-SA 4.0) · www.baccanoroma.com (© venue website)

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Good to know

What can you see in Rome in 2 days?

Day 1: Catacomb of Callixtus, Walk the Appian Way and Arch of Titus & the Colosseum district. Day 2: Protestant Cemetery, Baths of Caracalla, Catacomb of Priscilla and Ponte Sant'Angelo at dusk.

Where does this itinerary eat and drink in Rome?

It stops at La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali, Taverna Urbana, Black Market Hall, Open Colonna, Baccano and Salotto 42. Each one is placed on the day and at the time it fits the route.

How many days do I need for Rome?

Bones, Stone & Candlelight covers Rome in 2 days, with 14 planned stops. You can follow it exactly as published, or shorten and extend days after opening it in the SMOVECITY app.

Can I customize this itinerary?

Yes. Opening it in the SMOVECITY app turns it into your own editable trip — reorder days, add or remove stops, and invite friends to plan together with live co-editing.

How do I get around in Rome?

The SMOVECITY app shows public transport, shared bikes, e-scooters and other mobility options in Rome on one live map, so you can compare routes between the stops on this itinerary as you go.

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2 days in Rome itineraryBones, Stone & Candlelight

At a glance

Day 1 in Rome

Arrive & settle in

Catacomb of Callixtus

Walk the Appian Way

Lunch at La Taverna dei Fori Imperiali

Arch of Titus & the Colosseum district

Dinner at Taverna Urbana

Nightcap at Black Market Hall

Day 2 in Rome

Protestant Cemetery

Baths of Caracalla

Lunch at Open Colonna

Catacomb of Priscilla

Ponte Sant'Angelo at dusk

Dinner at Baccano

Late drink at Salotto 42