Does anyone know some good "non-touristy" locations in Rome?

Question

We are travelling to Italy soon, and are looking forward to sightseeing in Milan, Venice, Pisa, Florence, and Rome. We know of all the typical tourist attractions in these cities., but would like to visit some off-beat, memorable sights. They can be religious, artistic, historical, or anything else. We want to see as much as we can while we are there. If anyone has first hand knowledge we would love to hear your ideas and/or experience. Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

brescia is a very nice place in italy,,,,,i have gone there twice,,,,,its a simple city with very little tourist attraction,,,,,,almost every street of city is nice,,,,,,but central part of city which is known as centro there is very nice,,,,,,brescia city is in the state lombardia of italy,,,,,,,abt 1 or 1.15 hrs from milan sation to brescia station,,,,,,hope u like it

Answer 2

I travelled to rome about 2 years ago and I too tried to avoid the hustle and bustle of the "Famous locatons"... (Trevi fountain, IL Colosseo, IL Foro Romano, etc)

But there were a couple of places that were really nice.  I am not sure if you would classify Piazza Navona as touristy but it was a very nice place to visit.

Also, there is a very old section of rome called Trastevere.   Nice little shops and cafe's and photo ops as well.  Beautiful area.

I know you didnt ask about Venice but make sure you check out the Murano Glass factory while you are there.  It is amazing.

Answer 3

One thing that a lot of people miss in Rome is the view through the keyhole at the Consiglio di Malta on Aventine Hill. There's a picture here: http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Archi... and others:

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo23...

http://www.troise.net/photonikblog/2005/...

This is worth the effort to find (close to Circus Maximus) - relatively few do. This site give directions on how to find it: http://wikitravel.org/en/Rome/Aventino

Nativity scenes ("preseppi" Italian) are a BIG deal in Italy. There is a museum across the street from the Forum and a lot of tourists miss the pasta museum.  

The Crypt at Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini is also worth a visit if you're interested in seeing works of art made from the bones of .more than 4000 monks.  http://www.cappucciniviaveneto.it/cappuc...

The Museum of the Souls of Purgatory is essentially a ghost museum.

The Mouth of Truth is worth a visit too: http://www.romainteractive.com/boariumf....

There's also a Pyramid that was built in 12 BC.

If you go to Pisa see the tower, duomo, and baptistry in the morning and then take the 20 minute train ride to Lucca for the rest of the day. http://www.traveltuscany.net/tourism-in-... If you climb the clock tower, you can get some good pictures of the Guingi Tower with the big oak tree growing from the top of the tower.

In Florence, the Museo Stibbert and Museo Zoologico la Specola (unusual wax museum) aren't among the big tourist attractions but could be interesting.

If you have time to spend a day outside of Milan, the sacistry at the Certosa in Pavia is made from hippo teeth - a one of a kind place. Pavia has some very nice art and architecture too.