I spent almost all of my time in Italy in Rome, so I can't tell you a whole lot about the rest of the country. I never went to Venice. Florence was nice. I heard good things about Siena, but I never got there. I have a lot of information about Rome, though. I don't really have an order to this, so it will be somewhat stream of consciousness. You almost certainly won't have time to do all of this, but hopefully this will help you find what you want to do. Lots of people who come to Rome for only a few days see it as a stinking, tourist-infested rathole, which it really isn't. I've included some of the more common destinations, but mostly a lot of more out-of-the-way stuff where you won't have to compete with the hordes.

A general suggestion is, unless you are heavily burdoned with luggage, walk everywhere. Everything you would really want to see in Rome is within reasonable walking distance. Furthermore, pretty much everything between where you are and where you're going is going to be interesting, and worth spending some time walking around. The two subway lines are useful if you need to get across town fast. Buses are efficient and fairly regular, but may be too complicated for a short stay. Like many European cities, transportation is somewhat on the honor system. You are supposed to buy tickets (available at newsstands and bars) and stamp them in a little orange box when you get on the bus. Occasionally inspectors will storm on and demand to see your validated ticket or monthy pass. The fine was 100,000L when I was there, and they had apparently heard the "I'm a dumb tourist" bit before. On the other hand, you can buy one ticket and never stamp it or just get on without one, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are of a nervous disposition. I was never inspected in four months of fairly heavy bus-riding. Some folks I was with rented a scooter ("motorino") and drove around. I don't know if I'd feel safe on one, but it's certainly a good way to get around.

It will really help to get a good map of the city. The one they give out at McDonald's is NOT adequate (McDonald's, by the way, is a very reliable source of public restrooms). The Falk plan is good, but a bit expensive. Let's Go puts out a lamenated map that is useful.

Rome (at least at this point) is really about churches. A lot of the best art and architecture is in religious buildings. See as many as you can. You will constantly be passing them -- just duck in and take a look. Tourists are expected, so don't feel like you're intruding. The only things to remember are wear decent clothes (cover all major limbs) and don't interrupt active services.

Obviously, the biggest church is San Pietro and the Vatican complex . The vatican is a walled city within a city across the river from the main part of Rome. The public parts consist of the Basilica di San Pietro , the Piazza di San Pietro and the Vatican museum. The museum is a massive collection of artworks that have been bought/collected/stolen by the papacy over centuries. It is housed in what was once the pope's mansion. It is a large 8 shaped building with two courtyards in the middle. You enter from the north side (about a five minute walk from the piazza of St. Peter's). The museums extend south to the basilica. At the far south end is the Sistine Chapel. It's absolutely stunning, but usually quite crowded. It's very much worth it to get to the museum entrance about an hour to 45 minutes before it opens and wait in line. Once you get in, put your blinders on and head directly for the chapel. Walk briskly, ignore all famous artworks, and be ready to shove nuns and small children if you have to. I once stood under Michaelangelo's masterpiece alone but for a small Canadian family. It was quite moving. Within a few minutes, though, tour groups started piling in. After taking in the chapel in its intended atmosphere, you can work your way back through the rest of the musuem at a more leisurly pace.

St. Peters is fabulous, both the basilica and the piazza outside. If you happen to be there on a Sunday, the pope will appear in the window of a building overlooking the square and give an address. At the end he blesses everyone present. I've been blessed by the pope three times.

Vatican kitsch is everywhere. My favorite item is the "popener" -- a bottle opener with Giovanni Paulo Secundo on it. Near St. Peters is where I got my popeners, but you can get them lots of places. Look for street venders with religious merchandise spread out on tables. Make sure when you buy them they actually have the pope on them -- not all of them do. A lot of the fun of buying from these people is the haggling. Here's the way I was taught: Look at what they have and decide what you want. Ask about it (Try "Quanto costa?" but they'll probably reply in English). If you feel like it, pick up the merchandise and examine it with a look as though it was smeared with human feces. Say you'll pay a price about half what they ask. Remember: never quote a price unless you truly intend to buy at that price! They'll come down a little, and you should reply with your original price. That shows that you have the money and are serious about buying it. They'll keep coming down, but don't change your offer. Eventually, they will probably declare something their final offer. If it's not what you want, walk away. They will almost certainly physically pull you back and agree to your price. If they don't, just find someone who looks hungrier and start again. It will probably help if you want several items. For reference, I bought four popeners for 10,000 lire. It helps to offer a price for which you have exact change, since they may try to intimidate you into a higher price once they have your money in hand.

About money: a lot of prices will probably now be in euros and lire. A euro is about a dollar, which makes life easy. The lira (remember: one lira, many lire) is around 2000 to the dollar, which also makes things easy -- just drop the last three zeros and divide by two. Italy is extremely cash based. There is no denomination between the 10,000L note and the 50,000, which makes change difficult. Pretty much everyone resents making change for 50,000s. Just ignore it. ATMs ("bancomats") only give 50s and 100s.

If you're at the vatican, take a walk south from there to a park that runs along the Janiculum hill (Gianicolo in modern Italian). It's very nice, and has the best view of Rome you can get. At the southern end of the Janiculum is Trastevere, which is a great neighborhood to get lost in. Lots of windy little streets. It's a lot less touristy too.

Probably my favorite building anywhere is the Pantheon. It's a massive domed structure that was built as a temple in 117 AD. It's one of the largest structures to survive intact from antiquity. Like many temples, it was made into a church when the Christians took over, which is why it was preserved. Something most people don't realize, by the way, is that most of the destruction of ancient buildings wasn't because they fell down over time but because people used them as convenient quarries. Since it's still technically a church, the Pantheon is also free.

Near the Pantheon is my favorite gelateria, Giolitti. Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream. It's a little eggier, and really really good. From the piazza in front of the Pantheon, face away from the building. Go forward on the street on the right side of the piazza. Keep going until you can't go anymore. Turn right, and Giolitti is on the right. Pay first at the desk at the front, then go to the back where they're serving. Slap down a few hundred lire tip and pass them your receipt. Even with the smallest cones you get two flavors. My favorites are ciocolato and lampone (raspberry), but fragola (strawberry) is good too. They will add a dab of whipped cream ("panna") if you ask. Try it!

Another great place is the piazza di Campidoglio. It's on top of the Capitoline hill, near the center of the city. Get to piazza Venezia (it's in the center of the city) and go to the right of the Vittorio Emmanuele monument (another thing you can't miss -- it's a huge white structure that looks a bit like a wedding cake or a typewriter, depending on how you look at it). The piazza is at the top of a long, wide staircase. The steps are very broad and slightly sloped -- it's a horse staircase. The pope wanted to make his appearences mounted. At the top are three palazzos. The center one is sort of a town hall (not public) and the two on either side are museums. Both are worth visiting. If you don't want to pay admission, the one on the right has an open courtyard with the remains of several colossal statues. In the center of the piazza (which was designed by Michaelangelo) is a statue of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (the old guy in Gladiator!) on a horse. It's one of the largest bronze statues from antiquity still in existance -- most were melted down for reuse in the middle ages. It survived because it was thought to be of Constantine, the first Christian emperor.

Behind the Capitoline is the Roman forum, which was the center of religious, commercial, and political business for hundreds of years. It would take too long to describe everything in it. You might want to print out something on it if your guidebook doesn't cover it fully.

The forum is free. You can also take a look at the Imperial forums (fora, really), which were built much later than the original forum, largely as displays of power and wealth by particular emperors. You will definitely notice the column of Trajan, which is a massive stone column with a spiral carving depicting the emperor Trajan's (98-117 AD) conquest of Dacia (modern Romania).

On the other side of the forum from the imperial forums is the Palatine hill. This was sort of the Beverly Hills of Rome. It was traditionally the home of powerful aristocrats, but by late Empire it was basically covered by the Emperor's mansion. You have to pay to get up there, but it's very beautiful. Note that your ticket to the Palatine will get you into the Colosseum, and vice versa.

On the far side of the forum from the Capitoline you'll see the Arch of Titus, a small structure with one arch (some have three). Inside you'll see a depiction of Roman soldiers carting off the Menorah after the sack of Jerusalem (60s AD).

Past the arch of Titus is the Colosseum. You don't really understand how big it is until you get close to it. The part that is missing is, as usual, not the result of time or earthquakes but a renaissance noble who wanted cheap stone for his palazzo (it's the one with the tower in the piazza Venezia). "Colosseum" is actually the specific name of this amphitheater, sort of like "Fleetcenter" or "Fenway Park". It was built on the site of a colossus of Nero by Nero's successor, Vespasian. After a disastrous citywide fire (the one in which he fiddled), Nero had expanded his mansion to extend from the Palatine through the basin where the Colosseum is to the two surrounding hills. It was known as the Domus Aurea ("golden house"). Following Nero's assasination, there was a period of unrest in which three men took the title of emperor for very brief periods. Vespasian, a successful general of provincial background, finally succeeded in restoring order. After he became emperor, he had the Domus Aurea and the colossus destroyed and replaced with a monument for the people of Rome. The Colosseum was a political statement designed to erase the memory of Nero.

Oh yeah, and they had gladiators there too. If you cross the street to the far side of the Colosseum (ie away from the forum), you'll find the Ludus Magnus ("great game"), a training camp for gladiators. A lot of the later scenes from Gladiator took place here.

Past the Colosseum towards the river is the Circus Maximus , the great chariot-racing arena. It's where they filmed the scene from Ben Hur. Right now it's a large grassy area that seems to be a big makeout spot, but it's great to get a sense of the scale of the thing. If you're feeling adventurous, the Circus of Maxentius is a short bus ride down the Via Appia. It's a much better preserved racetrack -- you can still see the bleachers and the starting gates. The Via Appia (or Appian Way) was the main road south in Roman times. If you're interested in military history, there's a nifty little museum in the old city wall where it intersects the Via Appia. You can explore a few hundred yards of well-preserved fortifications. The baths of Caracalla are also nearby, which are very impressive in scale.

My favorite church in Rome is Santa Maria della Vittoria. It's a pretty small baroque church designed by Bernini (remember that name). It's a few blocks north of the main train station (Termini). It's got an intimate feel, and isn't too crowded. Look for the statue of the woman being hit with an arrow. Near that is Santa Maria degli Angeli, which is built in part of the baths of Diocletian. It's the best place to see what Roman baths would have looked like. Most Roman buildings had a thin layer of colorful marble over their concrete structures. These were mostly robbed out in the middle ages, but here they were preserved because it was a church. Seeing a pattern?

Piazza Navona is another nice place. The shape of the plaza follows a Roman stadium on the site. It's often incredible how much you can tell about the layout of the city 2000 years ago just from the streets now. There are two cases near Piazza Navona where streets curve sharply for no particular reason -- unless you know that there was a theater there in 30 BC. The piazza has a set of nice statues by Bernini, including my favorite, "Man Killing Octopus". The area around Piazza Navona is called the Centro Storico, or the old city. It was actually a grassy flood plain in Roman times, but after the Barbarians cut the aquaducts, everyone moved down closer to the river. The name just shows you how much history is in this city. It's a great area to wander around in aimlessly.

Back over by the Vatican is the Castel Sant'Angelo. It's a round castle built around the Mausoleum of Hadrian (the emperor who built the Pantheon). If you have the time, go inside. There's a cool spiral path up to the center of the structure. In front of it is a bridge with several beautiful statues by Bernini.

If you're interested in something a little more bizarre, find the church of the Capuccini (monks, not espresso beverages). It contains several rooms decorated entirely with the bones of dead monks. It's supposed to impress one with the ephemerality of life. It's on a little side street off the northeast side of Piazza Barberini, up a little hill.

Rome is filled with fountains, a legacy of the Roman penchant for civil engineering (they had a great inferiority complex to the Greeks in art, literature, and philosophy, but were absolutely dominant in war, administration, and engineering -- just something to keep in mind). The fountains, which are drinkable unless marked ("acqua non potabile"), are a really great during the summer. There's a nifty trick you can use to impress your friends. Most fountains have little spigots, which makes it difficult to drink directly from them. However, look for a small hole on the top side of the spigot. If you plug the main hole with your finger, the water shoots up out of the top hole, making an instant water fountain!

Another nifty bit of ancient engineering is the bridges on the Tiber island. Although they've been restored many times, they've been standing for 2000 years. The island has been a medical center since antiquity. See if you can find a large section of a marble statue of Asclepius (god of health, holding the staff with snakes around it) on the south east side of the island. The blocks were simply reused when the Christians destroyed the pagan temples. On the Trastevere side of the island there is a stand selling Italian ice -- they actually scrape shavings off a huge block of ice and squeeze fresh fruit into it. Definitely worth a try.

Most restaurants are good. "Check please" is "il conto, per favore". Waiters will not rush you. Try the bruschetta (brus-KET-ta) for an appetizer (antipasto). Menus are divided into primi piatti (first courses) which are usually pasta and secundi piatti (seconds) which are meat. Most americans just order a primo. Pizza in sit-down places in Rome is usually very thin crust baked in brick ovens. I love it, some people prefer a thicker crust. You have to go to Naples for that. Breakfast should be eaten in a "bar". (That's just a coffee bar, since the Italians don't really have the American concept of a bar. There are plenty of Irish pubs, though.) Order an espresso drink. The Italians have croissants, but they call them a "cornetto". Pay after you eat. Most people drink their coffee standing at the bar, because it's a lot cheaper (your 1000L cappucino may turn into a 4500L cappucino as soon as you sit down), and more social. It might seem a little weird, but you get used to it. A good place for lunch is a Pizza a Taglio shop (lit. "pizza by the cut"). They have large square pizzas (a little thicker than made to order restaurant pizzas) and cut you off as much as you want. You pay by weight. "più" is more, "meno" is less.

Shopping is probably better in Milan, but if you feel like, it, head up Via del Corso from Piazza Venezia. The boutiquey area is several blocks up on the right, around the Spanish Steps. The street venders can give you good deals on fake name brand stuff -- I bought my sister a Prada bag for $30 from some African guys outside the Castel Sant'Angelo.

That's probably much more than anyone can do in a few days, but hopefully it will help you find what you want to do. Have fun!

-Dave