Don't miss Rubens in the heart of Rome. Just steps from Campo de’ Fiori, one of the city’s greatest Baroque masterpieces, is surrounded by local attractions. 

The church is also known as the Chiesa Nuova

For cultural travellers the Rubens altarpiece is also the ideal starting point for an immersive walk through one of Rome’s richest historic quarters. The Rubens is to be found in the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, which Romans call the Chiesa Nuova or New Church, in the historic center of Rome, just west of Piazza Navona and along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. The church is open daily and entry is free.

A medieval icon is hidden under Ruben's altarpiece

Rubens created the remarkable altarpiece for the high altar between 1606 and 1608 as a combination of painting and sacred image. At the center is a miraculous medieval icon of the Virgin Mary and Child, covered by a copper painting. The work is most unusual because one painting hides the other underneath it. The "hidden" work is an ancient miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary and Child and was deeply respected and worshipped by the faithful. Rubens  the painted the visible image on copper panels that could be lifted or opened.

A mechanical system reveals the hidden icon

During special ceremonies, the upper painting was raised to reveal the sacred image below, the aim being to inspire devotion and emphasize the glory of the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation. Still today the icon is revealed during important religious celebrations and feast days. One of the main occasions is the feast of Saint Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratorian order on May 26.  It can also be revealed during special liturgical ceremonies or Marian celebrations.

Caravaggio masterpieces not to miss

In a side altar there is a copy of a Caravaggio painting, The Entombment of Christ (also called The Deposition) the original of which is now in the Vatican Pinacoteca.  And for anyone wanting to see some real Caravaggios a short walk away the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi is home to his celebrated cycle of Saint Matthew paintings.

One of Rome’s most lively open-air markets

This neighbourhood is ideal for enjoying curated itineraries. Just minutes away from the Rubens, a visit to Campo de’ Fiori, which is vibrant by day and atmospheric by evening, is a seamless way to move from sacred art to Roman daily life.  What makes the Campo de’ Fiori area especially appealing for travellers is that in the early morning the square comes alive with one of the city’s most colourful open-air markets, where locals shop for flowers, fruit, spices, and seasonal produce. Around the market stalls café tables fill with espresso drinkers watching how daily life unfolds, and in the surrounding streets small food shops and historic bakeries are ideal stops. 

La Carbonara is famous for its pasta

Campo de’ Fiori also has many traditional trattorie such as La Carbonara which serves robust, Roman cuisine that feels untouched by trends and, of course, no meal there is complete without a plate of  Rome’s famous Carbonara pasta Then, just around the corner there is Michelangelo’s architectural masterpiece, Palazzo Farnese, a Renaissance palazzo that was once the seat of papal power and artistic patronage and today houses the French Embassy to Italy

Itabus marks 5 years from its debut in long-distance coach travel with 8 million passengers carried.

4,000 routes serving more than 120 destinations 

From 2021 to the present day the company has carried 8 million passengers (each coach has a maximum of 73 seats), travelled over 100 million coach-kilometres, and recorded year-on-year growth in operations of 20%. Itabus offers over 4,000 routes serving more than 120 destinations (almost double the number since the service began), ensuring comprehensive coverage of the country and providing regular services on the main routes. Ia total it operates 52 journeys a day between Rome and Naples, 30 between Rome and Florence, 22 between Puglia and Naples/Rome, and 20 on the Rome–Milan route.

Itabus went international in 2024

The Itabus network stretches from Sicily to Piedmont, serving major cities and smaller towns with high transport demand. And in 2024 it crossed national borders connecting numerous foreign destinations from Italy, including Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Montpellier, Perpignan, Barcelona, Zurich and Ljubljana. Thanks to its own fleet of 100 Man coaches, all powered by Enilive’s HVOlution diesel, a 100% biofuel made from renewable raw materials, Itabus has built up a range of ancillary services for travellers, culminating in the recent launch of its own loyalty programme.

Adding new tourist destinations

Looking ahead, the aim is to continue to grow, starting as early as next summer with new routes to Italy’s main seaside resorts and the integration of seasonal tourist destinations with high-demand national routes. Sicily, Puglia, Calabria and Campania will benefit from enhanced connections and the introduction of new seasonal stops  inTaormina, Cefalù, Gallipoli and many other destinations to facilitate domestic travel for Italians and transport the many foreign tourists on holiday.

Ambitious plans for further growth

“We are only at the beginning of this adventure. After just five yearswe have already achieved satisfactory results. We now operate throughout the day and also at night, and reach key destinations in Italy and abroad, and we have established synergies with trains and ferries. Over the years we have built a network that meets passengers’ travel needs, offering a range of additional services. Our main objectives for the future are to continue expanding the network and frequency within Italy, where we now have excellent coverage, and to increase international routes, serving more and more countries, and growing the number of services, destinations and travellers.”

The new Eurowings Salzburg-Cagliari flights are operational every Saturday until 24 October.

Also flights from Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart

This brings the number of destinations served by the German airline, part of the Lufthansa Group, from Sardinia’s main airport to four: in addition to the new Salzburg route, the summer 2026 schedule confirms flights to and from Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart

Eurowings is part of the Lufthansa Group

Thanks to the new Eurowings flights, Cagliari and Sardinia will be able to attract further tourist traffic from an area with historic ties to the region, aided by the opportunity to travel via the extensive network of Eurowings and the Lufthansa Group.

Strong interest in southern Sardinia

“The new Salzburg flights are a further step forward in the consolidation of our airport’s international links and confirms the strength of our partnership with Eurowings and the Lufthansa Group,” explains a statement from SOGAER, the company managing Cagliari Airport. The launch of this route, the note continues, is a strategic opportunity both for inbound tourism to Sardinia, thanks to the strong interest in southern Sardinia from the Austro-German region, and for the outbound market, offering Sardinian passengers the chance to easily reach one of Europe’s most fascinating cities.

Rome has many spectacular fountains, beyond the iconic Trevi.

Fountains with fewer crowds

The Eternal City’s many fountains are statements of power, engineering, and theatrical statement. While the Trevi Fountain draws the crowds (too many crowds, Romans complain) some of the city’s most spectacular water displays lie elsewhere. And, experiences without the crush of Trevi’s - now paying – visitors, they are equally thrilling emotional experiences. 

Fountain of the Four Rivers on Piazza Navona

Bernini’s fountain on Piazza Navona is spectacle in motion. Four colossal river gods - representing the Nile, Ganges, Danube, and Río de la Plata rivers, one for each continent - twist and strain around a rock formation, above which rises an ancient Egyptian obelisk. What makes this fountain extraordinary is its sense of instability, with the stone appearing to cave in, the figures reacting to unseen forces, and the water animating the entire structure. This fountain is a controlled explosion of movement, and is best appreciated by walking slowly around it.

Fountain of the Acqua Paola on the Janiculum Hill

Known to Romans simply as il Fontanone (the big fountain) this monumental fountain is less sculptural but more overwhelming in scale. Built to mark place where the Acqua Paola aqueduct arrives in the city, it functions as both water terminal and urban façade. Its wide arches pour water continuously into a vast basin, producing a constant roar that dominates the entire Janiculum hilltop. And below it Rome spreads out  in one of the city’s broadest and most spectacular panoramas. 

Fountain of the Triton on Piazza Barberini

Compact but intensely dynamic, Bernini’s Triton Fountain is a masterclass in vertical energy. The muscular sea god kneels on four intertwined dolphins, blowing water upward through a shell. Unlike grand basin fountains this work concentrates the force of water into a single jet, making water itself the main protagonist, the fountain becoming a living, pulsing mechanism at the centre of the square.

Why these fountains matter

These three stunning fountains show in how many different ways Rome uses water. No one of them relys on sheer size alone, instead they reveal Rome’s ability to turn engineering into emotions and to make water speak as loudly as the stone from which they are carved.