Countless films have depended on Rome as a backdrop for narratives that just wouldn’t fit anywhere else in the world, and the city has borne and fostered some of the world’s most renowned filmmakers. Today, Rome celebrates the art of film through top-notch festivals catering to every audience and covering every genre, from blockbuster to avant-garde.

Via Veneto’s macabre church, Santa Maria della Concezione dei Capuchins, purposes a lasting meditation on death. Among the city’s ruins, reliquaries, crypts or catacombs, this place may prove to be the most potent momento mori in Rome. Here one finds the bones of over 4,000 Capuchin monks re-assembled as elaborate interior ornaments. In stark contrast to the Veneto’s glamorous reputation as a celebrity playground of smart, spacious cafes, this unforgettable Capuchin church reminds us, rather, to live more with the inevitable in mind.

Rome has something for everyone regardless of gender, socio-economic status, hairstyle, taste in music or preference in gelato receptacle. Whether you’re hawking that proverbial shoestring, or you’re looking to jumpstart the Italian economy through personal expenditure, there’s a side of Rome to fit your budget.

It’s been a while since Leonardo, Michelangelo and other legendary Ninja Turtles were swinging their brushes in Italy, but the art scene is very much alive and well in Rome. If you’re an art aficionado, shopping for a high-end souvenir, or just cruising for open-bar gallery parties, you’ll need to know where to start.

Rome certainly doesn’t have the reputation of a cyclist’s paradise, but don’t believe the hype—the Eternal City actually offers plenty of advantages for two-wheeled tourists. If you ride smart and stay safe you’ll find that cycling is the fastest and funnest way to get around Rome.

An amble through the streets surrounding Piazza Navona seeds the imagination with a healthy dose of architectural theater. Forming a rough triangle between Ponte Cavour, Ponte Amedeo and Piazza Navona – I especially recommend our apartments in this area for those new to Rome. Being within the ancient city while also among sumptuous, Baroque palaces stimulates the mind to induce a cinematic feeling of living in a film. Here are some of my favorite alcoves that distinguish this neighborhood of heady grandeur.

The Latin language is still widely used today as a syntactical model, a taxonomic scheme, and most often as a tool for bubble-headed quasi-intellectuals to flex some linguistic muscle. Outside the Vatican, modern Italian is the language of the land, but a visit to the birthplace of Latin is still a perfect occasion to drop a Horace quote or two. If you use these Latin phrases in the right way while visiting Rome, you’ll guarantee yourself (at the very least) an extremely smug sense of self-assurance.