A Stroll through Rome: Walking Along Via Giulia, the Most Elegant Renaissance Street in the Eternal City
There’s a street in Rome that doesn’t need words to tell its story—just walk along it in silence, letting its buildings speak and its views surprise you. Via Giulia is all this and more. Laid out during the Renaissance, it was the first example of modern urban planning in Rome. Commissioned by Pope Julius II at the start of the 16th century, it was intended to become the vibrant heart of the new papal Rome. Today, it’s a romantic, elegant, and discreet promenade: an open-air museum where every stone has something to say.
Where the Renaissance Meets the City
Via Giulia stretches for about a kilometer through the Regola district, running parallel to the Tiber River and connecting Ponte Sisto with Piazza dell’Oro, not far from Castel Sant’Angelo. It’s one of the city’s most harmonious streets, loved by artists, antique dealers, architects, and anyone looking for a corner of Rome that’s far from the crowds yet deeply authentic. As you stroll, you’ll encounter noble palaces and refined architecture—like Palazzo Sacchetti, the elegant church of San Biagio della Pagnotta, or the Oratorio del Gonfalone, with its stuccoes and frescoes suspended in time. But perhaps the most evocative element is the so-called “Farnese Arch”, an unfinished project by Michelangelo that was meant to connect Palazzo Farnese directly to the gardens across the river. Left incomplete, it now stands as a ghostly trace of unrealized grandeur.
A Journey Through Art, Silence, and Secret Lives
Via Giulia has also been a refuge for painters, poets, nobles, and artisans. Even today, it’s home to antique shops and art galleries, small ateliers tucked behind dark wooden doors and quiet courtyards. It’s perfect for those who enjoy slow, thoughtful exploration. Here, tourist Rome gives way to lived-in Rome, filled with the scent of wood, paper, marble, and memory. Just steps away, another captivating route leads you beneath Piazza Navona, where you'll find The Hidden City Beneath Piazza Navona —a journey through time and the ruins of Domitian’s Stadium. A walk that begins at street level and ends among the stones of history. 
From the Ara Pacis to Local Craftsmanship
If you want to add a cultural stop to your walk, head toward the Ara Pacis —one of the most iconic museums of Imperial Rome, just minutes away. Or stop into one of the city’s artisan hat shops, to take home a unique and timeless souvenir. Those who love charming city walks can end their day by admiring St. Peter’s Dome from Via Niccolò Piccolomini —another unforgettable walk that, like Via Giulia, reveals the more intimate and surprising face of the Eternal City.
A Different Rome: Elegant and Timeless
Walking down Via Giulia means rediscovering a more refined and hidden side of Rome, where every detail is a memory, every doorway an invitation, and every silence a story. This is the Rome of perfect geometry, delicate shadows, and the sound of footsteps on cobblestones. It’s a street that doesn’t ask to be rushed but to be lived slowly, perhaps at sunset, when the slanting light ignites the golden tones of its facades. And since Rome isn’t made only of grand piazzas and monuments, Via Giulia reminds us that even a simple walk can turn into an experience of art, architecture, and emotion. All you need to do is follow your senses—and that sweet sense of nostalgia that only the Eternal City can awaken.
