What to see on a Pilgrimage to Rome

by OMNIA Vatican&Rome - published on 02/11/2025

In this article, we will explore the main places to visit and experience during a pilgrimage to Rome, whether for the Jubilee or in another occasion. We provide insights and suggestions to immerse yourself in a journey of spiritual and cultural discovery that will enrich both body and soul.

The Eternal City is a must-see destination for anyone seeking a spiritual and cultural pilgrimage. With its rich history, majestic monuments, and deep religious tradition, Rome and the Vatican offer a unique experience. From sacred places like Papal Basilicas and churches dedicated to great saints, to cultural centers such as the Vatican Museums and the Lateran Palace Museum, every corner of Rome tells a story of faith and devotion.

13 Must-Visit Sites during a Pilgrimage to Rome:

Saint Peter’s Basilica
The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist
Saint Mary Major Basilica
Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica
The Church of the Martyrdom of Saint Paul at the Three Fountains
The Lateran Palace, the Residence of the Bishop of Rome
The Mamertine Prison
Saint Praxedes Basilica
Saint Mary in Aracoeli Basilica
Saint Agnes in Agone Church
The Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
The Church of Saint Mary in Vallicella
The Church of Saint Mary in Traspontina

1. Saint Peter’s Basilica

The Basilica of Saint Peter is the heart of Christianity and the seat of Peter's successors. At the deep heart of the Basilica lies the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, who was martyred in 67 AD in Nero's Circus and buried in the bare earth by devout Christians. Over the centuries, the Church's devotion to Peter has transformed this place from a simple burial site to the magnificent Basilica with its majestic dome and colonnaded square that we see today.

Here, the devotion and architectural genius of great men like Michelangelo, Bernini, and Raphael have created a unique and unparalleled place of beauty and grandeur where Christians from all over the world can gather, pray to Christ, and honor Peter and the Church founded on him. Official Guided Tour of St. Peter's Basilica >

2. The Archbasilica of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist

The Basilica of Saint John in Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, where the Pope serves as Bishop. Known as the "Mother and Head of all Churches of Rome and the World," it is the oldest church in the West, commissioned by Constantine in 313 AD as a sign of gratitude for divine protection in his battle against Maxentius in 312 AD.

Originally dedicated to the Most Holy Savior, its name was later expanded to include Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. Today, it is commonly known as Saint John in Lateran. The current structure is the result of extensive renovations commissioned by Pope Innocent X Pamphili for the Jubilee of 1650 and entrusted to Francesco Borromini. Visit of Saint John basilica and Lateran Complex >

3. Saint Mary Major Basilica

The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major is the Marian heart of the Eternal City, consecrated to the Mother of God and traditionally considered the Bethlehem of Rome. It houses relics associated with the Virgin Mary and the Nativity of Jesus, such as the Holy Cradle and the first marble Nativity scene sculpted by Arnolfo di Cambio.

The Basilica's origins date back to 358 AD, linked to the miraculous snowfall in August on the Esquiline Hill. Following a vision from the Virgin Mary, Pope Liberius and the nobleman John built a church in her honor on that site. Through centuries of embellishment, it now houses one of the most venerated Marian icons: the Salus Populi Romani. Basilica of Saint Mary Major: Accompanied entry and multilingual audio guide >

4. Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica

This grand basilica houses the sacred remains of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. He was condemned to death in 67 AD and beheaded at the Aquae Salvie on the Via Laurentina. His body was buried here along the Via Ostiense in a pagan necropolis. Constantine initially built a small basilica, later expanded by emperors Theodosius, Valentinian II, Arcadius, and Honorius.

The ancient basilica was devastated by a fire in 1823, and its reconstruction was completed by Pope Pius IX in 1854. The Basilica celebrates the immense evangelization work of Saint Paul, whose theological and pastoral reflections in his 14 letters -Tradition also holds that the column to which Paul was bound for execution is located here.

5. Church of the Martyrdom of Saint Paul at Tre Three Fountains

The Three Fountains, located on Via Laurentina in Rome, have preserved for centuries the memory of the place where Paul crowned his journey of faith toward Christ with the supreme testimony of martyrdom in 67 AD. Due to the sacred nature of the site, memorials and places of worship were built here, and a monastic center was established to safeguard the memory of these events throughout the centuries.

The heart of this site is the Church of the Martyrdom, where three aedicules protect the three springs of water that, according to tradition, flowed when Paul's head rolled onto the surrounding ground during his decapitation, as well as the column where St. Paul was tied for execution.. Also preserved here is the column where Saint Paul was bound for his execution.In the crypt of the nearby Church of S. Maria Scala Coeli we find yet another memory of Paul: the cell where he was locked up the night before his martyrdom.You will also visit the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Revelation, the site of the apparition of the Mother of God, which took place here in 1947. This church is linked to Malta in the Jubilee Walk Europe in Rome dedicated to the national churches in the Eternal City. In fact, St. Paul was shipwrecked on the island during the long sea voyage from Palestine to Rome towards his trial before the imperial tribunal. During his stay, Paul created the first Christian community on the island. Malta has remained grateful to the saint for his spiritual work over the centuries.

6. The Lateran Palace, the Residence of the Bishop of Rome

The Apostolic Lateran Palace, commissioned by Pope Sixtus V Peretti at the end of the 1500s on the site of the ancient Patriarchate which for about a thousand years, starting from the 4th century, was the main residence of the Popes and the Papal Court. A true sacred citadel built next to the Basilica dedicated to the Most Holy Savior and to Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist, today known as St John Lateran Basilica. The Palace is a unique witness to the ideal of Renaissance beauty that inspired the action of a great Pontiff like Sixtus V, here and throughout Rome during his papacy. It houses several rooms of great historical and artistic importance, frescoed with great attention to detail and rich in precious canvases and tapestries, such as the Hall of Glory, the Hall of Constantine, the Hall of the Pontiffs and the Hall of Conciliation, also known for the historic event of the signing of the Lateran Pacts between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy in 1929. Guided tour of the Lateran Palace >

7. The Mamertine Prison

The Mamertine Prison, formerly called Tullianum by the Romans, located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill and near the Roman Forum is the oldest prison in Rome, a place of suffering and death for many centuries a maximum security prison for enemies awaiting execution.

Here, according to tradition, the Apostles Peter and Paul lived their last days before being executed. While awaiting execution, they continued their mission by baptizing their jailers and many prisoners. From this place, their journey to martyrdom began: Peter towards the Circus of Nero, in the area of the Vatican Hill, where he was crucified, and Paul, towards the Aquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina. Combo ticket for Mamertine Prison, Colosseum and Roman Forum >

8. Saint Praxedes Basilica

Situated near Saint Mary Major, this basilica preserves the memory of Peter's first evangelization mission in the heart of the Roman Empire around 54 AD. The site was originally the villa of Senator Pudens and his daughters, Praxedes and Pudentiana, who hosted Peter for a long period. The apostle baptized the whole family, who shortly afterwards testified to their faith by martyrdom. This church and the one dedicated to thr sister Pudenziana, located nearby, were built on the remains of their property.

9. Saint Mary in Aracoeli Basilica

The Saint Mary in Aracoeli Basilica, located on the Capitoline Hill at the end of a steep staircase of 124 steps, has its origins in the legend according to which the Virgin Mary appeared, with Baby Jesus in her arms, to the Emperor Augustus saying: "This is the altar of the Son of God". Hence its name Aracoeli. On the high altar, today we find the miraculous and almost thousand-year-old icon of the "Madonna Advocata" invoked by the people of Rome in many difficult moments of its history. Devotion to Mary is accompanied by that of the Holy Child, a wooden sculpture carved in the 15th century with olive wood from the Garden of Gethsemane and covered with precious votive offerings, to which many believers, especially children, address prayers and requests for graces.

10. Saint Agnes in Agone church

Piazza Navona hosts the church dedicated to S. Agnes, Roman martyr, very close to the faithful of this city. According to tradition, Agnes, a young noblewoman born in 293 A.D. from a branch of a great Roman family, at the age of thirteen, for her charming candor attracted the attention of the son of the Prefect of Rome who wanted to make her his wife. But Agnes, already converted to Christianism, had taken a vow of virginity and did not want to accept his proposals. For revenge the man reported her to the emperor Diocletian, bitter enemy of the Christians who condemned her to a humiliating punishment: The young Agnes was exposed naked for the patrons of a house of mischief placed in some side environments of the stadium of Domitian that extended in this area. In this terrible situation she was protected by divine interventions: her hair melted and grew to the point of covering her nakedness and a man who attempted to her virginity, died at her feet. Her jailers finally killed her with a cut to the throat. It was 21 January 305.

On the site of his martyrdom, a first oratory and later a church were built. Then in 1652 Innocent X Pamphili decided to completely rebuild the existing church, entrusting the work to Borromini, who realized what we see today. The body of St. Agnes actually rests in the complex of St. Agnes outside the walls on Via Nomentana, while in this church is preserved the touching relic of his head kept in a silver urn in a chapel. Going down in the crypt of the church, adorned with ancient frescoes and valuable marble reliefs, we find the chapel, place of his martyrdom. Visit to the Church of St. Agnes in Agone and Crypt >

11. The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

Founded in 1506 by Pope Julius II, the Vatican Museums house a vast collection of works of art gathered by the Popes during the centuries, ranging from classical antiquity to the Renaissance, to contemporary art. The countless sections that make up the museum, such as the Pinacoteca, the Pio Clementino Museum, the Gallery of Geographical Maps, the Raphael Rooms and many others, preserve countless gems of art that prepare us to admire what is the heart of this museum complex: the Sistine Chapel.

It is famous above all for the works of the great Michelangelo, such as the Vault dedicated in particular to the Stories of Genesis and above all for the sublime Last Judgement that occupies the back wall of the Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is also the place where the Conclave takes place, during which the new Pope is elected. Guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel >

12. The Church of Saint Mary in Vallicella

Saint Mary in Vallicella church, also known as the New Church, is linked to the name of a great saint: Philip Neri who rests here. A church dedicated entirely to the Virgin Mary precisely because of the great devotion of the Saint to the Mother of God built on an older one assigned to him by Pope Gregory XIII in 1595 to house the Congregation of the Oratory.

Every part of this church is a hymn to Mary: in the altarpiece of the main altar painted by Rubens is set an ancient image of the Madonna with the Holy Child, once the protagonist of a miraculous event, now become the emblem of the Congregation of the Filippini. On the vault of the central nave, a large fresco recalls Mary's protective intervention in the face of the threat of collapse of the wooden roof in the initial phase of the church's construction. All the chapels are dedicated to moments in the life of the Virgin: in particular, the Assumption is linked to the miracle, which lasted almost a month and was confirmed by the Church, of Mary's rolling of her eyes in July 1796 as Napoleon's troops approached Rome.

13. The Church of Saint Mary in Traspontina

St. Mary in Traspontina church is the sanctuary of the Virgin of Carmel in Rome. The church, where and as we see it today, was built in 1566. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII entrusted it to the care of the Carmelite Order, born on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land at the beginning of the 13th century, whose original ideal of contemplative life was inspired by the figures of Elijah and Mary, mother and patroness of the order itself. A symbol of the bond between Mary and the order is the devotion of the scapular, a small piece of cloth, an image of the Virgin's cloak donated to Simone Stock, then prior of the Carmelites, on 1 July 1251, as a sign, to whoever would wear it, of Mary's maternal protection.

In the precious canopy above the high altar is preserved an ancient icon of the Madonna already venerated on Mount Carmel and brought to Rome in the first half of the 13th century. Here Mary is portrayed as the Virgin of Tenderness where the Holy Child and Mary are touching each other with their cheeks in a gesture of maternal and filial tenderness. In a side chapel we find the large statue of the Madonna del Carmelo placed here since 1866, where Mary is enthroned with the Holy Child on her knees while they offer the faithful two white scapulars embroidered in gold. This statue is carried every year on July 16, the feast of Carmel, in procession by the Confraternity of Carmel through the streets of Borgo.

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