This little-known museum behind the church of Santa Croce stands on the site of the former home of St Helena. It’s undeservedly but refreshingly deserted, with a collection of over 3000 exquisite musical instruments that includes gorgeously painted, handle-operated 18th-century Neapolitan street pianos, and one of the oldest known pianos (1722).
Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
3.43 MILES
Founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and enlarged by successive pontiffs, the Vatican Museums boast one of the world's greatest art…
1.26 MILES
Everyone wants to see the Colosseum, and it doesn’t disappoint, especially if accompanied by tales of armored gladiators and hungry lions. More than any…
3.35 MILES
In the city of outstanding churches, none can hold a candle to St Peter's, Italy’s largest, richest and most spectacular basilica. Built atop a 4th…
1.56 MILES
An impressive – if rather confusing – sprawl of ruins, the Roman Forum was ancient Rome's showpiece center, a grandiose district of temples...
1.5 MILES
Sandwiched between the Roman Forum and the Circo Massimo, the Palatino (Palatine Hill) is one of Rome's most spectacular sights. It's a beautiful,…
1.77 MILES
Dating from 1471, the Capitoline Museums are the world's oldest public museums, with a fine collection of classical sculpture.
2.17 MILES
With its revolutionary design, this awe-inspiring temple has served as an architectural blueprint for millennia.
2.35 MILES
With its showy fountains, baroque palazzi and colorful cast of street artists, hawkers and tourists, Piazza Navona is central Rome’s elegant showcase…
Nearby Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo attractions
1. Chiesa di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
0.04 MILES
One of Rome’s seven pilgrimage churches, the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem was founded in 320 by St Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, in…
0.22 MILES
Porta Maggiore was built by order of the Emperor Claudius in AD 52. Then, as now, it was a major road junction under which passed the two main southbound…
0.48 MILES
This showy brick facade adorned with a gold apse mosaic is an 18th-century reconstruction of the end wall of the banqueting hall in the original Palazzo…
4. Santuario della Scala Santa & Sancta Sanctorum
0.52 MILES
The Scala Santa, said to be the staircase Jesus walked up in Pontius Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem, was brought to Rome by St Helena in the 4th century…
5. Museo Storico della Liberazione
0.53 MILES
The apartment block at Via Tasso 145 was the headquarters of the German SS during the Nazi occupation of Rome (1943–44), and now a small and sombre museum…
6. Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano
0.56 MILES
This monumental building is Rome’s official cathedral and the pope’s seat as the bishop of Rome.
0.58 MILES
Palazzo Laterano was the official papal residence until the pope moved to the Vatican in 1377. Adjacent to the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, it's…
0.62 MILES
Overlooking Palazzo Laterano, this is said to be the world's largest standing Egyptian obelisk. Topping off at almost 46m, it's also the oldest of Rome's…