Watching your wallet in Rome – figuratively and literally - No visit to Rome should be a litany of admission-charging sights or expensive restaurants, especially in the age of the weak dollar. Besides a few key museums, most of Rome’s greatest assets are available for free (or pocket change) to anyone with the energy to take them in. And don’t feel you have to make every meal a sit-down affair. At lunch, grab a sandwich and a can of Fanta ($6 total) from the nearest alimentari (deli). For dinner one night, try a pizzeria, where you’ll be hard-pressed to spend more than about $15 per person. As for literally watching your wallet, gypsies and pickpockets are an unfortunate reality in many European cities, including Rome. All it takes is one moment of inattention for your credit cards, cash, passport, and camera to disappear. The best defense is keeping an eye or hand on your valuables at all times, especially on public transportation or in crowded tourist areas

Tourist resources for Rome - www.romaturismo.com: The multilingual official site of the Rome tourism board has downloadable maps and brochures, lots of information on exhibitions, concerts, and other cultural happenings, and thorough (if not intuitively arranged) listings of most monuments and museums. You can also sign up here to receive a monthly e-newsletter.www.vatican.va: The papal day planner lists all the public services, beatifications, etc., that the pontiff will preside over in a given year—a handy tool on view under “Liturgical Year.” Click through to the Vatican Museums for a virtual tour of the collection and to see how the museums’ mercurial schedule will affect your sightseeing plans.