A brush with Raphael's Rome: Following the painter's trail from the Vatican to the Barberini

A break in Rome can be bad for you. The cobbled streets around the Forum and the Colosseum are waiting to turn an unwary ankle and five minutes in the jostling crowd craning up at Michaelangelo’s famed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is a real pain in the neck.

Happily, there is an easier way to appreciate the wonders of central Rome. Michelangelo was an early 16th Century genius but so was his great rival Raphael, and you can follow this maestro’s trail to discover a less crowded Eternal City of Renaissance palazzi, hidden-away churches and peaceful gardens.

Start by squeezing out from the Sistine throng and up the Vatican stairs to see the frescos in its four Raphael Rooms. Unlike Michelangelo, Raphael painted much of his work at eye level. You won’t need a ladder to get as close to extraordinary works like his The Deliverance Of St Peter.