Did you know that Rome is not only about fantastic monuments but also incredible optical effects that make some architectural gems even more unique? Let your tour guide tell you about it because the Eternal City can surprise you even for free, without having to enter a museum and pay for a ticket. Think, for example, of the famous Cupolone, designed by Michelangelo. Due to the facade of the basilica of St. Peter's Basilica, designed years later by Maderno, today from the square itself, you cannot fully enjoy Michelangelo's dome. But there are other special viewpoints. Here is an eccentric way to admire Michelangelo's dome and also experience quite a nice surprise.

Try walking along Via Piccolomini, a short distance from the basilica. Initially, the stature and enormous bulk of the dome will appear to you in all their grandeur, perhaps making you feel quite small in front of this spectacle. Then comes the strangeness. As you start walking down the street towards the dome, you will notice how, against all logic, it seems to shrink. From being gigantic to small, as if it had lost something along the way. This beautiful optical effect is not Michelangelo's invention, but rather due to the street itself. The road is lined with a series of buildings. Initially, they perfectly frame the dome, which is located at the end and in the background. Our eye naturally sees, with greater emphasis, this extraordinary architectural element, almost enclosed by everything around us. But as we reach the end of the street, when there are no buildings near us, the empty space all around the basilica and the dome stands out completely before our eyes, "shrinking" the Cupolone. It's as if we initially saw it through a magnifying glass that is then taken away. Fantastic...