Bus 117 Corso-Popolo

If you’re headed from the San Giovanni area back to the center of town, the small, electric 117 bus may be your best option. The 117 leaves from Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano, an open piazza directly behind the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. It departs through a few narrow streets until if circles around to the Colosseo, then crosses Via Cavour and again passes through narrow streets until if gets to the Via Nazionale area. Then it makes almost a “straight” run to the Spanish Steps, and finally ends in Piazza del Popolo.

Riding Buses in Rome
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The Metro in Rome
Bus 117 to Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano

The bus starts in a piazza near one of Rome’s most famous churches. Many other buses connect in this area and the San Giovanni Metro station is about 1/2 mile down the hill from this bus stop. Here‘s the route for the Bus 117 to Corso/Popolo:

 •  P.za S. Giovanni in Laterano 
 •  S. Stefano Rotondo/Addolorata 
 •  Claudia/Celio 
 •  Claudia/Colosseo
 •  Salvi N.
 •  Serpenti/Cavour
 •  Boschetto
 •  Milano
 •  Milano/Nazionale
 •  Milano/Palazzo Esposizioni
 •  Due Macelli/Capo le Case
 •  Due Macelli/Mignanelli
 •  Spagna 
 •  Babuino
 •  Babuino/Fontanella
 •  Corso/Popolo

< Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the entire Corso-Popolo route >

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P.za S. Giovanni in Laterano

The first stop, P.za S. Giovanni in Laterano, is shown in photo one. You can see the buses parked on the right; waiting to start their runs. The rear portion of the Basilica is shown in the background. In the second photo, you can see a close-up of the smaller, electric buses used on this route. In the map, the bus stop is circled in red. The Basilica is circled in blue and the building housing the Santa Scala is designated but the red star. It’s across the street from the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. The blue arrow marks the path the bus will take as it leaves this stop. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the  P.za S. Giovanni in Laterano stop >

S. Stefano Rotondo/Addolorata

After the bus starts its route, it heads down the narrow Via di Santo Stefano Rotondo. You can see pictures of this street above. Now you can see why they use such a small bus! In the third photo you can see the bus stop sign circled in red. From the map above you can see the bus winding through the smaller streets. The bus stop is circled in red. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the S. Stefano Rotondo/Addolorata stop >

Claudia/Colosseo

From Via di Santo Stefano Rotondo, the 117 bus turns right and heads toward the Colosseo. Two stops later it arrives at Claudia/Colosseo bus stop. This stop is about 175 meters from the Colosseo. In the photo above you can see the bus stop circled in red and the Colosseo in the background. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Claudia/Colosseo stop >

Salvi N.

After the Claudia/Colosseo stop, the 117 bus drives alongside the east side of the Colosseo, goes straight through the red lights, and head up the hill on Via Nicola Salvi. Once you get to the top of the hill, you arrive at the Salvi N. bus stop. In the top picture the bus is almost to the Salvi N bus stop. The blue arrow points at the Colosseo. In the second photo, you see the bus parked at the bus stop and in the third picture, this is the view FROM the bus stop. You can see how close you are to the Colosseo! In the map you can see the bus stop circled in red. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Salvi N. stop >

Boschetto

After leaving the Colosseo area, the bus heads back across Via Cavour, then back into smaller, winding streets. The photo is the start of Via Boshetto. In the map, you can see the Boschetto stop, located as the bus moves away from Via Cavour. Again, you can see why these use the smaller bus! < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Boschetto stop > 

Milano/Palazzo Esposizioni

After leaving the Boschetto stop, the 117 bus turns onto Via Milano and heads for Via Nazionale. In the top photo the bus is approaching Milano/Nazionale stop, circled in red. In the second picture, the bus is preparing to cross Via Nazionale. In the third photo, this is the Milano/Palazzo Esposizioni bus stop. If you walked through this tunnel and headed LEFT, you’d be walking to the Trevi Fountain.

In the map above, the blue circle marks the Milano/Nazionale bus stop, positioned prior to Via Nazioanle. The red circle is the bus stop, Milano/Palazzo Esposizioni.  < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Milano/Palazzo Esposizioni stop >

Due Macelli/Mignanelli

The Due Macelli/Mignanelli stop is positioned close to the Spanish Steps. The bus stop is marked in the red circle and the Spanish Steps are in the distance, marked by the yellow circle. In the map above, the bus stop is circled in red, the Spanish Steps are circled in blue, and one of the most  fashionable streets in Rome, Via dei Condotti, is circled in Green. The Spagna metro entrance is designated by the red star. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Due Macelli/Mignanelli stop >

Spagna

After the bus leaves from the Due Macelli/Mignanelli, it passes in front of the Spanish Steps and then stops at the Spagna bus stop, marked by the yellow circle in the top photo. In the second photo, you are standing at the Spagna bus stop looking back the way the bus came. You can see the Spanish Steps, marked by the red circle, in the distance.

In the map above, the Spagna bus stop is circled in red. The Spanish Steps are circled in blue. Near the steps you see the Spagna metro station and above the station (and it is WAY above) is the Villa Borghese park. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Spagna stop >

Corso/Popolo

From the Spagna stop, the bus continues along Via del Babuino towards Piazza del Popolo. The top photo shows you the view as the bus travels Via del Babuino. In the second picture, you can see the Piazza del Popolo and the bus stop Babuino/Fontanella, circled in red. In the third photo, the bus has entered Piazza del Popolo. The near stop, on the left from picture #3 is Corso/Popolo, the last stop of the route. You can see the buses parked in photo #4. In the map, you can see the Babuino/Fontanella circled in blue and the Corso/Popolo designated by the red circle. < Click on the map above to go to the ATAC site and see the Corso/Popolo stop >

For USA guests, see more maps at our Travel Store, or look in amazon.com.
Non-USA Guests can search for Italy maps at amazon.co.uk.

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Alternate Routes of the 117

The 117 bus to Corso/Popolo, like its corresponding route (the 117 Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano) runs a little bit of a confusing schedule. On Sundays and holidays the 117 bus does not operate. On Saturdays, or the days before a holiday (called prefestivi), the 117 bus does not RETURN to Piazza di Popolo because of the closure of traffic on Via del Corso between 15:00 and 20:00. On this return route, the 117 bus, on prefestivi, goes only to Piazza S. Silvestro. If you look at a time-based schedule for the 117 bus on a Saturday it shows this chart:

On the right side of the chart you can see the HOUR that each bus starts it’s route… The top line shows that during the 08:00 – 09:00 hour, ten buses depart from the first stop at 8:00, 08:07, 08:13, 08:20, 08:26, 08:32, 08:38, 08:44, 08:50, and 08:57. As you look at this chart, you can see the red box at 14:00 (or 2 PM). There are no buses at 15:00 (3 PM) arriving at this stop. And then the buses start arriving back here at 19:39 as the Corso prepares to open. This is shown in the blue box.

Between 15:00 and 19:39 on Saturdays, you get a different route – because of the closures on the Corso. The map for this 3 PM – 19:39 PM route looks like this:

In this map, the bus starts on the bottom left (the red circle) and ends in the blue circle (top left). This stop is NOT in the Piazza del Popolo as the other maps shows, but in Piazza San Silvestro. The blue arrow points towards where Piazza del Popolo is, slightly above the edge of this map.

On this second map, the red star marks the spot where the117 bus finished its route. The blue rectangle is the section lines represent the “alternative” routes not taken! The timetable on Saturdays or the days before a holiday (prefestivi) – for this alternative path – starts at 3 PM and looks like this:

So, you can see how this timetable “fills the gap” from 15:00 – 19:39 on Saturdays.

Summary

The 117 bus is small, electric, and often crowded. On its return route to Piazza del Popolo it winds through some of the smaller streets in Rome – certainly where the larger buses cannot go! It’s one of two buses that passes in front of the Spanish Steps! Enjoy your ride!

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All photos in this post, including the header – The 117 bus on Via Santo Stefano Rotondo – have been reproduced from Google Maps Streetview