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Rome is an open-air museum, but to encounter Caravaggio you don’t need to step into a gallery: all it takes is a walk through its squares and a few church doorways. This simple, free itinerary begins in the heart of the city, around Piazza Navona, and continues toward Piazza del Popolo, following the trail of six absolute masterpieces. The journey starts right next to Piazza Navona, in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. Inside the Contarelli Chapel are three canvases dedicated to Saint Matthew: The Calling, The Martyrdom and Saint Matthew and the Angel. Here Caravaggio rewrites the rules of sacred painting. His figures look like people from the street, caught in a moment of real life. In The Calling, a beam of light cuts across the room and points to Matthew, seated at the table like an ordinary tax collector. One fascinating detail is Christ’s hand gesture, which echoes the Creation of Adam painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Just a few minutes’ walk away stands the Church of Sant’Agostino, the second stop on the route. Here visitors can admire the Madonna of the Pilgrims, one of Caravaggio’s most powerful and controversial images. The Virgin appears at the threshold of a modest house, facing two barefoot pilgrims with dirty feet and worn clothes. It is a strikingly human Madonna, close to everyday people, for this very reason the painting immediately won over the Roman public, even as it scandalized more conservative circles. Leaving the Piazza Navona area, the itinerary continues toward Santa Maria del Popolo, overlooking the dramatic Piazza del Popolo. In the Cerasi Chapel are The Conversion of Saint Paul and The Crucifixion of Saint Peter. Paul is shown fallen to the ground, almost crushed by his horse, in a dark, silent scene that emphasizes the inner nature of the miracle. Peter, by contrast, is crucified upside down: his heavy body and weary face give the scene an astonishing realism. Following Caravaggio through these churches means seeing his works exactly where they were meant to be, immersed in natural light and silence. It is a short but intense journey, capable of revealing Rome, its art, and its most deeply human side.