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  • Things to see in Rome
    • Landmarks of Rome >
      • Monuments of Ancient Rome >
        • The Colosseum
        • The Roman Forum
        • The Pantheon
        • Castel Sant'Angelo
        • Circus Maximus
        • Aurelian Walls >
          • Porta Pinciana
          • Porta San Giovanni
          • Porta San Sebastiano
          • Porta Latina
          • Porta San Paolo
          • Porta Maggiore
          • Porta del Popolo
          • Porta Portese
          • Porta San Pancrazio
          • Porta Pia
          • Porta Metronia
        • Catacombs of Rome >
          • Catacombs of San Callisto
          • Catacombs of San Sebastiano
          • Catacombs of Priscilla
          • Catacombs of Domitilla
          • Catacombs of Sant'Agnese
          • Catacombs of San Pancrazio
        • Baths of Caracalla
        • Triumphal Arches of Rome >
          • Arch of Constantine
          • Arch of Titus
          • Arch of Janus
          • Arch of Septimius Severus
        • Pyramid of Cestius
        • Ara Pacis
        • Trajan's Forum
      • Modern Monuments of Rome >
        • Municipal Buildings of Rome >
          • Rome Fiumicino Airport
          • Rome Termini Train Station
          • Corte Suprema di Cassazione
          • Palazzo Farnese
          • Montecitorio Palace
          • Palazzo della Consulta
          • Palazzo Pamphili
          • Palazzo Madama
          • Villa Medici
        • Il Vittoriano
        • Spanish Steps
        • Stadio dei Marmi
        • Passetto di Borgo
        • Scalinata dei Borgia
        • Stadio Olimpico
        • Foro Italico
        • Arco Farnese
        • Torre delle Milizie
        • Torre della Scimmia
        • Orologio dell'Acqua
      • Fountains of Rome >
        • Trevi Fountain
        • Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
        • Fontana dell'Acqua Paola
        • Barcaccia Fountain
        • Fountain of Neptune
        • Fontana del Moro
        • Fontana del Tritone
        • Quattro Fontane
        • Fontana del Pantheon
      • Bridges of Rome >
        • Ponte Sant'Angelo
        • Milvian Bridge (Ponte Milvio)
        • Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II
        • Ponte Flaminio
        • Ponte Matteotti
        • Ponte della Musica
        • Ponte Sisto
        • Ponte Principe Amadeo Savoia Aosta
        • Ponte Fabricio
        • Ponte Cestio
        • Ponte Regina Margherita
        • Ponte Umberto I
        • Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini
        • Ponte Cavour
        • Ponte Garibaldi
      • Statuary of Rome >
        • Trajan's Column
        • Column of Marcus Aurelius
        • Colonna dell'Immacolata
        • Colonna della Pace
        • Lateran Obelisk
        • Vatican Obelisk
        • Flaminio Obelisk
        • Macuteo Obelisk
      • River Tiber
    • Religious Buildings of Rome >
      • Basilicas of Rome >
        • Major Basilicas of Rome >
          • St. Peter's Basilica
          • Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
          • Archbasilica of St John Lateran
          • Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
        • Minor Basilicas of Rome >
          • Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem
          • Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli
          • Basilica di San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura
          • Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola
          • Basilica di San Marco
          • Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
          • Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
          • Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo
          • Basilica di Santa Prassede
          • Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
          • Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
          • Basilica di San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura
          • Basilica dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo
      • Churches of Rome >
        • Chiesa del Gesu
        • Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone
        • Trinita dei Monti
        • San Luigi dei Francesi
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria in Traspontina
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli
        • Chiesa di San Giorgio in Velabro
        • Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione
        • Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi
        • Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio
        • Chiesa di Sant'Andrea e Claudio dei Borgognoni
        • Chiesa di San Paolo entro Le Mura
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria di Loreto
      • The Sistine Chapel
      • Scala Sancta
      • Lateran Baptistery
      • Great Synagogue of Rome
      • Cimitero Monumentale al Verano
    • Museums & Art Galleries of Rome >
      • Vatican Museums
      • Doria Pamphili Gallery
      • Villa Farnesina
      • Quirinal Palace
      • Capitoline Museums
      • MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts
      • Palazzo Barberini
      • Galleria Borghese
      • National Roman Museum
      • National Etruscan Museum
      • Museo di Roma
      • Vatican Historical Museum
      • Palazzo Altemps
      • Museo Carlo Bilotti
    • Squares of Rome >
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square)
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Campo de' Fiori
      • Piazza Venezia
      • Piazza del Campidoglio
      • Piazza della Rotonda
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza della Minerva
      • Piazza della Repubblica
      • Piazza Barberini
      • Largo di Torre Argentina
      • Piazza Cavour
      • Piazza Colonna
    • Panoramic Viewpoints of Rome >
      • Piazzale Garibaldi
      • Pincio Promenade
      • Domus Tiberiana Terrace
      • Piazza della Trinita dei Monti
      • Belvedere Niccolo Scatoli
      • Via di San Pietro in Carcere
      • Piazzale Ugo La Malfa
      • Janiculum Terrace
    • Parks & Gardens of Rome >
      • Villa Borghese Gardens
      • Villa Doria Pamphili
      • Parco del Colle Oppio
      • Villa Ada
      • Villa Celimontana
      • Giardino di Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
      • Parco degli Scipioni
      • Villa Carlo Alberto Quirinale
      • Bioparco di Roma Zoological Garden
    • Archaeological Sites of Rome >
      • Appia Antica Archaeological Park >
        • Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella
        • Villa di Massenzio
        • Chiesa di San Nicola a Capo di Bove
      • Ludus Magnus
      • Area Sacra di Omobono
    • Theatres of Rome >
      • Auditorium Parco della Musica
      • Teatro dell'Opera
      • Globe Theatre
      • Teatro Ambra Jovinelli
      • Teatro Brancaccio
      • Teatro Quirino Vittorio Gassman
      • Teatro Argentina
      • Teatro Sistina
      • Auditorium della Conciliazione
  • Travel
    • Rome Metro Map
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  • Rome
    • Areas of Rome >
      • The Seven Hills of Rome >
        • Palatine Hill
        • Capitoline Hill
        • Aventine Hill >
          • Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino
          • Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio
          • Chiesa di Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino
          • Giardino degli Aranci
          • Buco della Serratura
          • Piazza Sant'Anselmo
        • Viminal Hill
        • Esquiline Hill
        • Quirinal Hill
        • Caelian Hill
      • Famous Streets of Rome >
        • Via Veneto
        • Via del Corso
        • Via della Conciliazione
        • Via Cesare Battisti
        • Via del Teatro Marcello
        • Via dei Pastini
        • Via delle Muratte
        • Via Frattina
        • Via dei Coronari
        • Via Quattro Novembre
        • Via dei Giubbonari
        • Via Carlo Alberto
        • Via dei Cerchi
      • Centro Storico
      • Ancient Rome
      • Tridente
      • Vatican City
      • Trastevere
      • Villa Borghese
      • EUR
      • Garbatella

Rome

Rome


There are few, if any cities in the world that have had as much of an impact on the world as Rome. The modern-day capital of Italy, it was once the centre of the globe, home to the greatest empire the world had hitherto seen. 

Myths and legends abound as to the origins of Rome, but the favourite tale is of the she-wolf suckling the twins of Romulus and Remus. In one of the most famous fratricides in history, Romulus, from whose name Rome/Roma derives, killed Remus before going on to establish the city in 753 BC.
Huge tomes, a thousand novels and countless films have passed on the stories of Rome through the generations. In the unlikely event that you were to arrive in Rome without any previous knowledge of the place, you would immediately see that its past has been well-preserved through its astonishing collection of historic buildings.

​A visit to Rome is all about prioritisation; it's absolutely impossible to see everything in one visit, no matter how long that visit lasts. To see all of the sights in the guide books would take months or even years so you really have to think about your visit a little bit in advance to make the most out of it. Throughout this website you'll find hundreds of pages of sights, while the idea of this description is just to showcase some of the highlights. 

​Without question, the Monuments of Ancient Rome are the first thing that people want to see here and where better to start than the Colosseum. Built between 50 and 80 AD, it was once capable of hosting crowds of up to 80,000 people, a strangely similar number to most of the biggest stadiums that are still built in modern times. What you won't see in modern stadiums though, are the public executions, animal hunts and gladiatorial contests which were part of daily life in the Colosseum. 

​Political decisions that had far-reaching effects were made at the Roman Forum, just a short walk from the Colosseum, while death-defying chariot races took place at the nearby Circus Maximus. Along the same streets that we still see today, some of Rome's most historic moments took place; triumphal arches such as the Arch of Constantine are just one such reminder of those events. However, it is not just the ancient that we get to witness in this area of Rome; stride the main road away from the Colosseum, past the Forum and you soon come to Piazza Venezia which is dominated by a building from rather more recent times. On this website I've used one of its names, Il Vittoriano, but the huge marble palace built in 1885 is also called the Altare della Patria along with a set of nicknames including "the wedding cake" and "the typewriter". 

​Head north of Piazza Venezia and you reach a rather different part of Rome, the labyrinth of narrow streets that makes up the centro storico. Within the historical centre you'll find the incredible Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple that later became a church, but most notable for its extraordinary domed roof with an oculus that lets in the rain. The centro storico is also home to the beautiful Baroque Trevi Fountain built in 1753; surely there's no other fountain in the world with quite the level of renown and it's always crowded by people trying to catch a glimpse or throwing in coins to bring them good luck. There are further fountains across the centro storico at Piazza Navona, arguably the most beautiful but certainly one of the most important squares in the city. 

​Snaking its way through Rome is the River Tiber, Tevere in Italian. Heading west across the city and leaving the centro storico behind you, there are dozens of bridges across the river which will take you to areas such as Trastevere ("across the Tiber"), or to one of the most popular visitor areas, the Vatican City. One of the most beautiful sights in Rome is that of Castel Sant'Angelo, the ancient castle which sits at one end of the bridge, Ponte Sant'Angelo. The castle is one of the must-see sights in Rome, not least because from the top of it you can get some of the best views in the city.

Castel Sant'Angelo lies just a few steps from Via della Conciliazione, the street that leads up to Piazza San Pietro, St Peter's Square. This is the place where popes make speeches to the masses, the very centre of christendom that every now and then sees the black smoke rise before a new pontiff is anointed. The huge, oval-shaped square stands at the foot of Italy's most important church, the Basilica di San Pietro, Saint Peter's Basilica. The gigantic church is part of the Vatican City, a tiny independent state, which boasts one of Rome's major visitor attractions: the Vatican Museums. So vast are the galleries of the museums that even a single day isn't enough to see everything but what absolutely cannot be missed is the Sistine Chapel that lies within it, with its world-famous ceiling fresco painted by Michelangelo.

Back across the other side of the Tiber and north of the centro storico lies Rome's most important park: Villa Borghese. The expansive park consists of wide, tree-lined boulevards and lawns where you can just sit and drink in the Roman air. Most people walk around the park but you can also hire bicycles, rickshaws and tandems to get around. One of the most popular areas of the park is the Pincio Promenade from which you can get great views down on to Piazza del Popolo. 

Getting to Rome is made easy by its two international airports; the most famous of those is Leonardo Da Vinci Airport, better known as the neighbourhood that it lies in, Fiumicino. Rome Fiumicino Airport is the most important airport in Italy with connections to major cities across the globe, while the city's second airport. Rome Ciampino is popular with low-cost airlines that fly to mainly European destinations.

The best way to get around Rome is via the Metro underground railway system with which you can reach most of the major tourist sights, but the city also has a network of trams and also buses as an alternative. Central to all travel around the city is Rome Termini train station; not only does it offer rail connections to the other major cities in Italy, but it's also the major terminus of buses in the city, including the hop-on/hop-off open-top tourist buses which are a great way of seeing the main sights for those with little time and/or energy. 

Region: Lazio

Administrative area: Metropolitan city of Rome

Population: 2,856,133

Highlights: Colosseum, St. Peter's Basilica, Pantheon, Forum

Public transport: Trams, buses, metro

Airports: Rome Ciampino (15 km), Rome Fiumicino (30 km)


Areas  of  Rome

Picture
Pyramid of Cestius, Testaccio

Famous  Streets  of  Rome

Picture
Via Vittorio Veneto

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ROME

Roma Review is part of the Italy Review network of websites, aimed at making life easier for English-speaking people travelling throughout Italy.
For advice on other locations in Italy please visit my websites below:
Ischia Review
Procida Review
Capri Island Review
Veneto Review
Amalfi Coast Review
Abruzzo Review
Sorrento Review
Ponza Review

Picture

​​All photos and images on the site that are marked with the © copyright symbol or with the Italy Review logo are the property of Roma Review and must not be used elsewhere without prior permission. All written content on the website is the property of Roma Review and its use is strictly limited to this website alone. 
  • Home
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  • Things to see in Rome
    • Landmarks of Rome >
      • Monuments of Ancient Rome >
        • The Colosseum
        • The Roman Forum
        • The Pantheon
        • Castel Sant'Angelo
        • Circus Maximus
        • Aurelian Walls >
          • Porta Pinciana
          • Porta San Giovanni
          • Porta San Sebastiano
          • Porta Latina
          • Porta San Paolo
          • Porta Maggiore
          • Porta del Popolo
          • Porta Portese
          • Porta San Pancrazio
          • Porta Pia
          • Porta Metronia
        • Catacombs of Rome >
          • Catacombs of San Callisto
          • Catacombs of San Sebastiano
          • Catacombs of Priscilla
          • Catacombs of Domitilla
          • Catacombs of Sant'Agnese
          • Catacombs of San Pancrazio
        • Baths of Caracalla
        • Triumphal Arches of Rome >
          • Arch of Constantine
          • Arch of Titus
          • Arch of Janus
          • Arch of Septimius Severus
        • Pyramid of Cestius
        • Ara Pacis
        • Trajan's Forum
      • Modern Monuments of Rome >
        • Municipal Buildings of Rome >
          • Rome Fiumicino Airport
          • Rome Termini Train Station
          • Corte Suprema di Cassazione
          • Palazzo Farnese
          • Montecitorio Palace
          • Palazzo della Consulta
          • Palazzo Pamphili
          • Palazzo Madama
          • Villa Medici
        • Il Vittoriano
        • Spanish Steps
        • Stadio dei Marmi
        • Passetto di Borgo
        • Scalinata dei Borgia
        • Stadio Olimpico
        • Foro Italico
        • Arco Farnese
        • Torre delle Milizie
        • Torre della Scimmia
        • Orologio dell'Acqua
      • Fountains of Rome >
        • Trevi Fountain
        • Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi
        • Fontana dell'Acqua Paola
        • Barcaccia Fountain
        • Fountain of Neptune
        • Fontana del Moro
        • Fontana del Tritone
        • Quattro Fontane
        • Fontana del Pantheon
      • Bridges of Rome >
        • Ponte Sant'Angelo
        • Milvian Bridge (Ponte Milvio)
        • Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II
        • Ponte Flaminio
        • Ponte Matteotti
        • Ponte della Musica
        • Ponte Sisto
        • Ponte Principe Amadeo Savoia Aosta
        • Ponte Fabricio
        • Ponte Cestio
        • Ponte Regina Margherita
        • Ponte Umberto I
        • Ponte Giuseppe Mazzini
        • Ponte Cavour
        • Ponte Garibaldi
      • Statuary of Rome >
        • Trajan's Column
        • Column of Marcus Aurelius
        • Colonna dell'Immacolata
        • Colonna della Pace
        • Lateran Obelisk
        • Vatican Obelisk
        • Flaminio Obelisk
        • Macuteo Obelisk
      • River Tiber
    • Religious Buildings of Rome >
      • Basilicas of Rome >
        • Major Basilicas of Rome >
          • St. Peter's Basilica
          • Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
          • Archbasilica of St John Lateran
          • Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
        • Minor Basilicas of Rome >
          • Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem
          • Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli
          • Basilica di San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura
          • Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola
          • Basilica di San Marco
          • Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere
          • Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
          • Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo
          • Basilica di Santa Prassede
          • Basilica dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
          • Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
          • Basilica di San Sebastiano Fuori Le Mura
          • Basilica dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo
      • Churches of Rome >
        • Chiesa del Gesu
        • Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone
        • Trinita dei Monti
        • San Luigi dei Francesi
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria in Traspontina
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria in Monserrato degli Spagnoli
        • Chiesa di San Giorgio in Velabro
        • Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria della Consolazione
        • Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi
        • Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio
        • Chiesa di Sant'Andrea e Claudio dei Borgognoni
        • Chiesa di San Paolo entro Le Mura
        • Chiesa di Santa Maria di Loreto
      • The Sistine Chapel
      • Scala Sancta
      • Lateran Baptistery
      • Great Synagogue of Rome
      • Cimitero Monumentale al Verano
    • Museums & Art Galleries of Rome >
      • Vatican Museums
      • Doria Pamphili Gallery
      • Villa Farnesina
      • Quirinal Palace
      • Capitoline Museums
      • MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts
      • Palazzo Barberini
      • Galleria Borghese
      • National Roman Museum
      • National Etruscan Museum
      • Museo di Roma
      • Vatican Historical Museum
      • Palazzo Altemps
      • Museo Carlo Bilotti
    • Squares of Rome >
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square)
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Campo de' Fiori
      • Piazza Venezia
      • Piazza del Campidoglio
      • Piazza della Rotonda
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza della Minerva
      • Piazza della Repubblica
      • Piazza Barberini
      • Largo di Torre Argentina
      • Piazza Cavour
      • Piazza Colonna
    • Panoramic Viewpoints of Rome >
      • Piazzale Garibaldi
      • Pincio Promenade
      • Domus Tiberiana Terrace
      • Piazza della Trinita dei Monti
      • Belvedere Niccolo Scatoli
      • Via di San Pietro in Carcere
      • Piazzale Ugo La Malfa
      • Janiculum Terrace
    • Parks & Gardens of Rome >
      • Villa Borghese Gardens
      • Villa Doria Pamphili
      • Parco del Colle Oppio
      • Villa Ada
      • Villa Celimontana
      • Giardino di Sant'Andrea al Quirinale
      • Parco degli Scipioni
      • Villa Carlo Alberto Quirinale
      • Bioparco di Roma Zoological Garden
    • Archaeological Sites of Rome >
      • Appia Antica Archaeological Park >
        • Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella
        • Villa di Massenzio
        • Chiesa di San Nicola a Capo di Bove
      • Ludus Magnus
      • Area Sacra di Omobono
    • Theatres of Rome >
      • Auditorium Parco della Musica
      • Teatro dell'Opera
      • Globe Theatre
      • Teatro Ambra Jovinelli
      • Teatro Brancaccio
      • Teatro Quirino Vittorio Gassman
      • Teatro Argentina
      • Teatro Sistina
      • Auditorium della Conciliazione
  • Travel
    • Rome Metro Map
  • Rome Hotels
  • Rome
    • Areas of Rome >
      • The Seven Hills of Rome >
        • Palatine Hill
        • Capitoline Hill
        • Aventine Hill >
          • Basilica di Santa Sabina all'Aventino
          • Basilica dei Santi Bonifacio ed Alessio
          • Chiesa di Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino
          • Giardino degli Aranci
          • Buco della Serratura
          • Piazza Sant'Anselmo
        • Viminal Hill
        • Esquiline Hill
        • Quirinal Hill
        • Caelian Hill
      • Famous Streets of Rome >
        • Via Veneto
        • Via del Corso
        • Via della Conciliazione
        • Via Cesare Battisti
        • Via del Teatro Marcello
        • Via dei Pastini
        • Via delle Muratte
        • Via Frattina
        • Via dei Coronari
        • Via Quattro Novembre
        • Via dei Giubbonari
        • Via Carlo Alberto
        • Via dei Cerchi
      • Centro Storico
      • Ancient Rome
      • Tridente
      • Vatican City
      • Trastevere
      • Villa Borghese
      • EUR
      • Garbatella