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Tourist Places of Rome |
Colosseo (Colosseum)
Near to Via Sacra and the fourth-century Arco di Costantino (Arch of Constantine) lies the gigantic oval of the Colosseum - 186m (620ft) long, 153m (510ft) wide and about 47m (157ft) high. Emperor Vespasian began construction in AD72 and work was completed eight years later by his son Titus. It was the scene for entertainment that one can hardly comprehend - gladiatorial conquests between men, lions and wild beasts, with death guaranteed. The ‘games’ were finally outlawed in the fifth century. The stadium has been pillaged over the centuries and rocked by earthquakes. Today, only its skeletal framework remains, with the winding passages used to force animals up to the battlefield of the arena, formerly underground, now exposed.
Pantheon
The best-preserved and most beautifully proportioned of Rome’s ancient monuments, the Pantheon has become an emblem of the city. Built by Hadrian between AD119 and AD128 as a temple to the gods, the Pantheon was converted to a Christian church in AD608 - the key to its miraculous survival. The radius of the dome is exactly equivalent to the height and a 9m (30ft) hole, known as the oculus, in the dome’s center allows light (and rain) into the building. Statues of the deities would once have decorated the interior. Now the focal point of interest is the tomb of Raphael. Most astonishing of all are the large brass doors, which belonged to the original Roman building.
Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain)
 A string of legends surround the Trevi Fountain, which is situated amid the labyrinthine streets off Via del Tritone. It is said that a virgin came across a three-way (tre-vie) spring, causing the original fountain to be built. More recently, the far-from-virginal Anita Ekberg immortalized the fountain in the famous scene of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1959). According to myth, a coin cast in these waters will ensure a return visit to Rome. The baroque extravaganza was designed by Nicolň Salvi for Pope Clement XII and completed in 1762. The statues (representing Abundance, Agrippa, Salubrity, the Virgin and Neptune guiding a chariot drawn by sea horses) appear as a cast of characters performing a melodrama, with a Renaissance palace for their backdrop and craggy rocks in the foreground. Try and come here early in the morning or late at night to avoid the ubiquitous throngs of touriss.
Piazza Navona
 This dramatic piazza, lined with cafés and restaurants, lies at the heart of the centro storico (historic center). Its oval shape follows the form of the former stadium, built in AD86 by Emperor Domitian. During the Renaissance, the site was flooded to stage mock naval battles. The piazza gained its current form in the mid-17th century, when Pope Innocent X commissioned Borromini to design the Church of Sant’Agnese. In front of the church Bernini built the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), adorned with powerful figures representing the four great rivers (the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges and the Rio de la Plata or River Plate) which in turn represented the four areas of the world known in Borromini’s time (Africa, Europe, Asia and America respectively).
Vatican Museum
 The Vatican Museum or Musee Vaticani is one of largest museum complex in the world, located inside the grand and magnificent Vatican Palace. The Vatican Museum was founded by the Pope Julius II the 16th century in the Vatican City. Today, they are counted amongst greatest art and sculpture museums in the world, displaying an extraordinary collection of arts and artifacts of the Roman Catholic Church. In addition, the walls of the Vatican Palace have beautiful paintings and frescos from renowned Renaissance artists such as Fra Angelico, Perugino, Botticelli, Signorelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Giorgio Vasari and Taddeo Zuccari and host of others. It's said that no trip to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Vatican Palace and the Vatican Museums in Vatican City. Thousands of tourists and art lovers from all over the world visit the Vatican City every year to see the world-renowned Vatican Museums.
The Vatican City
 Vatican city (Citta del Vaticano), the papal residence, was built over the tomb of Saint Peter. The Vatican's position as a sovereign state within a state was quaranteed by the Lateran Treaty of 1929, marked by the building of a new road, the Via della Conciliazione. This leads from huge St Peter's basilica to Castel Sant' Angelo, a monument to a far grimmer past.
Vatican is the smallest state in the world, based in Rome in Italy.
Inside the Vatican city we can find 11 Vatican Museums with the restored Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, and Vatican Gardens, an enchanted place, a system of large and small gardens, fountain, fish pool and enclousure for rabbits. They date back to medieval times when vineyards and orchards extended to the north of the Apostolic Palace.
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| Travel Map of Rome |
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| Highlights |
Events | |
» Rome Jazz Festival
» White Night
» Festa de'Noantri
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| History of Rome |
History In the 20th century, Rome went through yet another growth spurt. The pope was made sovereign of Vatican City in 1929. The new administration...
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| Shopping in Rome |
Throughout the city of Rome, the city's shops and stores vie to attract the passer-by with their elaborate window displays of colorful fashion items....
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