Quick search
CTRL+K
Quick search
CTRL+K
Rome is the eternal city where tourists can find new ways again and again. As the center of the Roman Empire and the Papacy, Rome has a history like few other cities in the world, and is still seen in many places in the neighborhoods around Rome’s seven high.
All roads lead to Rome, it is said. That’s good, because one visit is rare enough. The Romans, the climate, the history and the gastronomy give the city a really lovely southern atmosphere, which is always worth going back to and experiencing again.
Ancient Rome’s buildings with the Colosseum and the Roman Forum at the forefront are outstanding sights, and for many they are the epitome of Rome’s great history. The ruins are large in impressive size to this day as testimony to a great European kingdom.
The times after the Roman Empire also contributed to the unforgettability of Rome. The many Baroque churches are worth a trip in themselves; eg with the St. Peter’s Basilica of the Vatican and the architecture of Piazza Navona. Add to that the comfort in Trastevere and the small streets between the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, which are places that are guaranteed to bring memories of life.
Baroque Rome is one of countless highlights, as is Michelangelo’s distinguished renaissance, which can be experienced in all its beauty on the Piazza del Campidoglio. Here Marcus Aurelius stands between beautiful mansions drawing new heights.
The Roman Forum was the center of the Roman Empire. Here were located central temples, meeting halls, administration buildings and trade stalls. Today, visitors can get an impression of ancient Rome by walking among the ruins along, among other things, the Holy Way, Via Sacra. The Via Sacra was the main road in the Roman Forum, and along this were some of the most important buildings in Rome.
The Roman Forum began when different settlements on Rome’s hill approached each other in terms of construction. The depressions were thereby put into use, and the area here was drained in the 6th century BC. to make room for new dwellings, which, however, quickly had to give way to a new central square in the rapidly growing city. It was also here that the Via Sacra was built; its paving dates back to the 5th century BC.
Gradually, the Roman Forum was expanded to cover a considerable area, many remains of which can be seen today. The Roman Forum slowly fell into disrepair, and over time parts of the building were used for other buildings. The first excavations started at the end of the 18th century, and today you can see significant remains from the impressive structures that were erected here throughout antiquity.
The Palatine Hill is the central of Rome’s seven hills, and here lies one of the oldest parts of the city. The mound rises 40 meters above the Roman Forum and lies between the Roman Forum and the Circus Maximus.
According to Roman mythology, there was a cave here where the she-wolf kept Romulus and Remus alive after finding them on the banks of the Tiber. Today, you can see extensive excavations of the distinguished buildings that were formerly located here.
The Colosseum is ancient Rome’s impressive amphitheater, which originally could accommodate more than 50,000 spectators. The Colosseum was built from AD 72 under Emperor Vespasian to AD 80 under Emperor Titus. Under the following emperor, Domitian, the Colosseum was remodeled to a lesser extent, with underground passages for animals and slaves, and with an upper gallery that increased spectator capacity. Vespasian, Titus and Domitian are known as the Flavian dynasty, and thus the Colosseum is also called the Flavian Amphitheatre/Anfiteatro Flavio.
The Colosseum was built as the largest amphitheater in the Roman Empire, and it was used for several different things. There were gladiator fights in the amphitheater, and for a time there were also large-scale stagings of naval battles, which were popular entertainment at the time. Animal hunts, executions and various retellings of historical events and dramas from classical mythology were also on display in the large arena, which functioned as an amphitheater for around 500 years. At the opening performance, which was supposedly held in the year 80, 9,000 wild animals are believed to have been killed, which emphasized the great importance of the amphitheater in and for the city.
The Colosseum measures 189×156 meters in ground plan and 48 meters in height, and one can easily imagine what an impressive building it was almost 2,000 years ago. The impressive building was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1349. The earthquake caused the outer southern wall to collapse, and the many stones were then used for several new buildings in Rome. Although the Colosseum is today a ruin, it is relatively well preserved, and you can get a good impression of the arena’s functions. Thus, the Colosseum is an iconic and impressive reminder of the Roman greatness of the imperial era.
The name Colosseum does not derive from the impressive dimensions of the site, but rather from a colossus of a statue that stood in front of the Colosseum until the Middle Ages. The statue was of Emperor Nero, who on the site of the Colosseum had an artificial lake adjacent to his palace, the Domus Aurea, which was immediately to the north-east of it. The place for the lake had been created by the great fire that ravaged Rome in the year 64.
The Colosseum was built after filling in the lake, and around the new amphitheater a gladiator school and various administrative buildings were built in the area of the Domus Aurea, which was largely demolished. The financing of the construction came from the looting of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, from which it is also believed that about 100,000 people were brought, who were used for various construction work. The Jewish prisoners worked to break the travertine in Tivoli, and they also transported the stones to Rome, where they also helped with the construction itself. However, it was Roman engineers, builders and artists who carried out the most important tasks in the construction of the mighty building.
The last gladiator fights were held in the Colosseum in the 430s, while animal hunting, among other things, continued well into the 500s. After this, the arena changed character and use, with a church being incorporated into the structure at the end of the century. Later, the place was used as a cemetery, and under the many arches under the stands, residences and workshops were arranged, which are believed to have been active until the 12th century. Around the year 1200, the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum, which they fortified and decorated as a castle-like castle.
An earthquake in 1349 caused part of the Colosseum’s south side to collapse; this part lay on more porous subsoil than the other part. The fallen materials were used for other buildings in Rome, just as it eventually happened with many of the internal stones. The Colosseum’s marble facade was burned to convert the stones into calcium oxide, which was used for mortar. The bronze dragons between the stones were carved out and reused elsewhere.
In recent times, Pope Benedict XIV is believed to have made the Colosseum a holy Christian site due to the very Christian blood that was spilled during battles here. It is more certain that later popes did a lot to preserve the Colosseum, and from the 19th century several restoration projects were carried out. Under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s, the Colosseum was fully excavated and largely restored to the state the amphitheater is in today.
Physically, you can experience the Colosseum’s facade on part of the amphitheater today. The outer facade to the north contrasts with the visible interior parts of the building to the south, where the theater partially collapsed in 1349. On the facade, between the Colosseum’s three floors with arches, you can see columns from the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders. In each arch on the upper floors there were originally statues of gods and other figures from classical mythology.
The Colosseum was built with 80 entrances so that the arena could be quickly filled and possibly evacuated. 76 entrances were intended for ordinary citizens, while the northern entrance was for the emperor. The three entrances to the south, east and west respectively were reserved for the elite. All entrances were numbered, so the system was very similar to that found in modern stadium buildings. The spectator seats were divided into sections, and these sections were carefully filled in an order that marked the status and condition of the spectators. The best place was of course reserved for the emperor, while the Westerners sat equally well opposite the emperor.
In the middle of the stands was the arena itself, the dimensions of which were 83×48 metres. The floor was made of wood, which was covered with sand. The wooden floor could be removed, allowing the structure below to be filled with water to set up sea battles. The current walls of the so-called hypogeum under the arena were built under the emperor Domitian, and after that naval battles could no longer be conducted. Tunnels led from the outside to the arena, where elevators and hydraulic systems could create the staging of the shows that took place in the Colosseum.
A visit to Piazza Navona is a very special experience. The framework of the square and the foundations of the surrounding houses are made up of the ground plane from Domitian’s Stadium from the year 86. The stadium had room for 30,000 spectators.
From the 15th century, the place was referred to as a square, and it temporarily housed the city’s market. Since then, Piazza Navona became a beautiful example of Baroque Rome, not least with the construction of the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone and the square’s three fountains.
The dominant central fountain is the artist Bernini’s Fountain of the Rivers/Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi from 1651. The four rivers Danube, Ganges, Nile and Río de la Plata are each symbolized by a giant. In the middle stands an obelisk from the time of Domitian, which was previously erected at the Circus Maxentius. The other two fountains in their current forms date back to the 1800s.
To the west is the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, whose facade is among Rome’s most beautiful from the Baroque era. The beautifully decorated dome is from 1622-1625 and the facade from the 1650s. Inside you will find, among other things, some papal tombs. Next to the church is the 17th-century mansion Palazzo Pamphilj, which was built as a residence for Pope Innocent X.
Piazza del Campidoglio is the central square on the Capitoline Hill, rising northwest of the Roman Forum. In 1539, Pope Paul III gave Michelangelo the task of creating a new square that would give the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius some suitable framework.
The equestrian statue is believed to date from the year 165, and it was originally gilded. The statue, now a copy, was erected here in 1538. The original can be seen in the New Palace, one of the elegant mansions around Piazza del Campidoglio.
Michelangelo designed both the pavement of the square and the surrounding buildings, and the result is one of the city’s most elegant squares. Furthermore, he designed the Cordonata staircase that leads up to the Piazza del Campidoglio.
In contrast to Cordonata, you can also advantageously walk along the city’s town hall on both sides of this building. Here you get to viewing terraces with a unique panorama over the Roman Forum.
Pantheon is one of the most famous buildings from ancient Rome. The Greek name Pantheon/Πάνθειον means Temple of All Gods, and that was also the purpose of the construction. The original Pantheon was built in the years 27-25 BC, but then it was modified by the emperor Hadrian in the year 125.
Both the floor and the building are original, and it is the best-preserved monument from ancient Rome. The height of the dome and the diameter are both an impressive 43 meters. The hole at the top of the dome is 9.1 meters in diameter, and up here the masonry is 1.2 meters thick. At the base of the dome, the thickness is 6.4 metres.
In 609, the Pantheon was handed over by Emperor Phocas to Pope Boniface IV. The Pope converted the building into a Christian church, which certainly helped save the building from decay in the early Middle Ages.
Since the Renaissance, the Pantheon has also been used as a tomb. Several celebrities have been buried here over time. Among them are the kings Victor Emanuel II and Umberto I, as well as the painter Raphael, whose tomb is quite elegantly built.
In the Piazza della Rotonda in front of the Pentheon stands an obelisk from a temple of Ra in Heliopolis in Egypt. The obelisk is from the time of Ramses II in the 13th century BC. It was erected here by Pope Clement XI in 1711; the fountain at the foot is made by Filippo Barigioni.
The Church of the Gesù is the mother church of the Jesuit order, and it belongs to the city’s most richly decorated church buildings. In 1540, the Jesuit order was confirmed by Pope Paul III, and after that they wanted to build a stately church. Construction began in 1568. The facade is late Renaissance or early Baroque, and it has inspired many other Jesuit churches around the world.
The interior is in sumptuous Baroque, and among the many highlights is the ceiling fresco painted 1668-1683 by Giovanni Battista Gaulli. The dome is also worth seeing, and a closer look at the altar to the north of the church shows the time’s counter-reformation in sculptural art. Here the Protestants are physically held down, and pages are torn out of Protestant scriptures.
The Trevi Fountain is the largest and most impressive of Rome’s many Baroque fountains. It is squeezed into the small streets, but with a height of 25 meters and a width of 19 meters it fills up well and creates space in the cityscape.
The fountain is located in the place where the historical aqueduct Aqua Virgo had its end point. The aqueduct was part of the water supply for ancient Rome, and it measured 22 kilometers in length.
The atmosphere of the neighborhood around the Trevi Fountain helps to make the monument from the years 1732-1762 even more exciting to see and enjoy, and you must finally remember to throw a coin over your shoulder and into the fountain – then you are guaranteed a reunion with the city. Perhaps that is why it is one of the most visited places for tourists in the Italian capital.
Castel Sant’Angelo is a cylindrical fortress tower that was built as a mausoleum by the Emperor Hadrian and completed in the year 139. Hadrian’s urn was kept here, and it also became a tradition with the ashes of subsequent emperors. The last burial here was that of Caracalla in 217. In 271, the mausoleum was built into Rome’s defense system, and from the 4th century it became an actual defensive structure.
The name Engelsborg comes from a time when the plague ravaged Rome. The Pope walked at the front of a procession, where the archangel Michael appeared above the castle. It was a sign that the plague would disappear from the city. The castle got its current name and a statue of the archangel on that occasion.
In the Middle Ages, Engelsborg was strengthened and rebuilt into an actual fortress. In 1277 the Pope had it built together with the Vatican palaces through the Passetto di Borgo corridor. The papacy used the castle as protection during sieges, for example Pope Clement VII fled here during Charles V’s attack in 1527. Engelsborg was also used as a prison, where one of the prominent inmates was Giordano Bruno, who ended up being burned as a heretic in 1600.
The building is now set up as a museum, and it is both exciting and quite comprehensive. The museum extends over five floors and covers, among other things, the papal rooms.
St. Peter’s Square is the central square of the Vatican. The current square was designed in the years 1656-1667 with careful consideration of the location in front of Peter’s Church. The elliptical shape is a symbol of the church’s embrace, and the square was laid out so that as many people as possible can stand on it and receive the Pope’s blessings. The impressive Doric columns in the colonnades form a typical monumental Baroque entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica itself.
The 41 meter high obelisk in the middle of the square was made of red granite and originates from Egypt, from where Emperor Caligula brought it to Rome in the year 37. The obelisk dates from the 13th century BC, and it was erected on what was then was Nero’s Stadium.
It was at Nero’s Stadium that St. Peter was crucified in the year 64. It happened after the great fire which ravaged Rome in the year 64. Nero blamed the Christians for the fire, and thereby all Christians were judged. The executions began, and they were carried out in grotesque fashion. Nero gave the Christians the choice between being bitten to death by dogs after being sewn into the skins of wild animals, being burned as torches and lighting the streets at night, or being crucified. Saint Peter was crucified, and it is said to have happened upside down, as only Jesus was to be crucified in the way it had been done.
The mighty St. Peter’s Basilica, also known as Peter’s Church, is the center of the Catholic Church and stands as one of the holiest places in Christianity. The church is built on the place where Jesus’ disciple Peter was buried, and already in earlier Christianity it was a place that was marked.
In the first centuries AD had Christianity not really come to official Rome, where instead there were temples dedicated to various Roman gods. However, the disciple Peter had become the first bishop of Rome, which also made him the first pope. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Emperor Constantine I had a church built on the spot where Saint Peter had been crucified. It was a five-nave church, which was consecrated in 326.
The ancient Christian church stood on the site for over a thousand years before Pope Julius II had it demolished to start the construction of the current church instead; it happened in 1506. The church was designed by Donato Bramante, who let the ground plane be a Greek cross. After Bramante’s death in 1514, several other prominent personalities came to oversee the construction of the church. Among them were Raphael until his death in 1520 and Michelangelo, who became chief architect from 1547. Michelangelo’s main works during his time on the church project were the choir and the great dome. With the influence of later architects, Peter’s Church was inaugurated in 1626.
Peter’s Church is one of the world’s largest churches, and it is the largest Catholic church. Despite its importance, it is not the cathedral of Rome; it is a status that the Lateran Church has. Peter’s Church is one of the four so-called patriarchal churches in Rome and thus, from a religious point of view, one of several of Rome’s main churches.
Peter’s Church’s external dimensions are enormous. It is 135 meters high and 200 meters long, and with its colonnades around St. Peter’s Square, it is an impressive sight; facing the square, the facade is 114 meters wide and 51 meters high. And inside, the greatness really unfolds, because here the dimensions are correspondingly enormous, which many will probably nod in recognition of, if you have, for example, seen TV transmissions from the midnight mass at Christmas time.
There is a lot to see in the enormous church space, which can accommodate around 60,000 people. The central element and the reason for the impressive construction is Saint Peter’s tomb. Above it stands the church’s 30-metre high altar, and here it is 115 meters up to Michelangelo’s dome.
One of the first things you see when you enter the church is a red porphyry stone in the floor. It is said that it was precisely here that Charlemagne stood when Pope Leo III crowned him emperor in the year 800. To the right in the first side chapel, you can see Michelangelo’s Pietà, which depicts the Virgin Mary with Jesus in her arms after he had been crucified.
On the right side from the entrance there are several side chapels, and on the left side you can see papal tombs and monuments for several popes. These include the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s impressive tomb monument for Pope Pius VII; the monument dates from 1831. Immediately next to it is the tomb of Pope Innocent VIII. At the end of the church and thus behind St. Peter’s high altar, Popes Urban VIII and Paul III are buried.
This is also where you can experience the so-called Catedra Petri. Cathedra Petri is a chair that is considered one of the relics of the church. The chair is believed to have been used by Saint Peter, although research has indicated that the chair cannot be dated further back than the 5th century. The chair stands today as the central part of a Baroque work that Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed and executed in the years 1647-1653.
The altar itself and the canopy over St. Peter’s tomb were the first task that Bernini was given during his long time decorating the church. As a child, Bernini had visited St. Peter’s Basilica and expressed his wish to be able to create a monument to Saint Peter, and that wish came true. Bernini’s canopy is made of bronze and built to create a kind of sacred space above the altar itself.
Bernini got the inspiration for the canopy from several places; partly from canopies above papal processions, partly from a work with eight columns from the early Christian church on the site and partly from twisted columns from the Temple in Jerusalem. The columns were further decorated with laurel leaves and bees, which were Pope Urban VIII’s symbol. The size of the canopy was created to create a kind of link between the church and Michelangelo’s huge dome, and that transparency allowed the view of the Cathedra Petri and statues in the aisles through the canopy.
Bernini also executed other works in the church, such as the sculpture of Saint Longinus from 1639, and the artist was also commissioned to equip St. Peter’s Basilica with towers, where Pope Urban VIII wanted to see a proposal for towers. The Pope approved the plan, but ended up requiring the top of the first completed tower to be demolished in order to build the towers higher. In 1642, the tower construction was stopped, and Bernini had to pay for their demolition.
Under the church floor there is a large crypt where there are countless graves. Here, Saint Peter’s grave is found immediately under the church’s altar, and there are also several papal graves in the other part of the crypt. There are also others buried, such as the German-Roman Emperor Otto II and Queen Christina of Sweden, who abdicated in 1654 in order to follow her Catholic faith.
It is often important to arm yourself with patience when visiting St. Peter’s Church, as there is almost always a long queue to see the church. You can come even before opening hours, when there are often fewer visitors who take their place in the queue, or you can visit the Vatican Museums first, as there is a direct route to the church from the Sistine Chapel. This can save quite a lot of time.
The Vatican Museums are one of the highlights of a visit to Rome. The collections in the museums are so rich and lavish that there will almost never be enough time to enjoy it all.
The buildings themselves, where the museums are located, are papal palaces that have been built over time as papal residences. The first palace was founded by Innocent III in 1198. Later, Pope Innocent VIII had the Belvedere Palace built at the end of the 15th century, and at the beginning of the 16th century the Belvedere was connected to the other parts of the complex; it was under Julius II. Later, not least in the 18th century, the complex was expanded and partly rebuilt, for example the octagonal courtyard in Belvedere was created in 1773.
Of the architecturally interesting things, you can see Bramante’s Trappe/La Scala del Bramante from the time of Julius II, and the decoration of the courtyard in front of the Belvedere Castle, Cortile della Pigna. Here you can see the pinecone sculpture, which originates from ancient Rome.
The museums themselves exhibit, among other things, Assyrian, Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman and medieval art. Only the absolute highlights are described here. Of the sculptures, you should see the Laocoon marble group, believed to have been made in Rhodes in the century BC, it was found in 1506. Of the reliefs and mosaics, there are examples here from ancient Egypt and from the Baths of Caracalla.
Paintings are also in abundance here, not least from the Renaissance, where Raphael and Michelangelo are probably the most prominent in the museums. The Raphael Halls, Stanze di Raffaello, are decorated by Raphael and some of his students. The halls consist of Constantine’s Hall, Sala di Constantino, Heliodorus’ Room, Stanza di Eliodoro, Segnatura’s Room, Stanza della Segnature, and the Hall of the Fire in the Borgo, Stanza dell’incendio del Borgo. The decorations of the halls were ordered by Pope Julius II, and they were painted from 1508. In all the halls, with the exception of Constantine’s Hall, Raphael himself painted the works, drew the sketches or participated. In the Hall of Constantine, Raphael himself is not thought to have been particularly involved.
The Sistine Chapel/Cappella Sistina from 1481 is the room where cardinals elect new popes. The chapel is the most important thing in the palace complex, and also the most important thing to see if you don’t have the time to visit the big museums. The chapel is famous for its wall and ceiling frescoes, which were completed in 1541. On the walls are twelve paintings surrounding Michelangelo’s central work, Judgment Day, Giudizio Universale. The twelve paintings show episodes in the lives of Moses and Jesus, and they were painted by Botticello, Ghirlandao, Michelangelo, Perugina, Rosselli and Signorelli. The ceiling in the Sistine Chapel is a masterpiece by Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling in the years 1508-1512. The work shows, among other things, Creation and various people from the Bible.
Ancient Rome’s many baths were Roman baths, and at the same time they functioned as meeting places. Emperor Caracalla’s baths are the most impressive and put even modern wellness places in relief.
The baths were built in the years 212-216, and the impressive dimensions of the facility are 228×116 meters with a height of 38 meters. It is believed that 1,600 could bathe here at the same time, and among the facilities were a caldarium (hot room), a frigidarium (cold room), a swimming pool, several exercise rooms and a library for extra recreation.
The baths’ water supply came from the aqueduct Aqua Marcia, which was the longest of ancient Rome’s many aqueducts. The heating took place by burning coal and wood in a system for heating and circulating water. The baths were used until they were destroyed in the year 537. The ruins today give visitors a good picture of the conditions of the time.
The colossal marble monument Il Vittoriano was built in the years 1885-1911 as a neoclassical symbol of the new Italy’s unification after the many centuries of papal rule. The monument was officially inaugurated in 1925 and was in honor of King Victor Emanuel II. There is also an equestrian statue of him in front of Il Vittoriano.
The monument is considered one of the national symbols of Italy, and it is also called the Altar of the Fatherland/Altare della Patria. In the monument there is an altar to the fatherland, which was an altar to the goddess Roma before it also became a memorial to the unknown soldier.
Il Vittoriano’s architecture was chosen as an interpretation of the ancient Roman forum. In the large building there is a museum dedicated to Italy’s collection, and you can also go up to the roof of the monument, from where there is an unparalleled view of Rome. On the roof are also two statues of Victoria riding quadrigas.
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch that was dedicated in the year 315 to commemorate Emperor Constantine I the Great’s victory over Maxentius three years earlier. The victory came at the Battle of Ponto Milvio outside Rome, and it happened on October 28, 312. The battle ended the year-long struggle between Constantine and Maxentius for power in Rome.
The arch is 21 meters high, 25 meters wide, 7 meters deep and extremely well preserved. It spans the historic Via Triumphalis, used by the emperors when they arrived in Rome to celebrate a triumph. On the arch you can see friezes and inscriptions that, among other things, pay tribute to the emperor’s wars, exploits and deeds.
The Arch of Constantine differs from other triumphal arches by largely using recycled materials in the decoration. This one came from the times of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius from the 100s. The large warrior statues on top of the arch’s columns represent soldiers from Dacia and are examples of reuse from Hadrian’s time.
The Forum Boarium is a place where you can see some of the best preserved buildings from ancient Rome. These are the temples Hercules Victors Temple/Tempio di Ercole Vincitore and Portunus Temple/Tempio di Portuno, both located on the old Forum Boarium, which was next to Rome’s now historic port on the Tiber.
The round Temple of Hercules Victor was built in the Greek style with a colonnade all around. As Hercules was the god of merchants, this temple was erected in this trading place, this forum. The temple was built around the year 120 BC, there are 20 Corinthian columns each 10.6 meters in height. The temple was converted into a church in 1135.
The Portunus temple with its rectangular ground plan was dedicated to the god Portunus, who among other things protected the traders’ agricultural products and various livestock. The temple was built around 100 BC. using ionic columns. It was consecrated as a church in 872. Both temples are no longer churches and stand today as monuments from ancient Rome.
La Bocca della Verità is a large, round face carving in a piece of Pavonazzetto marble. It is believed to be a symbol of one of the pre-Christian gods, but it is now mostly known as a symbol of truth; a kind of lie detector. The story goes that you would lose your hand if you placed it in the carved mouth and told a lie at the same time.
The large marble sculpture dates from the century AD and was placed at the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century. The church originally dates from the 6th century, and it contains extensions and additions from many centuries; for example, the tower has been preserved in an appearance from the 12th century.
The famous Spanish Steps with its 138 steps were built in 1723-1725. The staircase was intended as an access road from the Piazza di Spagna to the Trinita dei Monti church, but it quickly became an access point for public life. Now it is also best known as one of Rome’s biggest meeting points for both tourists and Romans.
Below the stairs, in Piazza di Spagna, is the fountain La Fontana della Barcaccia. The fountain was built in 1627, and the name means Den Gamle Båds Springvand, which alludes to the fountain’s appearance. The reason for the fountain was when the Tiber overflowed its banks in 1598. Piazza di Spagna was flooded and when the water receded, it left a boat in the square. Above the stairs is a smaller replica of Ramses II’s obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo. It has stood here since 1789.
The Theater of Marcellus was inaugurated in the year 12 BC. of the emperor Augustus. Julius Caesar started construction, which was named after Augustus’ nephew, Marcus Marcellus, who had died a few years before its completion.
The theater has a diameter of 111 metres, and there was room for around 13,000 spectators. It was used as a theater until the 4th century, after which it fell into disrepair. It was then used as a fortress, and in the 16th century the Orsini family built a residence on top of the beautiful old arcades. The arcades can still be seen today, just as there are still homes here.
The district of Trastevere is one of the most atmospheric in Rome with its countless narrow streets, cozy squares and many churches. There are always many Romans and tourists here who go for pleasant evening walks or visit the many good restaurants. The square and streets around Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere are particularly rich in atmosphere.
The name Trastevere means that this is a place on the opposite side of the Tiber, and that is how it has always been seen from the center of Rome. Today, the districts are connected by several bridges, trams, etc.
The square Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is the center of this district, and among the many cozy eateries and the octagonal 17th-century fountain, the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere reigns supreme.
Already in the 200s, the first and very early Christian church was built. In the first half of the 12th century, Pope Innocent II begins the remodeling and expansion that over time has created the building you see today. The bell tower and facade mosaics date from the 12th century, while the archway and colonnaded hall in front of the church were rebuilt in the 18th century.
Inside there are several works of art, and not least the mosaics, which are mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries, are impressive. The beautiful floor was laid in the 1870s based on the original from the older church building.
The Andrea della Valle Basilica is the mother church of the Theatine Order, founded as a Catholic order of monks in 1524. The church is one of many in Rome founded by new orders that were established as part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation after Martin Luther’s ideas spread in Europe.
Sant’Andrea della Valle is a church worth seeing. The style is elegant baroque, and construction was started in 1590. After a few years, construction was stopped, but with a considerable donation in 1608, Carlo Maderno was able to design a larger and more elegant church than originally planned. Construction started again, and the church’s interior was completed in 1650. The beautiful facade was built in the years 1655-1663.
The church space is impressive and the dome is one of the largest in Rome. It was decorated by Giovanni Lanfranco’s frescoes from the years 1625-1628; they represent the glory of paradise. The actual ceiling paintings in the church room were done by Domenichino, and they depict scenes from Saint Andrew’s life and virtues. Inside you can also see a number of beautiful side chapels and the papal tombs of Pius II and Pius III.
Spada Palace is a large mansion that was built in 1540 for Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro, and in 1632 it was bought by Cardinal Bernardino Spada, who gave the place its name. Francesco Borromini remodeled the mansion upon purchase, and he painted the well-known illusion painting, Trompe l’œil, which can be seen in the arcades of an inner courtyard.
Today, the Galleria Spada art museum is located here. The core of the exhibition is Cardinal Spada’s collection of works by European masters such as Brueghel the Elder, Albrecht Dürer and Michelangelo.
Emperor Diocletian’s baths were the largest in Rome. They were opened in the year 305 and they were in operation until 537, when the Goths destroyed the water-conducting aqueduct. The voluminous baths are relatively well preserved, as several of the buildings were subsequently adapted for other purposes and therefore maintained.
At the baths stands an Egyptian obelisk from the time of Ramses II in the 13th century BC. It originates from Heliopolis and was one of a pair. The other stands in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. It was rediscovered in Rome in 1883, erected in front of Roma Termini railway station, and in 1924 moved to its current location.
On the east side of Venice Square is Trajan’s Forum, a preserved part of ancient Rome. The square was consecrated in 112 as the last of the city’s imperial forums and named after the emperor Trajan.
The square’s beautiful, 38-metre-high Trajan’s Column, Colonna di Traiano, was erected in the year 113. The column’s exquisitely twisted motifs bear witness to Emperor Trajan’s victories in the wars against Dacia in the years 101-102 and 105-106.
The elegant Villa Torlonia was built in Neoclassicism by the banker Giovanni Torlonia. The villa was built in the years 1802-1806 and is beautifully situated in a large park that opened to the public in 1978. In the years 1925-1943, Villa Torlonia was the home of the Italian head of state Benito Mussolini, which has made it even more famous.
The interior of the villa is rich with many works of art, beautiful furniture and elegant decoration in the ballroom and dining room, among other things. Room by room you can see new decorations all the time, which for example applies to the Egyptian room. You can also see Benito Mussolini’s bedroom and see the history of the house, under which a bunker was set up during the Fascist era.
Around the park there are many smaller buildings, with La Casina delle Civette and Il Teatro being among the most worth seeing. Obelisks and fountains also belong to the park, which is very popular with the locals, whom you meet to a large extent during a trip here.
Piazza del Popolo is a beautifully landscaped respite in the middle of the city. Of particular interest is the obelisk that was taken from Egyptian Heliopolis and erected at the Circus Maximus in the year 10. It was found together with the Lateran obelisk in 1587 and erected two years later. The sculptures on the foundation date from 1818.
In the days of the Roman Empire, the square was inside the northern city gate, and it was from here that the important road to Florence and Rimini started. Piazza del Popolo got its current appearance in the early 1800s, when a number of buildings were demolished and the square itself was designed in a neoclassical style.
To the south, three streets, the so-called Tridente, of which the Via Flaminia is the old main road from the northern provinces of the Roman Empire to the center of Rome.
EUR is a suburb of Rome that was built from 1935 on the initiative of Benito Mussolini. The idea was that the area should be inaugurated in 1942 as a world exhibition. The occasion was the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fascist regime. The construction of EUR was also supposed to create urban development in the direction towards the sea.
The architectural style was inspired by ancient Rome, and the building materials were primarily limestone, marble and tuff. The style of EUR is the prototype for the symmetrical Fascist architecture that was intended in larger buildings and in public urban planning.
Among the most noteworthy buildings is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (Quadrato della Concordia) from 1938-1943, which is the landmark of the district and which is also called a square Colosseum, Colloseo Quadrato. The arches were set up in a 6×9 pattern, symbolic of the number of letters in Benito Mussolini’s name.
At the opposite end of a central street from the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana is the Congress Palace, Palazzo dei Congressi (Piazza John F. Kennedy). In the square Piazza delle Nazioni Unite you get a good impression of the symmetry of the architecture. Shortly to the south of here is the grand square Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, which, among other things, contains an imposing colonnade and a central obelisk.
Another of the completed buildings is the church Basilica SS Pietro e Paolo (Piazzale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo), which clearly has features from old Roman church buildings.
EUR was expanded and, in the case of some original buildings, completed from the 1950s. At the southern end you can see one of the newer buildings, the sports arena, originally called PalaEUR (Piazzale dello Sport). The PalaEUR was completed for the 1960 Rome Olympic Games.
In addition to the exciting villa and famous at Tivoli, Emperor Hadrian left his mark on Rome’s urban planning in Ostia Antica. Ostia Antica is located near the mouth of the Tiber and was Rome’s old port. The city had 100,000 inhabitants and, in addition to being a trading town, was a fortress facing the sea.
Ostia’s trade flourished for a long period, but increasing silting of the harbor and malaria epidemics in the fourth century left the city in ruins. The siltation continued and thereby slowly buried Ostia. This has meant that the city has remained well preserved for posterity, and people from all walks of life can be found here.
In addition to the excavations themselves, it is exciting to get a feel for the city plan. The main streets Decumanus Maximus and Cardo are the foundation of the city’s infrastructure with their large residential, recreational and administrative areas. The entrance to the ancient Ostia Antica itself is through the Porta Romana. Here you can follow Decumanus Maximus to the city’s Forum.
On the way to the Forum you can see the Neptune Term. It got its name because of its preserved black-and-white mosaic of Neptune with his bride. There are many small shops in the area, including Fortunatus Bar, which also has preserved floor mosaics.
At Piazzale delle Corporazioni there are a number of trading offices from the areas around Rome in the Mediterranean, for example Carthage and Alexandria. See the mosaics from the areas, including the elephant in Sabratha. The theatre, located centrally on the Decumanus Maximus, is occasionally in use. It could originally seat 4,000 spectators.
At the Forum, which was the city’s central place for trade and worship, you can see the ruins of the main temple as well as various shops. A little away from Decumanus Maximus were the houses for living, and behind the Forum is Diana’s House, which is one of Ostia’s more distinguished houses with a private bathhouse and its own cistern.
The city of Tivoli is located in the hills east of Rome. Since the time of ancient Rome, Tivoli has attracted emperors and the city’s rich families, who took holidays and built residences in the area, which were also used for worship. The area is an old spa area, and if that’s what you want, you can visit the Bagni di Tivoli spa with its terms.
Tivoli’s highlight is Villa d’Este (Piazza Trento 1) with the world-famous Italian garden complex with fountains, grottoes and water features. Cardinal d’Este tried unsuccessfully to become pope in 1550. Instead, he went to Tivoli with the idea of creating a unique garden complex with terraces and hanging gardens. Ten years later, construction started.
The palace was a monastery, and it was furnished with new decorations before d’Este’s death in 1572. The next building periods were at the beginning of the 17th century and from 1660 to 1670, when the old garden facilities were renovated, and at the same time new beautiful parts were added . In the period 1700-1852, the palace and garden fell into disrepair. Ongoing restorations followed, and in the 1920s it opened to the public.
A walk through the garden with its many streams and fountains is an experience; not least the experience of the colossal Neptune fountain, Fontana di Nettuno. Be sure to watch it and enjoy the water play. Another work worth seeing is the Organ Fountain, Fontana dell’Organo.
The area around Villa Adriana was already a favorite place for the rich Romans before its construction. Hadrian’s Villa was built in the year 133 by Emperor Hadrian and is the most prestigious of the various imperial villas. Adriana is more than just a villa, it is rather a large recreation area.
Excavations in the 60-hectare area started at the end of the 15th century, and various archaeologists worked here continuously. The area passed to the new Italian state in 1870 and was later turned into the museum it is today.
On the site you can see the ruins of buildings and gardens, but also fountains and the many transport tunnels under the complex. At the entrance to the museum, there is a reconstructed overview, so you can form a good impression here.
At the entrance you will find the Pecile colonnade, which measures 232×97 meters and has a beautiful basin in the middle. In the two terms, the small and the large, you can see the beautiful facilities with frigidariums and swimming pool.
Canopus, which is 185×75 meters, is named after a city near Alexandria, where there was a canal to the Nile. Canopus’ channel measures 119×18 meters. It is surrounded by statues and at one end Corinthian columns with statues of gods under the preserved arches. The view is fantastic, and you sense the atmosphere from the facilities of the time.
At the opposite end of the facility is the square Piazza d’Oro, which measures approximately 60×50 metres. The rooms at the square have had official functions. There was also a fountain here. At Piazza d’Oro is the Hospitalia, which was the guest area with ten rooms. The floor mosaics are exciting and show that there was room for a total of 30 sleeping guests.
Behind the Hospitalia stand the two towers, which are designed as Greek and Latin libraries. Next to it is the Teatro Marittimo, a series of rooms on the circular island.
Via Torre di Mezzavia 35
centroanagnina.com
Via Alberto Pollio 50
auchan.it
Via Ponte di Piscina Cupa 64
mcarthurglen.it/castelromano
Viale Palmiro Togliatti 2
cinecittadue.com
Piazzale Appio 7, Via Cola di Rienzo 173
coin.it
Via Mario Rigamonti 10
Via Cristoforo Colombo
euroma2.it
Piazza Fiume, Via del Corso 1 89
larinascente.it
Piazza Michelangelo Buonarroti
parcoleonardo.it
Via Alberto Lionello 201
galleriaportadiroma.it
Campo de Fiori, around Piazza di Spagna (Via Belsiana, Via Borgognona, Via Condotti, Via Frattina), Via del Corso (and side streets), Via del Tritone
Aquapiper
Via Maremmana Inferiore 354
aquapiper.it
Explora il Museo dei Bambini
Via Flaminia 82
mdbr.it
Giardino Zoologico
Piazzale del Giardino Zoologico
bioparco.it
Il Fantastico Mondo del Fantastico
Castello di Lunghezza
fantasticomondo.it
Parco Acquatico Hydromania
Vicolo Casale Lumbroso 200
hydromania.it
The legend tells that the twin brothers Romulus and Remus drifted ashore from the River Tiber at precisely the place where Romulus founded Rome, after being raised by a female wolf and after killing Remus in the battle for power. The town was then named after Romulus.
The surrender goes on to say that the city was open to citizens; whether they were slaves or free. And to bring women to the city’s many men, Romulus invited neighboring tribes to a festival in the city. It led to war and reconciliation between Romulus and King Titus Tatius, who then divided the government. A senate was established as the king’s advisers, and the hundred members called Romulus the patron; the word that later became patricians.
Rome is believed to have been founded in 753 BC, and archaeological finds show settlements on several of the hills surrounding the Tiber. At this time, there were Italian tribes around Rome and the central part of the Italian peninsula, while the Etruscans dominated in the north and the Greeks in the south.
The kingdom of the Etruscans grew, and Rome became subject to them on their way to the Greeks. Several of the Roman kings had also been Etruscans.
In its Etruscan times, the Republic of Rome was under the influence of the Etruscans, but also the Greeks of Naples and other cities acted as inspiration on the Rome which, with the decline of the Etruscans, broke loose in the year 500 BC.
The city flourished, and with independence Rome also chose the monarchy in favor of the establishment of the Republic of Rome, governed by the city senate.
Rome was at this time the leading city in the area, and through settlement with the Etruscans and other tribes, among others, the city became the leader in the Latin world during the following century.
Rome expanded its realm and within a few centuries controlled all of central and southern Italy. Several tribes were defeated along the way, and the Greek cities were eventually also controlled.
In the twentieth century, Rome was the absolute leading city on the peninsula, and the development of the later enormous kingdom was initiated.
The area’s major enemy was Carthage on the North African coast. Hard fighting was fought over the power of the Mediterranean, and after the three Punic wars, Rome finally won in 146 BC. Rome was now in possession of overseas territories and the city’s dominance throughout the Mediterranean region started.
Rome as the center of the empire grew, and new provinces were constantly conquered to the Roman Empire. At the same time as the conquests abroad, tensions rose in Rome, where Senate rule was put on several tests. It triggered more civil wars and the republic was on its political downturn.
Julius Caesar took power in 49 BC, and he ruled Rome until Brutus’s assassination of him in 44 BC. The killing was to counter the insidious dictatorship, and the Senate tried unsuccessfully to reintroduce the Republic. Instead, it came to a final showdown on power on September 2, 31 BC. Here Marcus Antonius and Octavian, the later Augustus, fought and Octavian won and became emperor. The day thus marks the transition from republic to empire.
Rome in August’s time around year 0 was the kingdom of the world and the world. More than a million people lived here, and the emperors built arenas, baths, palaces and other things that, by and large, nobody had in the world.
Rome’s large population had gradually become dependent on the economy of a well-functioning Roman Empire, as the city was not self-sufficient or able to maintain its structures without the support of the central power and thereby the whole kingdom. It is believed that up to 25% was subsidized and that Rome’s size was thus greater than without the great kingdom where taxes were levied.
Major construction continued, and the city’s fire of 64 under Emperor Nero provided opportunities for large-scale reconstructions and new projects such as the Coliseum that originated from this time.
In 116, the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent, and then the population of Rome itself began to decline. At the end of the century, the plague hit, killing only 2,000 people daily while it ravaged.
In the latter half of the 20th century, there were only about 500,000 inhabitants left in Rome. The kingdom was like a city marked by decline, and from 161 there had been ever-greater internal struggles in the vast realm; especially from the eastern provinces.
In 273 the emperor Aurelian’s city walls were completed. They ran for about 20 kilometers/13 mi, and despite the large area and increased protection, there were times of decline. The emperors were even less time in Rome than in the heyday of the city just a few centuries earlier.
The eastern part of the Roman Empire proved stronger than Rome and the western part where the decline marked. It succeeded in 330 Emperor Constantine I to establish Constantinople as the new capital of the kingdom. With that decision, many wealthy and city aristocracy moved to the new capital, and the fate of Rome was sealed for a time.
After 65 years with the capital of Constantinople, the kingdom in 395 was divided into two, the Austro-Roman and the West-Roman Empire. Ravenna became the capital, and Rome’s downturn followed the downfall of the West Roman Empire, which after several looting in the 400s finally collapsed in 476, when the German Ottokar overcame Rome’s last emperor; Romulus Augustulus.
When Rome’s downfall seemed total, the historic prestige and the burgeoning and growing Christianity meant a great deal to the city’s survival and continued development.
Christianity gained importance over the emperor’s power, and henceforth the pope became leader in Rome. The city was formally subject to the Eastern Roman Empire, but at the same time the popes increased the religious significance of the city in relation to Constantinople. Rome was established as the center of Christianity during this time, and it gave renewed building activity some time. The pope had been given the Lateran Church, and the first St. Peter’s church had been erected, among other things.
From the 500’s Rome was reduced to a smaller city compared to previous times. Despite this, the pope’s residence was important internationally; even when the population of the 7th century numbered only about 35,000.
The pope was one of the most important religious figures in the whole of the Eastern Roman Empire, and his words emphasized many places more than the local Byzantine administrators of the kingdom. The church not only won power, but also considerable property.
The emperors of Constantinople also gradually recognized the Pope’s power. Emperor Phocas ruled in the early 600s, and he mentioned the pope as bishop of Rome raised over the Patriarch of Constantinople and as leader of all the churches of the kingdom.
Pope preferred Rome under the Emperor of Constantinople rather than being ruled by the Langobards in Northern Italy. Rome’s supplies came mainly from the papal church’s properties in southern Italy and Sicily, so food and outer peace were preferred.
However, it came to tension; not least under Emperor Leo III, who brought about the iconoclastic image battle. Pope Gregory III convened a council in St. Peter’s Church in 731, which excommunicated the iconoclasts. It caused the emperors to confiscate considerable areas from the pope.
At the same time, the langobards sought a better relationship with Constantinople, which further put the pope under pressure.
The papacy’s rescue lay in the storming France from which help was sought. In 754, Pope Stefan II went to the French king Pipin, who had received the pope’s blessing on his ascension. Pipin gathered armies for two campaigns against the langoards, and he thereby stood the establishment of the Church State. The church state was the area where the pope ruled worldly, and it covered with the capital of Rome part of central Italy.
In 799 Pope Leo III led an annual procession, and here he was wounded by an assault. The pope sought help from the French, Charlemagne, who, with a large army and a number of French bishops, invaded Rome in November 800. After confirming Leo III as the rightful pope, Charlemagne was crowned by Leo III as new emperor in German – Roman Empire.
The coronation took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, and with the establishment of the new empire, a mighty competitor to the Byzantine East Roman Empire had suddenly emerged.
After Charlemagne came a time with a certain anarchy. The people of Rome felt a certain right to be those who appointed an emperor, while the power between the new empire and the Church state was constantly on trial.
In the following 400 years, the Pope and thereby the Church State gained more and more power. New churches were erected, but otherwise the time was not marked by any major economic boom.
Religiously, the church had also been divided in 1054 by the Great Schism, from which the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church originated.
Politically, the era was characterized by trade and a more decentralized economy in the larger Italian cities. Thus, after the Norman plunder of Rome in 1084, it was the wealthy of the trade who financed the rebuilding of the city, which still had about 30,000 inhabitants.
It revolted against the pope’s rule in 1143, when the municipality of Rome was introduced following the pattern of the former Roman republic.
Pope Klement III recognized the municipal government in 1188, but it became some subsequent centuries of ongoing quarrels between the city’s leading aristocratic families. Withdrawing to the Pope’s rule came with the election of Pope Nicholas III of the Ursini family in 1277. He moved the Pope’s seat from the Lateran Palace to the Vatican, deciding that only Romans could become one of the city’s senators. Nicholas III also won land for the papacy; eg the Romagna area from German Rudolf of Habsburg.
13th century was a hard time for Rome. The pope moved his seat from the city in 1309 and handed it to French Avignon. It meant not only religious and political decline for the city, but also financial. Without the great pope economy, no new buildings were erected, and Rome’s churches decayed.
During the period without a pope in the city, there were worldly attempts to establish a large municipality, but the pope’s power was, despite the absence, too significant. The farthest came Cola di Rienzo in 1347, when he sought to establish a new form of government with a Roman emperor.
Rome was still the coronation site for German-Roman emperors, and in 1355 Karl IV came to the city to receive the title. His visit was short and without that splendor, the pope usually over the ceremony. The coronation itself was overseen by a cardinal.
Pope Urban V visited Rome from 1367, and it became the beginning of the Atonement. During the visit, Charles IV was crowned emperor, and the Byzantine emperor came here with a prayer for a crusade against the Turkish Ottomans.
Urban V remained in Rome until 1370, but returned to Avignon. Gregory XI succeeded Urban V and he announced a relocation of the papacy to Rome in 1372. This was slowed down by the French king and the country’s cardinals. It was a deadline for the French, for on January 17, 1377, Gregory XI officially moved to Rome.
However, the religious and geographical disputes were not completed with the pope’s return. In the period 1378-1417 there were rival popes in Rome and Avignon as well as a transition also in Pisa. The dispute over the right to be pope was then settled.
Rome’s flourishing started soon after the pope’s return. At the beginning of the 15th century, the city had about 20,000 inhabitants, but among other things the cultural development that was happening now led to growth.
Fountains, squares and churches were built in great style, and the center of the Italian Renaissance moved from Florence to Rome. Among the highlights of the time are the new St. Peter’s Church and Michelangelo’s ceiling in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. The pope again wanted to make Rome the most leading city in Italy, and in addition to many buildings engaging and supporting the great artists of the time such as Michelangelo, Raphael and Botticelli.
Culturally, the popes also invested. Schools and libraries were founded, and on the whole Rome’s rebuilding was completed relatively quickly, with a large new settlement as a result.
Development continued in the 16th century, when the city was the world’s art center. Under the popes of Julius II, Leo X and Klement VII, the city developed especially from a religiously dominated city to a true Renaissance city where art and life unfolded. It was also during this period that it was talked about preserving the ruins of Rome’s ancient past.
In 1527, Rome’s heyday ceased abruptly. The German-Roman emperor Karl V’s troops marched against Rome, ravaging and plundering the city for many days. Many residents were killed or fled from the city, and the pope was arrested in Engelsborg for months.
Two years earlier, celebrations in Rome had been challenged by Martin Luther’s theses and the burgeoning reformation that caused many German and Northern European churches to turn to the power and wealth of the pope church.
In 1527, Rome’s population dived again. From the million town in the 100s to the low point with 17,000 inhabitants in the mid-1300s, only 32,000 lived in the city. The recovery of the Renaissance had been slowed down, but despite the plunder, new unpopular popes and political shifts in Europe, it was only to go ahead of the city’s size in the following centuries; as early as the 16th century, ending with about 100,000 citizens in Rome.
The 1600s-1700s were marked by a steadily growing Rome. By the end of this time, 150,000 lived here.
Of buildings, the new and present St. Peter’s Church was inaugurated in the early 17th century, and Baroque masters such as Bernini and Borromini worked in the city. From the 18th century, the Trevi Fountain is an example of the continued expansion.
In 1798, French troops invaded the area, and France proclaimed Rome a republic, ending the Pope’s political power on paper. The Republic’s time was short-lived, however, as the Church State was restored in June 1800.
The Napoleonic era, however, was not over for the land-infested church state. Rome was annexed and formally part of France.
With the fall of Napoleon in 1814, new political strokes were drawn in Europe. In the Italian peninsula, several kingdoms were established and the Church State continued.
In the decades that followed, the Pope ruled again, but Italian nationalism was on the rise and thoughts of a united Italy emerged throughout the peninsula. In 1861 the new Italy became a reality, but Rome remained outside the early years; partly under French protection.
Italian forces conquered Rome in 1870 and annexed the city in Italy. The Romans voted in favor of incorporation, and the following year the city became the capital of the country. Rome’s political status over Italy had resurfaced, but this time it was not with the pope as regent.
The pope was offered the part of Rome that was west of the River Tiber, but refused to recognize Italian dominion over the other land that was previously part of the Church State. The Pope and his power were moved to the Vatican.
As a new capital and administrative center in Italy, Rome grew again significantly. New neighborhoods emerged, the city expanded, and the population increased to about 600,000 in the year 1900.
In 1922, the monarchy in Italy fell, and Benito Mussolini took over Rome and the government. His time became a new period of high construction activity; Ancient Rome was excavated and preserved in the rapidly growing city. Large pedestrian streets were also built; From the fascist era of Italy, the streets of Via dei Fori Imperiali and Via della Conciliazione form the entrance to the Pope’s Vatican. With the expansion after the end of World War I, for the first time in 1500 years, the population reached a million around 1930.
After years of disagreement, with the Lateran Treaty in 1929, a new formal church state, the Vatican, was established, which as an independent nation has the pope as its head.
Italy has experienced a major economic development since the end of WW2, and here was the foundation for the future of Europe created on 25 March 1957. On this day the Treaty of Rome signed as the document that was the basis for the European market and thus the current EU, which had Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg as founding member states.
Three years later, Rome was at the sporting center of the world when the city set up arenas for the 1960 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Stadium again laid the grass for a world event in 1990 when Italy held the World Cup in 1990. The final was played on July 9, with West Germany winning 1-0 over Argentina.
Rome is today home to more than three million Italians and for a time also to tourists from all over the world who want to experience history’s ancient wing sauce alongside modern Italy. In the middle of the city, the pope continues to rule from the church state, whose power is global despite the country’s modest size.
Rome, Italy[/caption]
Overview of Rome
Rome is the eternal city where tourists can find new ways again and again. As the center of the Roman Empire and the Papacy, Rome has a history like few other cities in the world, and is still seen in many places in the neighborhoods around Rome’s seven high.
All roads lead to Rome, it is said. That’s good, because one visit is rare enough. The Romans, the climate, the history and the gastronomy give the city a really lovely southern atmosphere, which is always worth going back to and experiencing again.
Ancient Rome’s buildings with the Colosseum and the Roman Forum at the forefront are outstanding sights, and for many they are the epitome of Rome’s great history. The ruins are large in impressive size to this day as testimony to a great European kingdom.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Whitehorse travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Canadian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
Whitehorse is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.
Read more about Whitehorse and Canada
Canada Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/canada
City tourism: https://visitwhite-horse.ca
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/
Buy the travel guide
Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.
Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Whitehorse you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.
The colossal marble monument Il Vittoriano was built in the years 1885-1911 as a neoclassical symbol of the new Italy’s unification after the many centuries of papal rule. The monument was officially inaugurated in 1925 and was in honor of King Victor Emanuel II. There is also an equestrian statue of him in front of Il Vittoriano.
The monument is considered one of the national symbols of Italy, and it is also called the Altar of the Fatherland/Altare della Patria. In the monument there is an altar to the fatherland, which was an altar to the goddess Roma before it also became a memorial to the unknown soldier.
Il Vittoriano’s architecture was chosen as an interpretation of the ancient Roman forum. In the large building there is a museum dedicated to Italy’s collection, and you can also go up to the roof of the monument, from where there is an unparalleled view of Rome. On the roof are also two statues of Victoria riding quadrigas.
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch that was dedicated in the year 315 to commemorate Emperor Constantine I the Great’s victory over Maxentius three years earlier. The victory came at the Battle of Ponto Milvio outside Rome, and it happened on October 28, 312. The battle ended the year-long struggle between Constantine and Maxentius for power in Rome.
The arch is 21 meters high, 25 meters wide, 7 meters deep and extremely well preserved. It spans the historic Via Triumphalis, used by the emperors when they arrived in Rome to celebrate a triumph. On the arch you can see friezes and inscriptions that, among other things, pay tribute to the emperor’s wars, exploits and deeds.
The Arch of Constantine differs from other triumphal arches by largely using recycled materials in the decoration. This one came from the times of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius from the 100s. The large warrior statues on top of the arch’s columns represent soldiers from Dacia and are examples of reuse from Hadrian’s time.
The Forum Boarium is a place where you can see some of the best preserved buildings from ancient Rome. These are the temples Hercules Victors Temple/Tempio di Ercole Vincitore and Portunus Temple/Tempio di Portuno, both located on the old Forum Boarium, which was next to Rome’s now historic port on the Tiber.
The round Temple of Hercules Victor was built in the Greek style with a colonnade all around. As Hercules was the god of merchants, this temple was erected in this trading place, this forum. The temple was built around the year 120 BC, there are 20 Corinthian columns each 10.6 meters in height. The temple was converted into a church in 1135.
The Portunus temple with its rectangular ground plan was dedicated to the god Portunus, who among other things protected the traders’ agricultural products and various livestock. The temple was built around 100 BC. using ionic columns. It was consecrated as a church in 872. Both temples are no longer churches and stand today as monuments from ancient Rome.
La Bocca della Verità is a large, round face carving in a piece of Pavonazzetto marble. It is believed to be a symbol of one of the pre-Christian gods, but it is now mostly known as a symbol of truth; a kind of lie detector. The story goes that you would lose your hand if you placed it in the carved mouth and told a lie at the same time.
The large marble sculpture dates from the century AD and was placed at the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century. The church originally dates from the 6th century, and it contains extensions and additions from many centuries; for example, the tower has been preserved in an appearance from the 12th century.
The famous Spanish Steps with its 138 steps were built in 1723-1725. The staircase was intended as an access road from the Piazza di Spagna to the Trinita dei Monti church, but it quickly became an access point for public life. Now it is also best known as one of Rome’s biggest meeting points for both tourists and Romans.
Below the stairs, in Piazza di Spagna, is the fountain La Fontana della Barcaccia. The fountain was built in 1627, and the name means Den Gamle Båds Springvand, which alludes to the fountain’s appearance. The reason for the fountain was when the Tiber overflowed its banks in 1598. Piazza di Spagna was flooded and when the water receded, it left a boat in the square. Above the stairs is a smaller replica of Ramses II’s obelisk in the Piazza del Popolo. It has stood here since 1789.
The Theater of Marcellus was inaugurated in the year 12 BC. of the emperor Augustus. Julius Caesar started construction, which was named after Augustus’ nephew, Marcus Marcellus, who had died a few years before its completion.
The theater has a diameter of 111 metres, and there was room for around 13,000 spectators. It was used as a theater until the 4th century, after which it fell into disrepair. It was then used as a fortress, and in the 16th century the Orsini family built a residence on top of the beautiful old arcades. The arcades can still be seen today, just as there are still homes here.
The district of Trastevere is one of the most atmospheric in Rome with its countless narrow streets, cozy squares and many churches. There are always many Romans and tourists here who go for pleasant evening walks or visit the many good restaurants. The square and streets around Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere are particularly rich in atmosphere.
The name Trastevere means that this is a place on the opposite side of the Tiber, and that is how it has always been seen from the center of Rome. Today, the districts are connected by several bridges, trams, etc.
The square Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere is the center of this district, and among the many cozy eateries and the octagonal 17th-century fountain, the church of Santa Maria in Trastevere reigns supreme.
Already in the 200s, the first and very early Christian church was built. In the first half of the 12th century, Pope Innocent II begins the remodeling and expansion that over time has created the building you see today. The bell tower and facade mosaics date from the 12th century, while the archway and colonnaded hall in front of the church were rebuilt in the 18th century.
Inside there are several works of art, and not least the mosaics, which are mainly from the 12th and 13th centuries, are impressive. The beautiful floor was laid in the 1870s based on the original from the older church building.
The Andrea della Valle Basilica is the mother church of the Theatine Order, founded as a Catholic order of monks in 1524. The church is one of many in Rome founded by new orders that were established as part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation after Martin Luther’s ideas spread in Europe.
Sant’Andrea della Valle is a church worth seeing. The style is elegant baroque, and construction was started in 1590. After a few years, construction was stopped, but with a considerable donation in 1608, Carlo Maderno was able to design a larger and more elegant church than originally planned. Construction started again, and the church’s interior was completed in 1650. The beautiful facade was built in the years 1655-1663.
The church space is impressive and the dome is one of the largest in Rome. It was decorated by Giovanni Lanfranco’s frescoes from the years 1625-1628; they represent the glory of paradise. The actual ceiling paintings in the church room were done by Domenichino, and they depict scenes from Saint Andrew’s life and virtues. Inside you can also see a number of beautiful side chapels and the papal tombs of Pius II and Pius III.
Spada Palace is a large mansion that was built in 1540 for Cardinal Girolamo Capodiferro, and in 1632 it was bought by Cardinal Bernardino Spada, who gave the place its name. Francesco Borromini remodeled the mansion upon purchase, and he painted the well-known illusion painting, Trompe l’œil, which can be seen in the arcades of an inner courtyard.
Today, the Galleria Spada art museum is located here. The core of the exhibition is Cardinal Spada’s collection of works by European masters such as Brueghel the Elder, Albrecht Dürer and Michelangelo.
Emperor Diocletian’s baths were the largest in Rome. They were opened in the year 305 and they were in operation until 537, when the Goths destroyed the water-conducting aqueduct. The voluminous baths are relatively well preserved, as several of the buildings were subsequently adapted for other purposes and therefore maintained.
At the baths stands an Egyptian obelisk from the time of Ramses II in the 13th century BC. It originates from Heliopolis and was one of a pair. The other stands in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. It was rediscovered in Rome in 1883, erected in front of Roma Termini railway station, and in 1924 moved to its current location.
On the east side of Venice Square is Trajan’s Forum, a preserved part of ancient Rome. The square was consecrated in 112 as the last of the city’s imperial forums and named after the emperor Trajan.
The square’s beautiful, 38-metre-high Trajan’s Column, Colonna di Traiano, was erected in the year 113. The column’s exquisitely twisted motifs bear witness to Emperor Trajan’s victories in the wars against Dacia in the years 101-102 and 105-106.
The elegant Villa Torlonia was built in Neoclassicism by the banker Giovanni Torlonia. The villa was built in the years 1802-1806 and is beautifully situated in a large park that opened to the public in 1978. In the years 1925-1943, Villa Torlonia was the home of the Italian head of state Benito Mussolini, which has made it even more famous.
The interior of the villa is rich with many works of art, beautiful furniture and elegant decoration in the ballroom and dining room, among other things. Room by room you can see new decorations all the time, which for example applies to the Egyptian room. You can also see Benito Mussolini’s bedroom and see the history of the house, under which a bunker was set up during the Fascist era.
Around the park there are many smaller buildings, with La Casina delle Civette and Il Teatro being among the most worth seeing. Obelisks and fountains also belong to the park, which is very popular with the locals, whom you meet to a large extent during a trip here.
Piazza del Popolo is a beautifully landscaped respite in the middle of the city. Of particular interest is the obelisk that was taken from Egyptian Heliopolis and erected at the Circus Maximus in the year 10. It was found together with the Lateran obelisk in 1587 and erected two years later. The sculptures on the foundation date from 1818.
In the days of the Roman Empire, the square was inside the northern city gate, and it was from here that the important road to Florence and Rimini started. Piazza del Popolo got its current appearance in the early 1800s, when a number of buildings were demolished and the square itself was designed in a neoclassical style.
To the south, three streets, the so-called Tridente, of which the Via Flaminia is the old main road from the northern provinces of the Roman Empire to the center of Rome.
Similar to Rome Travel Guide
