2. 
While being the lowest and
smallest of the seven hills of Rome
(The Aventino, Capitoline,
Caeline, Esquiline, Palatine,
Quirinale, Viminale), the
Capitoline is perhaps the most
closely bound to the city’s history,
as it has been the hub of Rome’s
political and religious life since
ancient times.
Today the Michaelangelo piazza,
reached by climbing a splendid
flight of steps, is encircled by two
identical buildings (Palazzo dei
Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo,
home to the Capitoline Museum)
and Palazzo Senatorio, which
serves as the seat of the Mayor of
Rome.

3. It may be two thousand years
old but the Colosseum is still
the symbol of the eternal city,
every year drawing thousands
of visitors.
According to a 7th century prophecy by the Anglo-Saxon monk
Bede: “As long as the Colosseum exists, so will Rome, and when the
Colosseum falls, Rome too will fall; and when Rome falls, so will the world”.
The area now occupied by
the Colosseum was, in Nero’s
time, the point around which
the whole of his Domus Aurea
complex was articulated. The
place where the Colosseum
now stands was occupied by
an artificial lake which was
drained after the emperor’s
death to allow for the
construction of the grand new
monument.
Its actual name was the
Flavian Amphitheatre,
because it was built by
the Flavian emperors, and it
only became known as the
Colosseum in late medieval
times, probably in memory of
the colossal statue of the
emperor Nero which stood
nearby.

The Colosseum was designened to
host spectacles of wild animal hunts
and gladiator fights

4. A
circular
marble
sculpture of a large face
with an open mouth,
which was in all likelihood
used as drain cover, owes
its
allure
to
the
superstition according to
which the “Bocca della
Verità” bites off the hand
of anyone not telling the
truth.
Today it is to be found in
the portico of the Basilica
of
Santa
Maria
in
Cosmedin and is of
Rome’s major attractions,
each
year
drawing
thousands of visitors.

5. To an untrained eye the
Circus of Maxentius just
looks like a vast green
pasture where locals jog or
take their dogs for a walk,
but in ancient times this
oblong ground was, as its
name indicates, Rome’s
most famous and by far
oldest circus.
The Circus of Maxentius was
an arena for various kinds of
sports and athletic
competitions, although it
gained fame mainly for its
chariot races which often
lasted from the early
morning to dusk, with as
many as one hundred held
a day.
It could hold up to between
two hundred and fifty
thousand and three
hundred thousand
spectators either seated or
standing.
Recent excavation has
brought to light relics which
help to give us a better
idea of what the circus
used to look like with its
countless shops, stalls and
taverns flanking the track
area.

6. Located in the very middle
of Piazza Navona, the
Fountain of the Four Rivers is
a masterpiece from Gian
Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).
The four allegorical human
figures assembled in various
poses on rocks represent
the great rivers of the four
continents known at that
time: the Nile, Ganges,
Danube and Rio de la
Plata.
Popular legend has it that
the Nile is covering his eyes
so a not to see the façade
of the Church of St. Agnese
in Agone, built by Bernini’s
great rival Francesco
Borromini. In truth the
gesture is an allusion to the
fact that the source of the
Nile had not been
identified.
The fountain was moreover
completed several years
before Borromini built the
church.

7. 
Work on the celebrated rococo fountain was first begun in 1732 by Nicola Salvi (who beat off competition to be
awarded the commission by Pope Clement XII) and was completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762.




The monument, whose water is supplied by one of the oldest Roman aqueducts, the “Acqua Virgine”, has been
sculptured against the backdrop of Palazzo Poli and depicts Triton taming Oceanus’ shell-shaped chariot
drawn by sea horses.
Before moving off, do not forget to throw a coin in the fountain. Custom has it that travellers doing
this ill one day return to the eternal city.
Those seeking a little romance, perhaps even an Italian love, should then toss a second, third coin to make sure
wedding bells will soon be chiming.
Not forgetting of course that the fountain provided the splendid setting for the best-known scene from director
Federico Fellini’s classic film “La Dolce Vita”: a provocative Anita Ekberg swathed in a long black evening dress
calls out for Marcello Mastroianni, “Marcello, Come Here!” as she glides through the fountain’s sparkling waters.

8. Palazzo Farnese, one
of the most beautiful
Renaissance palaces
of Rome was started in
1514 by Antonio
Sangallo, continued
by Michelangelo and
completed by
Giacomo della Porta.
The Palace belonged
to one of the most
famous families of
Renaissance Rome
and today is home of
the French embassy.

9. 
Built in the second century B.C.
replacing the Porticus Metelli so as to
enclose the two temples of Juno
Regina and Jupiter Stator, the Porticus
Octavia was restored during the
Emperor Augustus’ reign and was
dedicated to his sister, Octavia.

Europe’s largest, the synagogue was built
between 1901 and 1904 in Rome’s Jewish
ghetto.
The temple, which was intended to be visible
from every panoramic point of the city, was
constructed between the most important
symbols of Rome’s rediscovered religious
freedom: the Campidoglio, seat of the city
government, and the Janiculum, emblem
and site of the famous 1849 battle between
the Garibaldi-led Republican forces of the
Risorgimento and French troops allied to the
Pope

10. Lift up your head on entering. Our attention is caught straightaway by a ray of slanting sunlight shooting
down from the “oculus”, a 9- metre round aperture at the very top of the dome that illuminates the entire
building.
If it is raining, watch the falling water disappear into the floor’s 22 virtually invisible holes.
Dedicated to the worship of every god (Pan-every Theon-divinity), the Pantheon was built by the Emperor
Hadrian between 118 and 125 A.D. over the ruins of another temple dating back to 27 A.D.
In 609, it was converted into a Christian Church by Pope Boniface IV and consecrated to Santa Maria of
the Martyrs.
Turned into a memorial chapel for the kingsof Italy in 1870, the tombs of Vittorio Emanuele II, Umberto I
and Margherita of Savoy are to be found here together with that of the celebrated Renaissance Artist
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, who is more often referred to as simply Raphael.

11. A celebrated and picturesque market by day, Camp dè Fiori quickly turns into a hub for nightlifers in the evening. For
centuries Camp dè Fiori was the stage for public executions. Here in 1600 the Dominican Friar, Philosopher,
Mathematician and Astronomer Bruno Giordano was burnt alive. A domineering statue stands in the middle the
piazza marking the exact spot of his death.

12. 