Rome
In Villa Torlonia park, the Casina delle Civette is a bizarre mix of Swiss cottage, Gothic castle and twee farmhouse decorated in art-nouveau style. Built…
Must-see attractions in Rome
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This gallery housed in an 18th-century Carmelite convent has a collection of art and sculpture from the 20th century that includes works by Italian…
Rome
A dusty arena surrounded by towering umbrella pines, Piazza di Siena is used to host Rome's top equestrian event in May. It was created in the late 18th…
Ancient Rome
According to tradition, these Iron Age huts on the Palatino, also known as the Casa Romuli, are where Romulus and Remus were brought up by the shepherd…
Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda
Ancient Rome
Fronted by soaring columns, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda occupies the 2nd-century Tempio di Antonino e Faustina on the Roman Forum. Dating to the…
Rome
Rome’s zoo hosts a predictable collection of animals, with 200 species from five continents housed on its 18-hectare site in Villa Borghese. It probably…
Chiesa di San Paolo entro le Mura
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
With its stripy neo-Gothic exterior, Rome’s American Episcopal church is decorated with some unusual 19th-century mosaics designed by the Birmingham-born…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Rome’s waxwork museum is said to have the world’s third-largest collection, which comprises more than 250 figures, ranging from Dante to Snow White, plus…
Ancient Rome
The Foro di Vespasiano, also known as the Foro della Pace (Forum of Peace) or Tempio della Pace (Temple of Peace), was built in AD 70 by Vespasian. Part…
Centro Storico
The emperor Augustus had this 6th-century-BC obelisk brought from Heliopolis in Egypt to celebrate his victory over Cleopatra and Mark Antony in 30 BC…
Museo Centrale del Risorgimento
Ancient Rome
Inside the Vittoriano, this small museum charts the history of Italy from the late 18th century through unification to WWI. Exhibits include documents,…
Southern Rome
It's fading fast: Bolognese artist Blu (www.blublu.org) painted this former military warehouse in a rainbow of sinister faces, incorporating the building…
Ancient Rome
A series of grey granite columns is all that remains of the Basilica Ulpia, a vast 40m-high hall that once stood in Trajan's Forum. Built in the early 2nd…
Ancient Rome
Although named after the emperor Nerva, who opened it in the late 1st century AD, this forum was largely built by his predecessor Domitian. Part of a…
Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
This hulking basilica occupies what was once the central hall of Diocletian's baths complex. It was originally designed by Michelangelo, but only the…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Not to be confused with the Tomb of St Peter, this ancient Roman cemetery extends beneath the Vatican hill. Guided tours, which must be pre-booked, take…
Rome
Overshadowed by the mighty Stadio Olimpico, this small athletics stadium is part of the Fascist-era Foro Italico sports complex. It takes its name from…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
This showy brick facade adorned with a gold apse mosaic is an 18th-century reconstruction of the end wall of the banqueting hall in the original Palazzo…
UN Food & Agriculture Organisation
San Giovanni & Testaccio
Seat of the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation since 1952, this vast building was originally commissioned by Mussolini to house the Ministry of Italian…
Ancient Rome
Despite its name, this four-fronted 4th-century arch was probably dedicated to the emperor Constantine or Constantatius II. In ancient times cattle…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This 1627 fountain of a sinking boat is believed to be by Pietro Bernini, father of the more famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It was supposedly modelled on a…
Ancient Rome
This was originally the main square and meeting place on the Roman Forum. Its main feature is the free-standing Colonna di Foca.
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Dating from 1643, this Bernini-designed fountain piercing Piazza Barberini depicts the sea-god Triton blowing a stream of water from a conch, while seated…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
This dramatic monument commemorates Garibaldi's Brazilian-born wife, Anita, who died from malaria, together with their unborn child, shortly after the…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Towering over Piazza del Popolo, this 36m-high obelisk was brought to Rome by Augustus from Heliopolis in ancient Egypt. It originally stood in the Circo…
Rome
This museum in the Auditorium Parco della Musica showcases the 500-strong collection of historic musical instruments belonging to the Accademia di Santa…
Centro Storico
An overhead arch spanning Via Giulia, the Arco Farnese was designed by Michelangelo as part of an unfinished project to connect Palazzo Farnese with Villa…
Centro Storico
Eleven huge Corinthian columns are all that's left of the 2nd-century Tempio di Adriano. The temple formerly housed Rome’s stock exchange and is now used…
Ancient Rome
This classic Republican-era temple dedicated to the god of rivers and ports, Portunus, owes its current state of preservation to the fact that it was…
Rome
Casino dei Principi, one of the three seats of the Musei Villa Torlonia, houses the archive of the Scuola Romana (Roman School of Art) and opens only to…
Ancient Rome
This red-brick tower rises above the Mercati di Traiano (Markets of Trajan). Built in the 13th century, it was owned by several of the warring families…
Centro Storico
This volunteer-run outfit looks after about 300 cats, who have the run of the ancient ruins in the Area Sacra of Largo di Torre Argentina.
Rome
Part of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, this villa has archaeological finds relating to the pre-Roman Umbri and Latin peoples.
Ancient Rome
Overshadowed by the Campidoglio hill, this Roman Forum temple is a 1st-century reconstruction of an earlier 4th-century BC sanctuary.
Southern Rome
This iconic housing block was designed by Innocenzo Sabbatini between 1928 and '29. It's a compelling yet strange combination of modern red bricks with…
Centro Storico
Built by Borromini between 1647 and 1648, this landmark clock tower, after which the piazza below is named, was designed for the adjacent convent of San…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Bernini crafted the Fontana delle Api, in the northeastern corner of Piazza Barberini, for the Barberini family, whose crest featured three bees in flight.
Chiesa di Sant’Eligio degli Orefici
Centro Storico
A 16th-century goldsmiths’ church designed by Raphael.
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This monumental mausoleum – a dramatic 45m wide and 90m high – was built in 28 BC and is the final resting place of Augustus, buried here in AD 14, and…
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
Laid out in the late 19th century as the centrepiece of an upmarket residential district, Rome’s largest square is an ill-kempt grassy expanse, surrounded…
