Rome Sights

  1. Arco di Costantino

    To the east of the Colosseum, the Arco di Costantino (Arch of Constantine) was built in AD 312 to commemorate the Emperor Constantine's victory over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of Ponte Milvio. One of the last great Roman monuments, it is, in fact, a patchwork of panels from other sculptures - the lower stonework dates from Domitian's reign (AD 81-96) while the eight large medallions depicting hunting scenes are Hadrianic (AD 117-138).

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  2. Area Archeologica del Teatro di Marcello

    Rising from the ruins to the east of Via del Teatro di Marcello, the Teatro di Marcello is the star of this recently opened archaeological area.

    The theatre was originally planned by Julius Caesar but remained unfinished at the time of his death in 44 BC. Augustus then inherited the project and named it after his favourite nephew Marcellus, who had died earlier in 23 BC. By 17 BC the theatre was in use, and was formally inaugurated in 11 BC.

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  3. Audience with the Pope

    At on Wednesdays, the pope meets his flock at St Peter's Basilica (in July and August at Castel Gandofolo). For free tickets, write to the Prefettura della Casa Pontificia, 00120 Città del Vaticano. If you're already in Rome, call or visit the Prefettura (%06 698 84 631; h - ) through the bronze doors under the colonnade to the right of St Peter's. When in town, the pope also blesses the faithful in St Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro) on Sundays at noon - no tickets required.

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  4. Basilica & Catacombe di San Sebastiano

    Before going into the catacombs beneath the church, take a moment to explore the interesting 4th-century basilica on top. Much altered over the years, it was built over the catacombs used to safeguard the remains of Sts Peter and Paul during the persecutory reign of Vespasian. Its name, however, is a dedication to St Sebastian, who was martyred and buried here in the late 3rd century.

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  5. Basilica dei Santi Apostoli

    Built in the 6th century and dedicated to the apostles James and Philip (whose relics are in the crypt), this church was enlarged in the 15th and 16th centuries and then rebuilt in the early 1700s. The unusual façade with Renaissance arches and portico dates to the early 16th century, while Carlo and Francesco Fontana's baroque interior was completed in 1714. Inside, the main attraction is Antonio Canova's tomb of Pope Clement XIV.

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  7. Basilica di San Clemente

    A short walk up from the Colosseum, this fascinating basilica provides a vivid glimpse into Rome's multilayered past. Through the courtyard, the 12th-century church at street level was built over a 4th-century church, which, in turn, was constructed over a 2nd-century pagan temple and 1st-century Roman house. Beneath all that are foundations dating to the Roman Republic.

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  8. Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano

    A huge white landmark, this monumental cathedral was founded by Constantine in 313 and consecrated 11 years later. It was the first Christian basilica to be built in the Rome and, until the late 14th century, was the pope's principal residence. The Vatican still has extraterritorial authority over it, despite it being Rome's official cathedral and the pope's seat as Bishop of Rome.

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  9. Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura

    The only of Rome's major churches to have suffered bomb damage in WWII, the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls is one of Rome's seven pilgrimage churches.

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  10. Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura

    The biggest church in Rome after St Peter's - which makes it the third-largest in the world - St Paul's Outside the Walls stands on the site where St Paul was buried after being decapitated in AD 67. Built by Constantine in the 4th century, it was largely destroyed by fire in 1823 and much of what you see today is a 19th-century reconstruction.

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  11. Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli

    This church was built in the 5th century specially to house the chains that bound St Peter when he was imprisoned in the Carcere Mamertino. Some time after St Peter's death, the chains were sent to Constantinople before returning to Rome as relics. They arrived in two pieces and legend has it that when they were reunited they miraculously joined together. They are now displayed under the altar.

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  13. Basilica di Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura & Chiesa di Santa Costanza

    The apse of the 4th-century Basilica di Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura, built by Constantine, has a 7th-century mosaic depicting St Agnes standing on flames. According to tradition, the 13-year-old Agnes was burnt at the stake by the Emperor Domitian but remained miraculously unharmed. Unfortunately, she was beheaded on the spot where the Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone now stands in Piazza Navona and buried in the catacombs beneath this church.

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  14. Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

    The last resting place of St Cecilia, the patron saint of music, this much-altered basilica stands on the site of an earlier 5th-century church, itself built over the house where St Cecilia lived and died in 230. Like many Christian saints, Cecilia came to a sticky end. Her executioners first tried to scald her to death by locking her in the caldarium of the baths in her own house.

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  15. Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere

    Said to be the oldest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome, it was established by Pope Calixtus in the early 3rd century and subsequently rebuilt by Julius I in 337. Its discreet style, portico embedded with fragments of ancient and medieval sculpture, inscriptions and sarcophagi, blend in with the other buildings on Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere. This is also where, in 38 BC, a miraculous fountain of pure oil sprang from the ground.

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  16. Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

    Legend has it that in 352 Pope Liberius dreamt he was told by the Virgin Mary to build a church on the spot that he found snow. When, the following morning, the 5th of August in the middle of a hot summer, snow fell on the Esquilino, he began building. Every year thousands of white petals are released from the basilica's coffered gilt ceiling in commemoration.

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  17. Basilica di Santa Sabina

    One of Rome's most appealing churches, this atmospheric basilica is the jewel in the Aventino. Returned to its original look in an early-20th-century restoration, the basilica dates to 422, when it was founded by Peter of Illyria. It was subsequently added to in the 9th century and again in 1216, just before it was given to the newly founded Dominican order.

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  19. Basilica di SS Cosma e Damiano

    Connected to the Roman Forum by the Basilica di Massenzio, this 6th-century basilica incorporates a library from the Foro di Vespasiano and part of the Tempio di Romolo, visible through the glass wall at the end of the nave.

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  20. Biblioteca e Raccolta Teatrale del Burcardo

    Rome's little-known theatre museum includes dazzling costumes worn by acting greats such as Eleonora Duse, fin de siècle playbills, set design artwork, and exquisite 18th-century Chinese marionettes. The lack of English information doesn't detract from the appeal and there's a well-stocked theatre library (mostly Italian) on the 2nd floor.

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  21. Bioparco

    In 2006, Rome's zoo was Italy's 10th most-visited museum. While there are many more arresting sights in the Eternal City, some 747,000 people visited the 18-hectare site, taking in the collection of monkeys, elephants, lions and snakes. If your kids are driving you bonkers or you're crying out for a break from classical art, the zoo's always a good option.

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  22. Bocca della Verità

    A round piece of marble once used as an ancient manhole cover, the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) is one of Rome's great curiosities. According to legend, if you put your right hand in the carved mouth and tell a lie, the mouth will snap shut and bite your hand off. Apparently, priests used to put scorpions in the mouth to perpetuate the myth and Roman husbands used it to test their wives' fidelity.

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  23. Bocca della Verità & Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin

    The 'Mouth of Truth' is Rome's most famous lie detector: it's a mask-shaped ancient manhole cover known to bite off the hand of fibbers (priests apparently slipped scorpions in there to help it along). If you pass the test, pop into the adjoining 8th-century Chiesa di Santa Maria in Cosmedin for some stunning Cosmati interiors. The church's portico and bell tower were 12th-century additions, while the three columns embedded in the nave were part of an ancient market colonnade.

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  25. Campo de' Fiori

    Noisy and colourful, 'Il Campo' is a major focus of Roman life: by day it hosts a flower and vegetable market, while at night it becomes an open-air pub, beloved of hard-drinking students and young Romans. The square's commercial character dates to the late 15th century, when the transferral of the city market to Piazza Navona revitalised much of what is now the centro storico .

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  26. Capitoline Museums

    Boasting some of ancient Rome's most spectacular sculpture, the Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini) are quite magnificent. The world's oldest national museums, they date to 1471, when Pope Sixtus IV donated a number of bronze statues to the city, forming the nucleus of what is now one of Italy's finest collections of classical art. The collection is today beautifully housed in Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei Conservatori on Piazza del Campidoglio.

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  27. Capitoline Museums at Centrale Montemartini

    This modern outpost of the Capitoline Museums is a treat. Housed in a former power station, it has an industrial look, with classical sculpture boldly juxtaposed against diesel engines and giant furnaces. On the ground floor beyond the entrance is the Sala Colonne, where sculpture and ceramics dating from the 7th century BC are displayed. These include Etruscan and Greek pieces as well as discoveries from a necropolis on the Esquilino.

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  28. Capuchin Cemetery

    Long after memories of all the rest of Rome's interiors run together in an opulent blur, visitors vividly recall the particulars of the bizarre and macabre chapels of this cemetery, where the decorative elements - from the picture frames to the light fittings - are all made of human bones.

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  29. Carcere Mamertino

    This dark, dank dungeon is the Mamertine Prison, home to anyone who got on the wrong side of the ancient Roman authorities. Holy jail bait St Peter was held here using the chains now in Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli. But even they couldn't stop him from denting the wall with his head and causing a baptismal stream to spring.

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