Showing 1-23 of 23 results
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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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Catacombe di San Callisto
These are the largest, most famous and busiest of Rome's catacombs. Founded at the end of the 2nd century and named after Pope Calixtus I, who was killed in Trastevere in 222, they became the official cemetery of the newly established Roman Church. In the 20km of tunnels explored to date, archaeologists have found the sepulchres of some 500,000 people and the tombs of seven popes who were martyred in the 3rd century.
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Catacombe di Santa Domitilla
Among Rome's largest and oldest, these catacombs stretch for about 17km. They were established on the private burial ground of Flavia Domitilla, niece of the Emperor Domitian and a member of the wealthy Flavian family. They contain Christian wall paintings and the underground Chiesa di SS Nereus e Achilleus, a 4th-century church dedicated to two Roman soldiers who were martyred by Diocletian.
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Cimitero Acattolico per gli Stranieri
Despite the busy roads that surrounding it, this is a surprisingly restful place. You can wander the lovingly tended paths contemplating Percy Bysshe Shelley's words: 'It might make one in love with death to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place'. And so he was - or at least part of him. During cremation, apparently, his heart did not burn right away, was snatched from the flames and later interred here with his wife, Mary Shelley.
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Cimitero di Campo Verano
Between the 1830s and the 1980s virtually all Catholics who died in Rome (with the exception of popes, cardinals and royalty) were buried here, in the city's largest cemetery. If you're in the area, it's worth a look for its grand tombs, although try to avoid 2 November (All Souls' Day), when thousands of Romans flock to the cemetery to leave flowers on the tombs of loved ones.
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Domus Aurea
A monumental exercise in vanity, the Domus Aurea (Golden House) was Nero's great gift to himself. Built after the fire of AD 64 and named after the gold that covered its façade, it was a huge palace complex covering much of the Palatino (Palatine), Oppio (Oppian) and Celio (Caelian) hills. Its grounds, which included an artificial lake, covered up to a third of the 1st-century city.
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Gianicolo
It was here in 1849 that Giuseppe Garibaldi and his makeshift army fought pope-backing French troops in one of the fiercest battles in the struggle for Italian unification. Although a canon is still fired from it every day at noon, Rome's highest hill is now better known for great views, pony rides and Neapolitan puppet shows at weekends.
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Il Vittoriano
From virtually all over town, you'll see a massive white construction towering above the city. This is Il Vittoriano, Rome's most detested monument. Most Romans can't stand the sight of it, but they can't deny that the views are exceptional, spreading across the whole city from Piazza del Popolo and St Peter's in the north to the Roman Forum in the south.
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Mausoleo delle Fosse Ardeatine
Buried here, outside the Ardeatine Caves, are 335 Italians shot by the Nazis on 24 March 1944. The prisoners, chosen at random, were killed in reprisal for a partisan attack. Following the massacre, the Germans used mines to explode sections of the caves and bury the bodies. After the war, the bodies were exhumed, identified and reburied in a mass grave at the site, now marked by a huge concrete slab and sculptures.
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Mausoleo di Augusto
What was once one of the most imposing monuments in ancient Rome is now an unkempt mound of earth, overgrown with weeds and covered with litter. Built by Augustus in 28 BC, the mausoleum originally measured 87m in diameter and had two obelisks either side of the entrance. Although designed for Augustus, it was the emperor's favourite nephew and heir Marcellus who was first interred here in 23 BC. Augustus joined him 37 years later in AD 14.
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Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella
Difficult to miss, this massive drum of a mausoleum, measuring 11m in height and 30m in diameter, encloses a burial chamber (built for the daughter of Quintus Metellus Creticus) that is now roofless. The walls are made of travertine and the rather sorry-looking interior is decorated with a sculpted frieze featuring Gaelic shields, ox skulls and festoons. In the 14th century it was converted into a fort by the Caetani family, who used to threaten passing traffic into paying a toll.
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Palazzo Cenci
A 16th-century house of horrors, Palazzo Cenci was home to ill-fated Beatrice Cenci, who was beheaded on Ponte Sant'Angelo in 1599 for murdering her sadistic father. Shelley based his tragedy The Cenci on the family, and a famous portrait of Beatrice by Guido Reni hangs in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica. It shows a sweet-faced young girl with soft eyes and fair hair.
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Palazzo del Banco di Santo Spirito
The early-16th-century Palazzo del Banco di Santo Spirito was designed by Antonio Sangallo the Younger and was the mint of Papal Rome. The facade of the building resembles a Roman triumphal arch and the two baroque statues crowning it represent Charity and Thrift.
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Palazzo delle Esposizioni
Recently opened after years of renovation work, this grand 19th-century building is one of Rome's most prominent cultural centres, used for multimedia events, art exhibitions, performances and film screenings. In the past it has served as the headquarters of the Italian Communist Party, a mess for allied servicemen, a polling station and even a public loo.
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Palazzo di Montecitorio
This grandiose baroque palazzo is home to Italy's Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of parliament). Standing on the piazza to which it lends its name, it was built in 1653 by Bernini, expanded by Carlo Fontana in the late 17th century and given a larger façade by Art Nouveau architect Ernesto Basile in 1918. Prior to Italian unification it was the seat of the papal courts.
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Palazzo e Galleria Doria Pamphilj
On the corner of Via del Corso and Via del Plebiscito, this huge, grey palazzo houses one of Rome's least-known jewels. Often overlooked by tourists, the Galleria Doria Pamphilj is home to one of the richest private art collections in Rome, with works by Raphael, Tintoretto, Brueghel, Titian, Caravaggio, Bernini and Velázquez.
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Palazzo Farnese
Forming one side of Piazza Farnese, Palazzo Farnese is one of Rome's most impressive Renaissance palazzi . It was started in 1514 by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, continued by Michelangelo, who added the cornice and balcony, and finished by Giacomo della Porta. Nowadays, it's the French Embassy and is open only to visitors who've booked a place on the biweekly guided tour.
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Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia was the first of Rome's great Renaissance palaces. It was built between 1455 and 1464 for the Venetian cardinal Pietro Barbo, who later became Pope Paul II (r 1464-71), and was used for centuries as the embassy of the Venetian Republic. Its most famous resident, however, was Mussolini, who made speeches from the balcony and kept the lights on throughout the night to give the impression he was working.
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Tomb of St Peter
Excavations beneath the basilica, which began in 1940, have uncovered part of the original church and what archaeologists believe is the tomb of St Peter.
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Vatican Grottoes
Extending beneath the basilica, the Vatican Grottoes contain the tombs of numerous popes, including John Paul II, as well as several huge columns from the original 4th-century basilica. The entrance is a door in the base of the Pier of St Andrew, to the left of the main altar.
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Via Giulia
Designed by Bramante as an approach road to St Peter's, Via Giulia is a picturesque street lined with Renaissance palazzi and potted orange trees. The Michelangelo-designed Arco Farnese is near one end and the street is lined with other works, as well as the Museo Criminologico with its torture and execution displays.
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Villa Medici
Enjoying one of the best addresses in Rome, Villa Medici has been home to the French Academy since 1801. It was originally built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540, but Ferdinando dei Medici bought it in 1576 and it remained in Medici hands until Napoleon acquired it and gave it to the French Academy. The only way to get inside is to visit one of the regular art exhibitions held here. You can, however, visit the gardens at the weekend.
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Villa Torlonia
Less than 1km from Porta Pia, this splendid 19th-century park once belonged to the family of Prince Giovanni Torlonia (1756-1829), a banker and landowner. His large neoclassical villa, the Casino dei Principi, later became the Mussolini family home (1925-43) and, towards the end of WWII, Allied headquarters (1944-47). These days it's used to stage temporary exhibitions.
Showing 1-23 of 23 results
