Rome Attractions

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ATTRACTIONS

Forum
The commercial, political and religious centre of ancient Rome, the Forum spreads along the valley floor between the Capitoline and Palatine hills. It was constructed over about 900 years, with Republican buildings sitting in juxtaposition with temples from the Imperial era. The site's disrepair and disintegration into pastureland mirrored the fall of the Roman Empire, and excavations have been underway since the 18th century.
The Forum is entered from the piazza leading from the Colosseum - that house of horrors cum marble quarry, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. You immediately enter another world: the past. Columns rise from grassy hillocks, and repositioned pediments and columns aid the work of the imagination. Just some of the many must-sees include the Arch of Septimus Severus, the Temple of Saturn, the House of the Vestals, the Temple of Antoninus & Faustina and the Arch of Titus.

From the Forum, you can climb the Palatino - where the wealthy and powerful built their palaces and personal temples. A layer of medieval churches and Renaissance gardens and villas transformed the hilltop ruins into a magical, ivy- and agapanthus-covered land of grottos and secret vistas. Look out for the House of Livia, the Domus Augustana, the Palace of the Flavians and the ruins of the Baths of Septimus Severus. You can look down on ruins of the Circus Maximus, though not much remains of what was once a chariot racetrack that held more than 200,000 spectators.

Random Roman Relics
Marcus Agrippa's Pantheon is one of the world's most sublime architectural creations: a perfectly proportioned floating dome resting on an elegant drum of columns and pediments. It was built in 27 BC, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD. The temple has been consistently plundered and damaged over the years; it lost its beautiful gilded bronze roof tiles in Pope Gregory III's time. Look for the tombs of Raphael and Victor Emmanuel I. The Baths of Caracalla are the best-preserved imperial baths in the city. Covering 10 hectares, the baths could hold up to 1600 people and featured shops, gardens, libraries and gym facilities.

The Appian Way, the more than two-millennia-old road that runs all the way from Rome to Brindisi, is littered with monuments, in particular the Circus of Maxentius, and Roman tombs, such as the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. The route is also known for its catacombs - tunnels carved into the volcanic rock that were the meeting and burial places of Rome's persecuted early Christians. The atmospheric tunnels are not for the claustrophobic, overweight or chronically unfit.

Holy See
Not many religions actually own a country, but Catholicism isn't just any religion, and the Holy See - or Vatican City - isn't any ordinary country. Headed up by his holiness, the tiny enclave in the heart of Rome is the administrative and spiritual capital of Roman Catholicism, and the world's smallest independent state. During the working week, the population increases fivefold as residents of Rome cross the 'border' to do the Lord's work.

Despite its importance to the devout - there are an estimated one billion Catholics worldwide - it's not all bells and smells at the pope's house. Scandal and intrigue have accompanied the office of the papacy for almost two millennia, and plenty of that scandal occurred within the Vatican buildings. But even without a dubious relationship with the Nazis, corruption and rumours of Mafia murders, the Vatican would remain a spectacular destination for history buffs, religious types and art-lovers alike. The Vatican is probably per square foot the richest country in the world, making up for their total lack of natural resources with an astonishing collection of priceless art treasures.

Castel Sant' Angelo
Reached by one of the world's most beautiful bridges - Bernini's billowing, angel-clad Pont Sant' Angelo - this strange, circular tank of a building was originally constructed as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian. It was converted into a papal fortress in the 6th century, and is linked by underground passages to the Vatican palaces. Several popes have felt the need to take advantage of the secret routes in times of threat. The mausoleum is now an interesting museum, and its evocative atmosphere is heightened by the knowledge that it was from here that Puccini's Tosca plunged to her death.

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