Attractions in Rome
Ara Pacis Augustae
Via di Repetta
06-710-3569
Tues-Sat. 9-1:30 Sunday 9-1 (April-Sept. also open Tues and Sat. 4-7). Admission charged.
Altar of peace - one of the great works of Roman sculpture - was commissioned in 13 BC by the emperor Augustus to celebrate his victories in Spain and Gaul. It was reconstructed here in 1938.
Arch of Constantine
Piazza del Collesseo
Triumphal arch decorated with fragments from older Roman monuments, erected in AD 315 in honor of Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. At this battle in the year 312 Constantine is said to have seen a cross in the sky, bringing about his conversion to Christianity. The relief work on the inside of the arch depicts the emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians in the 2nd century.
Baths of Caracalla
52 Viale di Terme di Caracalla
06575-8626
Bus 90,93
Tues.-Sat. 9-6 (Oct.-Mar. until 3); Sunday and Monday 9-1. Admission charged.
The baths were begun in the year 206 and completed by Caracalla in 217. The vast expanse of ruins of the massive bath complex contained large numbers of masterpieces of sculpture. The baths must have been exceptionally luxurious. They were in use into the early middle ages. The remains were unearthed in the Middle Ages.
Baths of Diocletian
Piazza della Repubblica
Bus 57,65,75,170,492. Metro: Repubblica, Termini
A visit to the museum on the site will give an idea of the interior of the Roman baths. The Terme Di Diocleziano (Baths of Diocletian) were constructed in the 4th century and were the largest of the ancient Roman baths. Originally the baths could accommodate over 3000 people. The shape of an attached stadium can still be made out in the curve of the two 19th century buildings built on the site that now form the southwestern perimeter of the Piazza della Repubblica. Sections of the former baths now house the Museum Nazionale Romano and the church of Sta Maria degli Angeli which was designed by Michelangelo.
Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth)
Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Piazza Bocca della Verità
In the porch of this church on the south side is a weather beaten stone face used as a drain cover in ancient Rome. According to legend, the mouth was believed to close on the hand of anyone bearing false witness, particularly women accused of adultery. The offender's hand would be withdrawn with severed fingers according to the legend (Viewers of the film Roman Holiday will remember the scene in which Gregory Peck alarmed Audrey Hepburn by inserting his arm in the mouth and quickly withdrawing it with his hand concealed in his sleeve.)
Borghese Gallery
Villa Borghese
06-854-8577
Bus 52,53,910 (to Via Pinciana),3,4,57 (to Via Po)
Tues.-Sat. 9-7 (Oct.-April 9-2) Sunday 9-1.
Due to the large number of visitors it is advisable to make a reservation: call 39- 063-2810 (Mon-Fri; 9.30am-6pm).
Reservations can also be made directly at the ticket office one day in advance by going to the Galleria Borghese early in the morning (around 8.30-9am) to try to buy a ticket. If they are all sold, ask to be placed on the waiting list for the day. Try also to be there one hour before entrance times (which are: 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm). It may be possible to be among the first in the waiting list of the hour. Admission charged.
The Borghese Gallery hosts one of the most important collections in the world, particularly of art of the classical and baroque periods. The opulent lower floor contains the sculpture. The paintings are on the upper floor (galleria).
Villa Borghese Botanical Gardens
(Adjacent to the museum )
Open daily 9am-dusk
Large gardens on the slopes of the Janiculum, famous for its palms and yuccas and collection of orchids. Public gardens and park, including the Lake Garden, where boats may be rented and the Zoo. There is also an aviary and an enormous racetrack. The park was altered in the 18th century to resemble English parkland and given to the public in 1902.
Vatican City (Città del Vaticano)
By the Lateran Pact of 1929, Vatican City was established as the smallest independent sovereign state in the world. It has its own government, its own statutes and its own head of state - the Pope. It covers just a few acres of land, but it holds within its boundaries the residence of the Pope; the site of St Peter's Basilica; the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
Saint Peter's Basilica
Piazza San Pietro
Basilica open daily 7am-7pm. (From within the Basilica it is possible to visit the following sites:
1) Treasury - open 9-6 (Oct.-March 9-5). Admission charged.
2) The Vatican grottoes 1-6 (Oct.-March 7-5)
3) The Dome 8-6 (Oct.-March 8-4:30) Admission charged. Bus 64
The largest Basilica in the world was begun in 1506 when Pope Julius II commissioned Bramante to build a new St. Peter's to replace the basilica of Constantine which had been consecrated in 326. The plan of the building was based by Bramante on the design of the ancient Roman baths which were laid out in the form of a Greek cross. Bramante died in 1514, and it was not until 1547 that Michelangelo took over the project. He simplified Bramante's plan and increased the scale. He introduced giant Corinthian pilasters around the exterior. When Michelangelo died in 1564 much of the apse, the transepts and nave had been completed. His student, Giacomo della Porta, erected the dome in 1590 following Michelangelo's design. The dome soars over the tomb of St. Peter. Beneath the dome and forming the focus of the nave is Bernini's Baldacchino whose columns were cast from bronze stripped from the roof of the Pantheon.
Michelangelo's Pieta stands in the first chapel to the right of the entrance. The sculptor was only 24 years of age when he completed it.
Protestante Cimitero (Protestant Cemetery)
6 Via Caio Cestio
06-574-1141 Summer: 8-noon and 3:30-5:30 closed Wednesdays Winter: 8-noon and 2:30-4:30 closed Wednesdays Bus: 11,23,27,57,94,95. Metro: Piramide
Famous graves include those of the Romantic poets Keats and Shelley, as well as that of Antonio Gramsci, the founder of the Italian Communist Party and 4000 other non- Catholic Italians. From the cemetery one has a good view of the Pyramid of Caius Cestius, a vast stone tomb constructed in 12BC for an otherwise unknown Roman.
Piazza delCampidoglio
Bus 44,46,56,60,64,65,70,75
This square is the focus of the Capitolino (Capitoline Hill) and is the symbolic heart of the city. The site was in a total state of decay when Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo to rebuild it in the 1500's as Rome needed an impressive space in which to receive Emperor Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor who was due to visit in 1536.
Musei Capitolini (Capitolino Museum) and Picture Gallery
Piazza del Campidoglio
06-6710-2071
Tues.-Sat. 9-1:30 and 5-8 Sunday 9-1 (April to Sept.: Sat. 8am-11pm)
Oct.-March: Saturday 5-8.Closed Monday year round. Admission charged.One ticket covers both parts of the museum.
Free on the last Sunday of the month. Bus 44,94,710,718, 719.
Classical sculpture and busts, many excavated from the emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. Famous works include the Etruscan she-wolf in bronze. The figures of Romulus and Remus were added to it in 1498. The wolf statue has been in the same location for centuries. It was damaged by lightening in 65 BC.
EUR
Bus: 93,97,197,293,493,765. Metro: EUR Fermi; EUR Palasport
This vast complex was built in the 1930's as part of Mussolini's grand design that was to greatly enlarge Rome and create in it predominately modern skylines of skyscrapers and large buildings. Most of this strange plan which featured a stark type of Fascist architecture was fortunately never carried out. After World War II damage to the complex caused by occupying armies and refugees was repaired. Later, in 1960, the complex was used for the 1960 Olympics.
Museo della Civiltà Romana (Museum of Roman Culture)
Piazza G Agnelli, EUR
Tues.-Sat. 9-1 Sunday: 9-1 also Tues. and Thurs. 4-7pm. Admission charged. Bus: 93,97,197,293,493,765. Metro: EUR Fermi; EUR Palasport
The museum is housed in the Palazzo della Civilta del Lavoro at EUR. It traces the history of the city its beginnings to the age of Justinian using models including a scale model of Rome at the time of Constantine. The latter includes every detail of all that was contained within the walls of Rome at that time.
Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari (Museum of Folklore)
10 Piazza Marconi, EUR
06-592-6148 Mon.-Sat. 9-2 Sunday 9-1
Admission charged. Bus 93, 97, 197, 293, 493, 765 Metro: EUR Fermi; EUR Palasport
Featuring scenes of daily Roman life down the centuries, the museum also displays costumes, folk art, agriculture and old musical instruments.