Roman History & Heritage
Welcome to Rome, the eternal city on the banks of the Tiber. This is a city steeped in world class history, and you will find no shortage of vacation tours and sight-seeing excursions to view ancient Roman sites, historic settings, classic architecture and art treasures. Roma may not have been built in a day, but it was founded on seven legendary hills... the Capitoline, seat of ancient Rome's government, the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Aventine, Caelian, and the famous Palatine Hill, where the emperors built their palaces. Archeological evidence tells us that Rome has been the site of human settlement since a thousand years BC.

The city-state of Rome was founded in the 8th century BC and grew into a thriving civilization known as the Roman Republic. Later, it became the capital city and symbol of power of the formidable Roman Empire whose dominions encompassed the entire Mediterrean and beyond, and whose rule spanned almost 1300 years. The richness of Rome's illustrious past is evident in a wealth of monuments located for the most part in the historical center of the city, and for many tourists, these survivors from antiquity are among the sight-seeing highlights of any visit to Rome.
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The area known as the Roman Forum was the heart of Roman government, religion and politics when the Republic was the high water mark of civilization twenty-five hundred years ago. Mostly it's the ruins of the great palaces and temples that remain, but here you can walk where Emperors trod. The Curia was the meeting place of the Senate; the Comitum and the Rostra were for public gatherings. The Forum's ancient temples reflect Rome's polytheistic (meaning many gods) past... the Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Saturn, and Temple of Vesta, are just a few of the ancient ruins that can fire your imagination and conjure up an ancient society who laid the foundations for the world that we inherited two and a half thousand years later.
 

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The Colosseum
No vacation, and no city guide to Rome would be complete without a visit to the Roman Colosseum. Designed to accommodate 80,000 cheering Romans, the building of the Colosseum was begun by Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD, and completed under his son Titus, in 80 AD. Colossal in every sense of the word were the gladiatorial games which took place here. Brutal spectacle which pitted men against each other, and against wild animals, was entertainment for the masses. It was not uncommon for games to last months. The Emperor Trajan once helds games which lasted 117 days, during which 9,000 gladiators fought to the death.

After the Roman Empire fell, the Colosseum too, fell into disrepair. It was used as a fortress, and later damaged variously by earthquake, pollution and the vibrations of twentieth century traffic. Over the centuries it was canibalized many times for its stone and marble to facilitate building projects all over Rome, but in our time the Colosseum has undergone restoration and been preserved as a national treasure.

The Pantheon, whose original structure dates from 27 BC and was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian around 120 AD, is the most perfectly preserved temple from antiquity, surviving intact into the twenty-first century. The dome, forty-three meters high, was the largest in the world until 1436 when Florence's Basilica was finally crowned with Bruneleschi's Duomo. Rome's magnificent Pantheon is a solid, cylindrical structure with a diameter of forty-three meters, equal to its height. The front portico is adorned with a triple row of columns and huge bronze doors which open into the cavernous interior. At the apex of the Patheon's dome is a large opening, the oculus, which was the only source of light in the building. The word pantheon means 'all gods'. Whether all Rome's heavenly patrons and benefactors were worshipped here is unclear, but certainly many were.
 

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Castel Sant'Angelo

A good tour guide in Rome will walk you across the Tiber toward Castel Sant'Angelo... one of the most imposing and classically Roman sights you'll see on your trip. Originally built as a mausoleum for Roman Emperor Hadrian and his descendants, the cylindrical structure was completed a year after his death in 139 AD. It was not called Castel Sant'Angelo until it was fortified and transformed into a papal stronghold in the sixth century, finally being named for the bronze angel which stands sentinel on its ramparts. Over time, Castel Sant'Angelo became progressively more military in aspect and function. In the ninth century the tower was added, battlements in the eleventh. By the thirteenth century it had been incorporated into the Vatican as a fortress for the popes and included gun turrets and barracks for the papal army. A secret passage led across the Vatican walls to the Sant'Angelo papal apartments so the popes could move about unseen and go into hiding in time of danger. Ultimately Castel Sant'Angelo was known more as a prison and torture facility where libertarian and other anti-regime political prisoners were executed.

The Campidoglio
Designed by Michelangelo and begun in 1538 as part of a restoration of Capitoline Hill, the striking and unique Piazza del Campidoglio with its intricate geometric pattern embedded in the paving, was not completed until well after Michelangeo's death in 1564. A grand staircase known as the Cordonata leads from the base of the hill, where it is flanked by two magnificent granite lions, to the piazza at the top where classic statues of Castor and Pollux await. In the center of the Campidoglio is a bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's finest Emperors, a great statesman and devout Stoic. You will find the original which dates from the second century, in the Capitoline Museum in the Palazzo Nuovo, on the piazza.
 
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Piazza Navona

The Piazza Navona is probably the best loved square in Rome, a bright and lively space whose massive area was once a Roman circus. As you make your way through a full rosta of sight-seeing in the heart of Rome's historic center, Piazza Navone will lure you for a break with her cafes and restaurants, musicians and art exhibits.

This is Rome's central gathering place and, of course, it would not be complete without some amazing works of art... three striking fountains. Largest of them, in the center of Piazza Navone, is Bernini's exquisite Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi... the Four Rivers, a masterpiece of brilliant baroque marble whose figures represent the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges and the Rio della Plata. The two other fountains stand at the north and south ends of the piazza and are both by Giacomo della Porta. The Fontana del Nettuno... Neptune's Fountain, and Fontana del Moro, Fountain of the Moor. The figures of Neptune and the Sea Nymphs were added in the nineteenth century, while the central figure of the Moor holding a dolphin was based on a Bernini design and added in the seventeenth century.
 
Trevi Fountain

The Fontana di Trevi is arguably the most famous fountain in Rome, immortalized by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in the 1953 movie, Roman Holiday. It dominates the tiny Piazza di Trevi in the Quirinale district where it is located. The dramatic scenario of Neptune riding a shell-shaped chariot, pulled by sea horses was created by Nicola Salvi, again inspired by Bernini, commissioned in 1732 and completed thirty years later. Stand with your back to the Trevi fountain and toss a coin over your shoulder to guarantee your return to the eternal city.

Rome photo credits this page © 2003 Elaine K. Beckham, except where noted.
 

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