Must-see places in Rome

Here is a short list that highlights the emblematic sights in Rome and considered as unmissable, find the map below:

Ancient sites

• The Colosseum is certainly the most emblematic monument in Rome. This gigantic stone elliptical building is the largest amphitheatre in the Roman world. Gladiators and animals fought there to distract the people sometimes mistreated by the Empire. A good part is well preserved, including the interior accesses.
• The Roman Forum and the Palatine form one of the most remarkable archaeological spaces of ancient Rome, where the political and cultural center of the Republic and the Roman Empire was located. It occupies a valley 600 meters long, with many remains of temples, shrines and public buildings. On the hill overlooking the Palatine, the emperors had built themselves sumptuous villas.
  Just across the Fori Imperiali Avenue are the Imperial Forums, including the Trajan Forum and the sublime Trajan Column.
• The Pantheon is an ancient temple built to pay tribute to the great Greco-Roman gods. It is exceptionally well preserved, with its circular main body covered with an impressive dome pierced by an oculus. It also houses the tombs of prestigious Italians, including King Victor Emmanuel II or the artist Raphael.

Saint Peter and Vatican

• Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican is an extraordinary religious building, the largest in the Catholic world, a Renaissance and Baroque temple built on the tomb of the apostle Peter. Its large dome designed by Michelangelo reaches 119 meters in height. The greatest Roman architects participated in its reconstruction in the sixteenth century.
• Saint Peter’s Square is an impressive space to welcome pilgrims and travellers with the superb colonnades designed by Bernini that form like two arms linked to the basilica.
• With the famous Sistine Chapel, marked by the greatest work of Michelangelo, the Vatican Museums is the most important museum in Italy by its richness, diversity and size. It preserves works from all eras and majestic rooms, such as the rooms of Raphael.

Nicest squares

• The Capitoline hill dominates the Forums, with beautiful views and the harmonious Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo in the sixteenth century, with in the center the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, surrounded by palaces and monuments, including the staircase and the colossal statues of Castor and Pollux.
• Among the beautiful squares of Rome, Piazza Navona is the most emblematic of Rome, having the form of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, with its animation, exuberance and exceptional baroque architecture that culminates in the monumental Fountain of the Four Rivers carved by Bernini and surmounted by an obelisk.
• The famous Spanish Steps with Piazza di Spagna are the most original of the Roman squares, with its elegant and monumental baroque staircases, dominated by the twin bell towers of the Trinity of the Mountains.

Monuments

• The Trevi Fountain is Rome’s most famous and theatrical fountain, printed in the collective imagination since Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. It depicts aquatic scenes with a personification of the Ocean, with its late baroque style of the eighteenth century.
• The Castel Sant’Angelo is one of the most beautiful and interesting Roman monuments. It stands on the right bank of the Tiber, around a central body formed by the ancient Mausoleum of Hadrian which was fortified from the early Middle Ages. It is joined by the Ponte Sant’Angelo, a bridge of Roman origin decorated with statues of the Passion designed by Bernini.

Museums in Rome

After the Vatican Museums, these three museums are the most remarkable in Rome

• On the hill of the same name the important Capitoline Museum preserve many remarkable works and objects of antiquity, mainly sculptures, but also sarcophagi and sculptures of the
• In the pretty and quite large park of the Villa Borghese, the Borghese Gallery brings together three collections, the most famous of which are those of baroque sculptures and Renaissance paintings, including Caravaggio, neo-classical and antique sculptures, including those of Bernini.
• The National Roman Museum houses the largest archaeological collection in the world, visible in several sites, especially at the main headquarters of the Massimo Palace where are preserved wonderful ancient sculptures and especially the frescoes of the rooms of Roman houses.

Other great basilicas

After Saint Peter of Rome, the city has three major basilicas

• The Basilica Saint John Lateran is the cathedral of the Pope as bishop of Rome. It is the oldest church in the city, built by Constantine around 320 AD. It is considered the mother of all churches, rebuilt throughout history in its ancient forms, with its baptistery that retain early Christian elements. In the adjacent square stands the largest Egyptian obelisk in Rome.
• Basilica of Saint Mary Major is the largest church dedicated to the Virgin whose architecture brings together several eras of Christian art, with the Paleochristian with its five majestic naves, its beautiful medieval Romanesque bell tower, the Renaissance interior alterations or the Baroque façade and domes.
• The majestic Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls was completely rebuilt after a fire in 1823, with its five naves, its frieze with 265 portraits of the Popes. It has preserved its elegant 13th century cloister and the mosaic of the Apocalypse dates back to the 5th century.

Map with sights