Rome Highlights
Although functioning as a vibrant, modern capital akin to any in Europe, the unique appeal of Rome is that the entire city is a vast, 3,000-year-old, indooroutdoor museum. In every quarter you’ll find ancient monuments, art treasures and timeless architecture in churches, galleries and protected ruins. Home to the world’s smallest country, the Vatican, Rome has religion at its heart and history in its soul – a city that dazzles and inspires visitors time and time again.
Vatican City
The Vatican is the world’s smallest nation, covering just 50 ha (120 acres), and is a theocracy of just over 550 citizens, headed by the Pope, but its sightseeing complex is beyond compare. Within its wall are the ornate St Peter’s Basilica, the astonishing Sistine Chapel, lush gardens, apartments frescoed by Fra’ Angelico, Raphael and Pinturicchio, and some 10 museums. The latter, detailed on these pages, include collections of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities; Paleochristian, Renaissance and modern art; and a world-class ethnographic collection
Top 10 Features
1 Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo’s ceiling is one of the most spectacular works of art in
the world.
2 Raphael Rooms - Raphael decorated Julius II’s apartments between 1508 and 1520.
The Stanza della Segnatura features the School of Athens, a convention of ancient philosophers bearing portraits of Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci as bearded Plato in the centre.
3 Apollo Belvedere - This Roman copy of a 4th-century BC Greek statue is considered a model of physical beauty. It inspired Bernini’s Apollo in Galleria Borghese.
4 Raphael’s Transfiguration - Raphael was labouring on this gargantuan masterpiece (1517–20) when he died at 37, leaving students to finish the base. It depicts Christ appearing to the Apostles in divine glory.
5 Chapel of Nicholas V - The Vatican’s hidden gem is this closet-sized chapel colourfully frescoed
(1447–50) with early martyrs by Fra’ Angelico.
6 Laocoön - One of antiquity’s most famous sculptures is this 1st-century AD Trojan prophet and his sons being strangled by serpents as they try to warn against the besieging Greeks’sneaky gift horse.
7 Caravaggio’s Deposition - Caravaggio’s chiaroscuro technique accentuates a diagonal composition (1604) filled with peasant figures and grisly realism.
8 Borgia Apartments - Pope Alexander VI had these beautiful rooms frescoed by Pinturicchio (Raphael was once his junior collaborator) between 1492 and 1495. The walls are now hung with lesser pieces from the Modern Art collection.
9 Belvedere Torso - The highly crafted, bulging muscles of this 1st-century BC torso of the god Hercules were regularly used as a prime sketching model for Michelangelo and many other Renaissance masters.
10 Leonardo da Vinci’s St Jerome - Sketchy and unfinished – Leonardo was often a distracted genius – this 1482 painting is nevertheless an anatomical masterpiece.
The Pantheon
Dome
The widest masonry dome in Europe (above) is precisely as high as it is wide: 43.3 m (142 ft). Its
airy, coffered space, cleverly shot through with a shaft of sunlight from the oculus, is what lends the Pantheon an ethereal air.
Oculus
The bold, 8.3 mdiameter (27-ft) hole at the dome’s centre provides light and structural support: the tension around its ring helps hold the weight of the dome.
Portico
The triangular pediment is supported by 16 pink and grey granite columns, all original.
Roman Forum
Gazing on it today, a picturesque shambles of ruins and weeds, you would hardly guess that the Forum was the symbol of civic pride for 1,000 years. Its humble beginning, more than 3,000 years ago, was as a swampy cemetery for the original village on Palatine Hill. Gradually it rose, ever more glorified, as Rome’s power grew. After the marsh was finally drained off in the 6th century BC, it took on its central role in the life of the Republic. The Forum showed its most elegant face starting with the reign of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, who is said to have turned the city from brick to marble.
Galleria Borghese
The Borghese Gallery is one of the world’s greatest small museums. A half dozen of Bernini’s best sculptures and Caravaggio paintings casually occupy the same rooms as Classical, Renaissance and Neo-Classical works. The setting is the beautiful frescoed 17th-century villa set in the greenery of Villa Borghese park, all of which once belonged to the great art-lover of the early Baroque, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Scipione patronized the young Bernini and Caravaggio, in the process amassing one of Rome’s richest private collections.
The Colosseum and Imperial Fora
This rich archaeological zone, rudely intruded upon by Mussolini’s Via dei Fori Imperiali, contains some of the most grandiose and noteworthy of Rome’s ancient remains. Dominating the area is the mighty shell of the Colosseum, constructed in AD 72–80 under the Flavian emperors and originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. The quarter also holds other imperial wonders, such as the Arch of Constantine, the gigantic fora of various emperors, most notably Trajan’s, and the 1st century AD folly of Nero’s Golden House, now a subterranean revelation of Roman interior design. Plans are under way to turn the area into one great archaeological park, and the broad thoroughfare crossing the zone is more and more frequently closed to traffic, as those aims are gradually realized.
Musei Capitolini
Capitoline Hill was ancient Rome’s religious heart, and is now home to a magnificent museum. A gently stepped grade, the Cordonata leads you up the hill and provides an unforgettably theatrical experience, just as Michelangelo planned it in the 16th century. At the top you notice the outstretched hand of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, as he dispenses peace from astride his horse. The sides of the star-shaped piazza are graced by twin palaces that contain some of Rome’s greatest treasures. The collections in the Palazzo Nuovo, detailed below, and in the Palazzo dei Conservatori were inaugurated in 1471 with a donation of bronzes by Pope Sixtus IV, and have been judiciously added to ever since.
Museo Nazionale Romano
The National Museum of Rome, with its excellent Classical art collection, grew too vast for its home in the Baths of Diocletian, which closed in 1981. In 1998 the collection was split between various sites, becoming a truly modern, 21stcentury museum. The Ludovisi, Mattei and Altemps collections of sculpture moved into the gorgeous 16th-century Palazzo Altemps near Piazza Navona. The 19th-century Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, a former Jesuit College near Termini, received some of the best individual sculptures, as well as ancient mosaics and fantastic frescoes, some never previously displayed, as detailed below. The ancient Aula Ottagona inherited the oversized bathhouse sculptures; the Baths of Diocletian re-opened in 2000 with an important epigraphic collection and exhibition space.
Santa Maria del Popolo
Few churches are such perfect primers on Roman art and architecture. Masters from the Early Renaissance (Pinturicchio, Bramante), High Renaissance (Raphael) and Baroque (Caravaggio, Bernini) exercised their genius in all disciplines here: painting, sculpture, architecture and decoration. It’s also one of the few churches with major chapels still intact, preserving the artworks that together tell a complete story (most Italian chapels have been dismantled, their paintings now in museums). In the Cerasi Chapel, Caravaggio and Carracci collaborated with a frescoist to create a depiction of Peter, Paul and Mary and, on the vault, their connections to Heaven. Bernini altered Raphael’s Chigi Chapel to help clarify the interplay of its art across the small space.
San Clemente
Nowhere else in Rome can give such a clear idea of the city’s layering and millennia of cultural riches than this wonderful church. The very lowest level remains largely unexplored, dating back to Republican Rome, probably the 2nd century BC. At the deepest excavated level there are 1st-century AD buildings, including an early house of Christian worship and a temple dedicated to the Persian god, Mithras. Above that is a partially intact 4thcentury AD basilica. When that edifice was burned in the Norman sacking of 1084, the space was filled in and a new church was built, using some of the original architectural elements. In 1857, the Irish Dominican prior, Father Mullooly, accidentally discovered the lower church and began the long process of emptying out the rubble.
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| Apse Mosaic |
Ostia Antica
Some 2,000 years ago, ancient Rome’s lively international port city was right on the beach and at the mouth of the Tiber (ostium means “river mouth”). In the ensuing millennia the sea has retreated several kilometres and the river has changed course dramatically. Ostia was founded in the 4th century BC, first as a simple fort, but as Rome grew, the town became ever more important
as the distribution point for imports from around the Mediterranean. Grain was the most vital commodity, to feed Rome’s one million inhabitants, and so huge storage bins (horrea) were built here. Goods were sent up to Rome on river barges. Ostia’s heyday ended in the 4th century AD, and it died completely as an inhabited area about 1,000 years ago.
Top 10 Shopping Streets
1 Via dei Condotti: The chicest shops are here, where all the biggest names in haute couture have staked out heir turf: Gucci, Bulgari, Prada, Hermès, Ferragamo, Armani, Trussardi, Valentino and more. It’s a foregone conclusion that this street offers no bargains, but the staff will
make you feel like visiting royalty.
2 Via del Corso: Up and down Rome’s central axis street, more commonly known as the Corso, you’ll find the entire range of shopping options. Music stores and trendy young styles predominate. There are also good shoe shops.
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| Galleria Alberto Sordi - Via del Corso |
3 Via Cola di Rienzo: This is Rome’s best street for middle-range clothing. There are also a few shoe shops and a department store. For hard-tofind international and traditional food items, Castroni is the city’s best shop, while nearby Franchi is famous for its cheese selection.
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| Coin - Via Cola di Rienzo |
4 Via Borgognona: The other major street for top-name fashion, second only and parallel to Via dei Condotti. Here’s where Dolce e Gabbana, Fendi, Ferrè, Givenchy and Versace have all set up shop. Don’t omit nearby Piazza di Spagna, which is home to Fendi, Missoni and Krizia.
5 Via dei Coronari: Named for the rosary makers and sellers that used to line the way when it was on the main pilgrimage route to St Peter’s, this street now has a reputation for antiques. Only partly deserved, however, since prices are generally exaggerated and most pieces are imported.
6 Via del Babuino: An imposing blend of high fashion (Armani, Chanel, Tiffany & Co.) and antiques make this street one of Rome’s most elegant. Worth a stroll just to peek into some of the finer antiques shops – they’re full of Baroque furniture, paintings and antiquities.
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| Statua del Sileno - Via del Babuino |
7 Via Margutta: A wonderful range of art, antiques and antiquities shops has made this little street famous. Nos. 45 and 86 often have stunning merchandise for sale, whereas No. 109 specializes in more affordable copies of antiquities.
8 Via Bocca di Leone: One of the side streets that joins Via dei Condotti and Via Borgognona, in the heart of Rome’s haute couture shopping area, has several high-style boutiques including Valentino and Gianni Versace.
9 Via Nazionale: A solidly mid-range shopping experience, lined with shoe and clothing boutiques, Oriental rug stores, an international bookshop and a reliable bag and luggage emporium. Frette, with its elegant range of bed linen, also has an outlet here.
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| Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) |
10 Via dei Giubbonari: Named for the traditional giubbotti (jackets) whose makers and sellers used to populate this street, Via dei Giubbonari is still noted for its stylish clothing and down-toearth prices. Sports wear, shoes, trendy styles and classics for men and women are all available here.
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| Via dei Giubbonari |
1 Antico Caffè Greco: Rome’s 1760 answer to all the famed literary cafés of Paris. Just off the Spanish Steps on the busiest shopping street in town, it is an elegant holdover from yesteryear, its tiny tables tucked into a series of genteel, cosy rooms plastered with photos, prints and other memorabilia from the 19th-century Grand Tour era. The A-list of past customers runs from Goethe to Byron, Casanova to Wagner.
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| Antico Caffè Greco - Via dei Condotti - Roma |
2 Caffè Sant’Eustachio: Rome’s most coveted cappuccini come from behind a chrome-plated shield that hides the coffee machine from view so no one can discover the skilled owner’s secret formula. All that is known is that the water comes from an ancient aqueduct and the brew is pre-sweetened. Always crowded.
3 San Crispino: Navigate the glut of inferior ice cream parlours infesting the Trevi neighbourhood to reach this elegantly simple little gelateria. The signature ice cream contains honey but there are other velvety varieties made with fresh fruit or nuts and sinful delights laced with liqueurs. d Via della Panetteria 42
4 Tre Scalini: This café’s claim to fame is Rome’s most decadent tartufo (truffle) ice cream ball, which is almost always packaged in other outlets. Dark chocolate shavings cover the outer layer of chocolate ice cream, with a heart of fudge and cherries.
5 Giolitti: This 19th-century café is the best known of Rome’s gelaterie. Touristy but excellent.
6 Gran Caffè: Doney Still the top café on the famous Via Veneto, but long past its prime as the heartbeat of Rome’s 1950s heyday (along with rival Café de Paris across the road) – when celebrities in sunglasses hobnobbed with starlets draped over the outdoor tables. The lifestyle Giolitti was documented in (and in part created by) Fellini’s seminal film La Dolce Vita, whose shutterbug character Paparazzo lent a name to his profession of bloodhound photographers.
7 Caffè Rosati: The older, more left-wing of Piazza del Popolo’s rival cafés (the other is Caffè Canova) was founded by two of the Rosati brothers (a third continued to manage the family’s original Via Veneto café). It sports a 1922 Art Nouveau decor and its patrons park their newest Ferrari or Lotus convertibles out front.
8 Caffè Novecento: Exuding a cosy, 19th-century teahouse charm, this café contains a series of parlour-like nooks accessorized with antique furniture and serves delicate sweets or light salads, tarts and quiche. d Via del Governo Vecchio 12
9 Gelateria della Palma: Modern ice cream parlour with more than 100 flavours of gelato plus semifreddi (halffrozen mousse) and frozen yoghurt. It’s open late and constantly thronged with Rome’s young and beautiful. Mere steps from the Pantheon.
10 La Tazza d’Oro: Strictly the highest quality Brazilian beans go into the coffee here. There’s nothing fancy in this unassuming place and no touristy gimmicks (despite being just off the Pantheon’s piazza). Just a long, undulating bar counter where regulars enjoy a heavenly espresso that, amazingly, manages to be both among the best and the cheapest in Rome.
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