Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy. Photo by Gary.
R ome is a popular travel destination in Italy full of attractions. They say the best museum in Rome is the city itself. The capital of Italy is one of the most visited cities in the world, with an average of 7-10 million tourists a year. The Colosseum (4 million tourists) and the Vatican Museums (4. 2 million tourists) are the 39th and 37th (respectively) most visited places in the world, according to a recent study. Italy has the greatest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, with 49. Your stay in Rome is all about your state of mind and, of course, budget and time too. Rome is a huge city(2. 7 million in 2010) with several district articles containing sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings.
Rome Quick Facts
The origins of this Italian city date from more than 2. 700 years ago.
Legend holds that Romulus and Remus founded Rome in 753 B. C. – the mythical image of the two brothers suckled by the she-wolf, other than the Colosseum, has become the iconographic symbol for the Capital.
Rome – the «Eternal City» was once the administrative centre of the mighty Roman Empire.
There are more than 900 churches in Rome.
According to the tradition, who throws a coin from the back inside Trevi’s Fountain, one day will come back in Rome.
Have you ever wondered just how much money gets tossed into the Fontana di Trevi each year? According to the City of Rome, nearly €700, 000(about $950k) worth of coins gets tossed in each year. The proceeds are donated to Caritas to help the needy.
Rome, the Eternal City, is the capital and largest city of Italy and of the Lazio region, although is a huge city, its historic center is small, making it easy to walk. The historic center of Rome and the Holy See (including the Vatican and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls) make up one of the 49 Italian sites inserted in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Top Attractions in Rome
Rome contains some of the most interesting ancient buildings and monuments of the entire world. To name some of these buildings and monuments we can say that it contains the Vatican City, The Colosseum, the Forum from where Julius Caesar would govern Rome in the ancient times, and even some ruins of Circus Maximus where ancient sports such as gladiator fights would be watched by thousands of spectators.
Here are a few top attractions in Rome that you need to see.
Saint Peter’s Basilica(Vatican) – Basilica di San Pietro is the largest Roman Catholic building in the world. It houses important works by Michelangelo and Bernini.
Vatican Museums – Musei Vaticani – the largest museum complex in the world, houses art spanning 3000 years from the Classical and modern world. Here you can see the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s frescoes.
The Borghese Gallery – (art gallery) original artworks by Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Giovanni Bellini, Antonio Canova and others.
The Colosseum – Colosseo is the largest monument in existence from Imperial Rome. It is a huge amphitheater that housed the fierce gladiator and wild animal fights.
The Pantheon – Italy’s best-preserved ancient building, It started out as a pagan temple and then became a church.
Trevi Fountain – designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world.
The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the central area of the city around which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, cult and the administration of justice took place. Space where religious activities were conducted and the communal hearth of the city.
The Spanish Steps – with its irregular butterfly design, the beautiful «Scalina Spagna», or Spanish Steps are just one of these must see places when in Rome and a great example of Roman Baroque Style. It’s a great place to just sit down and enjoy the atmosphere and views of the Eternal City. The steps are a wide irregular gathering place consisted of 138 steps placed in a mix of curves, straight flights, vistas and terraces. They connect the lower Piazza di Spagna with the upper piazza Trinita dei Monti, with its beautiful twin tower church dominating the skyline.
The Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) – is a controversial monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy.
La Bocca della Verità (English: the Mouth of Truth) is an image, carved from Pavonazzo marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one’s hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. The piece was placed in the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin in the 17th century.
Rome, Italy. Photo by Bert Kaufmann.
Interesting Facts About Rome
Built in 72 A. D, the Colosseum has remained the largest amphitheater in the world and is considered to be Rome´s most popular tourist attraction.
Purple clothing was a status symbol and reserved only for emperors or senators. To achieve the color, a dye was made from murex seashells. It was treason for anyone other than the emperor to dress completely in purple.
Some Romans used to keep honking geese rather than watchdogs to alert them of intruders.
In ancient Rome left-handed people were considered unlucky.
Wealthy Romans would have extravagant and decadent banquets that lasted for hours; in order to continue eating, they would induce vomiting.
The Coliseum in Rome has over 80 entrances and can accommodate about 50, 000 spectators.
All Ancient Romans had free entry to the Colosseum for events, and was also fed throughout the show.
Festivals as well as games could last up to 100 days in the Coliseum.
The Ancient Romans would sometimes flood the Colosseum and have miniature ship naval battles inside as a way of entertainment.
The Capuchin Crypt in Rome consists of five chapels and a corridor 60 meters long—and it is decorated with the bones of 4, 000 deceased monks. The coffee drink Cappuccino takes its name from this order of monks who were known by their custom of wearing a hood or cappucio with their habits.
The abbreviation SPQR can be found on many Roman statues, buildings, and military standards. It stands for «senatus populusque romanus.» meaning «The senate and people of Rome.
In English, to «decimate» means to completely destroy. The word comes from the Latin decimare, which evolved from the practice of killing every tenth Roman soldier if they tried to mutiny.
Rome in Photos
The Vatican, Rome, Italy. Night shot of the Vatican and the Tiber river in Rome. Photo by cpierry.
The Colosseum is the largest monument in existence from Imperial Rome. It is a huge amphitheater that housed the fierce gladiator and wild animal fights. Photo by Jonas Smith.
The Pietà (1498–1499) is a world-famous work of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St.
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. Photo by Sebastian Bergmann.
Spiral stairs of the Vatican Museums, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932. Photo by Sebastian Bergmann.
La Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth) is an image, carved from Pavonazzo marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one’s hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off. Photo by Abir Anwar.
The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. Photo by Jonas Smith.
