Rome
ROME INTRODUCTION
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Founded in 753 BC, history tells us that Rome was built on seven hills named Aventine, Capitoline, Caelian, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal.
Rome offers breath-taking views over...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
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Spaghetti alla carbonara is made with lightly fried pork cheek, which is similar to bacon, raw egg and pecorino romano, an age-old local cheese made from sheep’s milk.
Bucatini...
COLOSSEUM
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You are standing in front of the Flavian Amphitheater, a symbol of the grandeur of imperial Rome that was called the "Colosseum" because of the thirty-meter tall colossal statue of Nero...
ROMAN FORUM
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Let me start telling you about the history of the Roman Forum as you walk through the grandiose ruins of the Eternal City, among Capitoline Hill, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum. First of all, you...
TRAJAN'S FORUM
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You may already know this, but the large squares that were built in the heart of Rome by the emperors are called the "Imperial Fora", the last of which was built by Trajan around the year...
CAMPIDOGLIO AND CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS
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This area of Rome has more connections with the past than perhaps any other!
It is one of the seven historical hills on which Rome was founded and developed, and is the hill which held the greatest...
VICTORIAN AND ARACOELI
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The colossal monument in front of you dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the first king of united Italy, particularly stands out in the heart of Rome for its marble from the quarries of...
PIAZZA VENEZIA
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Have you ever wondered where the real "center" of Rome is? If ever a place can aspire to this definition, it is Piazza Venezia. Always full of traffic, home to the "oceanic"...
BATHS OF CARACALLA
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The park you now stand in conserves the impressive remains of the Terme, or Baths, that Emperor Caracalla had built; they were inaugurated in 217 BC, before the entire structure had even been...
PIAZZA NAVONA
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You are now in what is in many respects the true "heart" of the city, a Baroque square created above the remains of an imperial building: a mixture of magnificence and popular sentiment...
PIAZZA DI SPAGNA
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Piazza di Spagna is one of the most scenic spots in Rome!
The square where you now stand, perhaps on the famous Staircase of the Trinità dei Monti, or Spanish Steps, gets its name from the...
SAINT PETER'S
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St. Peter's is the largest Christian church in the world!
The apostolic palaces and the colossal masterpiece of Renaissance and Baroque architecture you are about to visit make up the main part of...
VATICAN MUSEUMS
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Every day millions of people wait in line along the Vatican's walls to visit this collection of art, history, and archaeology that has few equals in the world, and is framed by Renaissance palaces...
SISTINE CHAPEL
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Like you, every year about 10 million tourists pass through the miles of corridors in the Vatican Museums to go straight to the Sistine Chapel, where they are enchanted, or rather overwhelmed, by the...
VATICAN PALACE - RAPHAEL ROOMS
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You'll find them at the end of the long walk through the Vatican's corridors. They are often very crowded, but if you chose the right time to come (I suggest between one and two in the afternoon),...
CASTEL SANT'ANGELO
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This mighty colossus dominating the Tiber River has been one of the city's symbols for two thousand years: it has been an imperial monument, medieval fortress, Renaissance residence, and today it's...
TREVI FOUNTAIN
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In a legendary scene of "La Dolce Vita", Federico Fellini's film entirely set in Rome, the blonde and beautiful Anita Ekberg steps into the Trevi Fountain's pool and invites Marcello...
PANTHEON
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As you walk around the Pantheon, or the "temple of all gods", let me tell you some of the history of this ancient monument that's also the best preserved of the entire Eternal City.
The...
GALLERIA BORGHESE
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A collection of archaeological, sculptural, and painting masterpieces set in the splendor of a princely residence, immersed in the vegetation of a centuries-old park. What more could you ask...
PIAZZA DEL POPOLO
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If it looks familiar, it's because you've probably seen it in a lot of movies! It's located at the end of Via del Corso, near the historic city walls that were built by Emperor Aurelian and are still...
ARCHBASILICA OF ST. JOHN LATERAN
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Welcome to the "Mother and Head of All Churches in Rome and in the World", as the grandiose basilica of St. John Lateran is often called. This marvel of art and architecture is more than...
BASILICA OF SAINT PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS
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Welcome to the basilica dedicated to Saint Paul, which is called "outside the walls" because it was built outside the historic center in the fourth century AD. It is the largest church in...
QUIRINAL PALACE
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One of the most important urban-planning achievements of the Romanesque era is "Montecavallo", as Quirinal Hill is commonly called, which is the hill sixty meters above Rome that marks the...
VIA DEL CORSO
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You are at the foot of a mile-long road that runs straight between Piazza Venezia and Piazza del Popolo: it is the true spine of Renaissance, Baroque, and modern Rome. It is always crowded with...
MOUTH OF TRUTH
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The Mouth of Truth is one of the most "magical" places in Rome!
The lively square you're standing in with the Baroque fountain at its center is where the ancient "Foro Boario" was...
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DELLA VITTORIA
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This church contains one of the most extraordinary sculptures in Rome: the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The seventeenth-century Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, or Our Lady...
CHURCH OF SAN LUIGI DEI FRANCESCI
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Are you ready to see Caravaggio's most important painting cycle in Rome? Good. But first let me briefly tell you about this church's history, which owes its name to the fact that it has been the...
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MAGGIORE
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The church before you is the most important of the many Romanesque churches dedicated to the Madonna, as its name suggests, and it rises up like an isolated architectural block on top of Esquiline...
VILLA GIULIA
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You've made an excellent choice coming here: it's both a museum dedicated to the fascinating and exciting theme of the ancient and mysterious Etruscan civilization, and Villa Giulia is of the utmost...
VILLA FARNESINA
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The elegant villa that you're about to see once belonged to Agostino Chigi, a wealthy and educated banker of a family from Siena whose name is connected to the present building of the Council of...
