Top 10 places to see in Rome

Piazza di Spagna

Piazza di Spagna (The Square of Spain) in Rome is never missed by tourists and it is considered the centre of Rome and its historic center. This place is always full of people from the early morning till midnight. What is so special about this place?
First of all Spanish steps. When you get to the top you will get a magnificent view of this Eternal City and then you can continue your walk to the famous beautiful park Villa Borghese. In summer Spanish steps get decorated by Rose flowers in pots and become even more beautiful. People come to sit on the Steps to eat lunch, to chat, to kiss, to confess love, to think etc.
Secondly Piazza di Spagna is a home of the Fountain of the Old Boat, beautiful building of the Spanish Embassy, designers’ stores and cafes, and is the place where many little historical streets commence that are also full of high street shops, cafes and expensive restaurants.

Trevi Fountain

The best time to see and enjoy Trevi Fountain is at night with its perfect lightening and few people around. The later you go the better, because during the day and in the evenings it is full of people, it is almost impossible to make photos and you should be very attentive to your valuable things.

The fountain in the baroque style has been built in the 18th century by Nicola Selvi and finished by Guiseppe Panini. It is attached to the Poli Palace and this makes it even more splendid. The main character of the Fountain composition is the Oceanus (or some say Neptune) sitting on the sea shell guided by seahorses and tritons. The sculpture of the Oceanus is surrounded by other allegoric figures and above it there are bas-relives. One of them is represented by a young woman that shows direction to the springs (aqueducts) located 17 km from Rome.

The bottom of the fountain is full of coins due to the famous tradition: “If you through a coin with your right hand over your left shoulder, you will definitely return to Rome”

Villa Borghese

Villa Borghese is a large English style park located above Piazza di Spagna. In the middle ages it was owned by the Borghese family.

This is the best place for relaxing and for quietness in the center of Rome. You can walk in the park (the walking paths are well made), cycle or hire a tricycle which is fun especially if you are travelling with children.

The park Villa Borghese contains a number of museums (e.g Borghese Gallery, National Gallery of the Contemporary Art), monuments, the zoo, Hipodrome, green lawns, gardens, a lake and other natural attractions. It is highly recommended to visit Borghese Gallery that contains a number of precious pieces of art by famous artists and sculptors such as Caravaggio and Bernini.

Castel Sant'Angelo

The Castel Sant'Angelo is located close to Vatican, has a very interesting history and from its top you can get a wonderful view of the Vatican and other parts of Rome.

The Castel was built in the second century by the Emperor Hadrian. It was intended to be used as a mausoleum for the Emperor and his successions. The bridge across the river Tiber was built to connect the city of Rome to the mausoleum. However, when the attacks by barbarians on Rome started to be intensive and frequent, Romans built high walls around the city which passed through the mausoleum and made it a military fortress. In the 14th century the popes converted the structure into the castle and connected it to the St. Peter's Basilica by a covered corridor. Later the Castle served as a papal residence as well as a prison (Giordano Bruno was imprisoned there).

The name of the Castle holds back to the 6th century when, according to the legend, the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum and informed about the end of the plague of 590.

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo (The Square of People) is located only 5 minutes walking from Piazza di Spagna. There is an Egyptian Obelisk in the center of the Square brought to Rome by the order of Augustus in 10 BC. There are Egyptian-style lion fountains at the base of the Obelisk.

The Square is also a home of three churches. The oldest one that was built here before the formation of the Square is called Santa Maria del Popolo. The other two are ‘twin’ churches called Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto. Usually only one of them is open while the other is closed.

In the Northern part of the Square there is an ancient gate to the city called Porta del Popolo. The Neptune Fountain is located between two sets of stairs that lead to Villa Borghese.

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona (Navona Square) was founded in the place of the Stadium Domutiun that Romans called Circus Agonalis (Competition Square) for the games (agones) that were taking place here. Starting from the 15th century the Piazza that has a perfect rectangle shape was initially used for a city market, and then as a place for theatrical performance and horse races.

Now Piazza Navona is home for three fountains. The most famous one is the Fountain of Four Rivers, the masterpiece of Gianlorenzo Bernini built in the 17th century. The Fountain is built around the Egyptian obelisk and generally consists of four sculptures of River Gods that represent four main rivers of the world: Nole in Africa, Ganges in Asia, Danube in Europe and Rio de la Plata in America.

Around Piazza Navona there are a number of expensive cafes and restaurants. During the day and at night you can find here a lot of street musicians, jugglers or other performers.

Piazza Venezia

Piazza Venezia (Venice Square) is located at the bottom of the Capitoline Hill. It takes the name from the adjacent Venice Palace built in the 15th century. The stone to build the Palace was taken directly from the Coliseum. From the beginning it was the residence of the Venetian cardinal Pietro Barbo who then became Pope Paul II and then it was used as a papal residence as well as the Embassy of the Republic of Venice. In the 19th century the Palace became the seat of the Austrian ambassador to the Vatican. Now, it is a historical museum.

However, what really compels everybody’s attention is the Altar of the Fatherland (the monument of Victor Emmanuel II) built in the beginning of the 20th century in neoclassic style. The building was constructed with a white marble and features majestic stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, the sculpture of Victor Emmanuel and statues of goddess Victoria riding the quadrigas. If you climb the stairs to the terrace and then take a ride (at a fee) in the elevator to the top you will get a view comparable to the one at the top of the St. Peter’s Basilica. At the bottom of the Monument there is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame built after the World War I.

It is suggested to visit Piazza Venezia both by day and by night in order to get a different feeling of it.

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica is probably the most famous historic and religious attraction of Rome. Although the church has been there since the 4th century, the construction of the present Basilica started in the beginning of the 16th century and was finished in 1626. A number of famous Italian artists, architects and sculptors were working on the Basilica during its construction including Rafael, Bernini and Michelangelo. The façade on the top (at the attic) features the statues of Christ, John the Baptist and 11 Apostles (except for the St. Peter). Inside the Basilica is immense and impresses by a number of statues, altars, gravestones, and other masterpieces including the Statue of St. Peter, Bernini’s Baldacchino standing on the four twisted columns that are topped with the Angels’ statues, the Dome with the diameter of 42 m and the height of 119 m, Michelangelo’s Pieta and many others.

Apart from the Basilica itself it is recommended to climb to the Dome (but do it only if you are physically well fit and do not suffer claustrophobia) and you will get an amazing view of the city. You can also visit the Pope’s tombs where you can find the tomb of John Paul II. It is believed that St.Peter’s tomb is below the altar of the Basilica therefore the majority of Popes starting from the first ones have been buried there.

Colosseo

Colosseum is the largest ever built amphitheatre of the Roman Empire constructed in the 70-72 AD. It was used for Gladiators Games and public spectacles. The Colosseum was built by Jewish prisoners. There was a saying: “as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world" which only confirms the importance of the Colosseum in the ancient times.

However, at the moment you can only see only the skeleton of what was previously the Colosseum which originally had even a roof. A lot of it was destroyed during the wars. In addition, the Colosseum’s stones were used to build a large part of the historic Rome. But even at the present state when you enter into Colosseum you can feel the history and imagine the Gladiorors’ games (especially if you watched “The Gladiator”)

As any Rome’s touristic attractions a lot of people come to visit Colosseum per day. It is suggested that you plan to visit the Colosseum and the Imperial Forum within the same day; this will allow you to save on the ticket price and to avoid standing in two line.

Around Colosseum there are always men dressed as Gladiators and offering to take photos with them for a fee, of course.

Imperial Forum

Imperial Forms is the collection of Forums (public squares) constructed by Augustus, Caesar, Trajan, Nerva and Vespasian between 42 BC and AD 112. The forums served as the centers of commercial, political, religious life and public events. When Christianity started to spread a number of churches were built.

The oldest and the most famous of the forums is the Roman Forum. This is now a large archeological site that consists of the buildings of the Roman Empire times. If you force your imagination you will be able to get back to the Ancient Roman times. Among the most significant structures of the Roman Forum is the Temple of Saturn, The Regia (Ancient residence of Roman Kings), Temple of Vesta and The House of the Vestal Virgins and many others.

However, to be able to enjoy such marvelous place and to be able to rebuild the majority of pieces of the structures in your mind, you should come here with a tour guide, or read the guide book before coming here and not to forget to bring it with you when visiting.