Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill

Casal Rotondo is the biggest mausoleum on the Appian Way, at about the sixth mile. It now incorporates a small private villa, originally a farmhouse. It is not known for whom it was built. The wall of fragments next to it, constructed by Luigi Canina, has ruins referring to the Cotta family but this family is now believed to not be associated with the Casal Rotondo.

The Celian Hill is one of the seven hills of Rome. You immediately see the church of San Gregorio Magno. On this site monks were trained before setting off as missionaries to England at the end of the 6th Century. Further up the hill is Santi Giovanni e Paolo. At this point it is difficult to believe you are in the middle of a major city. This church was built in 398 over the home of two Roman soldiers, John and Paul, who were martyred for their Christian beliefs in 362. Excavations show that there were several burials on the site, a risky business as burials were illegal at that time. After the church you come to the back entrance of the Villa Celimontana park (jazz festival nightly in late June-August). The modern buildings before you reach the park are owned by Silvio Berlusconi’s television company. By the main entrance of the park note the boat-like fountain known as the “Navicella”. As you exit the main entrance to the left is the church of S. Maria in Domnica, which has some interesting mosaics. Next to this church is the Porta Esquilina, one of the gates from the original Servian walls of Rome. It dates back to the 4th century BC.

This is a treasure-trove of art. There are a couple of paintings by Caravaggio: "The Crucifixion of Saint Peter" and "The Conversion of Saint Paul" (in a dim alcove to the left of the altar, both at right angles to the viewer, with a machine wanting €2 to switch on the lighting) together with a sculpture by Bernini, frescoes by Pinturicchio and mosaics by Raphael. Part of the Dan Brown tour, this church featured in Angels and Demons, although the Vatican did not allow filming inside.

Between the Pantheon and Via del Corso. A stunning example of Baroque art. The ceiling frescoes are especially fine, including a trompe l'oeil dome by the master Andrea Pozzo.

The 4th rebuilding of the meeting place for the Roman Senate, once converted into a church during the Middle Ages, but now restored since the 1930s.

At the southern end of the Piazza, designed by Bernini but the main statue of the Moor was done by Giacomo della Porta and the other statues are 19th-century copies of the originals.

Built after 1631, the crypt of the church contains a macabre display - a series of chapels decorated with the bones of 3700 dead friars. The bones are glued to the walls and ceilings in bizarre and striking decorations.

Now invaded by readers of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, this is an interesting Baroque church containing Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Teresa". Either side of this chapel are characters in what can best be described as theatre boxes. These are members of the Cornaro family, who paid for Bernini's sculpture. (As of Feb 2015, not visible due to restoration work.)

It was built in 27 BCE, by Augustus' right hand man Marcus Agrippa, and later remodeled by the Emperor Hadrian (AD 125-128). This ancient temple was built as a temple to all the gods of the Roman state but has served as a Christian church since the 7th century. It is the only building from the Graeco-Roman world which has remained substantially intact and in continuous use throughout to the present day, and as it is still a functioning church, silence is requested during your visit. The Pantheon is celebrated for its large dome. From inside you'll see traces of the former bronze ceiling, melted down during the reign of Pope Urban VIII to make weapons for the fortification of the Castel Sant' Angelo. The hole in the center of the ceiling, though, is an original feature designed for architectural reasons (the dome would collapse without it.) If it happens to be raining, you should definitely go to the Pantheon to see the rain pouring into the building through the hole in the ceiling. There are holes in the ground that drain the water. The spectacular doors are Romans, but not the original. The original bronze beams of the pronao were melted down by Pope Urban VIII and might have been used to create Bernini's Baldacchino, or canopy, in Saint Peter's. The dome is the largest masonry dome in the world, larger than that of Saint Peter. The building now appears to be built in a depression, but this was not the original appearance. The street level at the sides and rear has risen about 10 metres (33 ft) since its construction due to the accumulation of debris from 2,000 years of settlement. This has necessitated the maintenance of the deep trench that keeps the building from being buried. The Pantheon was free for many years, but fees began being charged in 2023.

With Bernini's famous Triton Fountain. Via Veneto starts here too.

Where you can find the building of the House of Representatives.

If stones could talk: these hallowed ruins were the most powerful seat of government in the world. To stand in the political, legal and religious centre of the whole Roman Empire brings shivers down one's spine. It is the best way of imagining the splendour and glory of ancient Rome. Located in a small valley between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, access to the Forum is by foot only, from an entrance on the Via dei Fori Imperiali. Wheelchair access is available for most of the Forum but be aware that the path is often bumpy due to it containing original stones from the ancient Roman period. The Forum is much less crowded than the Colosseum and, from a historical perspective, much more interesting. You can hire an audioguide for €5.5 from a small booth just above the Arch of Titus near the Colosseum. These audioguides contain an audio jack so that two people can easily share one. Built in 141 AD and dedicated to the Empress Faustina; after her husband emperor Antoninus Pius died in 161 AD the temple was rededicated to the couple. Completed in 179 BC. The 4th rebuilding of the meeting place for the Roman Senate, once converted into a church during the Middle Ages, but now restored since the 1930s. Erected in 203. You can see it close up from Via della Curia also (without entering the Forum). Finished in 29 BC, marks the spot of Caesar's spontaneous cremation and Mark Antony's funeral speech, made famous by Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar ("Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears ..."). Built in 81 AD by the emperor Domitianus in dedication to his brother Titus, who died earlier that year and reigned as emperor from 79-81, overseeing the opening of the Colosseum in 80 and the eruption of Mt Vesuvius the previous year. The remains of the ancient Roman archives, where Cicero and Seneca did research. Visible from the Forum and accessible through the Capitoline Museum.

Inaugurated in 217 AD and used until the 6th Century. The baths were big enough for 1600 bathers at a time. Impressive and well-preserved. Used for operas in summer months (see Opera di Roma for details) and was the location for the famous "three tenors" concert in July 1990, at the time of the World Cup (soccer).

Perhaps the most fascinating building in Rome. The core of the structure began life as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, built between 135 and 139 AD. Subsequent strongholds built on top of the mausoleum were in turn incorporated into a residence and castle by medieval Popes. The building was used as a prison until 1870 but now houses a museum. Opera buffs will be exhilarated to visit the balcony from which Tosca leaps to her death. Film buffs will recognise it as a setting from Angels and Demons.

The first pedestrian-only bridge was built here in 206 BC and marks the passage of the Roman Via Flaminia over the Tiber. In 115 BC, the original bridge was demolished and rebuilt. It has been restored and remodelled several times since. In 2006, the bridge began attracting couples who, influenced by a movie, used a lamppost on the bridge to hang padlocks as a sign of their love, locking the padlock to the lamppost, then throwing the key behind them into the river. In 2007 the lamppost collapsed under the weight! Feeling sorry for the lovers the mayor ordered construction of steel posts, where padlocks can once again be hung.

Porta San Sebastiano is a gate in the amazingly well-preserved Aurelian Walls. Inside and upstairs is a museum dedicated to the construction of the walls and their recent restoration. You can take a walk along the top of the walls. At the museum you can also arrange to visit the Tomb of the Scipios (Sepolcro degli Scipiani) and a nearby Roman Columbarium (tomb for cremated remains), the entrance for which is 200 m back towards Rome along the Via Di Porta San Sebastiano. No wheelchair access.

Unusual ancient Roman theatre with apartments built on top.

This pleasant park contains very well-preserved ruins of two aqueducts and some of the original surface of the Roman Via Latina. Gets crowded on Sundays but almost empty the rest of the week during term time. Good place for joggers.

This little church is hard to find but well worth the extra effort although it is often closed when you get there. One of Borromini's masterpieces. It is located only a block from Piazza Navona, but not usually visible from the street, as you must enter the courtyard of an old palazzo to reach the church. Sant'Ivo is a small church the dome of which is shaped like the Star of David, but with every other point rounded. The steeple seen from the outside looks like it has a staircase wrapped around it that ascends to heaven. As the church was commissioned by the Barberini family that produced a number of popes and whose family symbol was the bee—some say the steeple resembles the stinger of the insect.