Fontana dell'Acqua Paola

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.

This is the attractive park on the hillside directly west of the Colosseum. Visible ruins in the area come from the Baths of Trajan. These baths were built on the top of the ruins of Domus Aurea - the Golden House of Nero (the Colosseum was built on the drained site of Nero's lake). The area underneath the park contains an enormous area from Nero's villa. It was restored at great expense in the 1980s and 1990s, opened to the public, and then closed again after a few years when it began to leak!

Baroque church more noted for its position at the top of the Spanish Steps than it is for the church. Backdrop for numerous movies including Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday.

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.

Home of the President of the Italian Republic, and the Quirinal Gardens. Built in 1573 as a papal summer residence, and has since also served as the residence for the pope and later for the king of Italy.

In the Middle Ages pilgrims on their way to St. Peter's had to pass through the Via dei Coronari in order to cross the Tiber at Ponte St. Angelo. The street got its name from the people who sold rosaries to the pilgrims. It follows the ancient Via Recta which led from what is today Piazza Colonna to the Tiber. In the 15th century Pope Sixtus IV initiated the construction of private buildings. Today, several houses dating back to the 15th and 16th century may be seen. House nr. 156/157 is said to have been the House of Fiametta, the mistress of Cesare Borgia.

This is not, contrary to popular belief, one of the original seven hills that Rome was founded on. It is the second highest after Monte Mario, though, and offers incredible panoramic views of the city as long as the authorities remember to prune the trees on the hillside (if they are too tall you can walk a few meters down the hill for views that are just as good). On the other side of the piazza there is also a nice view of the dome of St. Peter's. The Piazza and the street leading up the hill are dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi who led Italian troops against the French here in 1849. There are also several commemorative statues.

Although started in the 2nd century, San Callisto has had many more recent burials, including 16 popes. The burial arcades are almost 20 km long.

The temple of the Emperor Hadrian was consecrated in 145 AD by Emperor Antoninus Pius. The remains of the antique temple were incorporated into a new building that served as the Papal Customs House. It was finished around 1690 and today accommodates the Stock Exchange (Borsa).

This is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC in the form of a stone ring covered by an earth mound. A brick wall, 87 m in diameter, carried an earth mound covered with cypresses. On top of the hill stood a bronze monument of the emperor. The building was 44 meters high. At the beginning of the alley, which led to the tomb were two Egyptian obelisks. On both sides of the doorway bronze plates describe the "Res gestae", the deeds of the emperor. The urns of Augustus, Marcellus, Octavia, Agrippa, Drusus and other members of the Julian Claudian dynasty were revered here. In the Middles Ages the building served as citadel of the Colonna family. It was destroyed by Pope Gregor IX in 1241. The body of Cola di Rienzo. a popular leader of the people in the mid-14th century, was burnt in this monument. The Mausoleo di Augusto is not open to the public, and is fenced off.

The Catacombs of Domitilla are considered to be the best preserved of all Roman catacombs. They are the only ones still to contain bones. Domitilla also has a subterranean basilica, much of which was reconstructed in 1870.

With its strange Liberty- style buildings with influence from the Art Nouveau of the 1920s this small bunch of blocks is one of the most interesting, and less known, landmarks of the city. A must see.

If it is sunny, you'll catch a few young people and older gentlemen sitting at the base of a statue in the middle of the open space. The statue is a brooding, hooded Giordano Bruno—an excommunicated Dominican monk and one of the earliest cosmologists who held the idea of an infinite universe. He was burnt at the stake for heresy on this spot on 17 February 1600. The piazza is used as a marketplace during the day, and party central for college students and tourists at night. When the sky gets dark and the street lamps go on, the Campo de' Fiori fills with people and lovers wander arm in arm in the crowd. Over the buzzing of conversation and the occasional burst of laughter you may hear a young vocalist belt out O Sole Mio at the top of his lungs as change plunks into his accordion case.

This is one of the two main Jesuit churches in Rome, the other being the nearby Sant'Ignazio. The interior is Baroque art on steroids. Simply astounding.

This is not the real name of the church on the corner by the main entrance to San Callisto but it is universally known by this name. By legend it is located on the spot where Saint Peter had a vision of the risen Christ while fleeing persecution in Rome. According to the tradition, Peter asked Jesus, Domine, quo vadis? “Lord, where are you going?” The current church is from 1637. Inside is a copy of a stone said to contain the imprints of the feet of Jesus; the original is maintained in San Sebastiano, further along the Appian Way