San Luigi dei Francesi

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.

Erected in 203. You can see it close up from Via della Curia also (without entering the Forum).

A magnificent patrician house with beautiful gardens. It was built by order of Cardinal Alessando Albani in 1743-1763 in order to accommodate his collection of art. The collection was taken care of by the Winkelmann, adviser and friend of the cardinal. In Rome, Winkelmann wrote his "Geschichte der Kunst des Altertumns (HIstory of the Art of Antiquity)", which made him the founder of classical archaeology. The painted ceiling of the great hall depicting Mount Parnassus is by the German painter Anton Raphael Mengs who was considered as the greatest painter in Rome in the 18th century. A permission to visit is to be requested by email or fax from Principi Torlonia's administration where you'd need to indicate date and time desired, your name and number of people in your party (max. 10).

The Rome Mosque, which was inaugurated in 1995, is the biggest in Europe. The inside of the 30,000 m² structure has a large prayer hall that uses tri-stemmed columns that imitate the features of trees.

Very ornately done and beautiful inside, but don't expect any information in English. All information panels are only in Italian. It's still a beautiful site though even if you don't read Italian. According to tradition St.Cecily suffered a particular cruel death as a martyr. She was scalded, suffocated and beheaded by three strokes on her neck. As she was singing all the time during her martyrdom she is considered the patron of music. The building of today shows a mixture of various styles, from the porticus of the 12th-century to the 18th-century facade.

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.

According to the legendary passio, two brothers, John and Paul, who were officials at the imperial court, suffered martyrdom in 362 in their home on the Caelian hill, during the reign of emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus. This basilica dedicated to these two Roman officers was erected starting from 398 and was used first as a domus ecclesiae by the Christian community.

Houses the tomb of St Lawrence. This basilica dates back to the 3rd century, when the area was already well populated. Surrounding it is Rome's cemetery, the Cimitero del Verano. San Lorenzo was damaged by Allied bombs in 1943 and the facade has been rebuilt.

Next door to the Pyramid, this fine gate in the Aurelian Wall is named after St. Paul as the Via Ostiense leads to the basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls (see Rome/South).

This church is literally right next to the Pantheon. It is one of Rome's only Gothic churches, and well worth looking inside, although its plain square façade makes it look inconspicuous from outside. Excellent stained glass windows.

Also known as St Paul Outside the Walls. This is on the outskirts of Rome in an otherwise drab modern neighborhood. The enormous basilica is a faithful reconstruction, finished in 1854, of the ancient basilica which burned down in 1823. Parts of the original interior were rescued from the fire and have been extensively restored. Visiting in the afternoon may avoid the tourist coaches. Don't miss the medieval cloister, which survived the fire.

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.

More of an enormous traffic circle than a piazza, but a good central location. The centerpiece is the enormous Vittorio Emanuele Monument (aka the Wedding Cake or the Typewriter) with the Capitoline hill next door. Mussolini used to harangue Romans from the first floor balcony of Palazzo Venezia (see under Museums), to the west of the square.

The stadium is on the west bank of River Tiber, about three km directly north of the Vatican. It is part of a sports complex that was built for the 1960 Olympic Games, including the Olympic swimming pool and the tennis complex where the annual ATP/WTA Italian Open is held. The main stadium holds more than 80,000 and was extensively rebuilt, with a roof added, for the 1990 World Cup (soccer) finals.

A very ancient church named after a saint who was in 1969 removed from the Roman Catholic calendar of saints for the lack of details of her life. But the church retains the name and is well worth visiting for an excellent 4th-century mosaic and attractive decorations on the facade. Visiting hours are short, but if you arrive close to 11:30, try talking to the attendant if you see him, and he might let you visit for a few minutes. The church is small, so 15 minutes should be long enough to see and absorb everything.

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.

Perhaps most famous for a large model of imperial Rome, but also has a large display of various aspects of ancient Rome, using plaster casts, models and reconstructions of works found in museums throughout the world.

The building is in one of the most hidden corners of the city center among Piazza Navona and Castel Sant'Angelo. It served as residence for the Orsini family. Nowadays it is private property and one can only glance at the courtyard and the amazing fountain inside, erected in 1618 by architect Antonio Casoni. However, the brief moment is worth it.

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.