Tabularium

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 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.

The enormous building at the southeast end of the Circus Maximus is the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). From its roof are undoubtedly the best views of Rome, but you will need to know someone who works there to get past the strict security.

Wandering around the shopping and residential district of Prati, close to the Vatican, you may notice rather a lot of lawyers' nameplates outside buildings. This is also Rome's legal district because of the proximity of the Palazzo di Giustizia or Palace of Justice. This massive monstrosity on the banks of the Tiber was built on alluvial soil, which necessitated a concrete platform to support the foundations. Despite this, later settlement of the building led to the need for restoration work in 1970 and it is said to be still sinking. There were many allegations of corruption during its construction, something not unknown in the Rome of today, and this, combined with its appearance, gave rise to its nickname of the Palazzaccio or Ugly Palace.

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).

Known properly as the Flavian Amphitheatre, this most famous of Roman landmarks takes its name from the giant statue of the emperor Nero that once stood near this location. The amphitheatre was capable of seating 50,000 spectators for animal fights and gladiatorial combats. It was a project started by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 and completed by his son Domitian sometime in the 80s. The Colosseum when completed measured 48 m high, 188 m in length, and 156 m in width. The wooden arena floor was 86 m by 54 m, and covered by sand.;Expect a long queue and an even longer wait. You can skip the queue if you decide to take a tour, but if you don't want a tour, you can STILL skip the queue. If you walk to the entrance for the Roman Forum, you can buy tickets there which allow you to bypass the queues. You can also buy tickets online. There are lots of people offering tours in English just outside the entrance to the Colosseum. Inside you can take a tour (English, Spanish, or German) every 30 minutes or so for an additional fee. The tours are given by knowledgeable archeologists, but they don't take you to any areas you couldn't visit on your own.

Contains the tomb of Pope Hadrian IV, the last non-Italian pope before Pope John Paul I.

This massive early 17th-century Baroque fountain was built to celebrate the re-opening of an old Roman aqueduct. Water played an important role in this area in Roman times as the grain was milled here using water mills.

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.

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.

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.

Unusual ancient Roman theatre with apartments built on top.

Four fountains from the time of Pope Sixtus V when much of Rome was redeveloped. A reclining deity is the theme of each sculpture. This is a busy intersection and if you don't look twice you may miss these exquisite examples of Roman mythology.

A relaxing place to sit and recover from the exertions of sightseeing. Permanent collection plus annual competition.

Pope Sixtus IV della Rovere (1471-1481) gave order to replace the old Roman bridge by a new one. It was Pope Sixtus IV who also ordered the Sistine Chapel and the Opsedale di Santo Spirito to be built. So he ran out of money. He levied a tax on prostitution in order to gain money for the construction of the Ponte Sisto.

A 5th-century basilica, simply and attractively decorated. The wooden door, of which 18 carved panels of scenes from the Bible survive, is believed to date from the church's construction.

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.

By Borromini, reputed to be on the spot where St. Agnes was martyred in the 4th century AD. This lovely basilica church is small with an almost circular interior. It is undergoing rehabilitation and the facade and dome are hidden in scaffolding. It seems to be open only until noon.

Behind the pyramid, entered by the Via Caio Cestio, is the Protestant Cemetery where the poet John Keats was buried in 1821 and Percy Bysshe Shelley's ashes were also buried after his drowning in 1822. Richard Dana, author of Two Years before the Mast was buried there in 1882, and the Beat Generation poet Gregory Corso was buried there in 2001.