Lazio · Italy
The Eternal City — two and a half millennia of empire, art, faith and la dolce vita.
Rome is one of the few cities in the world where history is not preserved behind glass — it lives and breathes in every street, piazza and cobblestone. Founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BC, the city grew from a cluster of hilltop villages into the capital of an empire that stretched from Scotland to Mesopotamia.
The historic centre is an open-air museum unlike any other. Within walking distance of each other stand the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine Hill, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps — monuments that have shaped Western civilisation for two thousand years. Vatican City, the world’s smallest sovereign state and spiritual home of the Catholic Church, sits within the city’s embrace.
Yet Rome is far more than its monuments. It is a city of neighbourhood trattorias, morning espresso at a marble bar, evening passeggiata along the Tiber and Sunday markets in Campo de’ Fiori. Ancient and modern coexist with effortless grace — a city that has reinvented itself countless times and remains, always, magnificently itself.
The greatest amphitheatre ever built, where gladiators once fought before 50,000 spectators. A symbol of Roman power and engineering genius.
Home of the Pope, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling and Bernini’s breathtaking colonnade — the spiritual heart of Christendom.
The best-preserved building of ancient Rome — its unreinforced concrete dome, with an oculus open to the sky, still astonishes engineers today.
Throw a coin and you’re guaranteed to return — so the legend goes. Nicola Salvi’s 1762 baroque masterpiece is Rome’s most theatrical landmark.
Cacio e pepe, carbonara, supplì, artichokes alla giudia, saltimbocca and gelato — Rome’s cucina povera is rich, bold and deeply satisfying.
From aperitivo hour in Trastevere to jazz clubs in Pigneto — Roman evenings are long, convivial and full of life.
Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) Airport is the main international hub, 30 km from the city centre. Direct trains and buses run to Termini station.
Walk the historic centre — most sights are within 3 km of each other. Metro lines A and B connect key points; trams serve Trastevere and Pigneto.
Stay within the Aurelian Walls for maximum atmosphere — Trastevere, the Jewish Ghetto, Monti and Prati are all excellent neighbourhoods.
Cacio e pepe at a trattoria in Testaccio, supplì from a street stall, artichokes in the Jewish Ghetto, gelato from Fatamorgana.