The Eternal City, Layer Upon Layer
Rome is the capital of Italy and of the Lazio region, a city of about 2.8 million people on the River Tiber, known for some two and a half thousand years of continuous history, from the Colosseum and the Roman Forum to the domes of the Renaissance and Baroque. Tradition dates its founding to 753 BC. The historic centre, together with the properties of the Holy See and the Basilica of San Paolo Fuori le Mura, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 and extended in 1990. Few cities allow you to walk from the age of emperors to the age of Bernini in a single afternoon.
The set pieces reward patience. The Colosseum, inaugurated in AD 80, still anchors the skyline beside the Forum and the Palatine Hill, while the Pantheon, rebuilt under Hadrian, is crowned by the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Baroque Rome unfolds around Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps lead up to Trinita dei Monti. Vatican City, an independent state within Rome, holds St Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums, home to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling. Between them lie small piazzas, ochre palazzi and a fountain at nearly every turn.
Trastevere Evenings and a Cuisine of Few Ingredients
Roman cooking is simple, seasonal and fiercely local. The classic pastas, carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia, rely on a handful of ingredients: guanciale, pecorino romano, black pepper and eggs. Supplì, fried rice croquettes, and pizza al taglio sold by weight make the best quick lunches, while carciofi alla giudia, crisp fried artichokes from the old Jewish quarter, are a spring signature. Evenings belong to neighbourhoods: Trastevere with its ivy-covered lanes, Testaccio with its market and trattorias, and Monti, where small wine bars and boutiques fill the streets behind the Forum.
Beyond the monuments, green and quiet places give Rome its breathing space. The gardens of Villa Borghese hold the Galleria Borghese, where Bernini's sculptures stand in rooms made for them, and the Appian Way, the ancient road southward, is lined with umbrella pines, catacombs and ruined tombs. Gelato is a daily ritual and aperitivo its evening counterpart. A tourist board or city partner could present these distinct Romes, imperial, Baroque, culinary and green, as separate itineraries on VisitRoma.co.uk, each aimed at a different kind of visitor.
Read the full Rome guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitRoma.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.