Rome

Rome, what do you think of when you think of Rome?  Gladiators?  Roman ruins?  Art?  Great shopping? Well, the Eternal City has this and more than you can imagine.  Rome is a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.  The history is bigger than life!  On a WOW factor of 1-10, when you first gaze upon the Coloseum it’s an 11.  Art you have only read about in your high school years, leaps out and touches your very soul in unforgettable familiarty. (observation, experience, familiarty)  .  Just wait until you see Michaelangelo’s masterpiece of God’s hand reaching out to Adam’s  in the Sistine Chapel, or lifelike statue’s in the Vatican Museum, or the Golden Mosaic’s covering the wall’s and ceilings of churches and government buildings. 

What to See and Where to Go

Baths of Caracalla Photo by David Edgar/wikimedia

Aventino - Aventine Hill contains the Circus Maximus and the Baths of Caracalla.  It is named for the hill that rises up near the Tiber River and is one of the legendary Seven Hills of Rome.  The most popular thing to do on the Aventino hill itself is to take a peek through the keyhole that lets you look through three countries (the third is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which owns the building that the keyhole belongs to) and see St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City perfectly framed between two rows of trees.

The Gate on Aventino Hill, Rome with a magnificent view to Vatican through a keyhole
Getting to the keyhole can be a little complicated. If you are walking down Via Teatro de Marcello away from the theatre, you will pass two skeleton temples on your right and a fabulous church (Santa Maria in Cosmedin) with a medieval tower on your left. Shortly after this, and after passing the left turn that would take you to the Circus Maximus, turn left up a steep hill and you will find yourself on top of the Aventino. After coming to a T-junction, turn right and walk a couple of hundred meters past the entrances to a couple of parks on the right (these parks themselves offer great panoramic views of Rome). The keyhole building is one of several on the right side as you come to the end of the road. Take a peek through and the walk will have been worth it.

Michealangelo's Pietra photo by de:Benutzer:Rsuessbr

• Coloseo- the heart of ancient Rome, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Forum of Augustus, the Forum and Markets of Trajan, the Capitoline and its museums
• Esquillino- South of Termini, with an indoor market and Piazza Vittorio Emanuele.
• San Giovanni- At the center of this area south of Esquilino is the Cathedral of Rome Saint John in Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano in Italian).

• Eur
• Navona
• Nomentano
• Pantheon
• Parioli
• Prati
• Quirinale
• Rebubblica- also known as Esedra.
• Salario
• San Lorenzo
• San Paolo
• Spagna- the Spanish Steps, the Mausoleum of Augustus, Ara Pacis
• Testaccio
• Trastevere - across the Tiber River...the old gate.
• Trevi - the Trevi Fountain
• Via Veneto - The Via Veneto is famous for the Dolce Vita, the magnificent Piazza Barberini is also in this area.
• Villa Borghese
• Vaticano- the area around Vatican City
• Vatican City - the independent Papal State within the city of Rome, location of St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Castel Sant'Angelo
• Lido de Ostia

Ghetto Fountain Rome Photo by Anthony M/wikimedia

Some Roman History

Romulus and Remus

As myths and legends were so popular in ancient history, Rome’s beginnings has it’s own.  It is was said that the Eternal City was founded by the twins Romulus and Remus who were abandoned as infants in the Tiber River.  Their father Mars (the god of war and farming)  seduced Rhea a Vestal Virgin who became pregnant with the twins.  Put in prison for the indiscretion by her own uncle Amulius, the boys were put into a basket and sent down the Tiber River to their death.  Mars hearing this took matters into his own hands sending a She-Wolf, who nursed and watched over them until a shepard named Fausulaus, also sent by their father to raise the boys as his own sons.  Once grown they decided to create a kingdom along the Tiber River.  The two were at constant odds on what to name the city and how to run it.  They decided to wait for a sign from the gods, to confirm who was right.  It was decided that whoever saw a flock of vultures first, would win the debate.  Remus was the first, he saw 6 vultures, but Romulus was gifted when he saw 12.  They argued who would be the winner with Remus being the first to see the flock but Romulus felt he had more birds and should be considered the victor.  Followers of the two king wannabe’s starting fighting amongst each other and eventually ended up killing Remus.  Hence Romulus became ruler and named the new city Rome.

Another version of the story has Romulus winning the contest with the birds flying over the hill, which he was on. When Romulus began to build the walls of the city, Remus jumped over walls. Romulus was so insulted that he killed his brother and stated that anyone who tried to come over the walls of his city would meet the same fate.

A little more history

Situated on the River Tiber, between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, the "Eternal City" was once the administrative center of the mighty Roman Empire, governing a vast region that stretched all the way from Britain to Mesopotamia. Today it remains the seat of the Italian government and home to numerous ministerial offices.
The metropolitan area is home to around 3.3 million people.

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