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Rome
means history. Rome means beauty. Rome
means art. Rome was not built in a day
and you certainly cannot see all of Rome
even in 30 days. But, whatever time you
have to explore this most fascinating
of cities is worth the time, whether it
be a couple of days, or a week or two.
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From
the Colosseum, to Piazza St. Pietro from the Fontana
di Trevi to Piazza di Spagna, Rome offers visitors
more to see than almost any other destination
in the world. And you want to see it all ! In
Rome it is possible to walk from the Colosseum,
through the Forum, up to Piazza di Spagna and
across to the Vatican in one day, but you wouldn't
really want to. It's hard
to say what you'll find most breathtaking about
the eternal city - the arrogant opulence of the
Vatican, the timelessness of the Forum. Rome is
halfway down Italy's western coast, about 20km
(12mi) inland. It's a vast city, but the historic
centre is quite small. Most of the major sights
are within a reasonable distance of the central
railway station, Stazione Termini. It is, for
instance, possible to walk from the Colosseum,
through the Forum, up to Piazza di Spagna and
across to the Vatican in one day, but you wouldn't
really want to. All the major monuments are west
of the train station, but make sure you use a
map. Vast and beautiful, Piazza Navona was laid
out on the ruins of Domitian's stadium. It's
lined with baroque palaces and holds three fountains,
including Bernini's Fountain of the Rivers. In
Renaissance times, the piazza was flooded on festive
occasions and used to stage mock naval battles.
Perhaps Rome's most popular spot to hang out and
be pickpocketed or hassled is the Piazza di Spagna,
at the foot of the Spanish Steps. One
of the most popular places to hang out isn't a
piazza but a fountain - the Trevi Fountain. It
attracts more tourist coins than any other fountain
in Rome, due to the clever rumour that a thrown
coin will ensure your return to the Eternal City.
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Piazza del Quirinale offers
stunning views of Rome and St Peter's, while
the Piazza Venezia is overshadowed by 'the
Typewriter', otherwise known as the Victor
Emmanuel Monument. Piazza Barberini features
the fantastic Triton Fountain. Via Veneto
was the place to be in the 1950s and '60s,
when the truly astonishing Swedish import
Anita Ekberg personified La Dolce Vita.
It's a shadow of its former self today,
but it still holds it's fashionable enchantement.
Beautiful Rome is right there !...
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