What to see in Rome

Villa Medici Fountain

This fountain rises in front of Villa Medici and was commissioned around 1589 to Annibale Lippi by cardinal Ferdinando de’Medici. It consists of a large octagonal pond at the ground level, from the centre of which rises a pillar that supports a...

Monastery of the Oblates of Santa Francesca Romana at Tor de' Specchi

The Monastery of Tor de' Specchi is set in the heart of Rome, at the very feet of the Campidoglio, between the basilica of S. Maria in Aracoeli and the imposing ruins of the Theater of Marcello.


The Congregation was founded in 1433 by...

Palazzo Altieri

A typical example of Roman baroque building, the palace was began in 1650 by architect Giovanni Antonio de Rossi and was the home of the Altieri family, cardinal Giovanni Battista Altieri and Emilio Altieri, who would become Pope Clement X...

Palazzo dei Filippini (Convent and Oratory of the Filipinos)

The complex of the palazzo dei Filippini comprises the convent and the oratory and occupies a vast area between piazza della Chiesa Nuova, via dei Filippini, piazza dell'Orologio, via del Governo Vecchio and via della Chiesa Nuova. 

The...

Pasquino Statue

The so-called Pasquino, one of the talking statues, is a sculptural group representing Menelaus supporting the dying Patroclus, copied from a bronze original famous in various replicas (a complete replica is in Florence in the Loggia dei Lanzi),...

Piazza Colonna

City centre and centre of political life of Rome, the square is surrounded by famous buildings: the Palazzo Chigi (on the right, with the colonnade behind) seat of the Cabinet Office since 1961; on the left is the Palazzo Ferraioli, already Del...

New Church Square

Minerva Square

In the middle of the square is an Egyptian obelisk dating back to the VI century BC and coming from the temple of Isis (Iseum Campense). For it Bernini created the gracious base with the little elephant, called "Minerva’s chick" for its...

Piazza di Montecitorio

It owes its name to “Monte Accettorio” (ab acceptandis suffragiis), since here came the centuriae to vote. In the middle of the square is the obelisk of Psammetic II (VI century BC) moved to Rome during the empire of Augustus. 

It was...

San Giorgio in Velabro

The small church is dedicated to San Giorgio, whose remais are underneath the altar. It probably dates back to C.VI and it was rebuilt under the papacy of Leo II at the end of C.VII. It owes its name to the "Velabrum", the river swamp where...

Saint Mark the Evangelist at the Capitol

Incorporated into Palazzo Venezia, the Basilica di San Marco was founded by Pope San Marco in honor of Evangelista, who beared the same place, in 336. In 792 it was restored by Pope Adriano I and almost completely rebuilt by Pope Gregorio IV in...

San Teodoro at the Palatine

The church located at the bottom of the Palatino, has an unusual but very gracious round structure. Already existing at the end of C.VI, it was restored numerous times nonetheless keeping the original imprint. 

It is preceded by a...

St. Mary of Consolation at the Roman Forum

It is located at the bottom of the Rupe Tarpea. In 1385, Giordanello degli Alberini, a condemned noble paide two for the placement of an image of the Vergine Maria to comfort the condemned ones. This is where the church gets its name from. It was...

Santa Maria in Domnica alla Navicella

The church of Santa Maria in Domnica, antique diaconia, it was probably founded during C. VII on the ruins of a Roman construction of irrelevant importance. It was then rebuilt by the order of Pope Pasquale I and remodeled around 1513 by Cardinal...

Temple of Jupiter Capitol

The most important and impressive temple in ancient Rome was dedicated to the Capitoline Triad: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. It was started by the first Etruscan king Tarquinio Prisco and continued by Tarquinio il Superbo. Its unveiling only...

Clock tower

Situated near Piazza Navona, the clock tower was built by Borromini between 1647 and 1648 to embellish a corner of the Convent of the Oratorians of San Filippo Neri. The concave façade and rear and the convex sides are typical of Borromini. The...

St. John the Beheaded Way

Archaeological Area of ​​Vicus Caprarius - St. Vincent Insula - Water City

Excavations carried out between 1999 and 2001 during renovations to the former Cinema Trevi uncovered two adjacent and contemporary buildings beneath the cinema, aligned on the west side along the vicus Caprarius or Capralicus. The toponym is...

Archaeological Area in the Out of the Walls of St. Paul's Monks

During the preparatory phase of the Pauline Year, celebrated between 2008 and 2009, while excavation work was underway to create some services for the reception of pilgrims in the southwestern area, adjacent to the Abbey's garden, a series of...

Lateran Baptistery

The proper denomination should be “San Giovanni in Fonte”. It was built in the fourth century by Constantine, together with the basilica of Saint John in Lateran, on top of a villa and a thermal building dating back to the second century. Later...

Archaeological Sessory Complex - Holy Cross in Jerusalem

The archaeological Area of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, located just inside the old Aurelian walls of Rome, has been recently reopened to the public, making it possible to admire an extraordinary archaeological complex. 

It is also possible...

Explora - the Children's Museum of Rome

The Museum of the Children of Rome is mainly addressed to children from 3 to 12 years of age, to school classes, and families. The museum is located at a short distance from Piazza del Popolo in the reclaimed Spazio Flaminio, former ATAC deposit...

The Insula of the Ara Coeli

Between the Vittoriano and the stairway of the Ara Coeli, you can see the remains of an insula, that is: a rented Roman house, the most common form of housing in Imperial Rome.

The building was saved from demolishing which often occurred...

The Roman Insula of San Paolo alla Regola (under Palazzo Specchi)

During the restoration work carried out by Rome’s City Council in the years 1978-82, in a group of houses centring around the 16th century Specchi Palace and near the church of San Paolo alla Regola, there came to light some still well-preserved...

Central Institute for Demoetnoanthropology (National Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions)

The Museum of Folk Arts and Traditions was built around the core of the collection of Lamberto Doria. It was enriched by objects that arrived from throughout Italy to Rome in 1911 for the Italian Ethnographic Exhibition within the celebrations...

MACRO Testaccio

Rome’s ex-Mattatoio (abattoir) complex is now an active site for cultural happenings and artistic events. Situated on the edge of the Tiber River in the recently gentrified and decidedly hip Testaccio neighbourhood, the MACRO Testaccio is an...

Criminological Museum

The Museum of Criminology was founded in1931 by the Minister of Justice Alfredo Rocco and was initially set up in the seventeenth century building of the Carceri Nuove (New Prisons) in Via Giulia and moved to the adjacent former juvenile prison...

National Museum of Oriental Art Giuseppe Tucci (Palazzo Brancaccio)

he National Museum of Oriental Art was founded in 1957 through a convention between the Ministry of Public Education and the former IsMEO (Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, Italian Institute for Near and Far East), now IsIAO...

Gianicolo Walk

The Gianicolo is undoubtedly one of the most evocative places in Rome. The hill offers the opportunity for a walk that, starting from Porta San Pancrazio, reaches the Lungotevere. It can be reached from two different entrances: the first is...

Piazza di Sant'Ignazio

There are many winding squares, but none of them has three palaces almost identical arranged as the wings of a theatre, like this one. And no squares has three buildings with an elegant design, typical of the 18th century, that remind the shape...

Ponte Milvio

Ponte Milvio was built in 109 B.C. by the Censor Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and although it was located "extra urbem", i.e. outside of the city walls, has always played a decisive role due to its strategic position between the important consular...

Magic Gate

The Porta Alchemica (English: Alchemical Door), also known as the Alchemy Gate or Magic Portal, is a monument built between 1678 and 1680 by the Marquis Massimiliano Palombara marquis of Pietraforte in his residence the Villa Palombara. It is...

Porta San Sebastiano

This gate, originally called the Appian Gate because of its position on the road of the same name, is the largest in the Aurelian walls and is still in an excellent state of conservation. It originally had two twin-arched gateways flanked by two...

Coppedè Neighborhood

The Coppedè district is a complex of buildings located in the Trieste neighborhood, between Piazza Buenos Aires and Via Tagliamento.

While not strictly a neighborhood, it was named after the architect who designed it, Gino...

Basilica of St. Bartholomew at the Island

The church of San Bartholomew ("De Insula") was built by emperor Otto III during the tenth century, on the ruins of the Temple of Asclepius and was dedicated to St Adalbert. It was restored by Pope Paschal II in 1113, and then again in...

Sant'Eligio degli Orefici

During Century XVI the church was purchased by the rich corporation of the goldsmiths. The original project is by Raffaello but Bramante’s (his magister) influence is evident in some elements of the church. 

The façade was added by...

Santa Maria Immaculate in Villa Borghese

The building, located within Villa Borghese near Piazza di Siena, was built at the end of the 18th century by Prince Marcantonio Borghese, both to satisfy his devotion to the Virgin Mary, and to offer his employees, the farmers, the opportunity...

SS. Andrea and Bartolomeo

Built during C.VII, in 1634 it had been rebuilt together with San Giovanni’s hospital based on a project by Giacomo Mola for the will of Urbano VIII Barberini. In 1730 it was then restored under Benedetto XIII Orsini’s papacy. 

The facade...

SS. John and Paul to Celio

The church dates back to the end of C. IV. Senator Bizante ordered the construction of a church on the ruins of the two martyr saints’ house under Giuliano l’Apostata (361-363). Next to the original a little convent was built, which was destroyed...

Marcello Theater

The theatre was started by Julius Caesar and finished by Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) in 17 BC, when the Ludus Saecularesgames were held there. In 13 BC or 11 BC the theatre was dedicated to thememory of Marcellus, Augustus’s nephew and heir who died...