Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top Roman Sights
With so many world-class monuments, galleries and museums in Rome, it can be difficult
to decide which to visit. To help you, here's our selection of must-see sights. The Colos-
seum is an obvious choice, as are the Vatican Museums - one of the world's great mu-
seum complexes and home to the Sistine Chapel. Adjacent to the museums, St Peter's Ba-
silica is the most important church in the Catholic world and a treasure trove of Renais-
sance and baroque art.
If you like baroque art, you'll love the Museo e Galleria Borghese and Piazza Navona.
Not far from the piazza, the Pantheon is the best preserved of Rome's ancient monuments.
For the city's finest ancient art check out the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Massimo
alle Terme and the Capitoline Museums on Piazza del Campidoglio. Nearby, ancient ruins
lie littered across the atmospheric Palatino (Palatine Hill).
And, of course, to ensure that you return to Rome, be sure to throw a coin into the Trevi
Fountain.
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Outstanding Works of Art
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Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are among the world's most famous
works of art.
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Raphael's great masterpiece
La Scuola di Atene
(The School of Athens) hangs in the
Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) in the Vatican Museums.
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Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculptures at the Museo e Galleria Borghese show a genius at
the top of his game.
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Caravaggio's St Matthew cycle in the Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi features his sig-
nature chiaroscuro (the bold contrast of light and dark) style.
CATACOMBS
Visit the creepy catacombs on Via Appia Antica to see where Rome's pioneering Christians buried
their dead. Hundreds of thousands of tombs line the pitch-black tunnels.
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