Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ROME IN…
Two Days
Get to grips with ancient Rome at the Colosseum (
Click here
), the Roman Forum (
Click here
) and Pal-
atino (Palatine Hill) (
Click here
). Spend the afternoon exploring the Capitoline Museums (
Click here
)
and Il Vittoriano (
Click here
)
before an evening in the
centro storico
(historic centre). On day two, hit
the Vatican Museums (
Click here
)
and Sistine Chapel , and then St Peter's Basilica (
Click here
).
Afterwards ditch your guidebook and get happily lost in the animated streets around Piazza Navona
(
Click here
) and the Pantheon (
Click here
).
Four Days
On day three, check out the Trevi Fountain (
Click here
), the Spanish Steps (
Click here
) and the out-
standing Museo e Galleria Borghese (
Click here
). At night, head to happening Trastevere . Next day,
visit the Galleria Doria Pamphilj (
Click here
) or the Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Massimo alle
Terme (
Click here
) before exploring the Jewish Ghetto and bijou backstreets such as Via del Governo
Vecchio and Via dei Coronari. Round the day off in the boho Monti district .
A Week
Venture out to Via Appia Antica (
Click here
)
, home of the catacombs, and take a day trip, choosing
between Ostia Antica (
Click here
)
or the Etruscan treasures of Cerveteri (
Click here
) or Tarquinia
(
Click here
).
The Middle Ages
By the 6th century, Rome was in a bad way and in desperate need of a leader. Into the
breach stepped the Church. Christianity had been spreading since the 1st century AD
thanks to the underground efforts of apostles Peter and Paul, and under Constantine it re-
ceived official recognition. In the late 6th century Pope Gregory I did much to strengthen
the Church's grip over the city, laying the foundations for its later role as capital of the
Catholic world.
The medieval period was a dark age, marked by almost continuous fighting. The city
was reduced to a semi-deserted battlefield as the powerful Colonna and Orsini families
battled for supremacy and the bedraggled population trembled in the face of plague, fam-
ine and flooding (the Tiber regularly broke its banks).