Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For Rome's best 360-degree views, take the
Roma dal Cielo
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(adult/re-
duced €7/3.50; 9.30am-6.30pm Mon-Thur, to 7.30pm Fri-Sun)
lift from the side of the building up to
the top of the monument.
ROMAN INSULA
( Piazza Santa Maria in Aracoeli; Piazza Venezia)
At the bottom of the Campidoglio, next to the
Aracoeli staircase, are the ruins of a Roman
insula
(apartment block). Only the upper
storeys are now visible - the unexcavated ground-floor shops are well below the current
road level - but they provide a fascinating if fleeting glimpse into the cramped, squalid
conditions that many ancient Romans lived in.
RUIN
PALAZZO VENEZIA
( Piazza Venezia; Piazza Venezia)
This was the first of Rome's great Renaissance palaces, built
between 1455 and 1464. For centuries it served as the embassy of the Venetian Republic,
although its best-known resident was Mussolini, who famously made speeches from its
balcony. Nowadays, it's home to the
Museo Nazionale del Palazzo Venezia
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
06 678 01 31; Via del Plebiscito 118; adult/reduced €5/2.50; 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun; Piazza Venezia)
and its eclectic collection of Byzantine and early Renaissance paintings, tapestries and
arms.
PALACE
BASILICA DI SAN MARCO
( Piazza di San Marco 48; 8.30am-noon & 4-6pm Tue-Sat, 9am-1pm & 4-8pm Sun; Piazza Venezia)
The
early 4th-century Basilica di San Marco stands over the house where St Mark the Evan-
gelist is said to have stayed while in Rome. Its main attraction is the golden 9th-century
apse mosaic.
BASILICA
UNDERGROUND ARTS CENTRE
The sheer depth of Rome's archaeological legacy came to light in December 2012, when archaeologists an-
nounced they had finished excavating a 900-seat
athenaeum
(arts centre) some 5m beneath Piazza Venezia. Dat-
ing to the 2nd-century reign of Hadrian, the complex is huge, consisting of three 13m-high arched halls where
spectators would have relaxed on terraced marble seating to be entertained by poets and philosophers.
The discovery came during tunnelling work on Rome's third metro line, illustrating the difficulties that engin-
eers face as they inch through the city's treasure-laden undersoil.
It is hoped that the site will be open to the public by 2016.
