If Rome is the Eternal City, it is also a city with no end of ruins. It's impossible to see all of the temples and monuments from previous empires, try as you might, so begin with the Pantheon, the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica and see how far you get. But for the true flavor of Rome, make time to linger over a glass of Chianti wine. Visit its fountains in the moonlight. These experiences are as much a part of the city as the Roman Forum.
Rome boasts one grand tourist attraction after another, but the Roman Forum and its neighbor, the Colosseum, stay with you forever. True, most of these ancient archways, temples and aqueducts are little more than ruins, but the grandeur that was ancient Rome never fails to humble modern visitors. A very different but no less popular era of history resides within the Vatican City. Walk through the cool, imposing sanctuary of St. Peter's Basilica before admiring the masterpieces of the Vatican Museum.
At the base of the Spanish Steps, Via Condotti is Rome's most fashionable address, and while it's possible to buy Gucci and Armani around the world, there's nothing like buying those exquisite handbags and suits in the city that originated them. For younger shoppers, Via Del Corso sells hip jeans and Italian soccer shirts near the Piazza del Popolo.
Ruins to see while visiting:
• Roman Forum (Rome): Two thousand years ago, most of the known world was directly affected by decisions made in the Roman Forum. What you'll see today is a pale, rubble-strewn version of the once-majestic site, and it's now surrounded by modern boulevards packed with cars.
• Palatine Hill (Rome): According to legend, the Palatine Hill was the site where Romulus and Remus (the orphaned infant twins who survived by being suckled by a she-wolf) eventually founded the city. One of the seven hills of ancient Rome, Il Palatino is enhanced by the Farnese Gardens (Orti Farnesiani), laid out in the 1500s on the site of Tiberius's palace.
• The Colosseum (Rome): Rome boasts only a handful of other ancient monuments that survive in such well-preserved condition. A massive amphitheater set incongruously amid a maze of modern traffic, the Colosseum was once the setting for gladiator combat, lion-feeding frenzies, and public entertainment whose cruelty was a noted characteristic of the Empire.
• Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana; near Tivoli): Hadrian's Villa slumbered in rural obscurity until the 1500s, when Renaissance popes ordered its excavation. Only then was the scale of this enormous and beautiful villa from A.D. 134 appreciated. Its builder, Hadrian, who had visited almost every part of his empire, wanted to incorporate the wonders of the world into one building site. He succeeded.
• Ostia Antica (near Rome): During the height of the Roman Empire, Ostia ("mouth" in Latin) was the harbor town set at the point where the Tiber flowed into the sea. As Rome declined, so did Ostia; by the early Middle Ages, the town had almost disappeared, its population decimated by malaria. In the early 1900s, archaeologists excavated the ruins of hundreds of buildings, many of which you can view.
• Fori Imperiali (Rome): Lining both sides of the Via dei Fori Imperiali are the Imperial Forums, launched by Julius Caesar in 54 B.C. that includes the Temple of Venus Genetrix, dedicated to the goddess of love from whom Caesar immodestly claimed descent. On the east side are the ruins of the forums constructed by the emperors Nerva, Augustus, and Trajan. On the west side, closer to the Colosseum, you can see marble maps, ordered made by Mussolini, charting the vast outreaches of the Roman Empire in its heyday.
• Termi di Caracalla (Rome): These baths lasted for three centuries until invading Goths destroyed the plumbing. They were ordered built by the Emperor Caracalla in A.D. 217. Back then, a noble Roman could spend the entire day at the baths, enjoying various pleasures including rubdowns with scented cloths. In its heyday, the baths also had art galleries, beautiful gardens, a big library, and even today's equivalent of a gym.
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