Attraction Highlights
Rome is many cities in one. It is of course the marble capital of Augustus's vast empire, with sites such as the Forum and Colosseum remaining as testimony to one of the greatest cultures of world history. Rome is also the city of the Catholic Church and the Vatican. The mosaics of Early Christian churches, the High Renaissance masterpieces of Raphael and Michelangelo, and the magnificence of St. Peter's and the Vatican museums are just the beginning of the religious art and architecture found here. And there's the joy of purely secular Rome: the exuberant fountains of Bernini's Baroque plazas, and the artisans and restorers still working in the old city around the Campo dei Fiori and in Trastevere. All of these different Romes intermingle in surprising and wondrous ways that make this one of the great sightseeing cities of the world.And when you weary of the crowds and the heat, just an hour or so away are the ancient port of Ostia Antica, the fountains of Tivoli, the rolling hills of the Castelli Romani, and the Etruscan ruins of the coast.