Rome

Why Rome works

Rome layers empire upon papacy upon modern republic within a single afternoon's walk. The Colosseum, completed in 80 AD and once seating 50,000 spectators for gladiatorial games, anchors the adjacent Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, where marble columns and triumphal arches mark the political heart of the ancient empire. A short walk away, the Pantheon's unreinforced concrete dome — the largest of its kind still standing after nearly 1,900 years — opens to the sky through its oculus, rain and all. Trevi Fountain, best visited early morning before the crowds, still draws coin-tossers hoping to guarantee a return trip, a tradition popularised by the 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain. Vatican City, a sovereign state within Rome, holds the Sistine Chapel's Michelangelo ceiling and St Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church, its dome climbable for a rooftop view over St Peter's Square. Trastevere, across the Tiber, offers ivy-draped medieval lanes, family-run trattorias serving cacio e pepe and carbonara, and a nightlife scene locals still frequent. Piazza Navona's Bernini fountains and the Spanish Steps round out an itinerary best paced slowly, gelato in hand, with an early-evening aperitivo as the city's golden light settles over the rooftops.

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