click highlighted hovered text for more info, see

Rome UNESCO world heritage sites

Rome north

People's Square on Piazza del Popolo
The piazza lies inside the northern gate in the Aurelian Walls, once the Porta Flaminia of ancient Rome, and now called the Porta del Popolo. This was the starting point of the Via Flaminia, the road to Ariminum (modern-day Rimini) and the most important route to the north. At the same time, before the age of railroads, it was the traveller's first view of Rome upon arrival. For centuries, the Piazza del Popolo was a place for public executions, the last of which took place in 1826.

Spanish Steps on Piazza di Spagna
The monumental stairway of 135 steps (the slightly elevated drainage system is often mistaken for the first step) was built with French diplomat Etienne Gueffier's bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi, in 1723-1725, linking the Bourbon Spanish Embassy, and the Trinita dei Monti church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France, both located above and to the Holy See in Palazzo Monaldeschi located below.

Ara Pacis on Campus Martius
The Ara Pacis is a commemorative monument that was built between the years 13 and 9 B.C. to celebrate peace in the Mediterranean after the victorious battles of Emperor Augustus in Hispania and Gaul.

Castle of the Holy Angel at Lungotevere Castello, 50
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (Castle of the Holy Angel), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.

Farnese Palace at Piazza Farnese, 67
Palazzo Farnese or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French embassy in Italy.

Navona Square on Piazza Navona
In the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini topped by the Obelisk of Domitian brought in pieces from the Circus of Maxentius. In addition the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Francesco Borromini, Girolamo Rainaldi, Carlo Rainaldi and others and the aforementioned Pamphili palace, also by Girolamo Rainaldi, that accommodates the long gallery designed by Borromini and frescoed by Pietro da Cortona can be found. At the southern end is the Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, wrestling with a dolphin. At the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) also created by Giacomo della Porta; the statue of Neptune, by Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to create a balance with La Fontana del Moro.

Pantheon on Piazza della Rotonda
The Pantheon's large circular domed cella, with a conventional temple portico front, was unique in Roman architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, and has been copied many times by later architects.

Quirinal Palace on Piazza del Quirinale
It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the highest of the seven hills of Rome. It has housed thirty Popes, four Kings of Italy and twelve presidents of the Italian Republic.

Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore at Piazza di S. Maria Maggiore, 42
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Papal major basilica and the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy, from which size it receives the appellation "major"

Rome center

Capitoline Hill on Piazza del Campidoglio
Among the old temples that once stood on the hill, along with smaller worship sites and shrines, there were the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of Concordia.

Forum of Caesar on Via dei Fori Imperiali
Julius Caesar decided to construct a large forum bearing his name. This forum was inaugurated in 46 BC, although it was probably incomplete at this time and was finished later by Augustus.

Trajan Forum on Via dei Fori Imperiali
The project was executed by Trajan with the construction of Trajan's Forum between 112 and 113. The occasion was the conquest of Dacia, whose spoils paid for this celebration of the military conquests of Rome.

Forum of Augustus at Piazza del Grillo, 1
This new complex lies at right angles to the Forum of Caesar. The temple consists of a very tall wall, and this still distinguishes itself from the popular neighbourhood of Suburra. This high wall served as a firebreak, protecting the Forum area from the frequent conflagrations from which Rome suffered.

Forum of Nerva on Via dei Fori Imperiali
The limited space, partially occupied by one of the exedrae of the Forum of Augustus and by the via dell'Argileto, obliged Domitian to build the lateral porticos as simply decorations of the bounding walls of the forum. The temple, dedicated to Minerva as protector of the emperor, was built leaning on the exedra of the Forum of Augustus, so that the remaining space became a large monumental entrance (Porticus Absidatus) for all the fora.

Antoninus and Faustina Temple on Piazza di San Luigi de Francesi
The temple was begun in 141 AD by the Emperor Antoninus Pius and was initially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antoninus Pius was deified after his death in 161 AD, the temple was re-dedicated jointly to Antoninus and Faustina at the instigation of his successor, Marcus Aurelius.

Temple of Peace at Via della Salara Vecchia, 1443
Although very little remains of the Temple of Peace in Rome today, we know much about its structure and layout thanks to the Forma Urbis, a large, detailed marble map of Rome and its buildings that was originally hung on a wall inside the temple in the 3rd century. The temple was made up of an apse that opened into a large portico. Columns separated the temple from the central unpaved, grassy area. This was different from the majority of other fora, which were typically paved. This area probably featured gardens, pools, statues, and other treasures acquired during the conquest of Jerusalem.

Rome south

Colosseum at Piazza del Colosseo, 1
It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and also has links to the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano at Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, 4
Because it is the oldest public church in the city of Rome, also it is the oldest and most important basilica of the Western world, and houses the cathedra of the Roman bishop, it has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Catholic faithful.

Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls at Piazzale San Paolo, 1
The Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State, but the Holy See owns the Basilica, and Italy is legally obligated to recognize its full ownership and to concede to it "the immunity granted by International Law to the headquarters of the diplomatic agents of foreign States".