Cheap Flights Rome

DISCOUNT FLIGHTS ROME
Finding cheap flights to Rome has never been easier, or has it? There are now so many options to choose from on the internet it can become a bit overwhelming. This is why we have done the hard work for you and chosen what we believe is the best company offering cheap flights to Rome.

Lastminute – Cheap Flight Rome
Lastminute specializes in selling Rome Charter flights online. They have an excellent choice of flight times as they specialize in cheap flights to Rome. Their prices are also very good. Our family have booked through them and found their customer service excellent.
Check Rome Flight Prices Here

*They have good prices on cheap flights Rome, so you don't have to waste time shopping around.
*They fly from a number of UK airports, so you don't have a long journey to the airport.
*They specialize in cheap flights to Rome giving you more choice of flight times and dates, you therefore have more chance of finding a flight for when you want to go.
*The web site is easy to use, making it easier for you to book your flight online.
*They have been used by us, our family & friends and we have had an enjoyable flight.
*They are a trusted and reputable company offering secure and safe online booking.

If you are looking for a good deal on airport parking, check prices Here!

Rome Hotels

HOTELS IN ROME
You can save money if you book your Rome Hotels and flight separately. The reason you can do this is because you are cutting out the middleman, by booking direct with the hotel and airlines, you do not have to pay the extra that holiday companies put on top of the basic hotel and flight price.

Alpharooms – Cheap Hotels Rome
Alpharooms is the premier independent hotel booking service on the internet with thousands of hotels bookable online. Our family and ourselves have used them many times and found their selection of hotels excellent. Their web site is also easy to use, you can check availability and prices quickly and easily book your hotel in a matter of minutes. Highly Recommended.
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The following are the main benefits of booking your Rome hotels and flights direct:

It is easier and more flexible. If you are booking your Rome hotels and flight separately it is easier to arrange a holiday for the dates and times of your choice because you have a larger selection to choose from. You can also arrange your own transfers from the airport, so that you are not sat on a coach while everyone is being dropped off at their hotel.

Booking your Rome hotels online is very simple and only takes a couple of minutes. It is actually cheaper to book online than to phone up. This is because the company does not have to pay for someone to answer the phone and passes these savings onto you. We have done a large search for the companies offering the best hotels in Rome and we highly recommend Alpharooms.

Holidays To Rome

CHEAP HOLIDAYS TO ROME

Lastminute – Holidays to Rome
Lastminute Holidays was created with a goal in mind to create a unique holiday experience at great prices at the last minute. Their success has meant that they can not only offer those great deals last minute but also by booking in advance.
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There are advantages to booking your flights and hotel in Rome through the same company as you can often receive even better discounts. When booking your Rome holiday you can first of all decide on the most convenient airport for you to travel from. You can then choose which dates and times you prefer to travel. The holiday company will then give you the option of different airlines traveling from that airport at the dates and times you requested. You then simply click on which airline suits you best.

To book your accommodation you go to the hotel section and enter the dates on which you wish to take your holidays to Rome and a list of hotels will become available for you and again you just simply select which hotel you like best at the best price. The holiday company will then make all the arrangements for you and send you a confirmation of your booking, it is that simple.

You can often receive extra discounts and better deals on insurance and car hire from the holiday company by booking the whole holiday package with them.

Travel Insurance

CHEAP TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travel insurance is a very important part of arranging your holiday. We have therefore searched for the most competitive and comprehensive travel insurance available from reputable companies.

Columbus Direct – Travel Insurance Rome
Columbus Direct is the best known brand in the travel insurance market with customer satisfaction and value for money being a priority. They pride themselves on providing a quick, efficient and hassle-free service. Highly Recommended.
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Essential Travel – Cheap Travel Insurance
Essential Travel offer their customers a simple, yet comprehensive, range of insurance services, at prices that offer excellent value for money.
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Both of these companies offer good rates for a wide range of cover including cancellation of your holiday, travel delays, loss of baggage, money, personal accident, personal liability, legal expenses and most importantly medical cover.

Rome Travel Insurance Essential Tips:
If you need to seek the advice of a doctor or be admitted to hospital whilst on holiday, then you will need to take along your passport and health insurance documentation, which you must always arrange prior to your holiday. You may be expected to pay the doctors fee, which they will give you a receipt for so you can claim it back from your insurance company once home. As long as you have taken out insurance the hospitals will usually bill the insurance company direct.

Remember to inform the hospital staff on arrival of any medical condition you may have and of any medication you are currently taking. It is always advisable to have this written down and kept with your passport and insurance documents.

If you take any type of prescription medication, ensure that you have an adequate amount to cover you whilst on holiday. Check with your doctor that the medication you take is allowed through customs, as it may be that you need a letter from your doctor to accompany your medication.

Car Hire Rome

CAR HIRE IN ROME
Whilst visiting Rome you may wish to hire a car so that you can travel from the airport direct to your hotel at your own time and leisure. Ensuring you do not have to spend hours on a coach whilst dropping off other holiday makers at their hotels. Arranging your car hire in Rome has never been simpler.

Holiday Autos – Car Hire Rome
A hire car company our family have used and recommend is Holiday Autos. They are the world's largest online car rental broker and offer low, fully inclusive prices with a best price guarantee. They also offer a wide choice of cars with the most popular being the compact or economy model. They are the most visited car rental site in the UK and provide an award winning service. Highly Recommended.
Check Prices Here

The car hire company we have listed provide maps from the airport to your hotel, meaning you can plan your route before leaving the UK.

We would advise you to book your Rome airport car hire vehicle before leaving the UK to ensure that you have a car waiting for you once arriving at the airport. You can often benefit from many pre booking discounts this way too.

Having a hire car also gives you the freedom to see the many places and attractions in Rome without any of the restrictions and expense of coach tours. See the hidden Rome, visit all those places inaccessible to coaches and buses. Enjoy the whole of Rome at your own time and leisure, visiting any place you wish day and night.

Car Hire Rome - Essential Information:
When collecting your hire car you will need your passport, driving licence and booking reference.

Always ensure that the price you are paying for your hire vehicle includes full insurance.

In the event of a breakdown call the car hire company.

When driving in Rome always have your driving licence and hire company paperwork with you, because if you are stopped by the police for any reason these must be produced.

Please remember that in Rome you drive on the right hand side of the road.

Michelangelo

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, 06/03/1475-18/02/1564. Michelangelo was born near Arezzo in Caprese, Tuscany in 1475. Michelangelo was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet. Michelangelo was raised in Florence and later lived with a sculptor and his wife in the town of Settignano where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm. Michelangelo once said to the biographer of artists Giorgio Vasari, "What good I have comes from the pure air of your native Arezzo, and also because I sucked in chisels and hammers with my mother's milk."

Michelangelo attended the school of Lorenzo de'Medici for two years in 1490. It was here that he was influenced by many prominent people who modified and expanded his ideas on art, following the dominant Platonic view of that age, and even his feelings about sexuality. It was during this time that Michelangelo met literary personalities like Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino and Angelo Poliziano. The Battle of the Centaurs was based on a theme that Poliziano had suggested and was commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici.

Michelangelo is famous for many creations including the fresco ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgment over the altar. The Martyrdom of St Peter and The Conversion of St Paul in the Vatican's Cappella Paolina. Michelangelo sculptures include David and the Pietà, as well as the Doni Virgin, Bacchus, Moses, Rachel, Leah, and members of the Medici family. Michelangelo also designed the dome of St Peters Basilica.

In contradiction to the ideas of his rival, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo saw nature as an enemy that had to be overcome. Therefore the figures that he would create would be forceful in movement. Michelangelo believed that his job as a sculptor was to free the forms which were already inside the stone. This is most apparent in his unfinished statuary figures. To many people they appear to be struggling to free themselves from the stone. Michelangelo also instilled into his figures a sense of moral cause for action. A good example of this can be seen in the facial expression of his most famous work, the marble statue of David. Arguably second in Michelangelo work is the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which is a synthesis of architecture, sculpture & painting.

Colosseum

ROMAN COLOSSEUM
The Colosseum is an amphitheater in Rome. The construction of the roman Colosseum was initiated by Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed by his sons, Titus and Domitian in AD 81. It was built at the Domus Aurea which was the site of Nero's enormous palace. The Colosseum was named from a colossus statue of Nero measuring 130 feet, which once stood nearby. The statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Sol the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times by the head of succeeding emperors.

The Colosseum is capable of seating 50,000 spectators and measures 48 meters high, 188 meters long, and 156 meters wide. The wooden arena floor was 86 meters by 54 meters, and covered by sand. Its shape kept the players from retreating to a corner and allowed the spectators to be closer to the action than a circle would allow. The seating in this ancient roman Colosseum was divided into different sections. The podium was the first level of seating and was for the Roman senators. The emperor's private, cushioned, marble box was also located on this level. Above the podium was the level for the other Roman aristocrats who were not in the senate. The third level was divided into three sections. The lower part was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part was for poor citizens. A third wooden section at the very top of the building was standing room only, and was for lower class women. There were 80 entrances at ground level, 76 for ordinary spectators, two for the imperial family, and two for the gladiators.

Dio Cassius said that nine thousand wild animals were killed in the one hundred days of celebration which inaugurated the amphitheater opening. The arena floor was covered with sand, presumably to allow the blood to drain away. The Colosseum hosted huge games that included fights between animals, the killing of prisoners by animals and combats between gladiators. It has been estimated that several hundreds of thousands died in the Colosseum games. The Colosseum was in continuous use until 217, when it was damaged by fire after it was struck by lightning. It was restored in 238 and gladiatorial games continued until Christianity gradually put an end to those parts of the games which resulted in the death of humans.

Two earthquakes in 442 and 508 caused great damage to the structure of the Colosseum. The building was used until 524 mostly for staged animal hunts. In 847 and 1349 it was severely damaged by further earthquakes and was then converted into a fortress and a Christian church was erected in a small part of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum has a prominent place in many motion pictures. In 1954's Demetrius and the Gladiators Emperor Caligula sentences the Christian Demetrius to fight in the Colosseum. The Science Fiction film The Core sees the Colosseum destroyed by intense lightning strikes. The Colosseum was also destroyed by alien spacecraft in the movie Independence Day. Ridley Scott's film Gladiator saw the Colosseum re-created via computer generated imagery.

Borghese

VILLA BORGHESE AND THE BORGHESE GALLERY
The Villa Borghese was built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio, who developed sketches by Scipione Borghese. The villa is home to the Borghese Gallery which has a substantial collection of paintings, sculpture and antiquities begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The gallery is shown over two floors in twenty rooms. The main floor is mostly devoted to sculpture and Roman antiquities of the first to third centuries AD. The breathtaking decorative scheme starts with the trompe l'oeil ceiling fresco in the first room.

The Villa Borghese is situated in a large landscape garden in Rome created in a naturalistic English manner. It is the second largest public park in Rome measuring 148 acres. The Spanish Steps lead up to the park and once here you must visit the Pincio in the south of the park. This is the Pinican Hill of ancient Rome and has one of the best views of all Rome.

The year 1605 saw Cardinal Scipione Borghese who was the nephew of Pope Paul V and patron of Bernini, begin to turn this former vineyard into the most extensive gardens built in Rome since Antiquity. The vineyard's site is identified with the gardens of Lucullus, the most famous in the late Roman republic. The nineteenth century saw the gardens landscaped and given an English theme and in 1903 they were bought by the commune of Rome and given to the public to enjoy.

The gardens of Villa Borghese are also home to the Villa Giulia. This villa was built as a summer residence for Pope Julius III and now contains the Etruscan Museum (Museo Etrusco). Other villas that are in the gardens of Villa Borghese are the remains of a world exposition in Rome in 1911. The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna has a collection of nineteenth and twentieth century paintings emphasizing Italian artists. Architecturally the most notable of the 1911 exposition pavilions is the English pavilion designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, who later designed New Delhi. Beside the 1911 Exposition's villas, there is also the Exposition's Zoo, recently rearranged, with minimal caging, as the 'Bioparco', and the Zoological Museum (Museo di Zoologia).

Vatican City

THE VATICAN CITY
Vatican City in Rome is the smallest independent nation state in the world in terms of area and population. This European micro state is situated several hundred meters west of the Tiber river on Vatican Hill in the north western part of Rome. The city borders of 3.2km closely follow the city wall constructed to protect the Pope from outside attack.

It is suggested that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had always been considered sacred. In 326 the first church, Constantine's basilica, was built over the site of the tomb of Saint Peter. Since then the area started to become more populated, but mostly only by dwelling houses connected with the activity of St Peters.

The Head of State is the Pope, who as the supreme executive, legislative, and as judicial authority is also the Head of Government. The Pope has legislative, executive and judicial power not only over Vatican City State but also constituting the Holy See. The sovereign is elected for a life term in conclave by cardinals under the age of eighty. The Popes principal government officials are the Secretary of State, the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and the Governor of Vatican City.

Popes in their secular role gradually came to govern neighbouring regions. Through the Papal States they ruled a large portion of the Italian peninsula for more than a thousand years. This was until the mid nineteenth century, when most of the territory of the Papal States was seized by the newly created Kingdom of Italy. For much of this time the Popes did not reside at the Vatican, they resided at the Lateran Palace and in recent centuries at the Quirinal Palace.

The Vatican City climate is mostly the same as Romes. It has a temperate, Mediterranean climate with rainy winters in the months of September to mid May and hot, dry summers in the months May to August. There are some local features to Vatican City, mainly mists and dews, caused by the anomalous bulk of St Peters Basilica, the elevation, the fountains and the size of the large paved square.

Trevi Fountain

TREVI FOUNTAIN ROME
The Trevi Fountain, in Italian Fontana di Trevi, is the largest and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome. The Trevi Fountain is eighty five feet high and sixty five feet wide. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is well known for many reasons. One being that it is the fountain that drenched Anita Ekberg in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita.

The other well known legend is that the fountain is known as the 'Three Coins in the Fountain'. This is because legend has it that it is deemed lucky to throw coins with your right hand over your right shoulder into Rome's Trevi Fountain water. It is said that throwing one coin in the water will ensure that the thrower will return to Rome. It is also said that throwing two coins into the water will ensure that the thrower will fall in love with a beautiful Roman girl or boy. Throwing three coins is then meant to ensure that the thrower will marry that same girl or boy in Rome.

The Trevi Fountain stands at the junction of three roads (tre vie) and marks the terminal point of the Aqua Virgo (in Italian Acqua Vergine), which is one of the ancient aqueducts that supplied water to Rome. It was in 19BC that Roman technicians located a source of pure water only fourteen miles from the city. The Aqua Virgo aqueduct was connected directly to the Baths of Agrippa. They served Rome for more than four hundred years until the Goth besiegers broke the aqueducts. The medieval Romans were then reduced to polluted wells and the dangerous water of the Tiber River, which was also used as a sewer.

In the fifteenth century, with the Renaissance returned the Roman custom of building a handsome fountain at the endpoint of an aqueduct which brought water to Rome. Pope Nicholas V finished mending the Acqua Vergine in 1453 and built a simple basin for the water which was designed by the humanist architect Leon Battista Alberti.

In 1629 Pope Urban VIII wanted the fountain to be more dramatic. He asked Bernini to do some drawings, which he did and he moved the fountain from the other side of the square to face the Quirinal Palace. This was so the Pope could look down and enjoy it. Sadly the Pope died and the project died with him. Bernini's project was torn down for Nicola Salvi's fountain but there were many Bernini touches put in the new fountain as it was built. Salvi actually lost a contest in 1730 that was held by Pope Clement XII for this job but in the end Salvi was given the work anyway. He began work on the fountain in 1732 and was finished in 1762, long after Pope Clement's death.

The taming of the waters is the theme of the gigantic scheme that tumbles forward, mixing water and rock work, and filling the small square. Pietro Bracci's 'Neptune' was set in the central niche. In the niches flanking Neptune, Abundance spills water from her urn and Salubrity holds a cup from which a snake drinks. Tritons and horses provide symmetrical balance and guide Neptune's shell chariot. The backdrop for the fountain is the Palazzo Poli, given a new facade with a giant order of Corinthian pilasters that link the two main stories.

Nicola Salvi died in 1751, with his work only half finished. The Trevi Fountain was finished in 1762 by Giuseppe Pannini, who substituted the present bland allegories for planned sculptures of Agrippa and 'Trivia', the Roman virgin.

St Peters Square

ST PETERS SQUARE
Directly to the east of the church is St Peters Square (Piazza San Pietro), built during 1656 and 1667. It is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade, which was designed by Bernini. At it's center stands a 25.5 meter obelisk which dates back to the thirteenth century BC in Egypt. It was then moved in the first century to Rome, to Nero's Circus. On top of the obelisk used to be a large bronze globe, which legend has it contained Julius Caesar's ashes. This however was removed when the obelisk was moved to St Peter's Square in 1585 by order of Pope Sixtus V. The square was also home to two fountains, one to the south designed by Maderno in 1613 and one to the north designed by Bernini in 1675.

St Peters Basilica

ST PETERS BASILICA
St Peters Basilica is the second most important basilica among the five major basilicas of Rome and its Vatican City enclave. It is the second largest church in Christianity covering an area of 5.7 acres with a capacity of over sixty thousand people. One of the holiest sites of Christendom, it is the burial site of basilica namesake Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, first Bishop of Antioch, and later first Bishop of Rome. History states that St Peters tomb is below the baldachino and altar. Because of this many Popes have been buried there too. The current basilica was completed in 1626 and it was built over the Constantinian basilica.

Construction started on the basilica in 1505 under Pope Julius II and was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V. Donato Bramante was the first chief architect and many famous artists worked on the "Fabbrica di San Pietro". Michelangelo who was the main architect for a while, designed the dome. After the death of Julius II construction of the basilica stopped until Pope Paul III asked Michelangelo to design the rest of the church. Following Michelangelo's death his student Giacomo della Porta continued with the unfinished portions of the church. At a later stage Carlo Maderno became the chief architect and designed the entrance to the basilica.

In 1939 workers made a stunning discovery whilst renovating the grottoes beneath St Peters which was the traditional burial area of the Popes. Just below the floor level they discovered an ancient Roman grave. However it soon became clear that there was not just one grave but an entire city of the dead. After many months of digging the excavators came to a section of older graves which were near the area underneath the high altar. Directly beneath the altar they found a very large burial site with a red painted wall. In a niche connected to that wall they found the bones of a man. It was not until 1968, some thirty years later, that Pope Paul VI announced the bones of the man belonged to St Peter himself.

Spanish Steps

SPANISH STEPS ROME
The Spanish Steps in Rome are a monumental stairway of 138 steps. These Spanish Steps were designed by Francesco De Sanctis following generations of heated discussions over how the steep slope to the church on a shoulder of the Pincio should be urbanized. The construction of the steps began in 1723 and were competed in 1725. The building of the Spanish Steps were funded by French diplomat Stefano Gueffier’s. They link together the Piazza di Spagna at the base of the steps and the church Trinità dei Monti at the top of the steps.

The Spanish Steps have had to be restored several times over the years and were most recently restored in 1995. In more recent years the Spanish Steps have been host to a small flower market, a place to pick up a gigolo and the best spot for eating lunch. The latter however has unfortunately now been banned with fines in place for anyone eating on the steps. Throughout May most of the steps are covered by beautiful flowerpots full of azalea plants. Whilst around Christmas time a ninth century crib is assembled on the first terrace of the steps.

The Piazza at the base of the Spanish steps is home to the Early Baroque fountain called the Barcaccia 'the ugly boat'. This fountain is often credited to Pietro Bernini who is the father of the famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

As you leave the Piazza di Spagna and start your ascent of the steps, you will see on your right the house where English poet John Keats lived and unfortunately died in 1821. It is now a wonderful little museum dedicated to John Keat's memory. It is full of memorabilia of the English Romantic generation. Further up on the same side of the steps you will see the fifteenth century former cardinal Cybo’s palace. It is a building with modern terraces perfectly in harmony with the surrounding baroque context. Continuing halfway up the steps on the right hand side is the apartment that was the setting for the 1961 film, The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone.

Sistine Chapel

SISTINE CHAPEL
The Sistine Chapel is in the palace of the Vatican, the official residence of the Roman Catholic Pope in the Vatican City. The chapel was built between 1475 and 1483, in the time of Pope Sixtus IV, and is one of the most famous churches of the Western World. The name Sistine is derived from the Italian sistino meaning of or pertaining to Sixtus IV. It is located to the north of St Peters Basilica, after the Scala Regia, and originally served as the Palatine chapel inside the old Vatican fortress. The chapel is rectangular in shape and measures 40.93 meters long by 13.41 meters wide and 20.70 meters high.

The Sistine Chapel paintings on the walls were painted over eleven months in 1481 by premier painters of the Quattrocento, who were Perugino, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Rosellini, Signorelli and their respective workshops, which included Pinturicchio, Piero di Cosimo and Bartolomeo della Gatta. The subjects were historical religious themes, selected and divided according to the medieval concept of the partition of the world history into three epochs. These are, before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, between Moses and Christ's birth, and the Christian era thereafter. They underline the continuity between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the transition from the Mosaic law to the Christian religion.

In 1508 Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II to repaint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Michelangelo painted Sistine Chapel ceiling over four years from 1508 to 1512. On the lowest part of the ceiling he painted the ancestors of Christ. Above this he alternated male and female prophets, with Jonah over the altar. On the highest section Michelangelo painted nine stories from the Book of Genesis. Michelangelo was employed to paint only twelve figures, the Apostles, but when the work was finished there were more than three hundred. His figures showed the creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the Great Flood.

To be able to reach the ceiling, Michelangelo needed a support. The first idea was by Bramante, who wanted to build him a special scaffold suspended in the air with ropes. Michelangelo decided against this as it would leave holes in the ceiling once the work was ended, so he built a scaffold of his own. It was a flat wooden platform on brackets built out from holes in the wall, high up near the top of the windows. Michelangelo was then commissioned by Pope Paul III Farnese in 1535 to paint the Last Judgment over the altar. Michelangelo felt that he was a more developed sculptor than a painter, but he accepted the offer.

Roman Forum

THE ANCIENT ROMAN FORUM
The Roman Forum was the central area around which ancient Rome was developed. The location of the Roman Forum was named the Campo Vaccinio or 'cattle field'. The Forum was located between the Capitoline Hill and the Colosseum and had a processional way crossing it called the Via Sacra which linked the ancient Roman Forum to the Colosseum.

The ancient Roman Forum was where business, commerce, prostitution, cult and the administration of justice took place for many years. Throughout the Middle Ages the memory of the Forum Romanum persisted, however most of its monuments were buried under debris. By the end of the Empire the Roman Forum had lost its everyday use and simply remained as a sacred place.

Following the return of Pope Urban V from Avignon in 1367 there was new interest in ancient monuments. This was partly for their moral lesson and partly as a quarry for new buildings being undertaken in Rome after a long lapse. In the late fifteenth century artists drew the ruins in the Forum and antiquaries copied inscriptions from the sixteenth century.

In the eighteenth century they began an excavation lead by Carlo Fea. He began by clearing the debris from the Arch of Septimius Severus. Archaeologists under the Napoleonic regime began clearing the Forum, which was only fully excavated in the early twentieth century. Today you can see remains from several centuries all together. This is due to the Roman practice of building over earlier ruins.

Today the Roman Forum is famous for it's remains, which show the use of urban spaces during the Roman Age. The Roman Forum is home to major monuments, buildings and other ancient ruins. These include the Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Romulus, Temple of Saturn, Temple of Vesta, Temple of Venus and Roma, Basilica Aemilia, Basilica Julia, Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Arch of Septimius Severus, Arch of Titus, Tabularium, Curia Hostilia the site of the Roman Senate and Rostra, from where politicians made their speeches to the Roman citizens. The last monument built inside the Forum was the Column of Phocas.

Pantheon

ROMAN PANTHEON
The Pantheon resides in Rome and is the best preserved of all Roman buildings and the oldest and arguably the most important building in the world.

It was originally built during 25 BC and 27 BC under the Roman Empire as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets in the Roman state religion, with adjoining baths and water gardens. In 609 the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave the building to Pope Boniface IV, who reconsecrated it as a Christian church. It retains its name today as the Church of Mary and all the Martyr Saints (Santa Maria ad Martyres). As the building was kept as a Christian church it did not fall into abandonment as many of Romes ancient buildings did during the early medieval period. The marble interior and the great bronze doors have survived, although the latter have been restored several times. The only loss to the building has been the external sculptures.

Since the Renaissance the Roman Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Some of the people buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, the architect Baldassare Peruzzi and two kings of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, as well as Vittorio Emanuele's Queen, Margherita. Although since 1946 Italy has been a republic, volunteer members of Italian monarchist organisations maintain a vigil over the royal tombs in the Pantheon. This has aroused protests from time to time from republicans, but the Catholic authorities allow the practice to continue, although the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage is in charge of the security and maintenance.

The Pantheon is a circular building with huge granite Corinthian columns housing the rotunda, under a concrete dome. The central opening known as the Great Eye opens to the sky and is intended to symbolize the heavens. The weight of the dome is concentrated on a ring of voussoirs, twenty seven feet in diameter which form the oculus. The dome is the largest surviving from antiquity and was the largest dome in western Europe until Brunelleschi's dome of the Duomo of Florence was completed in 1436. In the walls at the back of the portico were niches for statues of Caesar, Augustus and Agrippa. The large bronze doors to the cella, once plated with gold, still remain, but the gold has long since vanished.

Rome Transport

ROME PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Rome has three airports, firstly is Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport, which is more commonly known as Fiumicino Airport. Then there is a joint civilian and military airport southeast of the city center called Giovan-Battista Pastine International Airport, referred to as Ciampino airport. This airport handles mainly charter flights and regional European flights including some low cost airlines. A third airport, called Aeroporto dell'Urbe at the north of the city handles mainly helicopters and private flights.

The Rome Metro, known locally as the Metropolitana is part of an extensive tramway network which was created to provide more public transport in Rome. The tramway offers several suburban and urban lines in and around the city of Rome, plus an express line to Fiumicino Airport. The subway system operates with two existing lines, A and B which intersect at Termini Station which is the main train station in Rome. This is the largest train station in Europe and is home to a lively shopping center known as the Forum Termini which has more than a hundred shops. The second largest station is the Tiburtina, which is currently being redeveloped and enlarged to become the main high speed train hub in the city. Other stations include Ostiense, Trastevere, Tuscolana, S. Pietro, Casilina and Torricola.

Rome transport also includes a comprehensive bus system which runs on a regular basis in and around the city. The public transportation company (ATAC) offers assistance to be able to plan a route using the buses and subways. Metrebus offer an integrated fare system which allows holders of tickets and the integrated passes to travel on all of the companies vehicles, within the validity time of the ticket purchased.

Cars are banned from the center of the city from Monday to Friday from 6am to 6pm. This followed the chronic congestion that was caused by cars during the 1970s and 1980s. There are now many ZTL's (Zona Traffico Limitato) in and around the city to try to cut down on the never ending congestion and try to encourage more people to take Rome public transport. In recent years parking spaces in the streets of the city have been converted to pay parking. This follows the new underground parking thats spread throughout the city. However traffic remains a problem in Rome as it does in the rest of the world's cities.

Weather In Rome

ROME WEATHER
The weather in Rome is generally very hot in the summer months and can be quite cold in the winter months. Rome has a mild climate which ensures that it is an all year round holiday destination. To ensure that you get some sunshine and mild temperatures then the time to visit would be in spring or autumn. The weather in Rome in March tends to be just right as the sun is often shinning and the temperature has heated up enough from the winter months.

The heat in the summer months of July and August can become unbearable. In August many locals desert the city for cooler climes and therefore many local business are closed throughout August. This does mean the city may be less crowded and the traffic less congested. However if you are looking to visit Rome during the summer months you should be advised to keep site seeing to early morning and late afternoon to avoid the heat of the midday sun. Sun stoke can be a serious threat here especially to tourists who are not prepared for the heat.

The x-mas weather in Rome right through to February can be very cold, but often still nice and bright.

The following are the average temperatures for the weather in Rome throughout the year:
January: Maximum 13 – Minimum 4
February: Maximum 14 – Minimum 5
March: Maximum 15 – Minimum 6
April: Maximum 18 – Minimum 7
May: Maximum 22 – Minimum11
June: Maximum 25 – Minimum14
July: Maximum 28 – Minimum17
August: Maximum 28 – Minimum18
September: Maximum 25 – Minimum15
October: Maximum 22 – Minimum11
November: Maximum 15 – Minimum 7
December: Maximum 13 – Minimum 5

History Of Rome

ROME HISTORY
This magical city is full of Rome history. The history of Rome extends some 2,800 years, during which time it has been the seat of ancient Rome history to the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, and later the Papal States, Kingdom of Italy and Italian Republic. The civilization of ancient Rome history originated in the eight or ninth century BC, which is when northern tribes migrated to the Italian peninsula to settle around the River Tiber.

For several hundred years, the history of Rome shows that this was the most important city in the western world, as it was the capital of the expansive Roman Empire. The slow decline of this Roman Empire heralded the beginning of the Middle Ages, but for several hundred years leading up to the Renaissance the city regained prominence as the political capital of Europe.

With the rise of Christianity, Rome became the centre of the Roman Catholic Church and the home of the Pope and in 1929 the Pope was made sovereign of Vatican City. By the 1930's during Mussolini's rule the interest had moved from the churches to expanding the city with housing and offices along with which came wide boulevards and overblown architecture. Unfortunately the idea of imperial glory then led Mussolini to form an alliance with Germany during WWII, and thus Italy's nightmare began. By 1946 Italy's transformation from a totalitarian regime into a republic arrived. Once the war was finally over Rome became the centre of Italy's film industry until the early 1960s.

The upcoming Jubilee year of 2000 and some sixteen million Catholic pilgrims which were expected to visit the city prompted Rome to make some much needed improvements to the city. Billions were spent cleaning the churches and palazzo facades, improving roads and transport, and reclaiming public spaces from the car parks they had become. By the time the new millennium arrived Rome was definitely looking the best it had done in years.

Today Rome remains the capital of Italy and a major world city, with its chief European rivals being London, Berlin, and Paris. Tourism is inevitably one of Rome's chief industries. The city is also a centre for banking, publishing, insurance, fashion, high tech industries, aerospace industries and cinema, particularly at the famous Cinecittà studios, dubbed the 'Hollywood on the Tiber'. Many international headquarters, government ministries, conference centres, sports venues and museums are located in Rome's principal business districts.

Rome Introduction

AN INTRODUCTION TO ROME
Rome, which in Italian is Roma, is the capital of Italy and of the Latium region. Rome is the largest city in Italy and is located about twenty kilometres inland from the western coast. Rome sits near the Mediterranean Sea on the Tiber and Aniene rivers. Within the city limits the population in 2004 was 2,823,807, with almost four million living in the general area of Rome as represented by the province of Rome.

Rome is truly a vibrant and yet relaxing city that has a feel to it that draws you back time and time again. Rome is a city that is full of awe inspiring historical buildings and lovely little alley ways leading of to an array of piazzas. All these piazzas have a friendly and relaxing buzz about them and you could while away the hours just sat outside a street café with a cappuccino watching the Italians milling around, this they even do with a certain sophistication. The locals of this wonderful city radiate a style and finesse that only the Italians seem to possess.

Rome is known as the perfect romantic getaway, which it certainly lives up to. However whether you are visiting Rome for a romantic getaway or for its wonderful historic architecture, you will not be disappointed. Most tourists visit Rome in the months between Easter and October, with peak periods being in the spring and autumn months. If you are a sun searcher the summer months here are definitely the time to visit, however you should be advised to keeping site seeing to early morning and late afternoon to avoid the heat of the midday sun.

Most of the major sights are within a reasonable distance of the central railway station, Stazione Termini. If you visit Rome in winter you can enjoy the sites all day long and it will be quieter with the tourist attractions having a lot less queues. Whether you visit this eternal city in the summer or winter months, Rome will encapture your spirit and you will want to plan your next trip to return before you even arrive home.