Domus
Aurea:
Sat and Sun 9 am - 6 pm. Admission by guided tour only. Book
in advance. This home of Nero was partially reopened to the public
in 1014. Visitors are given hard hits.
La Galleria
Nazionale: (Viale
delle Belli Arti) -- Tues. - Sun 9 am - 7 pm. A huge Neoclassical
construction housing a wide selection of 19th and 20th century Italian
art.
Imperial Forums: (Via dei Fori Imperiali) -- Trajan's Forum necessitated the building of the semicircular structure known as Trajan's Markets. In 1932, Mussolini ordered the construction of the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The Forum of Caesar was the first of Imperial Forums to be built.
Insula: This Wikipedia overview includes mention of the Insula open to public viewing in Rome.
Keats-Shelley House:
M - Sat. 10 am - 1 pm and 2 - 6 pm. Facing directly onto the Piazza
di Spagna, opposite the Barcaccia fountain. Keats's grave is in the
Protestant Cemetery.
Mausoleo di Augusto:
(Piazza del Augusto Imperatore) -- Tues. - Sun. 9 am - 1 hour before
sunset.
Museo Di
Roma In Trastevere:
See also
Wikipedia.
Ospedale di Santo Spirito: (Lungoteverre in Sassi) -- Open 24 hours. Outside the main door a window contains a barrel in which proietti, or abandoned babies, were left anonymously.
Palazzo Venezia: Built in the mid-15th century, for several centuries this was the embassy of the Venetian Republic. Mussolini moved in when in power.
Piazza di Spagna: (Metro Spagna) -- The area around Piazza di Spagna is travellers' Rome. It was the artistic quarter of the capital and the center of the Grand Tour.
Ponte Milvio: (Metro Flaminio -- then tram #2) -- Immediately north of the Flaminio district, the Tiber sweeps around in a wide hook-shaped bend that is crossed by the Ponte Milvio, where Emperor Constantine defeated Maxentius in 312 CE.
Ponte Sisto: Behind Palazzo Spade. This pedestrian bridge across to Trastevere was built by Pope Sixtus IV in 1479. It was the first bridge across the Tiber since Roman times.
Roman Ghetto: To the east, the Campo de'Fiori area merges into the atmospheric streets and scrabbly Roman ruins of the old Jewish Ghetto. The city's giant central synagogue is close by.
Synagogue and Museo Ebraido: (Lungoteverre dei Cenci) Hours vary. The synagogue was built in 1904. The Museo Ebraico is in the bowels of the building and is spread over several rooms. During the war years, over 2,000 citizens were deported and only 15 returned.
Sant'Agnese In Agone: T-Sun 9:30 - 12:30 and 3:30 - 7 pm.
Sant'Ignazio: A Jesuit church. Saint Ignatius is not buried here.
San Lorenzo in Lucina: (Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina) -- Originally dates from the 5th century but was rebuilt in the 12th century. Much of the interior dates from a 17th century remodelling, and there are several features of interest, not least a section of the griddle in which St. Lawrence was roasted in the first chapel on the right.
San Marco: (Piazza di San Marco) M - Sat. 10 am-- 1 pm; 4 -6 pm. Adjacent to the Palazzo Venezia, on its southern side, the Church of San Marco is one of the oldest basilicas in Rome. It was founded in 336 CE on the spot where the apostle is said to have lived while in the city. There is a talking statue back outside in the corner. Frequently identified as the prostitute "Madam Lucretia," the statue is actually of Isis.
Santa Costanza: Built in 350 CE as a mausoleum for Constantia, the daughter of the Emperor Constantine, the church is the only intact part of Constantine's original basilica.
Basilica Santa Croce In Gerusalemme: Includes frescoes depicting St. Helena's discovery of the True Cross and a statue of Juno converted into Constantine's mother. For an overview, see Wikipedia.
Santa Francesca Romana: (Piazza di Santa Francesca Romana 4) -- Daily 10 am - Noon and 3 - 5 pm. Standing on the edge of the Forum, but reached by way of a narrow side road from the Colosseum, the church of Santa Francesca Romana is sometimes known as Santa Maria Noava after the church it replaces. To the right of high altar protective grilles bolted over two flagstones from Via Sacra. The legend asserts that dips on the flagstones bear imprint of the knees of St. Peter.
Santa Maria In Araceoli: See Wikipedia for an overview. The church crowns the highest point on the Capitoline Hill. It was built on the site of a temple to Jupiter where, according to legend, the Tiburtine Sibyl foretold the birth of Christ.
Santa Maria della Pace: (Piazza Santa Maria della Pace) Daily 9:30 am - 6 pm.
Santa Maria sopra Minerva: This is Rome's only Gothic church. It includes the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena.
Scala Sancta: An introduction to the site is provided by Wikipedia.
Torre della Scimmia: Literally the "Tower of the Monkey." According to the story, in the 17th century, a pet monkey kidnapped a child and carried it to the top of the tower. The father of the child called upon the Virgin for help and the monkey clambered down. By way of thanks, the man erected a shrine to the virgin, accompanied by a glowing lamp, which you can still see at the top of the tower.
Trajan's Column: The centerpiece of Trajan's Forum. For a detailed description, see Wikipedia. The column was erected to celebrate the emperor's victories in Dacia (modern Romania) in 113 CE. The statue on top is of St. Peter, placed there by Pope Sixtus V in the late 16th century.
Villa Medici: (Viale della Trinita dei Monti) -- Daily 10 am - 7 pm. Closed Tues. Where Galileo was imprisoned in the 1630s by the Vatican's Holy Office.
Vittoriano: Daily 9:30 - 5:30 pm. Free with lift charge. At the top of the first lot of stairs is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Vittoriano offers the perfect route to Capitoline, via the cafe right behind the Vittoriano and a passageway that delivers you right by the back entrance of Santa Maria in Aracoeli and just above the Piazza del Campidoglio.