Without a doubt, the most famous landmark of the ancient city of Rome is the Colosseum (the Flavian Amphitheatre). Finished by AD 80 by Emperor Vespasian and his son – Titus, this is a stadium like no other stadium, with 80 entrances and designed to accommodate up to 50,000 sitting and 10,000 standing viewers. It’s considered a gift from the new rulers of the Roman Empire to their subjects, whom they kept happy by supplying bread and circuses. The colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests, animal hunts, executions and dramas up to the early medieval era. The last mentioning of gladiator fights was around 435 AD. Until then more than 400,000 people and a devastating number of 1 million wild animals had died in the Colosseum. The cruel tradition of demonstrating wealth by bringing exotic animals from all over the world for prisoners to fight with (although they stood no chance) resulted in entire species being wiped from the face of the Earth. After it was used for various other public services purposes up to 1749, when the space was declared sacred from Pope Benedict XIV. The building went through several restorations since then, the last and largest one was from 1993 to 2000, at the cost of about £18 million.

is the smallest state in the world at 110 acres of land and about 1000 citizens, and the only one, situated in another capital city. It’s an ecclesiastical type of state, with the Pope as a state sovereign. The city-state was established in 1929 with the Lateran agreement between Italy and the Holy See, where the latter has “full ownership, exclusive dominion and sovereign authority and jurisdiction” over Vatican City. Its unique economy is sustained by selling stamps, postcards and other souvenirs, admission fees and publication sales. Choose carefully what you would like to see in the Vatican City, because you can easily spend a day there and still wouldn’t have seen even half of it. There are several different routes you can follow within the site, market with different colours and they can take from 1 to 5 hours to complete. Whichever one you choose, we recommend you don’t miss the St. Peter’s Basilica with St Peter’s square, the Gardens of Vatican City, the Vatican Hill, the Vatican Museums (four of them, holding impressive works by Italian masters, such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Giotto, Pinturicchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Perugino), the Sistine Chapel, Cortile del Belvedere, the Apostolic Palace, Saint ‘Anna dei Palafrenieri and Castel Sant’Angelo.

is the “queen of all private art collections”, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana, collected mostly by Cardinal Scipione Borghese - the nephew of Pope Paul V and an incredibly knowledgeable and meticulous art collecter of his time. The collection contains works by Caravaggio, Bernini, Titian, Raphael, Rubens and Barocci. There are classical antiques from 1-3rd AD, mosaics and sculptures, frescos and paintings on the ground floor and an upstairs picture gallery, mainly from 17th century. Some of the most famous exhibits include the Bernini’s Rape of Proserpine, Pauline Bonapart, posing as Venus Vitrix by Canova, David with the Head of Goliath by Caravaggio, Sacred and Profane Love by Titian and The Deposition by Raphael. Many of the works are commissioned by Cardinal Borghese himself.

The exuberance of ancient art and history in Rome is overwhelming. If your time permits, see the Capitoline Museums, Castel Sant’ Angelo (castle – museum), Galleria Doria Pamphilj, La Galleria Nazionale and Galleria Corsini, the former homes Domus Romane, Villa Medici and Villa Farnesina, the archaeological sites Ostia Antica, Terme di Caracalla and Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the churches The Pantheon, Basilica de San Giovanni in Laterano, Chiesa del Gesu, Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Also, not to be missed are the Spanish steps, the Roman Catacombs, the Vittoriano monument, the beautiful Piazza Navona and the relaxing botanical garden Orto Botanico.