Founded, according to the myth, by the legendary twins Romulus and Remus, Rome is the capital of Italy and of the Lacio Region. A tourist destination par excellence, Rome offers the visitor a great variety of tourist attractions and services. Rome is the meeting point of artistic tendencies representing every period of history. Its streets and neighbourhoods are the result of this mix, a blend that is manifested in its ancient, medieval, Renaissance and modern buildings.

Italy’s capital city was built on seven hills of mythical fame: Aventine, Capitoline, Esquiline, Caelian, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal.

The Palatine Hill is the heart of ancient Rome. The Roman Forum and the Coliseum are the greatest examples of its imperial architecture. The Palatine Hill can be glimpsed thanks to the route traced by the Via Sacra as it passes through sites like the Temple of Vesta and the Curia Romana (Vatican City).

The Coliseum, dating from the first century AD, is the symbolic representation of imperial Rome. The Coliseum renders homage to Greek art with such elements as the columns on its façade. The Arch of Constantine, right next to the Coliseum, was constructed to celebrate Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, while the Roman Forum, between the Capitoline and Palentine hills, was the centre of social, commercial and administrative activity of ancient Rome.

The Capitoline Hill is delimited by the monument erected to Vittorio Emanuele II – located in the Piazza Venezia, the city’s epicentre and symbol of the unification of Italy – and the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, which was built on one of its two peaks. Inside the church, the visitor can appreciate the artistic value of many works of Roman art dating from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries.

In the Piazza Venezia is its namesake fortress-palace and the famous Church of San Marcos, one of the city’s oldest basilicas with its remarkable mosaic in the apse dating from 833 AD, its portico and gilded ceiling.

The world’s greatest archaeological site, the Imperial Forum, also includes the Santa Maria di Loreto Church with its renowned early-baroque statue of Saint Susanna and 18th-century Sanctuary of the Santissimo Nome di Maria (Holy Name of Mary).

No visit to Rome is complete without seeing the Pantheon, the temple built in honour of all the gods, where the only natural light enters through a single oculus in the dome, which creates striking visual effects. The tomb of the painter Rafael is also in this temple. To the south, lie the thermal springs of Agrippa and one of Rome’s few Gothic churches, Santa Maria Minerva.

Rome has an infinity of squares and fountains. Notable among the squares is the baroque Piazza Navona, next to the Piazza di Spagne, which is famous for its splendid staircase with works of art such as the façade of Borromini’s Church Sant´Agnese in Agone, Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, and the Moro Fountain. Very close to the Piazza Navona is the Church of Santa Maria della Pace, inside which is Rafael’s fresco of the Sibyls.

The 16th-century Palazzo Madama, built by the Medici family, is presently seat of the Senate of the Italian Republic. Opposite the palace is the baroque church of San Luigi dei Francesi, famous for the three paintings by Caravaggio in the Contarelli Chapel.

On another of the hills of Rome, the Quirinal, highest of the seven, is the most famous of the city’s fountains, the fontana di Trevi, symbol of the goddesses of Salubrity and Abundance who stand either side of the figure of Neptune. Very nearby is the Quirinale Palace, churches such as San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and numerous other palaces, for example the Palazzo Barberini, which houses the National Gallery of Ancient Art.

Rome is shaped by its great thoroughfares but also by its labyrinth of delightful medieval streets like Borgo Santo Spirito, where the visitor may pause to admire the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia. Another of Rome’s delights is the Trastevere neighbourhood, which is famous for its second-hand market held every Sunday.