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Rome

Rome: this Eternal City is home to some of the world’s best-preserved ancient remains, is the capital of Italy and also encloses the Vatican City.

rome

Rome is the capital of Italy as well as its region, Lazio. It lies in central Italy and is famous for its ancient ruins and being home to the Vatican, which is its own city state. Interestingly, it has not always been Italy’s capital, only being named so in 1871.

Legend has it that the twins Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf, founded this city. Unfortunately, these brother’s fell out and Romulus killed his brother. As a result, the city the former gave his name to the city, from where the name Rome comes from.

What we do know for certain, however, is that Rome was the very center of Western civilisation for quite some time as the center of the Roman Empire. You can still see the remains of this today, with such attractions as the magnificent Colosseum. Aside from this you can also see the incredibly interesting Roman Forum, Pantheon and Palatine Hill.

There are many other attractions to visit here from almost every moment in Roman history. For instance, here you can see the Spanish Steps and the Castel Sant’Angelo. The city also has various piazzas and churches with important buildings, artefacts and artworks. An icon of Rome is of course the Trevi Fountain. This rose to fame in the 1960s Fellini masterpiece, La Dolce Vita. This film almost single-handedly brought a glamor back to the Eternal City that the world wars had all but destroyed.

Rome itself comprises of various rione and quarters. Some of the most interesting include Trastevere, Monti, Prati, Colonna, Spagna, Eustachio, Pigna and Regola. In these spaces you will find many of the attractions as well as a wide variety of restaurants and bars. As an overview, Trastevere is lively in the evenings, Colonna is great for high-end shopping, Eustachio is a right in the middle,  Monti is near the Colosseum, and Prati is home to the Vatican.

The best way to see Rome is on foot, as the areas between the attractions are often just as beautiful and interesting. It is an ancient city, which ancient buildings. These create a unique and quite breathtaking cityscape. That said, should you need to travel from one end to the other, the city also provides many different buses and trams as well as a small metro system.

Getting to Rome is not a problem from almost anywhere in the world. It has two international airports, Ciampino and Fiumicino. These easily connect with Termini, the central station. Of course, from almost anywhere in Italy you will be able to travel to Rome, given that it is the capital of the country.