46 Best Sights in Rome, Italy

Looming over the Jewish Ghetto, this huge portico, with a few surviving columns, is one of the area's most picturesque set pieces, with the church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria built right into its ruins. Named by Augustus in honor of his sister Octavia, it was originally 390 feet wide and 433 feet long; encompassed two temples, a meeting hall decorated with bronze statues, and a library; and served as a kind of grandiose entrance foyer for the adjacent Teatro di Marcello.

In the Middle Ages, the cool marble ruins of the portico became Rome's pescheria (fish market). A stone plaque on a pillar (it's a copy as the original is in the Musei Capitolini) states in Latin that the head of any fish surpassing the length of the plaque was to be cut off "up to the first fin" and given to the city fathers or else the vendor was to pay a fine of 10 gold florins. The heads, which were used to make fish soup, were considered a great delicacy.

One of the most important archaeological areas in Rome was only discovered in 1926 when construction around Teatro Argentina unearthed four Republican-age temples. The so-called Sacred Area was closed to the public for decades and was happily colonized by cats, who still roam the ruins. But now, a series of walkways allows up-close visits to the site, along with a small but smart collection of antiquities. The exact history of the temples is still being studied, but it is thought that the most ancient of the four (built in the 4th century BC) was dedicated to Feronia, a fertility goddess. While scholars continue to debate the origins of some of the temples here, they do agree that the large tuffa foundation behind the round temple was the Curia of Pompey, where senate sessions were once held—and the spot on which Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) of 44 BC. 

The earliest Christian site in the Forum was originally part of an imperial structure at the foot of the Palatine Hill before it was converted into a church sometime in the late 5th century. Within it are some exceptional frescoes dating from the 6th to the 9th century. Buried by a 9th-century earthquake, the church was abandoned, and a replacement was eventually built on top in the 17th century. This newer church was knocked down in 1900 during excavation work on the Forum, which revealed the early medieval church beneath.

Built by Domitian and erroneously referred to since the 19th century as the "stadium," this was, in fact, a sunken garden that created a terrace on the slopes of the hill. It may also have been used to stage games (but not chariot races) and other amusements for the emperor's benefit.

In ancient Rome, traitors were hurled to their deaths from here. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Tarpeian Rock became a popular stop for people making the Grand Tour because of the view it gave of the Palatine Hill. Today, the Belvedere viewing point has been long shuttered for restoration, but you can proceed a short walk down to Via di Monte Tarpeo, where the view is spectacular enough. It was on this rock that, in the 7th century BC, Tarpeia betrayed the Roman citadel to the early Romans' sworn enemies, the Sabines, only asking in return to be given the heavy gold bracelets the Sabines wore on their left arm. The scornful Sabines did, indeed, shower her with their gold, and added the crushing weight of their heavy shields, also carried on their left arms.

Begun by Julius Caesar and completed by the emperor Augustus in 13 BC, this theater could house around 14,000 spectators. Like other ancient monuments, it was transformed into a fortress during the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, it was converted into a residence by the Savelli, one of the city's noble families. Today, only the archaeological park around the theater is open to the public, with its picturesque walkway that curves past the ruins and links to the Portico d'Ottavia. In summer, the small park becomes a magical venue for open-air classical music concerts.

Erected by the Senate in honor of Faustina, deified wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138–161), Hadrian's successor, this temple was rededicated to the emperor as well upon his death. Because it was transformed into a church (San Lorenzo in Miranda), it's one of the best-preserved ancient structures in the Forum.

The three remaining Corinthian columns of this temple beautifully evoke the former grandeur and elegance of the Forum. This temple was dedicated in 484 BC to Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen of Troy, who carried to Rome the news of victory at Lake Regillus, southeast of Rome—the definitive defeat of the deposed Tarquin dynasty. The twins flew on their fabulous white steeds 20 km (12 miles) to the city to bring the news to the people before mortal messengers could arrive. Rebuilt over the centuries before Christ, the temple suffered a major fire and was reconstructed by the future Emperor Tiberius in 12 BC, the date of the three standing columns.

What survives of the base of the temple—built by Augustus, Julius Caesar's successor—stands over the spot where Caesar's body was cremated. A pyre was improvised by grief-crazed citizens who kept the flames going with their own possessions.

This round brick temple with bronze doors behind the Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano is believed to have been dedicated by the Emperor Maxentius to his son, Valerius Romulus, who died in 309 AD and was deified. In the 6th century, the temple was converted into a vestibule for the church. There are various wall decorations in the rotunda, including Christ enthroned between St. Mary Magdalene and St. Mary Salome. To the left of the entrance is a 13th-century painting attributed to Jacopo Torriti depicting the Madonna enthroned and Child between the Medici saints.

Once Rome's largest temple, it was, in fact, originally two temples back-to-back. The half dedicated to Venus, facing the Colosseum, is the section seen today; its twin, which once faced the Forum, was dedicated to the goddess Roma and is now the foundation of the church of Santa Maria Nova. Begun by Hadrian in AD 121, the temple is accessible from the end of the Forum near the Arch of Titus and offers a great view of the Colosseum.

All that remains of Vespasian's temple are three graceful Corinthian columns. They marked the site of the Forum through the centuries while the rest was hidden beneath overgrown rubble. Nearby is the ruined platform that was the Tempio di Concordia.

Although only a fragment of the original building remains, this temple nevertheless conveys the sophisticated architectural elegance that was achieved in the later Roman Empire. Set off by florid Corinthian columns, the tholos (circular building) was rebuilt by Emperor Septimius Severus when he restored the temple (around AD 205), which is dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. It was here that the six highly privileged vestal virgins—chosen when they were between six and 10 years old to serve for 30 years—kept Rome's sacred flame burning, a tradition that dated from the very earliest days of the city, when guarding the community's precious fire was essential to its well-being.

Next to the temple, the Casa delle Vestali gives you a glimpse of the splendor in which these women lived. Marble statues of the vestals and fragments of mosaic pavement line the garden courtyard, which once would have been surrounded by lofty colonnades and at least 50 rooms. Their standing in Rome was considerable: among women, they were second in rank only to the Empress. Their intercession could save a condemned man, and they did, in fact, rescue Julius Caesar from the lethal vengeance of his enemy Sulla.

The virgins were handsomely maintained by the state, but if they allowed the sacred fire to go out, they were scourged by the high priest, and if they broke their vows of celibacy, they were buried alive (a punishment doled out only a handful of times throughout the cult's 1,000-year history). The vestal virgins were one of the last of ancient Rome's institutions to die out, enduring until the end of the 4th century AD—even after Rome's emperors had become Christian.

The Terme di Caracalla are some of Rome's most massive—yet least visited—ruins. Begun in AD 206 by the emperor Septimius Severus and completed by his son, Caracalla, the 28-acre complex could accommodate 1,600 bathers at a time. Along with an Olympic-size swimming pool and baths, the complex also had two gyms, a library, and gardens. The impressive baths depended on slave labor, particularly the unseen stokers who toiled in subterranean rooms to keep the fires roaring in order to heat the water.

Rather than a simple dip in a tub, Romans turned "bathing" into one of the most lavish leisure activities imaginable. A bath began in the sudatoria, a series of small rooms resembling saunas, which then led to the caldarium, a circular room that was humid rather than simply hot. Here a strigil, or scraper, was used to get the dirt off the skin. Next stop: the warm(-ish) tepidarium, which helped start the cool-down process. Finally, it ended with a splash around the frigidarium, a chilly swimming pool.

Although some black-and-white mosaic fragments remain, most of the opulent mosaics, frescoes, and sculptures have found their way into Rome's museums. Nevertheless, the towering walls and sheer size of the ruins give one of the best glimpses into ancient Rome's ambitions. A newly installed fountain has returned some water to the baths, while a portable video guide allows a glimpse of the past grandeur, with images and audio that describe how the ruins appeared centuries ago. If you're here in summer, don't miss the chance to catch an open-air opera or ballet in the baths, put on by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.

The celebrated "Sacred Way," paved with local volcanic rock, runs through the Roman Forum, lined with temples and shrines. It was also the traditional route of religious and triumphal processions. Pick your way across the paving stones, some rutted with the ironclad wheels of Roman wagons, to walk in the footsteps of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.

Even in ruins, this villa conveys a real sense of ancient Rome's opulence, as do the archaeological finds in its small on-site museum. Indeed, Emperor Commodus—the villain in the 2000 film epic Gladiator—coveted this once-splendid villa so much that he accused its owners, the Quintili family, of plotting against him, had them executed, and then moved in. He may have used the exedra as a space in which to train for the ostrich fights that were held in the Colosseum. The villa is 5 km (3 miles) from the catacombs and is accessible from both the modern Appia Nuova and from the Appia Antica (by bicycle or on foot only).