Ara Pacis Augustae
Via di Repetta
06-710-3569
Altar of peace - one of the great works of Roman sculpture - was commissioned in 13 BC by the emperor Augustus to celebrate his victories in Spain and Gaul. It was reconstructed here in 1938.

Arch of Constantine
Piazza del Collesseo
Triumphal arch decorated with fragments from older Roman monuments, erected in AD 315 in honor of Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge. At this battle in the year 312 Constantine is said to have seen a cross in the sky, bringing about his conversion to Christianity. The relief work on the inside of the arch depicts the emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians in the 2nd century.

Baths of Caracalla
52 Viale di Terme di Caracalla
06575-8626
The baths were begun in the year 206 and completed by Caracalla in 217. The vast expanse of ruins of the massive bath complex contained large numbers of masterpieces of sculpture. The baths must have been exceptionally luxurious. They were in use into the early middle ages. The remains were unearthed in the Middle Ages.

Saint Peter's Basilica
Piazza San Pietro
The largest Basilica in the world was begun in 1506 when Pope Julius II commissioned Bramante to build a new St. Peter's to replace the basilica of Constantine which had been consecrated in 326. The plan of the building was based by Bramante on the design of the ancient Roman baths which were laid out in the form of a Greek cross

Vatican Museums
Entrance: Viale Vaticano
06-6988-3332
The Vatican museums are famous for their collections of Greek and Roman sculpture. The museum complex is housed in the papal palace built during the Renaissance for Pope Sixtus IV, Innocent VII and Julius II. Bramante designed part of it, and additions were added in the 18th century. The complex also houses the Capella Sistina (Sistine Chapel) with Michelangelo's ceiling and Last Judgment and the Stanze di Raffaello (Raphael Rooms) - a series of rooms frescoed by Raphael.

Museo della Civiltà Romana (Museum of Roman Culture)
Piazza G Agnelli, EUR
The museum is housed in the Palazzo della Civilta del Lavoro at EUR. It traces the history of the city its beginnings to the age of Justinian using models including a scale model of Rome at the time of Constantine.

Colosseum (Colosseo)
Piazza del Colosseo
06-700-4261
This magnificent structure was originally lined with travertine, a local Roman limestone. Over the years it has been stripped off. What is left is a ruin. The original had 80 arched entrances/exits. One of these was used for the return of the triumphant gladiators from the arena. Another was named for the goddess of death and was used for the removal of corpses of defeated gladiators. Inside were three main areas: the pit, the arena and the auditorium. The pit was originally covered by the floor of the arena. In it were kept the prisoners and the wild animals with whom they would compete.

Arch of Titus
(Located in the Forum Square)
Erected in AD 81 by the emperor Domitian in honor of his brother, Titus, this is Rome's oldest triumphal arch. It celebrates the victories of the emperors Vespasian and Titus in the Judaean War during which the Temple in Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed (AD 70). Two large bas reliefs inside the arch represent episodes of the imperial Triumph: on the left, the beginning of the procession with the spoils taken from the Temple, the silver trumpets and the seven-branched candelabrum; on the right, Titus rides in a chariot drawn by four horses led by the goddess Roma.

Jewish Ghetto
Via Arenula - Teatro di Marcello
Synagogue at Lungotevere dei Cenci
In the Middle Ages there were as many as 50,000 people of the Jewish faith in Rome. The ghetto was established in 1555 for the shameful purpose of confining Jewish people to one restricted area. Rome's Jews were suffering persecution during that time, and only 5000 remained. Pope Paul IV ordered that a high wall be erected around the area and that the residents be locked in at night. It was a dank, unhealthy place.