Rome
Housed in a vast belle époque palace, this oft-overlooked modern-art gallery, known locally as GNAM, is an unsung gem. Its superlative collection runs the…
Must-see attractions in Lazio
Lazio
The small town of Bagnoregio is home to one of northern Lazio's most dramatic apparitions, the Civita di Bagnoregio, aka il paese che muore (the dying…
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Once home to Queen Christina of Sweden, whose bedroom reputedly witnessed a steady stream of male and female lovers, the 16th-century Palazzo Corsini was…
Rome
The compact Quartiere Coppedè, centering around the magnificent Piazza Mincio, is one of Rome's most extraordinary neighbourhoods. Conceived and built by…
Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
Trastevere & Gianicolo
The last resting place of the patron saint of music features Pietro Cavallini's exquisite 13th-century fresco in the nuns' choir of the hushed convent…
Cimitero Acattolico per gli Stranieri
San Giovanni & Testaccio
Despite the roads that surround it, Rome’s 'non-Catholic' cemetery is a verdant oasis of peace. An air of Grand Tour romance hangs over the site where up…
Castelli Romani
The larger and more developed of the Castelli's two volcanic lakes – the other is Lago di Nemi – Lago Albano is set in a steeply banked wooded crater. It…
Viterbo
In Caprarola, 20km southeast of Viterbo, this lordly 16th-century palazzo is a true Renaissance wonder. It features a distinct pentagonal design and,…
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Palestrina
Lazio
This delightful museum occupies Palazzo Colonna Barberini, a Renaissance palace built atop the 2nd-century BC Santuario della Fortuna Primigenia. Its airy…
Centro Storico
Visit the atmospheric Jewish Ghetto neighborhood for art studios, kosher food and Rome's main synagogue.
Centro Storico
Il Campo is a major focus of Roman life: by day it hosts one of the city's best-known markets; by night, people come for its lively bars and restaurants.
Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This modest church is an unlikely setting for an extraordinary work of art – Bernini’s extravagant sculpture, the Ecstacy of St Teresa.
Basilica di San Pietro in Vincoli
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
This 5th-century basilica draws pilgrims and art lovers to marvel at its treasures.
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Visit the antique shops, commercial art galleries and artisanal boutiques of Via Margutta, one of Rome's prettiest pedestrian cobbled lanes.
Centro Storico
A busy transport hub, Largo di Torre Argentina is set around the sunken Area Sacra, and the remains of four Republican-era temples, all built between the…
Centro Storico
This sunken area in the Largo di Torre Argentina, reckoned to be the site of Julius Caesar's murder, contains the remains of four Republican-era temples,…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Entry to the dome is to the far right of the basilica's main portico, where you also buy your ticket. A small lift can take you halfway up, but it’s still…
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
Nero had his Domus Aurea constructed after the fire of AD 64 (which he is rumoured to have started to clear the area). Named after the gold that lined its…
Basilica di Santa Maria del Popolo
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
This is one of Rome’s richest Renaissance churches, with a particularly impressive collection of art, including two Caravaggios: the Conversion of St Paul…
San Giovanni & Testaccio
This solemn basilica, one of Rome's most beautiful early Christian churches, was founded by Peter of Illyria around AD 422. It was enlarged in the 9th…
Vatican City, Borgo & Prati
Overlooked by St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican’s central square was laid out between 1656 and 1667 to a design by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Seen from above,…
Tridente, Trevi & the Quirinale
Built for Cardinal Ricci da Montepulciano in 1540, this sumptuous Renaissance palace was purchased by Ferdinando de' Medici in 1576 and remained in Medici…
Museo Nazionale Romano: Palazzo Altemps
Centro Storico
Just north of Piazza Navona, Palazzo Altemps is a beautiful late-15th-century palazzo housing the best of the Museo Nazionale Romano’s formidable…
Lazio
Subiaco's Monastero di Santa Scolastica is the only one of the 13 monasteries built by St Benedict still standing in the Valley of the Amiene – and still…
Centro Storico
An imposing example of Counter-Reformation architecture, Rome's most important Jesuit church is a fabulous treasure trove of baroque art. Headline works…
Museo Capitoline Centrale Montemartini
Southern Rome
Housed in a former power station, this bold outpost of the Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini) juxtaposes classical sculpture with diesel engines and…
Castelli Romani
Grottaferrata's fortified monastery, the last of the Byzantine-Greek abbeys that once dotted medieval Italy, was founded in 1004. The walls and…
Museo Nazionale Romano: Terme di Diocleziano
Monti, Esquilino & San Lorenzo
Able to accommodate some 3000 people, the Terme di Diocleziano was ancient Rome's largest bath complex. Now an epigraphic museum, its exhibits provide a…
Southern Rome
Cinecittà is Italy's foremost film studio, founded in 1937 by Mussolini and used for many iconic Italian and international films. It's possible to take a…
Ancient Rome
Said to be the inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this triumphal arch was built by the emperor Domitian in AD 81 to celebrate his brother Titus…
Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
Centro Storico
Built on the site of three pagan temples, including one dedicated to the goddess Minerva, the Dominican Basilica di Santa Maria Sopra Minerva is Rome’s…
Basilica dei SS Quattro Coronati
San Giovanni & Testaccio
This brooding fortified church harbours some lovely 13th-century frescoes and a delightful hidden cloister, accessible from the left-hand aisle. The…
Centro Storico
The plain white facade of this early Renaissance church, built in the 15th century and renovated in the late 1700s, gives no indication of the impressive…
Mercati di Traiano Museo dei Fori Imperiali
Ancient Rome
This striking museum showcases the Mercati di Traiano (Trajan's Markets), the emperor Trajan's towering 2nd-century complex, while also providing a…
Tivoli
In the hilltop centre, the steeply terraced grounds of Villa d'Este are a superlative example of a Renaissance garden, complete with monumental fountains,…
Ancient Rome
Built between 1455 and 1464, Palazzo Venezia was the first of Rome's great Renaissance palaces. For centuries it was the embassy of the Venetian Republic …
Trastevere & Gianicolo
Formerly the private grounds of Palazzo Corsini, Rome’s 12-hectare botanical gardens are a little-known, slightly neglected gem and a great place to…
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
Southern Rome
Known more prosaically as the Square Colosseum, this iconic building in the EUR district is a prime example of rationalist architecture, featuring…
Centro Storico
With its stuccoed ornamental facade and handsome courtyard, this grand palazzo is a fine example of 16th-century mannerist architecture. Upstairs, a small…
