HISTORY OF ROME:
Rome has a history that spans almost 3000 years, starting from the legendary foundation by Romulus in 753 BC, until today, as the capital of Italy. A republic around 509 BC and an empire by the turn of the millennium, Rome grew to become the largest city in the world in the first centuries AD. Read More [...]
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Rome has gone through troubled times, returning to its former glory only in the 14th century, during the Renaissance period.
In the 18th century, the Papacy reached the peak of its power, ruling over most of central Italy. During the Napoleonic domination, Rome was annexed to the French Empire and, after the fall of Napoleon, the Papal States were restored by the Congress of Vienna of 1815.
Although the Kingdom of Italy was founded in 1861, Rome along with the Lazio region remained under the control of the Pope for another nine years. In 1870, the Papal States were defeated, Rome was conquered and, after a plebiscite held on October 2, the city was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
GEOGRAPHY OF ROME:
Rome is, today, the capital city of Italy and the capital of the Lazio region. Built on seven hills - Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal and Viminal, between the Apennine mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea, Rome is splited in two by the River Tiber, and has an area of about 1,285 square kilometers. Read More [...]
Rome is situated 170 kilometers south of Perugia, 220 kilometers northwest of Naples, 285 kilometers south of Florence, 385 kilometers south of Bologna, 492 kilometers southeast of Genoa, 495 kilometers south of Venice, 600 kilometers southeast of Milan, and about 720 kilometers northwest of Reggio-Calabria.
TRANSPORT TO/IN ROME:
You can get to Rome by plane, arriving at the Fiumicino International Airport Leonardo da Vinci, the main airport of the city, located about 30 kilometers away, or at the Ciampino International Airport G.B. Pastine, the low-cost airline airport, located about 12 kilometers away. Read More [...]
From each of the two airports, you can reach the central Rome, more precisely the Roma Termini railway station, by bus. A one-way ticket costs 6.00€ and a round trip 11.00€.
You can also get to Rome by train - the main railway station is Roma Termini. The cheapest train ticket from Naples costs 12.65€ and the trip takes between one hour and two hours and a half. The cheapest ticket from Florence is 21.75€ and the trip takes between one hour and a half and three hours and a half. From Venice, the trip takes between three hours and a half and 10 hours, and the cheapest ticket costs 39.50€.
To get to Rome by car is quite easy, because, as they say... all roads lead to Rome. The city is encircled by a toll-free ring road, about 68 kilometers long, known as Grande Raccordo Anulare (Large Orbital Motorway) or, simply, GRA.
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ROME:
It is hard to name only a few of the tourist attractions in Rome, because there are so many - ancient monuments, churches, castles and palaces, squares, fountains, and the list goes on... Read More [...]
The most important attractions are the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and, although technically not in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Peter, Piazza Navona, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza del Popolo and, again, on Vatican territory, Piazza San Pietro.
Worth mentioning are also the imposing Castel Sant'Angelo, the wonderful Trevi Fountain, the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the Trajan's Forum, but these represent only a fraction of what Rome has to offer...