Rome

Rome is undoubtelly one of the most popular city in the world. The reasons of that are multiple: it is more than 2,700 years old; it is rich in art and history; it is the most powerful city in Italy where the Parliament and the Senate are situated, given that Rome is the capital of Italy.

Located in Central Italy, it has more than 2,800,000 inhabitants and within its territory it includes the Vatican City. Far from being the capital of the Italian State it is also the capital of a region called Lazio.

Rome is called "Eternal city" as it groups together present, past and future into a single area and "Caput Mundi" (the centre of the universe) since in the past it was the centre of power of a large Mediterranean territory as well as the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

There is a wide variety of touristic attractions in Rome. Even though more than one hundred churches have been erected in the city, only a few of them are mentioned here: Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria del Popolo, Basilica di San Paolo fuori le mura, Santa Maria Maggiore, Santa Maria degli Angeli.

The symbols of this wonderful city are the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.

The Colosseum is the greatest amphitheater in the world and is also called Flavian Amphitheater as it was built for the Flavian dynasty. The reasom for building the Colosseum was the fact that the Emperor Vespasian wished to improve his popularity thus he commissioned a mastodonic building. During the inaugural games that took place in the Colosseum in AD 80, over 9,000 wild animals were killed.

Continuously, 50,000 spectators could see gladiatorial contests and animal fights for 450 years. It was also used for battles and public executions.

As far as its architecture is concerned, it consists of 80 arched entrances and travertine stones. The form of its interior is elliptic, 188 meters in length and 156 meters width. It includes a podium which was reserved to senators and special boxes where only the Emperor and his retenue sat.

Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi in Italian) is among the most famous symbols of Rome. It was the setting of a memorable scene from the movie "La dolce vita" by Fellini. This Baroque fountain is 25.9 meters high and 19.8 meters wide. Lorenzo Bernini was commissioned by the Pope Urban VIII to renovate the old fountain which was considered to be insufficiently theatrical by the pope. Finally, after Pope's Urban VIII death, this plan was abandoned and Nicola Salvi took over the project and finalized it. The central statue depicts the god of the sea, Neptun, who is surrounded by two Tritons.

Rome is a very friendly city to visitors. Foreigners can find accommodation in each area of the city, especially near the main attractions and the underground stations. As Rome wellcomes millions of people coming from all over the world, the hotels in Rome are organized to house any kind of travelers: business men, families, groups of friends and so on. The quality and the services offered are excellent. Many hotels in Rome have their own restaurants where Roman and Italian specialties are served. Shuttles from and to the main airports (Fiumicino and Ciampino) are available upon request.