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The basic principle for comprehending Rome is that everything is built on top of something else. For example, the Capitoline (see Capitoline Venus) was originally two peaks: one, called the Arx, graced by the Temple of Juno, and the other, the Cavo, with the Temple of Jupiter, now mostly occupied by the Palazzo dei Conservatori (see Palazzo dei Conservatori Exhibits). The huge Tabularium (Record Office) was built between them in 78 BC, thus forming one hill, called the Capitol; and over that the Palazzo Senatorio was built in the 12th century.

This wine bar-cum-restaurant is just the place for a quick aperitivo or a more leisurely alfresco lunch. The impressively bottle-lined interior shows that this is a serious wine bar with a well-stocked cellar offering a great choice of labels.

A taste for the macabre may be all you need to enjoy this place. A cast-iron stomach doesn’t hurt, either. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this intense memento mori is its position, at the bottom of what was the most sophisticated of streets when la dolce vita was in full swing.

If you like a good haunted house, this is your first stop. The bones of thousands of deceased monks have been used to decorate every conceivable surface in the most ghoulish designs. Those corpses that weren’t taken to bits have been hung on walls, decked out in cowled robes (see Capuchin Crypt).

Fantastically creepy chapels festively decorated with mosaics made from the bones of dead monks, a few of whose skeletons remain propped up in bone-built niches. It rarely fails to impress, and for adolescents and above can be a highlight of the trip, although it may be a bit too much for the very young or overly squeamish.

Caravaggio uses strong chiaroscuro techniques here. As a naturalistic shaft of light spills from Christ to his chosen chronicler, St Matthew, Caravaggio captures the precise moment of Matthew’s conversion from tax collector to Evangelist (see San Luigi dei Francesi).

Caravaggio strove to outdo Michelangelo’s Pietà by making his Mary old and tired. Rather than a slender slip of a Christ, Caravaggio’s muscular Jesus is so heavy (emphasized by a diagonal composition) that Nicodemus struggles with his legs and John’s grasp opens Christ’s wound.

Tender Italian artichokes, often laced with garlic and mint, are braised in a mixture of olive oil and water.

This building was originally the Roman Court House designed by the 15th-century architect Bramante. Handy to all the sights but isolated enough to be quiet.