DK Travel : Rome

Although functioning as a vibrant, modern capital akin to any in Europe, the unique appeal of Rome is that the entire city is a vast, 3,000-year-old, indoor-outdoor museum. In every quarter you’ll find ancient monuments, art treasures and timeless architecture in churches, galleries and protected ruins. Home to the world’s smallest city, the Vatican, Rome has religion at its heart and history in its soul – a city that dazzles and inspires visitors time and time again.

Est! Est! Est!

A bishop’s taste-tester, sampling this sweet white in a northern Lazio lakeside village, excitedly ran to the door and scribbled “Est! Est! Est! ” (Latin for “This is it!”).
EUR

Built by Mussolini as a showcase to the world of the ideal Fascist metropolis, the EUR (l’Esposizione Universale di Roma) is disturbing to many visitors. The critic Robert Hughes described the so-called Square Colosseum as “the most frightening building in the world”, yet the aesthetic inspired many postwar architects. Aside from the hard-edged architecture, there’s a park with a lake, and a visit to the Museo della Civiltà Romana is instructive.
Exotic Foods

One of the few places in the city where you can find Chinese, Thai and Indian spices and cooking pastes.
Explora Museum

This museum near the city centre is specifically designed with children in mind. It allows youngsters to understand how things work through fascinating hands-on displays
Exploring Rome’s Early Churches

Morning

Start with San Clemente , with its fascinating layers. At the lowest level use a torch (flashlight) to appreciate the beautiful fresco of the head of a bearded man.

Walk one block over to the Via dei Santi Quattro Coronati to glimpse the produce market (see Quattro Coronati); turn left and walk up the hill to Santi Quattro Coronati, a rich and little visited 4th-century church with remarkable frescoes in the chapel (1246). Continue on until you reach San Giovanni in Laterano (see San Giovanni in Laterano and Scala Santa). The cloisters with gorgeously twisted columns and mosaic inlays will make your visit truly memorable.

For an equally memorable lunch, head to Cannavota .

Afternoon

After lunch, it’s time for another of the great basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore . Check out the ancient column in front and inside use binoculars to examine the 5th-century mosaics lining the upper reaches of the nave. Finally, cut over to Santa Prassede, where you can take in some of Rome’s most radiant Byzantine mosaics and a powerful painting of the Flagellation in the sacristy.

For sustenance after your spiritual journey, continue down the hill, past Santa Maria Maggiore’s grand staircase and enjoy a drink at L’Angolo di Napoli , or stay for a dinner of Neapolitan-style pizza.
Exploring the Catacombs

There is nothing more thrillingly spooky in Rome than wandering these mazes of tight, dimly lit corridors, roughly carved in the tufa and lined with thousands of tomb niches. At the San Domitilla complex, some guides even let you touch a few of the bones – at most others, all human remains have been removed to ossuaries on lower levels (see Catacombs of Domitilla).
Exploring the Quirinal

Morning

Start on Quirinal Hill, also known as Monte Cavallo after the horse sculptures, here. Sadly, the vast blandness of the Palazzo del Quirinale does little to spur the imagination. Walk halfway down Via del Quirinale and across from a gate, you’ll find Bernini’s architectural tour de force, Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale. Inside, note the many maritime motifs, symbolic of Andrew the fisherman.

Continue on to Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Don’t miss the masterful crypt and the exquisite cloister. Two blocks along, take a right to the Aula Ottagona (see Baths of Diocletian and Aula Ottagona). The ancient bronzes of the Prince and the Boxer are amazing expressions of controlled power.

Now take Via Bissolati to Via Veneto. Check out the cafés, shops and hotels before enjoying lunch at the elegant Gran Caffè Doney .

Afternoon

After lunch, admire the belle époque Excelsior Hotel (see Westin Excelsior) for its appealing architecture, especially its cupola and sexually ambiguous caryatids. And don’t miss the public rooms of the sublime Regina Baglioni , which positively reek of luxury.

Finally, after soaking up all the opulence, walk down to visit the eerie Capuchin Crypt to put things back in perspective. Round off your tour with a stop at Piazza Barberini and Bernini’s marvellously life-affirming Triton Fountain.
F.I.S.H.

Seafood and fusion cuisine served by a bilingual staff.
Fahrenheit 451

Cinema, art and photography books galore.
Fall of the Empire

By the late 4th century Rome was in decline, as Barbarians from across the Rhine and Danube conquered outlying provinces. In 476, the last emperor was deposed and the Empire fell.

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