Local area

Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel are just a short walk from our hotel. Ask the concierge for fast-track tickets and avoid the long queues that often line up at the entrance. Don't miss the opportunity to visit the worldwide famous Basilica and its Sistine Chapel, renowned for the beautiful Michelangelo paintings and ceiling. Make time to visit the entire complex, which displays an artistic heritage covering from the Egyptian times up to modern art galleries.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castle Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle and is now a museum. The Castle was once the tallest building in Rome, and it is renowned for its unique round shape.

Built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, it follows the form of an open space stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"). Nowadays it is famous for the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini, the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Borromini and others, the Pamphili palace by Rainaldi, with its long gallery designed by Borromini and frescoed by Pietro da Cortona, the Fontana del Moro and the Fountain of Neptune. A Christmas market is held in the piazza every year.

The Pantheon has represented the maximum expression of the glory of Rome for over 2000 years. The Pantheon was an inspiration for one of the greatest architects of the Renaissance, Raffaello, who requested it to become his place of eternal rest. It is the only Roman building that has remained practically intact through the centuries and was founded by Agrippa between 25 and 27 B.C. as a temple dedicated to the twelve Gods and to the living Sovran.

A celebrated and picturesque market by day, Campo dè Fiori quickly turns into a hub for nightlifers in the evening. For centuries, Campo dè Fiori was the stage for public executions. Here in 1600, the Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer Bruno Giordano was burnt alive. A domineering statue stands in the middle of the square, marking the exact spot of his death.

Trastevere, the heart of the city, is home to major Italian dialectical poet Gioachino Belli and the inspiration for another, Trilussa. It is precisely here that Roman plebeians were born and raised. Amid piazzas, its “Fontanone” fountain and cobblestoned streets, the “Trasteverini” led in ancient times the lives of the common people, whose pride and sincere character as well as beautiful women set them apart from the “nobility”. Today the district is the hub of nightlife and wining and dining.

The Colosseum, or Coliseum, is also known as Flavian Amphitheatre. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in 70 A.D. and was completed in 80 A.D. under his successor. It is estimated that the Coloseum could hold, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions and dramas based on classical mythology. It may be two thousand years old but, Colosseum is still the symbol of the eternal city.

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum. For centuries, it was the centre of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches, and the nucleus of commercial affairs.

The piazza is dominated by the overpowering “Altare della Patria”, a monument to honour Victor Emanuel II, unified Italy’s first king. It is, however, also often unsympathetically referred to as either the “wedding cake” or the “typewriter”. Lying at its foot and guarded by two soldiers is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Incorporated in the massive pure white marble structure, which was built between 1885 and 1905, it serves to honour and remember every soldier who lost his life during the War.

The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. At the base is the early Baroque fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia, built by Pietro Bernini and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. At the corner on the right, as one begins to climb the steps, is the house where English poet John Keats lived and died in 1821, which is now a museum.

The complex of the Great Synagogue, the main Roman synagogue, is located in the Jewish Quarter. Housed within this monumental complex are the Jewish Museum of Rome, which preserves the collections of the Jewish Community, and two synagogues: the Great Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue. The monumental complex is open from Sunday to Thursday, from 9:30am until 4:30pm (winter) and from 10am to 5:15pm (summer). On Fridays, it opens only in the morning. A ticket costs € 11.00.