Rome, the Italian Capital

Rome is Italy's capital, and an incredibly lively city with both historic buildings and monuments and modern day life and shopping opportunities.

The Pantheon is one of the historic buildings. It is exceptional because of its cupola which even for centuries after the end of the Roman civilization was the largest dome in Italy, until the construction of the dome on top of St. Peter's church in the Vatican. The hole in the top is actually a hole, there's no glass in it, and when it rains in Rome the floor inside the Pantheon gets wet.

Another historic part of Rome is the Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheatre. When it was opened it was done with 100 days of animal fights and gladiator combats, a truly grandiose occasion. Since then the Colosseum has been an often used source of stones for construction of other buildings around Rome, so only the inner of it's three circles is still intact all way around.

The Il Vittoriano Monument is a celebration of Italian reunification, built at the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The Vittore Emanuele II is also known by less flattering names like the Wedding Cake or The Typewriter. It is made of marble and has the grave of the unknown soldier built into its front, which has a constant guard of soldiers and an eternal flame burning.

The Forum Romanum is the old center of the Roman Empire from a century before Christ till the fifth century after Christ. During the decline of Rome the yearly floodings of the area by the River Tiber brought mud and sand which covered the area several meters up, in effect protecting much of what is found in Forum Romanum today from being used in the construction of other buildings.

The Trevi Fountain is not just a fountain, it was the end of one of the long lines of aquaducts which brought water into the heart of Rome itself, making life much easier for its inhabitants. The aquaducts led water from springs outside Rome over considerable distances to bring drinking water to the Romans and made it possible for Rome to have so many inhabitants.

Just West of the old town across the Tiber River is the Vatican State, the home of the Catholic Church and St. Peters Basilica or Church. St. Peters Church is built at the place where Nero's Amphitheatre, where most of the Christians were fed to lions and killed in big numbers, was located. It is a symbolic triumph of Christianity that its most important church and the home of the Pope replaced the amphitheatre.