Rome - Italy

A lot of people from all around the world travel to the old city of Rome every year. The city is always described in many ways, different ways depending on who you are and what your interests happen to be. First and foremost, Rome is a city deeply reminiscent of ancient, elder days of greatness.

Literally everywhere you, go old traces of the ancient civilization are forever present, traces of a long gone kingdom of vast importance and magnitude. It blends in with modern Rome, forming a unique relationship together. Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance and many more styles appear like layers between then and now. A modern apartment house can be attached to a medieval church which is next to a cylinder-shaped antique temple.

A good tip for tourists to start is the Capitolum which is situated on a hill. The Capitolum was the equivalence of ancient Athens’s Acropolis. People used to come here to pray the Gods in the Temple of Jupiter. Today, the Capitolum is dominated by Michelangelo’s city plan from the 16^th century. Proceed down the steps to an area of broken and worn down pillars and mounds of stone. This was the ancient downtown - Forum Romanum - the prototype for a modern city.

Bordering Forum Romanum is perhaps Rome’s most famous figure of architecture, the Colosseum. This was the home of the gladiator-games and stood ready on 80 BC. Not only an architectural masterpiece, but also a well built arena that housed over 55 000 people, three time more than hockey night in Madison Square garden. Take a walk on both levels and admire the view in the summertime, side by side with many other tourists who have decided to travel to Rome.

Just a stone thrown The Ancient temple of Pantheon (meaning Temple of all the Gods), which later became a church, is always a beautiful sight as the sun goes sets over it in the afternoon. It is still used and is one of the best preserved of all the old Roman buildings, and perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world. The perfectly round hole in the centre of the temple’s ceiling is designed so that it never rains inside, quite an achievement being it was finished in 125 AD.

Further along the way, The Baths of Caracalla is very intriguing. They were Roman public baths, called thermae, the ruins of which have become a popular tourist attraction.

Rome also has many lovely squares and other art treasures from different ages. Piazza Navone is an elongated square which gets very busy at night. The edges of the square are full of restaurants in different price ranges. This is a perfect place to spend and evening with a nice Italian meal together with some whine watching the people bustle around the beautiful fountains.

For all you honeymooners out there who decide to travel to Rome, a good travel tip is Piazza di Trevi at night. The beautiful fountain is lit up by lights and the stone benches in front of the fountain is a perfect place to end your night with another bottle of whine on the way beck to the hotel (depending on where you live of course).