High in the Italian Alps, surrounded by some of Europe’s tallest peaks, lies a city that began as a Roman military camp. Aosta is often called the Rome of the Alps, and the comparison is justified. The Arch of Augustus still stands proudly at the edge of the old town. The Roman Theatre remains an […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Mountains, Nature, Rome, Sights, Sights
Few churches in Rome hide their masterpiece quite so unassumingly. San Pietro in Vincoli sits on the Esquiline Hill, its simple brick facade giving no hint of the artistic treasure waiting inside. Visitors come for one thing: Michelangelo’s Moses, carved from a single block of Carrara marble. The prophet sits with horns on his head, […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Religious Monuments, Rome, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel
Walk where Caesar walked. The Roman Forum was the beating heart of an empire, a crowded valley of temples, courthouses, and market stalls where senators plotted and citizens argued. Today its broken columns and shattered arches lie open to the sky, scattered among weeds and wildflowers. The Via Sacra still runs its ancient course, worn […]
The Spanish Steps cascade down the Pincian Hill in a waterfall of travertine and blooming azaleas, each landing filled with Romans and travellers alike sitting shoulder to shoulder in the late afternoon sun. At the foot, the Fontana della Barca sinks into the piazza, a boat half submerged in clear water, a reminder that the […]
Categories: Cities, Italy, Rome, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel, Wellness, Relax & Sports
Tivoli has served as a playground for the powerful since ancient Roman times, and its legacy of pleasure still captivates visitors today. Perched on a hillside east of Rome, this historic town contains two UNESCO World heritage sites. Hadrian’s Villa spreads across an enormous estate of pools, libraries, temples, and palaces built by Emperor Hadrian […]
Twenty minutes from the Colosseum lies a Roman city frozen in its final day. Ostia Antica was the harbour of ancient Rome, a bustling port where grain from Egypt and wine from Gaul entered the empire. Today you can walk its streets and step inside taverns, apartments, baths, and temples that still stand with their […]
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world and yet its influence stretches across the globe. You cross the border simply by stepping into St Peter Square where Bernini colonnades embrace visitors like open arms. The basilica rises before you in a triumph of Renaissance architecture and the marble floors inside reflect centuries of […]
The scent of espresso and fresh pastries drifts from a doorway as the morning sun warms centuries of travertine and cobblestone. In Rome, history does not sit quietly in museums. It rises from the pavements, arches overhead in ancient aqueducts, and peeks through cracks in medieval walls. The rumble of Vespas mingles with church bells […]
Rome has been drawing visitors for two thousand years. The Colosseum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, these are not secrets. The secret is knowing when to show up. At 6am the Trevi Fountain is yours alone, the water sounding exactly as it did when Nicola Salvi finished it in 1762. At 9am the Pantheon is […]
Categories: Uncategorized
The queue for St Peter’s basilica snakes across the Piazza San Pietro in a long, patient, murmuring line of humanity, the pilgrims from the Philippines, the tour group from Ohio, the backpackers from Berlin, and the wait, in the summer, can be two hours. The reward, the moment you step through the doors into the […]
Categories: Uncategorized
