Best Rome

The Rape of Proserpina is a Baroque marble sculpture group created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini between 1621 and 1622. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, it is currently housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The large statue depicts the Roman myth of Pluto seizing Proserpina to take her to th...

David is a life-sized marble sculpture by the Italian Baroque artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, carved between 1623 and 1624. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the artwork is housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Unlike earlier Renaissance depictions of the biblical hero, Bernini's David cap...

Apollo and Daphne is a life-sized Baroque marble sculpture created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in Rome between 1622 and 1625. Commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the piece is located in the Galleria Borghese and illustrates a narrative from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It captures the exact moment the...

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is a central sculptural group designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the Cornaro Chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Completed in 1652, the white marble sculpture depicts the 16th-century mystic Saint Teresa of Ávila as an angel pierces her heart with...

Moses is a marble sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, completed around 1515 for the tomb of Pope Julius II. It is currently the centerpiece of a smaller version of the tomb located in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The seated figure depicts the biblical prophet ho...

The Column of Trajan is a Roman triumphal column located in Trajan's Forum in Rome, completed in AD 113 to commemorate Emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. The monument is renowned for its continuous spiral bas-relief, which winds around the shaft for roughly 190 meters and contains thousand...

The Boxer at Rest is a Hellenistic Greek bronze sculpture dating to the 4th or 3rd century BCE, discovered on the Quirinal Hill in Rome in 1885. The life-size statue depicts a seated, exhausted athlete who has just finished a match. The figure wears the leather hand-wraps used by ancient Greek boxer...

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, later known as Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building located in Rome on the bank of the Tiber River. It was commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian between 123 and 139 AD to serve as a mausoleum for himself and his imperial family. During the medieval per...

Annibale Carracci’s “Loves of the Gods” fresco cycle adorns the ceiling of Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Completed between 1597 and 1608, this work represents a pivotal moment in Baroque art. Carracci masterfully employs the buon fresco technique to depict scenes of divine romance, showcasing mythologica...

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome is the largest Catholic Marian church in the city and one of the four major papal basilicas, retaining original 5th-century mosaics from its founding under Pope Sixtus III.

The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is one of the four major papal basilicas in Rome, Italy. The structure is traditionally believed to be built over the burial site of Paul the Apostle, making it a popular site of religious pilgrimage. The original church was founded by Roman Emperor Const...

The Papal Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome, serving as the ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome. It holds the title of the oldest and highest-ranking of the four major papal basilicas in the city. Originally commissioned by the Roman Emperor Cons...

The Ara Pacis Augustae, or Altar of Augustan Peace, is an ancient Roman monument located in Rome, commissioned by the Roman Senate and dedicated in 9 BCE. The structure is distinguished by its highly detailed figurative reliefs, which prominently depict an imperial procession featuring Augustus, his...

Piazza Navona is a large public city square in Rome, Italy, built on the site of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, which established its distinctive elongated oval shape. The square is a prominent example of Baroque architecture, featuring major works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini....

Trajan’s Column stands as a monumental testament to Roman military achievement. Constructed in Rome around 113 AD, the column is entirely crafted from marble and features extensive relief carvings documenting Emperor Trajan's campaigns in Dacia (modern Romania). These detailed scenes provide invalua...

The frescoes from Livia’s Villa at Primaporta offer a remarkably preserved glimpse into Roman aristocratic life during the Augustan period. These secco wall paintings depict an elaborate garden scene, creating a seamless illusion of depth and space. The detailed depiction of plants and architectural...

The Livia’s Garden Room is an Augustan-era fresco depicting a meticulously rendered garden scene. Created around 60 BC, it showcases innovative secco techniques – painting on dry plaster – to achieve a remarkably realistic illusion of vegetation within the Villa Livia at Palazzo Massimo in Rome. Thi...

Andrea Pozzo’s “Apotheosis of St. Ignatius” is a monumental baroque fresco completed in 1694 within Rome’s Sant'Ignazio church. This illusionistic artwork employs a *buon-fresco* technique to convincingly transform the church’s ceiling into an expansive, open sky. The composition depicts the saint’s...

The Derby della Capitale is the football rivalry between AS Roma and SS Lazio, the two major professional clubs based in Rome. Both clubs share the Stadio Olimpico as their home ground, with Roma moving to the stadium in 1953 and Lazio following. AS Roma was founded in 1927 through a merger of three...

The Trevi Fountain is a monumental baroque water feature located in Rome. Constructed in 1762 to designs primarily by Nicola Salvi, it showcases elaborate marble sculptures depicting figures from Roman mythology. The fountain’s scale and artistic merit make it a significant landmark. It remains popu...

The Baths of Caracalla in Rome were the second largest public bathing complex in ancient Rome, constructed between 212 and 216 CE during the reign of Emperor Caracalla. The facility could accommodate approximately 1,600 bathers simultaneously and included not only bathing rooms but also libraries, g...

The Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano in Rome is a 12th-century church built atop a 4th-century basilica and a 1st-century Roman building, offering one of the city's clearest examples of layered archaeological history.

Castel Sant’Angelo began as Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum around 139 CE. Throughout its history, it served as a papal fortress, refuge, and residence. The structure's strategic location overlooking Rome made it vital for defense and religious authority. It is now a museum accessible to visitors intere...

The Battle of Cannae, fought in 216 BC during the Second Punic War, represents a devastating Roman military defeat. Hannibal’s Carthaginian forces skillfully encircled and destroyed an overwhelmingly larger Roman army near Cannae in Italy. Approximately seventy thousand Roman soldiers perished, mark...

The Triumph of the Name of Jesus is a monumental ceiling fresco by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, also known as Baciccio, in the Church of the Gesù in Rome. Executed in the late 17th century, it presents the monogram of Jesus as a radiant focus surrounded by angels and the blessed, while figures represen...

The Basilica of Santa Sabina all'Aventino in Rome is an early Christian church built around 422 AD, preserving one of the oldest surviving carved wooden doors depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is considered one of the city's most ancient areas. According to Roman mythology, it is the location where a wolf discovered the twins Romulus and Remus, who later founded Rome. Archaeological evidence shows human habitation dating b...

The Basilica of Santa Prassede in Rome is a 9th-century church commissioned by Pope Paschal I, celebrated for its exceptionally well-preserved Byzantine mosaics covering the apse, triumphal arch, and Chapel of St. Zeno.

The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is a major Catholic church and minor basilica located in the Trastevere district of Rome. Traditionally believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in the city, its foundational structure dates back to the 3rd century. The current Romanesque...