Historic Cities · Italy
Rome through the ages
Rome is the capital city and most populated comune (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special comune named Roma Capitale with a population of 2.7 million in an area of 1,287.36 km2 (497.1 mi2), Rome is the third most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits.
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Rome in AD 320
Imperial Rome
Rome in 320 is the imperial capital at a moment of continued public building and visible change: monumental arches and basilicas stand alongside thriving baths and crowded markets. Visitors will move from the city approaches and gates through the imperial fora, baths and theatres to end on the Capitoline height with a view across domes, vaults and the river.
The skyline is a scatter of domes, broad barrel and groin vaults, triumphal arches and rows of columned porticoes, all faced where possible with gleaming marble over brick and concrete cores. Terracotta roof tiles warm the hills; the Tiber threads dark and reflective. Streets vary from wide processional ways lined by colonnades to narrow lanes between crowded insulae, while the great baths and basilicas throw deep shadows and reveal monumental coffered vaults and carved statuary.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Via Appia Approach → Porta Appia → Thermae Antoninianae → Circus Maximus → Mons Palatinus → Forum Romanum → Via Sacra → Amphitheatrum Flavium → Arcus Constantini → Basilica Nova → …
Step inside — 12 interiors
Frigidarium Pool Chamber · Imperial Audience Chamber · Vestal Hearth Chamber · Cella of Antoninus and Faustina · Lower Cavea and Velarium · Coffered Central Nave · Basilica Ulpia Nave · Pantheon Rotunda · Hadrianic Mausoleum Chamber · Stage and Orchestra · Marble Caldarium · Trajanic Market Hall
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Ancient Rome.
Rome in 1300
Jubilee Rome
Rome in 1300 is the papal city suddenly swollen by Boniface VIII's first Holy Year, its basilicas overwhelmed with pilgrims and processions. Ruined temples and sunken forums sit beside fortified baronial towers, riverside quays and narrow lanes leading from the gates to the great basilicas of San Pietro and San Giovanni in Laterano.
The skyline is a serrated silhouette of medieval tower-houses, battered Roman monuments and squat church camps, all of brick, tufa and reused marble. Domes and temple drum walls rise among ochre plastered houses; the Tiber is lined with muddied quays and low boats. Streets narrow into shaded alleys, while wide ruined fora lie half-buried under grass, grazing cattle and occasional shepherds — a city both ancient and militarised, bright in sharp Mediterranean light.
The walk — 23 streets, squares and views
Ponte Milvio → Porta Flaminia → Borgo → Atrium of San Pietro → Pons Aelius → Ripa Grande Quays → Forum Boarium → Theatrum Marcelli → Forum Romanum → Via Sacra → …
Step inside — 14 interiors
Santo Spirito Ward · Nave of Old St Peter · Castel Sant'Angelo Antechamber · Ripa Grande Customs Hall · Butchers' Hall · Marcellus Vomitorium Smithy · Forum Scriptorium · Aracoeli Nave · Pantheon's Rotunda · Stadium Arcade Tavern · Colonna Tower Great Chamber · Trajan Market Arcade · Colosseum Artisan Yard · Sancta Sanctorum Chapel
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Rome.
Rome in 1600
Baroque Rome
Rome in 1600 is a city remade by recent papal projects: obelisks lifted into piazzas, straight new thoroughfares cutting through medieval fabric, and the great dome of St Peter's asserting a renewed papal skyline. The walk moves from the city approach through market streets, taverns of the Campo Marzio where painters gather, riverside quays and the Borgo, finishing on the Janiculum with a wide view of dome and monuments.
Granite and travertine obelisks punctuate wide axial streets whose sharp lines are new additions to an otherwise ragged medieval city of brick palaces, tiled roofs and church towers. St Peter's lead-covered dome rises above low ochre houses; fountains gurgle from recently repaired aqueducts and wash market dust. Narrow alleys open occasionally onto bright piazzas filled with merchants, muleteers, clerics in black and cardinals in red.
The walk — 20 streets, squares and views
Via Flaminia Approach → Porta del Popolo → Piazza del Popolo → Pincian Terrace → Via dei Condotti → Via del Corso → Piazza Colonna → Piazza della Rotonda → San Luigi dei Francesi → Campo Marzio → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Cerasi Chapel · Medici Gallery · Doria Gallery · Chigi Reception Hall · Pantheon Rotunda · Contarelli Chapel · Sant'Agnese Oratory · Tavern Common Room · Goldsmith's Workshop · Papal Audience Hall · Santo Spirito Ward · St Peter's Nave · Basilica Nave
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Roman Baroque.
Rome in 1770
Grand Tour Rome
This is Rome at the height of the Grand Tour era, where freshly completed Baroque works sit beside half-buried antiquities and an international stream of sketching tourists moves through the city. The walk passes gates and piazzas, excavated forums and river quays, artists and milords sketching among columns, the new Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps' models and the goats grazing on the Palatine.
Stone and brick predominate: warm ochres, pale stuccoes and red-brown roof tiles against the grey lead of St Peter’s dome. Narrow, shadowed lanes spill into broad piazzas with travertine steps and fountains; the Tiber runs a muddied ribbon with timber quays. Scale shifts rapidly — intimate shopfronts and artists’ studios give way to monumental ruins and church domes; carts, mules and foot traffic fill streets under a clear, strong Mediterranean light.
The walk — 24 streets, squares and views
Monte Mario View → Porta del Popolo → Piazza del Popolo → Via dei Condotti → Spanish Steps → Fontana di Trevi → Via delle Muratte → Via del Corso → Piazza Colonna → Piazza Venezia → …
Step inside — 15 interiors
Pio-Clementino Gallery · Cerasi Chapel · Caffè degli Inglesi Room · Trinità dei Monti Nave · Sculptor's Studio of Casts · Doria Pamphilj Ballroom · Palazzo Venezia Hall · Santi Cosma e Damiano Interior · Domitian's Audience Hall · Colosseum Vaults and Arches · Pantheon Rotunda · Sant'Agnese Nave · Farnese Gallery Salon · Santa Maria Mosaics Nave · Galleria Borghese Sculpture Room
Planned from the Wikipedia record: Grand Tour.
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