Stayin Rome - Bed and breakfast a Roma

Rome, the eternal city offers a rich artistic heritage that carries traces of thousands of years of history. Simply walking through the streets will allow you to appreciate many of the city's beauties: you just need to think of the Roman Forum and Imperial Forum, an open air museum that our guests can reach in a 10 minute walk.

There are numerous itineraries you can follow depending on the time you have and your interests.

Following are some of Rome's main tourist attractions.

Rome Monuments:

• Colosseum - The Colosseum is famous all over the world and, together with the She-wolf, is a symbol of Rome. Its name comes from the golden bronze colossus which Nero wanted to be built as his portrait: the real name of the monument is Flavius amphitheatre.
It was built during the reign of Vespasiano and it was unveiled in 80 A.D. by Tito; the front is 50 mt [164 feet] high, the internal elliptical arena is 86x54 mt [282x177 feet]; the amphitheatre could lodge 50.000 spectators, it was covered with a huge curtain (velarium) to protect people from the sun.
A lot of spectators watched fighting among gladiators (munera): those called Reziari used to fight with nets and tridents, Sanniti with a short sword, Traci with shield and gladius; moreover there were fights with wild beasts (venationes) and christian martyrs till Costantino made Christianity the empire's official religion in 313 A.D.. Apparently the arena was even flooded to simulate sea-battles.

The Colosseum has been restructured many times, because of fires, earthquakes and floods, up to Teodorico's reign, in the VI century, when it was no longer used.
In the late empire it was used for hunting, while in the Middle Ages it was transformed into one of Frangipane's family fortresses, and was even used as a source for materials and irrimediably despoiled: a lot of quarries had been closed and to make up for the lack of marble in the Middle Ages they used to take it from ancient monuments; the holes wich can still be seen on the stonework come from the plundering of the iron hooks which linked the stone blocks.
The Pope Benedetto XIV made the amphitheatre a holy place to commemorate christian martyrs who died here, and in 1700 the Colosseum was the site of the Via Crucis which still takes places there today.
The first works of restoration took place in 1800, when the Colosseum was covered by vegetation and the Roman ruins' charm was an attraction to a lot of tourists who came to Italy for the "grand tour". Even the basement underneath the arena came to light: in this area, in the past, all the necessary services for the games were stored and it was even supplied with a goods-lift.
• Roman Forum
• Trevi Fountain
• Pantheon
• Terme di Caracalla - The Thermae Antonianae, one of the largest and best preserved examples of an ancient spa complex, was constructed under the auspices of the Emperor Caracalla in the southern part of the city. The building was finished in 216 A.D. and exhibits the rectangular plan typical of Imperial spa centres.
The spa itself was not simply a place for bathing, sport and health, it was also a place of study and for relaxing. Entrance to the heart of the building was by one of four porticos on the north-east face. Around the centre of the structure the various parts of the spa are found in sequential order: the “Calidarium”, the “Tepidarium”, the “Frigidarium” and the “Natatio”. There are also other zones and areas to be found around the two gymnasiums.
The spa of Caracalla is one of those rare ancient examples in which, albeit only in part, it is possible to reconstruct something of the internal decoration. Written manuscripts refer to enormous marble columns, flooring made of coloured marble, mosaics of glass and marble on the walls, painted stuccos and hundreds of statues located in niches and placed centrally in the rooms themselves.
The water system was made possible by the construction of a special duct from the main aqueduct called the Aqua Antoniana. Throughout its history the spa was reconstructed several times and before finally closing altogether in 537 A.D.
• Castel S.Angelo

Rome Museums:

• Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel

• Borghese Gallery and Museum - Il Palazzo Borghese fu commissionato dal cardinale Scipione Borghese a Flaminio Ponzio e Vasanzio e fu costruito tra i 1613 e il 1614. Sito della collezione d’arte del cardinale Borghese, i suoi straordinari capolavori contribuirono a farlo conoscere in tutta Europa. Il museo ospita un importante collezione di lavori di Bernini, Raffaello, Caravaggio e Canova, tra cui la Venere Vittoriana (1805), conosciuta a livello internazionale come Paolina Bonaparte, che e' il pezzo piщ famoso del museo e il suo simbolo virtuale. La collezione e' disposta su due piani e lungo 20 stanze decorate; il piano inferiore e' dedicato maggiormente alle sculture, quello superiore ai dipinti.
• Capitoline Museums
• Palazzo Barberini Museum and Gallery

Rome's Squares (Piazze)

• Piazza Navona
• Piazza di Spagna
• Piazza del Popolo
• Campo dei Fiori

Rome's Churches:

• Saint Peter's - Christianity's greatest temple, stood over the tomb of St. Peter, the founder of the Church of Rome, and was opened in the year 326. During the Renaissance, however, it was torn down to build a magnificent new basilica, with the work entrusted first to Bramante, and subsequently to Raphael, B. Peruzzi, Antonio da Sangallo and, lastly, Michelangelo, who designed the dome as the dominating element of the church. The piazza of the basilica is characterized by the ellipsis of Bernini's portico, while the faзade, with the balcony of the Pope's blessing in the center, has a portico with five entrances, including the Holy Door (opened only Holy Years). Among the numerous masterpieces, worthy of mention are the canopy over the high altar, a theatrical creation by Bernini, the gilt bronze Chair of St. peter, also by Bernini, the monument to Clement XIII by Canova, and Michelangelo's Famous Pietа, the splendid marble sculpture as glossy as alabaster.
• S.Maria Maggiore - Rebuilt by Sixtus III in the 4th c., it was modified in the 12th c. and its exterior was transformed during the Baroque period. The interior maintains the simple, linear appearance of the primitive paleochristian basilica and is decorated with a cycle of splendid mosaics: "Stories from the Old Testament; (5th c.) in the nave, scenes from the "Early life of Christ" on the triumphal arch, and the apse mosaic of the "Coronation of the Virgin" by Jacopo Torriti (1295). Of great importance are the Cappella Paolina, the altar of precious stones, and the crиche by Arnolfo di Cambio.
• S.Giovanni
• S.Paolo
• S.Prassede
• S.Croce in Gerusalemme
• S. Maria in Trastevere
• S.Pietro in Vincoli