Great Sites

There are many great sites in Rome like Palazzo Venetzia, Castel Sant'

Angelo, Vatican Museums, Farnece Palace ..........

Palazzo Venezia: This palace, built by Pope Paul II (1464- 1471), is one of the first Renaissance buildings. The museum on the first floor contains ceramics, a collection of 13th -15th century statues, tapestries from the 15th to the 17th centuries, and armaments from the15th-18th centuries, arranged in the three rooms of Paul II's apartment. The basilica of St Mark incorporated within the palace during the 15th centure, has a fine Renaissance "facade" overlooking the Piazza di San Marco.

Castel Sant`Angelo: This fortress was built in AD 135 as a mausoleum for the emperor Hadrian and his family. In the 6th century Gregory the Great erected a chapel on top of the mauseloum to commemorate the appearance of an angel who, by putting his sword back into its sheath, announced the end of a great plague. The Castel Sant`Angelo is linked to the left bank of the Tiber by the graceful Ponte Sant' Angelo which is adorned with baroque angels carved by Bernini and with statues of Sts Peter and Paul from the 16th century.

Farnece Palace: The most beautiful of Roman palaces, now the French Embassy, was built from 1515 by Cardinal Alessandro Farense, who reigned as pope under the name of Paul III (1534- 49). He employed several architects: Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo (who designed the upper cornice of the facade, the Farnese coat of arms above the central balcony and the second floor of the inner court), Vignola who collaborated on the inner court and built the palace`s rear facade, and Giacoma della Porta who designed the loggia of the same facade.

Pantheon: A most stunning piece of architecture, this is an ancient building perfectly preserved, founded by Agrippa in 27 BC and rebuilt by Hadrian (117- 125). It was a temple, and would have been destroyed as such, but was saved when it was converted into a church in the 7th century. Access is through a porch supported by sixteen single granite columns, all ancient for three on the left. The doors are the original ones. The interior, a masterpiece of harmony and majesty, is dominated by the dome whose diameter is equal to its height. The side chapels, adorned with alternately curved and triangular pediments, contain the tombs of many famous people, including the kings of Italy and the famous artist Raphael.

Coliseum: This amphitheater, inaugurated in AD 80, is also known as the Flavian Amphitheater after is initiator, Vespasian, the first of the Flavian Emperors. With its three superimposed classical orders (Doric, Ionic and Corinthian), as seen in the columns, it is a masterpiece of classical architecture. Fights between man and beasts, gladiatorial contest, races and simulated naval battles took place in this arena.