The Forum was really the centre of the Roman Empire. There were many temples here for the different Roman gods. The Romans were polytheistic, which means that they recognised and worshiped multiple gods. There were also buildings on the Forum for trade and legal cases and there were buildings where the most important politicians of the Roman Empire, the senators, met to discuss politics.

The marble monument dates from the end of the nineteenth century. After the fall of the Roman Empire, around 500 AD, Italy consisted of quite a few independent states, such as Naples, Venice, Milan, Savoy, and the Papal States - with Rome as its capital - encompassing all of central Italy, from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic Sea. It was not until the nineteenth century that a movement arose, called {Risorgimento}, to make Italy a unitary state again.

Santa Maria in Aracoeli church The impressive staircase was built in 1348 with the intention of building a ‘ladder to heaven’, at that time to the church building with an unfinished facade. The difficult ascent of the steep staircase has a reason: it expresses the medieval idea that life is a difficult pilgrimage. One that, with a lot of perseverance, ultimately leads to heaven, but is nevertheless a difficult and painful process. Exactly in that year, a disastrous plague epidemic raged throughout Italy. In panic, the Romans carried the icon of ‘Madonna di Aracoeli’ in a procession through the streets. This icon now hangs above the high altar of the church.

Piazza del Campidoglio where the middle building is part of the city hall of modern-day Rome. To the left of this building is a statue of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, being suckled by a she-wolf. And look at the ground - you will see a star-shaped drawing contained in an oval. This was designed by Michelangelo. And what is so nice: this drawing makes the square seem larger than it is.

The Pantheon is an ancient temple in Rome, rebuilt in the 2nd century . He who visits Rome without seeing the Pantheon will return as a donkey, goes a Roman saying. And indeed, the Pantheon is probably the best preserved relic of Roman antiquity.

This portico was originally a large square, surrounded by galleries with more than three hundred columns. The portico served as a library, but was also used for official festivities and as a walking area. Only the entrance gate has been preserved.

The Tiber is not very navigable and Rome does not have a large port. In ancient times there were a few small ports. West of Rome, about thirty kilometres from the centre, lies Ostia, the port city of Rome. Ostia Antica, the old port

In reality, the Bocca, which represents the god Oceanus, seems to be a lid of a well, in which was collected the blood of cattle sacrificed to Hercules. The storey goes that if a person who had lied put his hand in his mouth, that hand was bitten off or burned. If the hand remained unharmed, the person in question had thereby proved that he spoke the truth.

The U-shaped Circus Maximus was built in the first century BC by order of Julius Caesar. With an area of ​​600 by 180 metres, it was the largest circus of antiquity. Unfortunately, there is not much left of it but a bare piece of land. All that remains is a small part of the stands.