The river of belief

St Peter's Basilica with the river Tiber

Divine view

The view from St Peter's Basilica where Anita Ekberg once lost her hat to the wind in Fellini's La Dolce Vita is probably one of the greatest in the world.

The Vatican

Bridge of angels

This bridge was constructed between 134-139 and once used by pilgrims to reach St Peter's Basilica.

Ponte Sant Angelo

Tiber crossing

Isola Tiberina is a small island in the Tiber, similar to Île de la Cité in Paris. As such it was a convenient place for bridging the Tiber and Ponte Fabrico is the oldest surviving bridge in Rome, built in 62 B.C.

Reine at Ponte Fabrico

Larger than life

The colossal statue of Constantine is down to bits and pieces these days, stuffed away in the outdoor courtyard.

At the capitoline museums, Piazza del Campidoglio

The road towards the slaughterhouse

The construction of Colosseum, the largest amphitheater built in the Roman empire, was initialized in AD 72 and named from a giant statue of Nero nearby. Half a million people and over one million animals died in the games.

Via Fori Imperiali

From dusk till dawn

This monstrousity is effectively covering most of Capitol Hill. It's mockingly called Mussolini's typewriter and generally considered to be the ugliest building in town. In order to build it, many ancient and medieval buildings were levelled, including Michelangelo's studio.

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II at Piazza Venezia

Eternal fear

A legend holds that the fountain designer Bernini made this figure look towards the church facade of Sant'Agnese in Agone at the west side of the square, as it was designed by his rival Borromini.

Piazza Navona

Above the stone pines

Reine on top of Monte gianicolo

Memories of destruction

At the southeast corner of the Forum lies the triumphal arch of emperor Titus. The sides contain images from the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Arch of Titus in Forum Romanum

One small step for man

Reine at the city archive

Just sitting here

Piazza Navona

Among the rubble

Reine at Forum Romanum

All roads lead to Rome

The old processional road Via Sacra crosses the forum. The stones are original, even though their places have been altered. This can be seen as the wheel track imprints are pointing in different directions.

Via Sacra, Forum Romanum

Stairway to heaven

At the foot of the Spanish Steps there is a fountain with a flooded boat, marking the spot where the Tiber reached during a severe flood in the medieval times.

Spanish steps

Taking it all in

The Doric colonnades of Bernini are surrounding the square.

Reine at St Peter's Square

The river of belief

St Peter's Basilica with the river Tiber

Risky business

The common people were not allowed to attend the meetings of the politicians, so they lurked around the stairs for eavesdropping on conversations. In order to avoid suspicion, they pretended to play a marble game and made these playfield holes in the stairs.

Ancient playfields, Forum Romanum

Lazy days

Rooftops