Italy

The Palatine Hill is situated between the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, and the Roman Forum. It is considered the birthplace of Rome. One of Rome’s seven hills, the Palatine Hill is linked with the city’s history and where many important figures lived. According to legend the Palatine hill was the location of a cave where two infants Remus and Romulus were brought in by a she-wolf. She kept them alive until a shepherd named Faustulus found them and he and his wife brought them up and raised them. When the two brothers were older they fought over the right to be the leader of the new settlement. Romulus eventually killed his brother at the Palatine Hill. Romulus picked this hill as an ideal place to build a new city and this became the...

When in Rome, the Trevi Fountain is a must see. As you walk closer to the fountain, you will definitely hear it well before seeing it. The most famous fountain in the world has appeared in several notable films, three coins in the fountain, Roman holiday and La Dolce Vita so you just might recognize it. The Trevi Fountain is located in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy. It was designed by an Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci in 1762. It is 26.3 meters (86 ft) high and 49.15 meters (161.3 ft) wide, as the largest Baroque fountain in the city. There are so much intricate details and the engineering is amazing. To think it was made centuries ago is truly remarkable. The central statue of the fountain is...

The Pantheon is a beautifully impressive building. It’s about 2000 years old and faces Piazza Della Rotonda, a big square with many restaurants, cafes and shops around it. You will find a lot of locals and tourists sitting outside and taking in the stunning view of the Pantheon. In the middle of this charming square you can see a beautiful 18th century fountain. Right in front of the Pantheon you can hire a horse-driven carriage, which will take you around the center part of Rome. They ask around 150 euro for a one hour tour up to 4 people. There is no entry fee, but there will be a line that is fast moving. It’s the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome with such great history that took my breath away. You walk inside and you...

The Colosseum, also known as the elliptical amphitheatre was ordered by Emperor Vespasian the founder of the Flavian Dynasty to start construction in 72 AD. His son Titus completed it in 80 AD, the year after Vespasian’s death. After Titus’s untimely death, his younger brother Domitian finished all of the decorative work and built the underground caverns. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world and it is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture. It is also one of the seven wonders of the world. The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a giant statue of Nero that stood nearby. It was built on the site of an artificial lake, part of Nero’s huge park in the center of Rome which also included the...

St Peter’s Square or as the Italians call it Piazza San Pietro is the masterpiece of Gian Lorenzo Bernini done 1657-1667. The Piazza is 240 meters wide. When you stand in the middle of it and look around, you’ll find 284 Doric columns and 88 pilasters of travertine marble surrounding the square! The columns are 13 meters high and are arranged in four rows. There are some spots (white marble discs) on the floor, which are marked on St. Peter’s Square, on which you stand on and you’ll have an optical illusion then you’ll only see 1 row instead of 4! The fountains you see on the square have a different history; in 1613 Carlo Maderno built the fountain on the right. Later, Bernini had it erected where it stands now and Carlo Fontana built...