ROME

Rome (Roma) (approximately 2,600,000 inhabitants) is the capital city of Italy, capital of Faith and Culture, Rome is the birthplace of western civilization, where past and present join together. The city resembles a vast open-air museum, founded more than 2700 years ago, no other city in the world equals the history of the Eternal City. Monumental buildings like the Pantheon and the Colosseum are reminiscent of the Roman empire. But todays Rome owes much of its attractiveness to the Renaissance period when new squares and new buildings were constructed. The most famous of these buildings is the largest church in the world, the Saint Peter's Basilica. The Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that city enjoying extraterritorial rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura are listed by UNESCO as a World-Heritage Site since 1980. In 1984 the Vatican City was added. The World Heritage site, extended in 1990 to the walls of Urban VIII, includes some of the major monuments of antiquity such as the Forums, the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the Pantheon, Trajan's Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius, as well as the religious and public buildings of papal Rome. An enclave of Rome is the State of the Vatican City, the sovereign territory of the Holy See.

Rome main attractions: The historical center contains the greatest concentration of classical Roman and Christian sites, but almost every building, square and park has its own heritage, permeated with history, from Etruscan to Renaissance. The historical centre was built on the traditional "Seven hills of Rome": the Capitoline, Palatine, Viminal, Quirinal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine hills.

Colosseo (Colosseum) is one of the symbols of Rome and it's the largest amphitheatre ever built in the Roman Empire. The other symbol of Rome is Saint Peter's Square (Piazza San Pietro), with the Saint Peter's Basilica (Basilica di San Pietro). The square was built by Gianlorenzo Bernini between 1656 and 1667, and it is surrounded by an elliptical colonnade with two pairs of Doric columns. The Dome, was designed in 1546 by Michelangelo Buonarroti and redesigned and completed by Giacomo della Porta in 1590. Inside the church is Michelangelo's Pietà and over the main altar stands a 30 metres tall baldachin designed by Bernini between 1624 and 1632, underneath the baldachin is the traditional tomb of St. Peter. In Vatican City there are also the prestigious Vatican Library, Vatican Museums with the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms and other important works of Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Giotto, Botticelli.  

Very important monuments of ancient Rome are the Foro Romano (Roman Forum), the Domus Aurea, the Pantheon, the Trajan's Column, the Trajan's Market, the Catacombs of Rome, the Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch of Constantine, the Pyramid of Cestius. The Via Appia Antica was the most important of the consular roads. Lined with pines and cypress trees, the road is very attractive, particularly where the original paving can be seen, there are many remains of Roman constructions that testify to its ancient splendour and archaeological importance.

Other major basilicas of Rome are San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran), Santa Maria Maggiore and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St. Paul outside the Walls). Castel Sant'Angelo (Saint Angelo's Castle) the old Mausoleum of Hadrian was used as fortress and castle, and is now a museum. Rome was also an important center of the Renaissance, the most impressive masterpiece of Renaissance architecture in Rome, is the Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo. In this period many buildings were erected by the great aristocratic families of Rome as the Palazzo del Quirinale, the Palazzo Venezia, the Palazzo Farnese, the Palazzo Barberini, the Palazzo Chigi, the Palazzo Spada, the Palazzo della Cancelleria, the Villa Farnesina. Very important are also the buildings and squares of the baroque period as Fontana di Trevi, Palazzo Madama, Piazza Navona, Palazzo Montecitorio, Piazza di Spagna, Campo de' Fiori, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Farnese, and Piazza della Minerva.

The list of most important museums and galleries of Rome includes: the National Museum of Rome, the Museum of Roman Civilization, the Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum, the Capitoline Museums, the Borghese Gallery, the Museum of Castel Sant'Angelo, the National Gallery of Modern Art. Musei Vaticani (Vatican Museums) show an unique art collection, the magnificent Raphael Rooms are among the masterpieces of the collection, the Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel)is the museum's finest treasure, and features Michelangelo's famous Last Judgement.

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Public transportation in Rome: A 2-line subway system operates in Rome, called the "Metropolitana" or Rome Metro its total length is 38 km, the two existing lines, A & B, only intersect at Roma Termini station. The Rome Metro is part of an extensive transport network made of a tramway network, suburban and urban lines in and around the city of Rome, plus an "express line" to Fiumicino Airport.

Climate in Rome :

Rome	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rainfall (mm)	81	63	70	56	53	36	17	27	61	118	111	98
Min Temp (°C)	3	4	5	7	11	14	16	17	15	11	8	4
Max Temp (°C)	13	14	16	19	23	27	30	30	27	23	18	14

Rome is blessed with a warm Mediterranean climate, making it particularly pleasant to visit in autumn and spring. In July and August, it is hot and sticky, the weather in Rome during summer is uncomfortably hot, temperatures often exceeding 35°C at midday. The best time to travel to Rome is in springtime (April-June) and in September, when skies are blue and the weather warm. The winter months can be nice, with many of the city's more popular sights pleasantly uncrowded: the weather can be rainy but the temperatures are usually mild. Rain showers are possible any time of year. Annual rainfall varies from 800 to 850 mm.