Highlights walking Tour in Rome with Audio and GPS Guide

The Colosseum on the Piazza del Colosseo is one of the greatest monuments in Rome and is an amphitheater where people can watch a performance from all around.

The Forum was really the center of the Roman Empire. There were many temples here for the different Roman gods. The Romans were polytheistic, which means that they recognized 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.

If you look at the layout of the square, you will notice that this square has an oval shape, which looks a lot like a stadium. And that is exactly what it once was! It was built as a stadium for athletics competitions and horse and carriage competitions. Around the year 100 AD, it was built by order of Emperor {Domitian}. The stadium could seat 30,000 visitors. The foundations of the buildings around the square were therefore also parts of the stands that stood around the square.

The Spanish Steps in Rome connect the Piazza di Spagna with the Pincio Hill, and lead to the 16th-century church of Trinità dei Monti. Together with the Trevi Fountain, they are among the most famous cityscapes of Rome. At the same time, they are considered to be among the most beautiful examples of the late Baroque in this city.

This fountain was built in the eighteenth century and financed by levying an additional tax on wine.
80 million litres of water pass through it every day!
The fountain shows the sea god Oceanus, standing on a gigantic shell, pulled by two winged horses. The horse on the right is calm and symbolises the calm sea; the horse on the left is restless and shows the wild sea. In the niches are statues of Health (right) and Abundance (left). On top we see the four seasons.
It is tradition to throw a coin into the fountain. Do this with your eyes closed or with your back to the fountain and throw with your right hand over your left shoulder. Left-handed people throw over their right shoulder. According to legend, you will then return to Rome one day. Do you throw two coins in the fountain? Then you have a chance of meeting your loved one in Rome. Three coins increase the chance of a marriage.