The Colosseo district is the heart of ancient Rome. It has the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Capitoline Museum.

Colloseum

Get in

See

Landmarks

• the Colosseum (also spelt Coliseum), Piazzale del Colosseo / Via dei Fori Imperiali, open daily October-January 15 9am-3pm, January 16-February 15 9am-4pm, February 16-March 17 9am-4.30pm, March 18-April 16 9am-5pm, April 17-September 9am-7pm, tel 06-700-4261, admission €10, guided tours available - known properly as the Flavian Amphitheatre, this most famous of Roman landmarks takes its name from the giant statue of the emperor Nero that once stood near this location. Originally capable of seating some 50,000 spectators for animal fights and gladiatorial combats, the amphitheatre was a project started by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 and completed by his son Domitian sometime in the 80s. The Colosseum when completed measured 48 m high, 188 m in length, and 156 m in width. The wooden arena floor was 86 m by 54 m, and covered by sand.
• the Arch of Constantine, free to view - located a short walk west of the Colosseum, this well-preserved monumental arch was erected (sometime soon after 315) to commemorate the victory of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, over his rival Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312. In general design, the Arch of Constantine imitates the century-earlier Arch of Septimius Severus (nearby in the Forum) - the quality of its sculptural decoration, however, betrays the slow degradation that Classical Roman sculpture had experienced in the 3rd century AD...
• the Roman Forum - to be distinguished from the Imperial Forums (Fori Imperiali) to be found across the Via dei Fori Imperiali...
• the Forum of Augustus
• the Forum of Trajan
• Trajan's Markets (Mercati di Traiano)
• the Palatine
• the Circus Maximus

Traveling tip

When visiting the Colosseum in late spring, summer, or early fall, it is not unusual to see long lines at the entrance, where the admission fee is 10 euros (12 dollars US).

It is possible to purchase an admission to the Palatino (on the Forum Romanum) for the same 12 dollars which also provides direct access to the Colosseum via an automated entrance.

Near the Arch of Titus at the entrance to the Roman Forum, you might be approached by young, native-English speakers (often students) offering you free guided tours of the Forum. This is not a scam and is done as a way for tour companies to promote their other tours (i.e. at the end of the free tour, the guide hands out a brochure telling you about other tours around town that do cost). Even if you're not interested in the other tours, take the free one and you'll learn a lot about the most important archaeological site in the city.

Museums and Galleries

• the Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) [1], Piazza del Campidoglio, open Tu-Su 9am-7pm, tel 06-6710-2071, admission to both museums €6 (free entry on the last Sunday of each month) - the two museums are located on opposite sides of the Piazza del Campidoglio:
  • the Museo Capitolino (Capitoline Museum) - built in the 17th century to a design based on an architectural sketch by Michelangelo. Highlights include The Dying Gaul, a magnificent marble sculpture that copies a bronze Greek original of the 3rd century BC and the Capitoline Venus. It also contains the remarkable original bronze equestrian statue of emperor Marcus Aurelius (the one in the piazza is a replica).
  • the Palazzo dei Conservatori (Palace of the Conservators) - also based on a Michelangelo architectural plan, this compact gallery is well endowed in classical sculpture and paintings. Highlights include the small 1st century BC bronze Lo Spinario, a Greek statue of a little boy picking a thorn from his foot; the Lupa Capitolina (Capitoline Wolf), a rare Etruscan bronze statue probably dating from the 5th century BC; and (in the entrance courtyard), the massive head, hands, foot and kneecap from a colossal statue of Constantine the Great. The palace also contains a Pinacoteca (Picture Gallery) with paintings mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries - highlights include: Caravaggio's Fortune-Teller and his curious John the Baptist; The Holy Family, by Dosso Dossi; Romulus and Remus, by Rubens; and Titian's Baptism of Christ.

Do

Eat

Many places in this area are aimed at tourists and as a result don't have to offer high-quality food to do well. The best lunch spot near the Colosseum, if you like pizza, is Pizza Forum, at the end of the first block heading up the narrow Via San Giovanni in Laterano from the Colosseum (in the opposite direction of the Roman Forum and city centre). At Pizza Forum you will get huge, delicious woodfire oven pizzas starting at about five euro each.

Best places for Ice cream (gelato)

• Gelateria Della Palma, Via della Maddalena 20, close to the Pantheon
• Giolitti, via Uffici del Vicario 40, close to the Pantheon
• Il Gelato di San Crispino, via della Panetteria 42, close to Trevi's fountain
• Pellacchia, via Cola di Rienzo 103-107

Drink

If touring the ancient sites of Rome is wearing you out and you're dying for an afternoon beer, head to Shamrock, a quiet Irish pub in a little laneway just off the right side of bottom of Via Cavour, which is a busy street that is more or less parallel to the Via dei Fori Imperiali, Mussolini's thoroughfare that links Piazza Venezia with the Colosseum.

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