Ancient Rome: A Guide to the Sites That Changed the World

Rome was the capital of an empire that, at its peak in the 2nd century AD, ruled 60–70 million people across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The physical evidence of that civilisation is extraordinary — in Italy alone, you can walk streets laid in the 1st century BC, stand in a forum where Julius Caesar was assassinated, and descend into catacombs used by early Christians while Nero persecuted them above ground.

The timeline

753 BC — Traditional founding date of Rome. Archaeological evidence shows continuous settlement from the 10th century BC.

509 BC — The Roman Republic founded after the expulsion of the last king. The Senate, consuls, and tribunes govern for the next 500 years.

264–146 BC — The Punic Wars against Carthage. Rome defeats Hannibal and establishes dominance over the western Mediterranean.

44 BC — Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March in the Theatre of Pompey (in what is now a cat sanctuary near Campo de’ Fiori in Rome).

27 BC — Augustus becomes the first Roman Emperor. The Pax Romana begins.

79 AD — Mount Vesuvius erupts and buries Pompeii and Herculaneum.

80 AD — The Colosseum completed under Emperor Titus.

313 AD — The Edict of Milan: Constantine I grants religious tolerance, beginning the Christianisation of the Empire.

476 AD — The Western Roman Empire falls when the Germanic chieftain Odoacer deposes the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus.

Where to see ancient Rome

Rome:

• The Colosseum — the amphitheatre that defined Roman spectacle
• The Roman Forum — the civic, commercial, and religious centre of Republican Rome
• The Pantheon — the best-preserved ancient building in the world
• Palatine Hill — where the emperors built their palaces
• Baths of Caracalla — the largest baths complex in Rome, completed in 216 AD
• Ostia Antica — Rome’s ancient port city, 30km west; less-visited than Pompeii but extraordinary

Campania:

• Pompeii — the city preserved by the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius
• Herculaneum — better-preserved organic materials than Pompeii; the carbonised library, the wooden boat houses
• The Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples — holds the finest finds from both sites

Elsewhere:

• Verona’s Arena — Roman amphitheatre, still in use for opera
• The Arch of Augustus in Rimini — one of the finest surviving Roman triumphal arches
• Segesta (Sicily) — a complete Greek temple in extraordinary condition
• Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples (Sicily) — the largest Greek temple complex outside Greece