This beautiful and impressive structure, situated on the right bank of the Tiber river has more than 1,800 years of history. It has changed and transformed during the years, serving the city’s needs through times of peace and war. Once a mausoleum, then a fortress and eventually a museum, Castel Sant’Angelo has become a symbol of the ever-changing nature of the city itself and without a doubt, one of Rome’s major attractions. Read on to discover the four faces of Castel Sant’Angelo:

1. The Mausoleum Built in just four years and finished in 135 AD, this structure first served as a mausoleum dedicated to Emperor Hadrian and his family. The top of the tomb was covered with marble statues, surrounding a chariot driven by the Emperor himself, represented like the sun and ringed with Cyprus trees. It became the burial place not only for Emperor Hadrian, his wife and adopted son, but also for the Emperors of Antonin and Severan dynasties. Emperor Caracalla was the last to be buried in the mausoleum in 217 AD. Burial ashes can still be found in the center of the building.
2. The Miracle Legend has it that during the plague in 590 AD., when the population of the city was desperate, the pope saw a vision of the Archangel Michael appear on the top of the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign that the plague is over. The plague ceased shortly after this vision and a chapel with a statue was built in memory of this episode. From this moment on, the Romans start calling it Castel Sant`Angelo (The castle of the Holy angel).

   The bronze statue of the angel that we see nowadays is not the original one which was made in marble and is preserved inside. Another legend has it that the angel left his footprints during his appearance. These too have been saved and can now be seen in the Capitoline museums.

3. As Papal Fortress The mausoleum was turned into a military fortress during the decline of the Empire when the people were less concerned about preserving the remains of long-dead emperors and more concerned with protecting themselves from attack. The papal state used Castel Sant`Angelo not only as a castle, but also as a prison. Many were tortured in its dark cells and several were executed. It was Pope Nicolas III who converted the tomb into a castle and commissioned the building of the famous passage atop the wall connecting the Vatican with Castel Sant`Angelo. The main function of this passage, known as the “Passeto di Borgo,” was to enable the Pope’s escape in case of emergency. It is approximately 800 meters (2,600ft.) long and it was put to the test twice: In 1494 Pope Alexander escaped during the invasion of Charles the 8th and in 1527 Pope Clement did the same, during the sack of Rome. The Passeto di Borgo more recently inspired Dan Brown’s novel “Angels and Demons” or you might have seen it in the videogame Assasin’s creed.
4. The Museum Perhaps not it’s grandest incarnation, the museum of Castel Sant’Angelo now allows visitors to re-experience all the many incarnations the monument has taken over the years. Info: Open Tuesday to Saturday, closed Mondays. Open 9am to 6:30pm or 10:00pm on Fridays. €7 entry tickets for adults can be purchased on site.

8 Interesting facts about the Trevi Fountain, Rome’s and perhaps the world’s most famous and iconic fountain.

1. The Fountain
   The Trevi fountain is the biggest baroque fountain in the city of Rome and should not be missed by anyone visiting. Located in a tiny piazza in the heart of the city, this magnificent monument stands the massive 85 feet (26m.) height and 65 ft. (20m.) wide. With its water pumping out of many sources and the large pool in front, the Trevi spills about 2,824,800 cubic feet of water every day.
2. Aqua Virgo
   At the sight of the fountain in 19 century BC was built an aqueduct (long canal) bringing water to the people of Rome, by the spring. The aqueduct was named after a young virgin (Aqua Virgo), who revealed the spring to the roman technicians, looking for a pure source of water. This aqueduct provided the population of Rome with fresh water for more than 400 years.
3. Nicola Salvi and the birth of Trevi
   Repairs were made 18 century when originally Pope Urban ˅ǀǀ commissioned Bernini with the design of the fountain, but the Pope died and the project was stopped. Years later Pope Clement Xǀǀ, held a contest, which Alessandro Galilei (an architect from the same family as the famous astronomer Galileo), originally won. The commission for the project was later given to Nicola Salvi after a public outcry. The reason for the public’s objections was that Galilei was a Florentine, while Salvi was a native Roman. The design of Salvi won the contest not only for this, but it was also the cheapest one. The project was financed by the Roman Lotto. What is interesting is that it is made of the same material as Colosseum, travertine stone from river Tiber. During the construction a few man actually died because of these enormous stones. Salvi died 10 years before the completion of the fountain in 1762 and never saw his masterpiece.

4. Trevi as a fashion star
   Trevi was restored in 1998 and 2014. The famous brand Fendi paid the refurbishing that started 2014 at costs of 2.5 million. On July 2016 they had their catwalk at the fountain, models were walking on the glass, put on the top of the water.
5. The titan God of the sea
   The centerpiece, the main figure, is not Neptune. It is Oceanus. Unlike Neptune who would be with a tri fork and a dolphin, Oceanus is accompanied by sea- horses, and Tritons, who are half men, half mermen. One of the horses is restless, representing the rough seas and the other one is obedient, representing the ocean in tranquility. The Triton one on the right side is the son of Neptune, who is blowing into a shell, symbolism visualizing, that he can raise the world’s water into waves or lower them to be calm.
6. The name
   Origins of the name are probably coming from an ancient Roman goddess, named Trivia, who was protecting the streets of Rome and was represented always with three heads, making her able to see everything around her. She would always stand on the corner where three streets are meeting. In our case is exactly like this, three roads are meeting on Piazza dei Cruciferi and “Trevi” actually means ‘three ways’.
7. Magic in the water
   There is a magic in the water. In the late 19th century , people started to believe that a sip of water from the fountain would ensure a return to Rome. The sip is accompanied by a coin thrown into the fountain, which has pagan origins. The Ancient Romans used to sacrifice a coin into the lakes and rivers to please the Gods and come back safely at home. It is also said that this is an attempt to make the crowd financed the maintenance. Nowadays from the Trevi Fountain are swept every day more than 3,000 euros used for charity. The legend holds that one coin can assure your return to Rome, two stands for falling in love and three are for getting married to Italian. There is also a special way to do it, right hand, left shoulder and never look back. It is a crime to steal the coins from the Trevi. The most famous thief of coins, known by his nickname d’Artagnan was stealing from the fountain for 34 years, and finally, in the summer of 2002, they caught him.
8. Trevi as a movie star
   The fountain plays a prominent role in films like ” Three coins in the fountain”, “Roman Holiday” starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Probably the best-known scene is from “La Dolce Vita” with Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni. As a matter of fact, the Trevi Fountain was draped in black crepe to honor the actor after his death in 1996.

Rome’s most popular monument was built between 72-80 A.D. The Colosseum is still the largest amphitheater in the world, and stands as an iconic symbol of Rome and the great Roman architecture. The Colosseum was constructed as a gift to the Roman Citizens from the Flavian Dynasty to increase their popularity, to stage various forms of entertainment, and to showcase Roman engineering techniques to the world.

1. The real name of the colosseum is the “Flavian amphitheater”, named after the Flavian family line of Roman Emperors. It got the name Colosseum because of a statue that was located alongside the amphitheater called ‘the colossus of Nero’. In fact, the Roman Colosseum is always capitalized and spelled differently then the generic Coliseum.
2. About 60,000 Jewish slaves built the Colosseum in 9 years! Even today, construction of a stadium that size would be difficult to build in only 9 years. Colosseum is an elliptical building measuring 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a base area of 24,000 m² with a height of more than 48 meter. More than 100,000 cubic meters of travertine stone were used for the outer wall of Colosseum which was set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.
3. About 50,000 people could enter it and it would only take about 20 minutes for everybody to find their seat, due to 84 gates. The Romans had the earliest form of a Sky dome. If it rained they stretched a red canvas over the entire Colosseum!
4. 400,000 people lost their life and over a million wild animals were slaughtered festival and games could last up to a 100 days. During the inaugural games of the Colosseum in 80 CE held by Titus, some 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered. In 107 CE, Emperor Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators within 123 days. The last gladiatorial fights occurred in 435 CE and the last animal hunts stopped in 523 CE. It was primarily due to the cost of procuring animals and gladiators and maintaining the expensive facility.

5. The ancient Romans sometimes fled the Colosseum. The wooden floor of the Colosseum was removed and the lower cells beneath would be filled with water for mock naval battles to take place. This kind of entertainment wasn’t quite as popular as the gladiator battles, so eventually it moved elsewhere and the wooden floor became permanent.
6. Entrance was free and food was given during the shows. The famous saying was “free bread and circus to the people of Rome”. During the middle age era a number of fruit trees grew up in the Colosseum and nobody understood why… It seems that people were either spitting out there seeds or throwing in their fruit. In fact, The Colosseum was a popular destination for botanists. As catalog began to be compiled of the the flora in 1643 and over 337 different species have taken root among the ruins.
7. Many natural disasters devastated the structure of the Colosseum, but it was the earthquakes of 847 AD and 1231 AD that caused most of the damage you see today as all of the southern side of the Colosseum collapsed that time and was restored later on.
8. In the early medieval era it was no longer used for entertainment purposes. Eventually the Colosseum was used for workshops, housing, a quarry, a fortress and even as a Christian shrine. The marble facade and some parts of the Colosseum were used in the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and the Spanish Steps.
9. Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Elton John have all performed concerts at the Colloseum.
10. The Colosseum has become a symbol against capital punishment. The death penalty was abolished in Italy in 1948. Today, any time anyone in the world has their sentence of death commuted, the lights in the night time illumination of the Colosseum change from white to gold. This color change also occurs whenever a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty.

There’s no way to miss the hustle and bustle of Rome’s largest round-a-bout: the Piazza Venezia. On one side you can look down Rome’s longest street, the Via del Corso to the ancient northern gates of the city. From another angle, the ruins of the Imperial Forums lead the way to the Colosseum. Take a different road and you’ll end up in the Jewish Ghetto, on your way to Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood and last but not least, towering over the piazza, is the un-missable marble monument: Il Vittoriano. The four major roads of Rome meet in the piazza, so take one and explore the city but before you go, here are 10 facts about piazza Venezia!

1. The Vittoriano (i.e. The Wedding Cake) The most notable monument in the piazza derives from the name of Italy’s first king, Victorio Emanuele II of Savoy to whom it is dedicated. Construction started in 1885, 4 years after his death and it was fully completed in 1925 under Mussolini. Another name is “l’Altare della Patria” or “Altar of the Fatherland” as the monument was built to celebrate Italian unification and the birth of Italy as a nation at the end of the 19th century. It also has two less prestigious nicknames: “The wedding cake” and also “The typewriter.” Most Romans aren’t a fan of the monument which they say doesn’t blend in with the rest of the city skyline.
2. The Horse. Who’s hungry? The centerpiece of the Vittoriano is the enormous bronze equestrian statue of the first king himself. From your view at ground level, the horse might not look that big but at 10 meters long and 12 meters tall, it’s actually gigantic – big enough to comfortably host a dinner inside! Which is exactly what the workers enjoyed after the statue was completed. Twenty people comfortably posed for a photo around long table set up for pastries and vermouth inside the horses belly.
3. The eternal fire and the tomb of the unknown soldier The monument itself is constructed to celebrate the unification of Italy and to demonstrate the power of Rome as a capital. Every piece of art you can see is an important symbol of the fatherland. Over the steps in the center stand the actual “Altar of the fatherland”, containing the tomb of “The unknown soldier”, a symbolic reminder of all the unidentified deaths of WWI. In front of the altar’s relief, visitors can see the statue of the goddess Roma with the secret eternal flame, always guarded by soldiers.
4. Palazzo Venezia This building is one of the oldest Renaissance buildings in Rome, constructed between 1455 and 1464. The Palace, built by a Venetian cardinal (why Piazza Venezia takes its name) who later became Pope Paul II was used as a papal residence, embassy of the Republic of Venice and later headquarters for the Italian government. Benito Mussolini, “Il duce,” had his office inside and from the palace’s balcony overlooking the square he shouted his speeches to the crowds below. Be sure to peek inside where you could enjoy the garden courtyard for a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of the piazza.

5. Michelangelo’s House Opposite the Palazzo Venezia is an insurance building, the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali, finished in 1906 to mirror the older Palazzo Venezia. Unifying the squares “look” was more important than preserving its history. One of the buildings that was torn down was the house where Michelangelo Buonarroti lived and died, commemorated by a plaque on the side facing the Vittoriano.
6. Palazzo Bonaparte On the north end where Piazza Venezia meets Via del Corso is a 17th century palace, once the property of Napoleon’s family. Napoleon’s mother Letizia Bonaparte lived the last 18 years of her life here and the palace is named after her. She spent most of her time on the first-floor loggia, (note the famous balcony on the corner) watching the busy streets of Rome.
7. The Via del Corso The street was named for the 15th century “corsa dei barberi” or “race of the barbarians” – a tradition at Carnival of racing horses down the 1.5 kilometer street but it’s origins date back to ancient Rome. Today, Rome’s longest, straightest street is best known for shopping.
8. Trajan’s Column Built by Emperor Trajan in 113AD this triumphal column commemorated Trajan’s victory over the Dacians and its spiral bas relief tells the story of the entire campaign Rome held against the country that would ultimately take its name: Romania. But don’t expect to see a statue of the emperor himself atop his own monument. In 1587 Pope Sixtus V set one of Rome’s patron saints there instead: St. Peter.
9. What lies beneath The Ancient Romans certainly weren’t the oldest thing inhabiting the Capitoline Hill. During the excavations to create the Vittorio Emanuele monument an entire skeleton of a straight tusked elephant from the ice age was unearthed!
10. And the view from above Rome boasts a number of impressive views but few match the ones from the top of Il Vittoriano. An elevator was built onto the back of the monument in 2007 and now visitors can access the rooftop of the 135 meter monument for one of the finest 360 degree views of the city.

Dominitian’s ancient stadium, in the heart of the city, is now adorned with fine Renaissance and Baroque buildings, designed by the most famous architects of the 16C and 17C. The breathtaking magnificence of the piazza was meant to show the authority of Pamphili family, who had their own palace facing the square. The piazza is one of Rome’s liveliest squares, full of tourists, portrait painters, vendors, musicians, mime artists , shops and restaurants.

1. Piazza Navona is considered one of Rome’s most beautiful squares. It displays the genius of Bernini, Boromini and Giacomo della Porta with its three amazing fountains and a church. The fountain of the moor, the Fountain of Neptune and the eye catcher in the middle is the Fountain of the four rivers, which is considered Bernini’s masterpiece. Right across the middle fountain you can find yourself in front of the impressive Sant’ Agnese in Agone Church, designed by Boromini and dedicated to the young Christian virgin Agnese, who was executed at the site of the church, because of her beliefs.
2. In 86 AD Domitian had a stadium built at the site of the square (Stadio di Domiziano). The stadium was used mostly for the athletic purposes, contests of wit and physical fitness. The stadium was a grand edifice, which had a rectangular shape with rounded short sides. It was completely covered in white marble and could seated up to 30,000 people. There are still remains beneath the square. The stadium was paved over in the 15th century and the Piazza Navona was created.
3. The Fountain of the moor or the fontana del Moro, is located in the southern end of the square and takes its name from the group of figures representing an Ethiopian fighting with a dolphin. The work was sculptured in 1654 to a Bernini design. The masks and sculptures of the tritons are copies of the originals which can now be seen in the gardens of the Villa Borghese.
4. The Fountain of Neptune or Fontana del Nettuno , is located at the northern end of the piazza. This fountain was commissioned to Giacomo della Porta in 1574, and as with the Fontana del Moro on the southern end, the material used was Portasanta, which is a rose marble. Della Porta’s designed the two fountains to be similar in appearance, with tritons and large masks, but the project was never completed and for about 300 years the fountain remained undecorated. Finally in 1878, Antonio Della Bitta was commissioned to carve the statue of Neptune slaying a giant octopus, and Gregorio Zappala carved the group of 8 sea figures playing in the basin, two sea horses, two cherubs, two dolphins, and two Nereids or sea nymphs, and so the fountain was renamed, Fountain of Neptune.

5. The Fountain of the four rivers or Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, is the largest of the three fountains standing in piazza Navona. Constructed between 1647 and 1651, the design was first commissioned to Borromini, but was later taken over by Bernini. The fountain consists of four figures, each representing a river, from the four continent, known by those times- Nile (Africa), Ganges (China), Danube (Europe) and Rio della Plata (The Americas). The statues surround an obelisk with the Pamphili’s family symbol, a dove on the top. All three fountains in the Piazza Navona are fed by the Aqua Virgo aqueduct.
6. Erected in the middle of the square stands a gigantic Egyptian obelisk, which is actually a Roman copy, done during the reign of the emperor Domitian. With its impressive height it actually worried the people, concerned about the fountain’s stability.
7. Borromini vs. Bernini saga is legendary and described in many legends. The rumor has it that the positioned in the air hand of Rio della Plata is representing how ugly he thinks the church is and the hand on the chest of Sant Agnes is describing that she is scared from the obelisk to fall down, because is not supported good.
8. The name of the stadium was ‘Circus Agonalis’ (competition arena). Over the time the name changed to ‘in agone’ to ‘navone’ and eventually to ‘navona’.
9. Pope Innocent X started a tradition of covering the drains of the three fountains on Saturdays and Sundays in the 1600s, to allow people to enjoy the pooled water. It became known as “Lake of Piazza Navona”. This tradition lasted for two centuries until 1866 when Pius IX put an end to the summer fun.
10. Piazza Navona is featured in scenes in the 2000 movie Angels and Demons, and in the 1964 movie Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow it is the setting of the main character’s apartment. It is also featured in the 1970 movie Catch-22, and in the 1990 movie Coins in the Fountain.

The people of Rome gave him titles, honors and more power than anyone else in their history but who was the man behind the brilliant speeches, the feared general and political genius, the man who inspired Shakespeare? His influence today might be more prevalent than you think. Even the King of Diamonds in the traditional pack of playing cards is meant to represent him.

1. Happy Birthday Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar was born on July, 13th in 100 BC to an aristocratic family. Legend has it that his ancestry is traced back to the Goddess Venus, which explains why he had a temple built for her in the center of the city.
2. Don’t let kidnapping get you down After being kidnapped by Sicilian pirates at 25 years old, he didn’t behave like your average hostage. Instead he demanded his ransom be doubled and then preceded to amuse his kidnappers by giving speeches and joining in their sport and games aboard ship. But he always warned his new friends that once he got out of there, he’d hunt them down one by one. True to his word, once he was free, he captured them all, took back the ransom money and crucified each and every one of them. His one concession to his former “pals?” He killed them before crucifying them. Nice guy.
3. Caesar in Love Caesar was married 3 times but his most famous relationship was with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The two were lovers for 14 years and had a son together named Ptolemy Caesar with the nickname “Caesarion”- “The little Caesar”. (And no, no connection to the Caesarian section.) Caesar’s obsession with Cleopatra led him to include a statue of her in the Temple to the Goddess Venus, all but inviting the people of Rome to worship his own mistress…something they were less than thrilled to do.
4. Thanks Uncle After his only legal daughter Giulia died in childbirth, Caesar adopted his grandnephew Octavian and named him as heir in his will – something that wasn’t made public until after his death (coming up soon). Octavian would go on to become to first Emperor of Rome (Augustus Caesar) after Julius Caesar paved the way for him by dismantling the remains of the Old Republic and thus ushering in a reign of Emperors.

5. What’s the Date today? Caesar proposed the Julian Calendar in 45BC which most of the western world used until it was gradually replaced by the Gregorian Calendar proposed in 1582. Caesar is considered to be the father of the Leap year.
6. Pray to… Caesar? During his lifetime, his face started to appear on Roman coins but it wasn’t until after his death that he was officially deified by his heir, Octavian Augustus. He may have been the first Roman official to be deified but he wasn’t the last. Augustus had started a precedent and subsequent emperors (if popular) were also deified. In fact, it became the law to worship them… something that was to become a big problem for one religious group: the Christians.
7. Veni Vidi Vici! This famous phrase, meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered” was attributed to Caesar after his almost impossibly swift victory against Pharnaces II of the Kingdom of Pontus (modern day Turkey). It has since become synonymous with a swift, decisive victory.
8. Crossing the Rubicon: The die is cast Caesar’s more famous battles were against the Gauls upon whom he waged or more or less genocidal campaign in the efforts to boost his military career. In fear of his growing influence, the Senate decided to curtail his power but Caesar wouldn’t hear of it. In 49bc crossed the Rubicon River, the border of Roman territory and Cisalpine Gaul with his armies (a move that was tantamount to treason), uttering the phrase “alea iacta est” (the die is cast). The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” now signifies crossing a point of no return and indeed that was the result. Some mark the civil war that followed and the subsequent dictatorship that Caesar set up as the end of the Roman Republic.
9. Beware the Ides of March! Beware the Ides of March… said a soothsayer to Julius Caesar, thus uttering the prophecy of his doom. On March 15th, 44bc (what the Ancient Romans called the Ides) Julius Caesar was assassinated and the history of Rome changed forever. After threatening the power of the senate, they hatched a conspiracy – no less than 60 senators were involved in the plot. They stabbed him to death on the floor of the senate, at that time held in the no longer standing Theater of Pompey (close to today’s Largo Argentina). Despite stabbing him 23 times, only one blow was fatal.
10. E tu, Brute? Were these really Caesar’s last words? Fiercely fighting his attackers with just the pen in his hand, legend would have it that when Caesar saw Brutus, one of his closest friends, amongst the mob around him the fight went out of him. With a last “You too, Brutus?” he succumbed to his fate. At least, this is how Shakespeare would have had it in his play: “The assassination of Julius Caesar”. Whatever his final words, his life story, wreathed in myth and legend was certainly enough to inspire the great poet.