The modern centre of the city of Rome: the Pantheon and Piazza Navona area
It is extraordinary to observe how even today the layout of modern buildings and streets is strongly influenced by the ancient topography. In what was once the area of Campo Marzio in ancient Rome, we now find the modern city centre, one of the most fascinating districts of the capital.
Walking through this district is a unique experience; we find ourselves surrounded by the palaces of Rome's oldest bourgeois families from the 16th and 17th centuries and the works of Bernini and Borromini, in one of Rome's most evocative places. Exactly where Domitian's Stadium once stood, used for athletic games and competitions, today stands Piazza Navona, one of the capital's most elegant and lively squares, surrounded by cafés, shops and restaurants, a favourite haunt of Romans during Carnival, Christmas and Epiphany. And in the nearby Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon has survived the years and stands practically intact after 1900 years of history, maintaining the appearance it had in antiquity, representing the highest expression of the glory of Rome, the inspiration of the greatest architects of the Renaissance, the most beautiful remnant of Roman Antiquity with its rituals that are repeated every year on time according to a perfect calculation.
Duration
90 minutes including 30 minutes Q&A
It is extraordinary to observe how even today the layout of modern buildings and streets is strongly influenced by the ancient topography. In what was once the area of Campo Marzio in ancient Rome, we now find the modern city centre, one of the most fascinating districts of the capital.
Walking through this district is a unique experience; we find ourselves surrounded by the palaces of Rome's oldest bourgeois families from the 16th and 17th centuries and the works of Bernini and Borromini, in one of Rome's most evocative places. Exactly where Domitian's Stadium once stood, used for athletic games and competitions, today stands Piazza Navona, one of the capital's most elegant and lively squares, surrounded by cafés, shops and restaurants, a favourite haunt of Romans during Carnival, Christmas and Epiphany. And in the nearby Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon has survived the years and stands practically intact after 1900 years of history, maintaining the appearance it had in antiquity, representing the highest expression of the glory of Rome, the inspiration of the greatest architects of the Renaissance, the most beautiful remnant of Roman Antiquity with its rituals that are repeated every year on time according to a perfect calculation.
Duration
90 minutes including 30 minutes Q&A
