Rome / North Center Sights

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• Keats-Shelley Memorial House, Piazza di Spagna 26, www.keats-shelley-house.org. The house in which the famous English poet John Keats succumbed to consumption, now preserved as a memorial to his life and that of his friend Shelley, both of whom are buried in Rome's Protestant Cemetery (see Testaccio).

Ara Pacis

• Ara Pacis, Lungotevere in Augusta, www.ara-pacis-museum.com. Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, 24th and 31st December 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM Closed Mondays, January 1st, May 1st and December 25th. Ara Pacis is an altar to Peace commissioned by the Roman Senate on 4 July 13 BC to honor the triumphal return from Hispania and Gaul of Augustus. It is universally recognised as a masterpiece. Following discovery of this work under a building in Rome, Mussolini built a protective building for it near the Mausoleum of Augustus, where it was reconstructed. A new building on the same site as Mussolini's was opened in 2006 and has been controversial. The mayor at the time said he would tear down the new structure. € 6.50 reductions € 4.50.

• Mausoleo di Augusto (Mausoleum of Augustus), (Just behind the Ara Pacis). This is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC

Piazza del Popolo

• Piazza del Popolo. This is the largest square in Rome. It sometimes hosts pop concerts and is the focal point for Rome's New Year's Eve celebrations. The twin churches Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) and Santa Maria in Montesanto (1679)used to provide a clear welcome to Rome for those coming from the north. Much older, to the north of the piazza is yet another Santa Maria (see below).
• Quartiere Coppede, (Bus no. 92, 63, 630, 86). With its strange Liberty style buildings from the 1920s this small bunch of blocks is one of the most interesting, and less known, landmarks of the city. A must see.

• Santa Maria del Popolo, Piazza del Popolo 12. This is a treasure-trove of art. There are a couple of paintings by Caravaggio: "The Crucifixion of Saint Peter" and "The Conversion of Saint Paul" together with a sculpture by Bernini, frescoes by Pinturicchio and mosaics by Raphael. Part of the Dan Brown tour, this church featured in Angels and Demons, although the Vatican did not allow filming inside.

• Santissima Trinità dei Monti, Piazza della Trinità dei Monti 1. Baroque church more noted for its position at the top of the Spanish Steps than for the church itself. Backdrop for numerous movies including Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday.

• The Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Spagna). A truly monumental stairway of 135 steps, built with French funds between 1721‑1725 in order to link the Bourbon Spanish embassy to the Holy See (still located in the piazza below), with the Bourbon French church (its monastery founded in 1495) above.

Fountain of the Old Boat: Piazza di Spagna

• Piazza di Spagna. The Fontana della Barcaccia (Old Boat Fountain) was designed and built in 1627-29 by Pietro Bernini, father of the more famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The fountain celebrates the fact that before high walls were built along the banks of the Tiber Rome often used to flood. Once the waters were so high that a boat ended up in the square. A less aesthetic occupant of the square is Italy's first McDonalds, dating back to 1986. Also in the piazza is a column erected in 1856 to commemorate the Immaculate Conception. The column is topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary, and rests on a base with statues of Moses, David, Isaiah and Ezekiel. The Pope visits the Piazza every year on December 8th to celebrate Immaculate Conception.
• Villa Medici, Viale Trinità dei Monti, 1 (Turn left at the top of the Spanish Steps. About 200m on your right.), www.villamedici.it/it/home/ in French or Italian. Guided tour of gardens in English daily at 11.45. The villa was acquired by the Medici family of Florence in 1576. Since 1803 it has been the French Academy in Rome. The villa hosts occasional concerts and exhibitions. Its gardens can be visited. Euros 8.

• Villa Ada, (To the left of Via Salaria. Bus no. 92, 310, 63, 630, 86). Beautiful park, the largest in Rome at 450 acres/182 hectares. Hosts concerts on summer evenings. former summer residence of Italian monarchs.

• Villa Albani, (Bus no. 92, 63, 630, 86. Tram 19). A magnificent patrician house with beautiful gardens.

The stunningly beautiful 6th Century BC Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Husband and Wife at the Villa Giulia Museum

• Villa Giulia National Gallery (Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia), Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9, Villa Borghese 00196 - Roma (Northwest of the Villa Borghese park), ☎ +39 06 3201951, www.roma2000.it/zvilagiu.html. Everyday 8:30AM-7:30PM. Closed Jan 1st, Dec 25th. The most extensive collection of Etruscan art and artifacts anywhere. Fantastic collection and well worth the admission charge. They do, however, make you lock up your camera. A difficult museum to find, but a lovely display in a beautiful villa setting. Full: €4.00 Concessions: €2.00.
• Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (the National Gallery of Modern Art), Via delle Belle Arti 131 (Up the hill from Villa Giulia or down the hill from the zoo.), ☎ +39 06 322 981, www.gnam.beniculturali.it. Tu-Su 08.30-19.30. An underrated way to see fantastic art made after the Renaissance. Mainly Italian artists, notably De Chirico, but Cézanne, Degas, Kandinsky, Man Ray, Modigliani, Monet, Pollock and Van Gogh are also represented. Full ticket €10; various discounts available.

Inside Rome's mosque

• Rome's Mosque, Viale della Moschea, 85 (situated to the west of Villa Ada), ☎ 06 8082167 - 06 8082258. Wed & Sun from 9:00 to 11:30 excluding Ramadan, Italian holidays and August. The Rome Mosque, which was inaugurated in 1995, is the biggest in Europe. The inside of the 30,000 m² structure has a large prayer hall that uses tri-stemmed columns that imitate the features of trees.

• Catacomb of Priscilla, Via Salaria 430 (enter through the cloister of the monastery of the Benedictines of Priscilla. Buses 86, 92, 310 from Termini station), ☎ tel.: 06-86206272 fax.: 06-86398134, www.catacombepriscilla.com/pagine-eng/home.htm. 8.30 - 12.00 and 14.30 - 17.00 closed Mondays. Underground burial place of an ancient Roman family and of seven early popes. Euros 6.

The lamppost of love at the Ponte Milvio

• Ponte Milvio. This pedestrian-only bridge was originally built in 206 BC and marks the passage of the Roman Via Flaminia over the Tiber. In 115 BC, the original bridge was demolished and rebuilt. It has been restored and remodelled several times since. In 2006, the bridge began attracting couples who, influenced by a movie, used a lamppost on the bridge to hang padlocks as a sign of their love, locking the padlock to the lamppost, then throwing the key behind them into the river. In 2007 the lamppost collapsed under the weight! Feeling sorry for the lovers the mayor ordered construction of steel posts, where padlocks can once again be hung.

• MACRO, Via Reggio Emilia 54, ☎ 06 6710 70400 (macro@comune.roma.it), en.macro.roma.museum. Tues-Sun 09.00-19.00. Rome's museum of contemporary art, housed in a former abattoir. Rotating exhibitions, each one usually lasting about 4 months. €4.50.