Rome
Rome/Architecture

15 Stunning Architecture Landmarks in Rome

15 landmarks with verified facts and stories

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
~2 min

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Piazza di Santa Maria Maggiore, 00100 Roma

churcharthistory

Every August fifth, this basilica stages one of Rome's most theatrical annual events: artificial white petals drift down from the ceiling during Mass to commemorate the miraculous snowfall of 358 AD.

Baths of Caracalla
~2 min

Baths of Caracalla

Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 52, 00153 Roma

ancientengineeringarchaeology

These were not baths.

Borghese Gallery
~3 min

Borghese Gallery

5 Piazzale Scipione Borghese, II Municipio, Rome, 00197, Italy

artmuseumbaroque

Cardinal Scipione Borghese was a collector the way a black hole is a collector — everything in the vicinity ended up in his possession, whether it wanted to or not.

Capitoline Museums
~3 min

Capitoline Museums

1 Piazza del Campidoglio, I Municipio, Rome, 00186, Italy

artmuseumancient

This is the oldest public museum in the world.

Castel Sant'Angelo
~3 min

Castel Sant'Angelo

50 Lungotevere Castello, XVII Municipio, Rome, 00193, Italy

historymilitarydark-history

This building has had more career changes than any structure in Rome.

Colosseum
~4 min

Colosseum

1 Piazza del Colosseo, I Municipio, Rome, 00184, Italy

ancienticonichistory

Here is a number that should stop you in your tracks: fifty thousand.

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
~2 min

Palazzo Doria Pamphilj

305 Via del Corso, I Municipio, Rome, 00186, Italy

artmuseumbaroque

There is a painting in this palace that terrified the man it depicts.

Pantheon
~3 min

Pantheon

I Municipio, Rome, Italy

ancienticonicengineering

The dome above your head is still, after nearly nineteen hundred years, the largest unreinforced concrete dome ever built.

Piazza del Popolo
~2 min

Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo, I Municipio, Rome, 00187, Italy

historyneoclassicalart

For centuries, this was the first thing visitors saw when they arrived in Rome.

Piazza Navona
~2 min

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona, I Municipio, Rome, 00186, Italy

baroquearthistory

The reason this piazza is shaped like a racetrack is that it was a racetrack.

Sistine Chapel
~4 min

Sistine Chapel

Viale Vaticano, XVII Municipio, Rome, 00192, Italy

articonicreligion

Michelangelo did not want this job.

Spanish Steps
~2 min

Spanish Steps

I Municipio, Rome, Italy

iconicbaroqueromance

The name is a lie, or at least a misdirection.

St. Peter's Basilica
~4 min

St. Peter's Basilica

120 Via Pietro Romani, XIII Municipio, Rome, 00124, Italy

iconicreligionart

This is the largest church in the world, and the Vatican will not let you forget it.

Trevi Fountain
~2 min

Trevi Fountain

Piazza di Trevi, I Municipio, Rome, 00187, Italy

iconicbaroqueromance

About three thousand euros in coins are thrown into this fountain every single day.

Vatican Museums
~4 min

Vatican Museums

Viale Vaticano, XVIII Municipio, Rome, 00165, Italy

artmuseumiconic

The Vatican Museums contain roughly seventy thousand works of art, of which about twenty thousand are on display at any given time.

Explore architecture in Rome

GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.