Rome's beauty comes from an enchanting mix of impressive Roman ruins and glorious medieval piazzas. An older Goethe said that he had been happy only four weeks in his entire life and that those were the weeks he spent in Rome. Any visitor will quickly see why.

The city was founded by Romulus near the banks of the River Tiber over 2,700 years ago. Between Ancient Roman rulers like Ceasar, Renaissance personalities like the Borgias and Michelangelo, and more modern tyrants like Napoleon and Mussolini, Rome has the stamp of many legacies. Rome is a city with a cultural fabric so rich and complex that it has attracted and bred artists for the past two centuries. Exiled from Florence, Dante came here. As did the German poet Goethe; the Romantic poets Byron, Keats, Shelley; and novelist Charles Dickens.
In this ancient, magnificent city, you can lose yourself in blissful reveries in the ruins of villas, temples, baths, theaters, and arenas. Today priests in flowing robes saunter through medieval piazzas chatting on cell phones and locals dine in little restaurants near the grand palazza Campo dei Fiori. Nearby is the Palazzo Farnese, Michelangelo's monumental Renaissance palace. Dog-walkers stroll to a neighboring park that was once the mausoleum of the family of the Emperor Augustus, and upscale apartments are housed in restored medieval palazzi.

The best way to get to know this city is explore the different neighborhoods, all of which are full of character and historic interest. The area from Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia and from the Spanish Steps to the Tiber is the medieval center of Rome, the Centro Storico. The Centro Storico is a bustling, teeming downtown with lively streams of natives and tourists. The Piazzo del Popolo, the entrance to Rome for medieval pilgrims, and the splendid Piazza di Spagna, dominated from above by the sumptuous 16th-century Trinita dei Monti, are in this area. Piazza della Rotonda, home to the magnificent Pantheon and Piazza Navona, considered the true soul of the Eternal City, are also worth exploring.

Rome is not only about historical sites. There is also the thrill of eating gelato, pizza, and superb pasta.

What is most vividly and deliciously felt in the Eternal City is its persistent exuberance, daring, and the beauty that shines through the stately ruins. There is always the sense here of life fully lived. Every narrow street and passageway is full of expectancy and graced with the majesty of the past.