24 Old Ruins to Explore in Lazio

Checkout places to visit in Lazio

Lazio

Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,864,321 inhabitants – making it the second most populated region of Italy – and its GDP of more than €197 billion per year means that it has the nation's second-largest regional economy. The capital of Lazio is Rome, which is also the capital and largest city of Italy.

Activities Around

Old Ruins to Explore in Lazio

Altar of the Fatherland

The majestic Altar of the Fatherland is the emblem of Italy in the world, a symbol of change, of the Risorgimento and of the Constitution. It was built in 1885 by Umberto I of Savoy, son of Vittorio Emanuele II, first King of Italy. One of the iconic buildings in this area which is famous among tourists. This white marble building, 81 meters high, hides many allegorical meanings that geographically represent the whole of Italy.

Arch of Constantine

The Arch of Constantine is an arch in Rome, found between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was built in honor of Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. It is the latest of the triumphal arches in Rome. The arch is also a tour de force of political propaganda, presenting Constantine as a living continuation of the most successful Roman emperors, renowned for their military victories and good government.

Aurelian Walls

The Aurelian Walls in Rome was built in the third century A.D. and are about 19 kilometers long. Works began by Emperor Aurelian during a time of insecurity throughout Italy and the empire. It was originally constructed of tufa concrete, with a facing of triangular bricks. It was originally constructed of tufa concrete, with a facing of triangular bricks.

Baths of Caracalla

One of the most beautiful and luxurious pubic baths in ancient Rome begun by the emperor Septimius Severus in AD 206. There were three main bath chambers: the frigidarium, or cold room; the caldarium, or hot room; and the tepidarium, or lukewarm room. There were also large open-air swimming pools. Marble was used lavishly, and sculpture, mosaics, frescoes, and other decorations ornamented the interior.

Campidoglio

Campidoglio is also known as Monte Capitolino, is one of the seven hills on which Rome was founded. Its height is 48 m asl on the Arx, 35.9 m asl in the Asylum, and 44.7 m asl on the Capitolium proper. The Campidoglio is also the representative office of the municipality of Rome. According to the historian Tacitus, the Campidoglio, as well as the underlying Roman Forum, were added to the square Rome of Romulus by Tito Tazio.

Castel Sant'Angelo

It was originally the mausoleum of the Roman emperor Hadrian and became the burial place of the Antonine emperors until Caracalla. It was built in AD 135–139 and converted into a fortress in the 5th century. It is split into five floors which can be reached by a spiral ramp that first reaches the chamber of ashes and subsequently the cells in which a number of historical figures were incarcerated.

Catacombs of St. Callixtus

The catacombs of St. Callixtus are among the greatest and most important of Rome. They originated about the middle of the second century and are part of a cemeterial complex that occupies an area of 90 acres, with a network of galleries about 12 miles long, in four levels, more than twenty meters deep. In it were buried tens of martyrs, 16 popes, and very many Christians. The area of the catacomb proper is about fifteen hectares, and it goes down for five levels.

Circus Maximus

The Circus Maximus was a chariot racetrack in Rome first constructed in the 6th century BCE. A U-shaped structure with seats on three sides and a low wall running down the middle of the arena around which the chariots raced. It was also used for other public events such as the Roman Games and gladiator fights and was last used for chariot races in the 6th century CE. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.

Hadrian's Villa

One of the most remarkable and extravagant Roman villa which was built for emperor Hadrian. It was Set among the rolling hills in the countryside of Campagna. It graces an area larger than Pompeii with its many pools, baths, fountains, and majestic classical architecture. it was now the property of the Republic of Italy.

Imperial Forum

The Imperial Forums in Rome include a series of monumental piazzas built between 46 B.C.E. and 113 A.D. They are considered to have been the hub of Ancient Rome’s political activities, and they were eventually accompanied by other structures over the course of centuries. . These fora were the centers of politics, religion, and economy in the ancient Roman Empire.

Marcello Theater

The theatre of Marcellus was the largest and most important theatre in Rome and completed in the late 1st century BCE during the reign of Augustus. The theatre had a capacity of between 15 to 20,500 spectators and its semicircular travertine façade originally had two tiers, each composed of 41 arches. Today its ancient edifice in the rione of Sant'Angelo, Rome, once again provides one of the city's many popular spectacles or tourist sites.

Milvio Bridge

This Roman bridge of war and love is located in the northern part of Rome is perhaps one of the more significant, yet lesser-known landmarks of the Roman Empire. Originally constructed of stone in the 2nd century by Gaius Claudius Nero. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the famous Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, which led to the imperial rule of Constantine.

National Roman Museum, Baths of Diocletian

One of the largest bath complex in ancient Rome, which has a capacity of over 3,000 people. It served as a bath for the people residing in the Viminal, Quirinal, and Esquiline quarters of the city. This architectural complex, located close to the Termini rail station and the Palazzo Massimo Museum, is one of the most popular archaeological museums and sites in Rome, with about 1 million yearly visitors.

Palatine Hill

Palatine Hill is a four-sided plateau rising 131 feet south of the Forum in Rome and 168 feet above sea level. The site is now mainly a large open-air museum while the Palatine Museum houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites. During the Republican Period, Roman citizens belonging to the upper class settled in this area and built sumptuous palaces, of which important traces are still preserved.

Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini is one of the most overlooked art museums in Rome. The 17th-century palace is incredibly centrally located – just around the corner from the quattro fontane and a few streets over from the Trevi Fountain. The sloping site had formerly been occupied by a garden-vineyard of the Sforza family, in which a palazzetto had been built in 1549. The sloping site passed from one cardinal to another during the sixteenth century, with no project fully getting off the ground.

Pantheon

The Roman Pantheon is the monument with the greatest number of records: the best preserved, with the biggest brick dome in the history of architecture, and is considered the forerunner of all modern places of worship. It is the most copied and imitated of all ancient works. It was built in 27-25 BC by the magistrate Marcus Agrippa in order to commemorate the victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium. Later this original temple was burned down in 80 AD. It was then completely

Pyramid of Caius Cestius

The Pyramid of Cestius was most likely built between 18 and 12 BC. The 36-meter high pyramid was built as a tomb for a wealthy Roman under the sway of all things Egyptian. It is a remarkable monument, made of white Carrara marble and exactly 100 Roman feet high. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via Marmorata.

Quirinal Palace

The Quirinale is one of the primary places in the life of the Italian Republic. It is one of the great examples of heritage of art, history and culture of inestimable value and of testaments to the hard work, creativity and genius of the Italian people. The palace is on the Quirinal Hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome. It housed thirty popes, four kings and eleven presidents of the Italian Republic. The palace extends for an area of 110,500 square metres and is the eleventh-largest pal

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum for centuries was the ancient Romans' point of reference in terms of the law, religion, and social life. Originally used as a necropolis, it was later the battle theatre of Lake Curzio, hosting combats between the Romans and Sabines. Such was documented by the Roman historian Livy. For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nuc

Saint Peter's Square

St. Peter's Square is probably one of the world’s most famous squares and one of the most breath-taking. Designed by Bernini during the seventeenth century, it houses over 300,000 people. The most impressive part of the square, besides its size, is its 284 columns and 88 pilasters that flank the square in a colonnade of four rows. Above the columns, there are 140 statues of saints created in 1670 by the disciples of Bernini.

Map of Old Ruins to explore in Lazio