37 Best Sights in Ancient Rome, Rome

The three remaining Corinthian columns of this temple beautifully evoke the former grandeur and elegance of the Forum. This temple was dedicated in 484 BC to Castor and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen of Troy, who carried to Rome the news of victory at Lake Regillus, southeast of Rome—the definitive defeat of the deposed Tarquin dynasty. The twins flew on their fabulous white steeds 20 km (12 miles) to the city to bring the news to the people before mortal messengers could arrive. Rebuilt over the centuries before Christ, the temple suffered a major fire and was reconstructed by the future Emperor Tiberius in 12 BC, the date of the three standing columns.

What survives of the base of the temple—built by Augustus, Julius Caesar's successor—stands over the spot where Caesar's body was cremated. A pyre was improvised by grief-crazed citizens who kept the flames going with their own possessions.

This round brick temple with bronze doors behind the Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano is believed to have been dedicated by the Emperor Maxentius to his son, Valerius Romulus, who died in 309 AD and was deified. In the 6th century, the temple was converted into a vestibule for the church. There are various wall decorations in the rotunda, including Christ enthroned between St. Mary Magdalene and St. Mary Salome. To the left of the entrance is a 13th-century painting attributed to Jacopo Torriti depicting the Madonna enthroned and Child between the Medici saints.

Once Rome's largest temple, it was, in fact, originally two temples back-to-back. The half dedicated to Venus, facing the Colosseum, is the section seen today; its twin, which once faced the Forum, was dedicated to the goddess Roma and is now the foundation of the church of Santa Maria Nova. Begun by Hadrian in AD 121, the temple is accessible from the end of the Forum near the Arch of Titus and offers a great view of the Colosseum.

All that remains of Vespasian's temple are three graceful Corinthian columns. They marked the site of the Forum through the centuries while the rest was hidden beneath overgrown rubble. Nearby is the ruined platform that was the Tempio di Concordia.

Although only a fragment of the original building remains, this temple nevertheless conveys the sophisticated architectural elegance that was achieved in the later Roman Empire. Set off by florid Corinthian columns, the tholos (circular building) was rebuilt by Emperor Septimius Severus when he restored the temple (around AD 205), which is dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. It was here that the six highly privileged vestal virgins—chosen when they were between six and 10 years old to serve for 30 years—kept Rome's sacred flame burning, a tradition that dated from the very earliest days of the city, when guarding the community's precious fire was essential to its well-being.

Next to the temple, the Casa delle Vestali gives you a glimpse of the splendor in which these women lived. Marble statues of the vestals and fragments of mosaic pavement line the garden courtyard, which once would have been surrounded by lofty colonnades and at least 50 rooms. Their standing in Rome was considerable: among women, they were second in rank only to the Empress. Their intercession could save a condemned man, and they did, in fact, rescue Julius Caesar from the lethal vengeance of his enemy Sulla.

The virgins were handsomely maintained by the state, but if they allowed the sacred fire to go out, they were scourged by the high priest, and if they broke their vows of celibacy, they were buried alive (a punishment doled out only a handful of times throughout the cult's 1,000-year history). The vestal virgins were one of the last of ancient Rome's institutions to die out, enduring until the end of the 4th century AD—even after Rome's emperors had become Christian.

The celebrated "Sacred Way," paved with local volcanic rock, runs through the Roman Forum, lined with temples and shrines. It was also the traditional route of religious and triumphal processions. Pick your way across the paving stones, some rutted with the ironclad wheels of Roman wagons, to walk in the footsteps of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.