3 Best Sights in Esquilino and Environs, Rome

Rome's first walls were erected in the 6th century BC, but the ancient city greatly expanded over the next few centuries, and when Rome was at its peak, it didn't need walls. In the 3rd century AD, however, Emperor Aurelian commissioned a 12-mile wall to protect the city. Although many considered this a sign of weakness, it was more than a century before those walls were first breached in a siege that would herald the end of the empire. The ancient walls eventually became the fortifications of the papal city and remained in use for 16 centuries until the unification of Italy in 1870. Studding the Aurelian Walls were 18 main gates, the best preserved of which is the Porta di San Sebastiano at the entrance to the Via Appia Antica. This gate is also home to a small museum that allows you to walk a section of the ancient ramparts and take in some truly wonderful views. Note that the museum closes relatively early, at 2 pm.

The massive, 1st-century-AD arch was built as part of the original Aqua Claudia and then incorporated into the walls hurriedly erected in the late 3rd century as Rome's fortunes began to decline. The great arch of the aqueduct subsequently became a porta (city gate) and gives an idea of the grand scale of ancient Roman public works. On the Piazzale Labicano side, to the east, is the curious Baker's Tomb, erected in the 1st century BC by a prosperous baker (predating both the aqueduct and the city walls); it's shaped like an oven to signal the deceased's trade. The site is now in the middle of a public transport node and is close to Rome's first tram depot (going back to 1889).

Even in ruins, this villa conveys a real sense of ancient Rome's opulence, as do the archaeological finds in its small on-site museum. Indeed, Emperor Commodus—the villain in the 2000 film epic Gladiator—coveted this once-splendid villa so much that he accused its owners, the Quintili family, of plotting against him, had them executed, and then moved in. He may have used the exedra as a space in which to train for the ostrich fights that were held in the Colosseum. The villa is 5 km (3 miles) from the catacombs and is accessible from both the modern Appia Nuova and from the Appia Antica (by bicycle or on foot only).