If you are passing through Rome in Italy and only have one day to explore - it is possible! While at least two days would give you more time to rest and adventure, one is enough to see the main attractions and learn interesting Roman history. We saw every sight we had on our list and were not exhausted from running around - it was an incredible day! There were seven places we made it to in just one day - the pantheon, Victor Emmanuel II national monument, colosseum, palatine hill, roman forum, Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. Follow this one day Rome itinerary to see Rome in a day!
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'Rome in a Day' Stop One: Pantheon
The pantheon was once a temple for Roman gods, and has been used as a church ever since. The word pantheon comes from the Greek words 'pan' meaning 'all', and 'theos' meaning 'gods'. The pantheon was originally built by Agrippa under the reign of Augustus following their military victory in 31 B.C.E. It had been burnt down and rebuilt twice; once in 80 C.E. and again in 110 C.E. Interestingly, it is said that as the pantheon was being rebuilt after the 110 C.E. fire, Hadrian (a Roman emperor from 117-138 C.E.) was overseeing the design when he had a disagreement with the architect, so he banished and executed him - what a crazy time! Because the pantheon is a church, entry is free and you can just walk in, however lines do get very long so it's recommended to get there as early as possible if you'd like to go inside. We walked by around 11 a.m. and already the wait to get in was around 20-30 minutes long.
'Rome in a Day' Stop Two: Victor Emmanuel II National Monument
This monument is dedicated to honor the first king of Italy after it was unified in the 19th century. It also holds the tomb of the unknown soldier. The monument as a whole represents a free and unified Italy. If you walk to the top and go through the entryway to the left of the building, there are amazing views of the colosseum in the distance! It is perfect for photos and is just beautiful to look at.
I recommend to always keep some coins on you, especially on hot days. When we were there, there were men selling ice cold water bottles outside the monument (and all around Rome) for 2 euros each! We purchased 3 bottles for 5 euros so it definitely can't hurt to try and haggle a bit!
'Rome in a Day' Stop Three: Colosseum
The Colosseum tour costs around 35 euros per person, and includes entry to the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. If you don't book a tour online, don't worry! There are many tour groups that you can purchase tickets from right outside of the Colosseum entrance. The tour guides approach you trying to get you to join their group - it seemed like a scam at first since so many people in Europe, Rome especially, try to scam tourists, but it is not! You can book a tour online in advance however it costs the same amount if you join it last-minute in person. When visiting Rome in a day, this is definitely a must-see!
When you get into the colosseum, it is so much larger and more amazing than it seems in photos. You might be tempted to stray from the group and explore yourselves, however if you do this you won't be able to access the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum - you will need your tour guide for this, so stick with it even if the talking gets a bit lengthy.
The colosseum is an amphitheater that began being built around 70 A.D. under the emperor Vespasian; he wanted to keep expanding his empire, so he had the colosseum built as a distraction to keep the Roman people happy. It was built by slaves, mainly Jewish slaves, and was intended to be an entertainment venue to host bloodsports including gladiator fights, executions and animal hunts. Around 400,000 humans (gladiators, slaves and prisoners) and 1 million animals were killed during the 350 years that it was used for these bloody spectacles. Animals used included everything from lions, tigers and bears, to hippos, crocodile, giraffe and elephants. Some animals were killed during hunts where armed humans would kill them. Others were killed while being used as executioners to kill people who were condemned to death in the arena - this was a form of capital punishment known as "damnatio ad bestias".
You can see in the photos that most of the arena platform has collapsed and the elaborate underground area, called the hypogeum, is exposed. The hypogeum is a network of tunnels that contains chambers where the animals, gladiators and prisoners were kept before entering the arena - there were many vertical shafts that allowed access to the arena from the hypogeum. There were also many trap doors through which surprise animals and fighters could be deployed into the arena during the spectacles.
When we arrived back at our hotel after our very long day, we watched the movie Gladiator (2000) which is a fictional movie rooted in real history about the colosseum games and ancient Rome - this was so fun and the perfect way to end our night after visiting Rome in a day!
'Rome in a Day' Stop Four: Palatine Hill
In ancient Rome, the palatine hill was where aristocrats and emperors lived, as it was considered to be one of the most desirable neighborhoods. It is also the location of the Lupercal, the cave where Romulus and Remus were found and suckled by the she-wolf (a she-wolf is a female gray wolf). The legend goes that Romulus and Remus were twins whose grandfather, King Amulius, felt threatened by them and ordered them to be killed. They were abandoned and left to die on the bank of the river Tiber, where the god Tiberinus (the Father of the River) saved them. They survived at the sight of what would eventually become Rome - the twins disagreed upon which hill to build their city, Romulus preferred Palatine hill, above the Lupercal, while Remus preferred Aventine hill. Remus was eventually killed by either Romulus or his supporters, so Romulus went on to found the city of Rome and become its very first king.
The view from the top of the hill is incredible - I see why the emperors wanted to live there! You have views of the roman forum and colosseum. There are quite a few steps to get to the top but it is not that difficult! There is a fresh water fountain at the top that you can drink from or refill your bottle.
'Rome in a Day' Stop Five: Roman Forum
The roman forum was once the center of the ancient city of Rome. It has the ruins of many of the oldest and most important government and religious buildings, and was used as the location of political, social and religious activities. It is believed that Romans began using it for these activities as long ago as 500 B.C. (around the time the Roman Republic was founded), and was the center of day-to-day Roman life for centuries. Elections, speeches, gladiator matches and criminal trials took place here.
Of the most important shrines and temples was the House of the Vestal Virgins. Our tour guide told us the story of the Vestal Virgins, and it really stuck with me because of how interesting it was! The Vestal Virgins lived in a home behind the Temple of Vesta and had an extremely important job of tending to the temples sacred flame. So, who were the Vestal Virgins? They were priestesses, 6 of them appointed at any point in time, selected by the Pontifex Maximus (High Priest) when they were between the ages of 6 and 10 to tend to the Temple of Vesta. Once they were chosen as flame-keepers, they were required to serve for 30 years and take a series of vows. This includes a vow of chastity (to remain virgins for as long as they serve) and a vow to keep the flame lit at all times. If their vows were broken it was believed that terrible things would occur in Rome, and their consequences would be burial alive or banishment to an underground chamber with no food or water, and the chamber would be sealed forever. However, because of their vows being tied to the fate of Rome, the Vestal Virgins would occasionally be used as scapegoats - if something awful occurred in Rome, they would say a Vestal broke her vow (such as having sex or letting the flame burn out) and she would be condemned to death.
Despite having such an important job where the fate of Rome was literally in their hands, the Vestal Virgins had a lot of perks to the job. Here are some of the perks they had:
They could pardon condemned prisoners by touching them on their way to execution
They could give legal testimony without having to take a formal oath
Anyone who harmed them was sentenced to death
They had positions of honor at public events and occupied seats close to the emperor (including during games at the colosseum)
Unlike most Roman women, they weren't under control of their fathers, so they could own their own property and distribute their estates however they wanted in their will
After their 30 years, they were given a pension and were permitted to marry a man that the Pontifex Maximus chose for her
It is so fun to wander and explore here, picturing in your head what would have been happening so long ago in the exact spot you're walking! There is so much history and you can definitely feel the ancient energy!
'Rome in a Day' Stop Six: Spanish Steps
The Spanish steps are definitely worth visiting. We explored, and then grabbed a gelato and sat on the steps to relax and take in the scenery. There are 135 steps, and it is the largest staircase in Europe. The staircase, which used to be a dirt-covered hill, was commissioned by the French under Louis XII and had the purpose of connecting the French church (Trinità dei Monti) at the top with the Spanish square (Piazza di Spagna) below. In the 17th century, the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See was located at the bottom of the hill, hence giving it the name of the Spanish square.
The staircase was designed by Francesco de Sanctis. Construction took place from 1723-1725 and it was designed in the Roman baroque style - there are three terraces on the steps that refer to the Holy Trinity (father, son and Holy spirit). Immediately after construction, the staircase and the square below became very popular for artists, painters and poets who were attracted to the beauty of the stairs and were inspired by them in return. Of the many poets, one of them was John Keats, an english poet who came to Rome during the Romantic generation. He moved to escape the cold of Britain as he was suffering from tuberculosis, hoping the warmth of the city would help cure him. He had a house next to the staircase, and unfortunately passed away not long after moving there - his house is now a museum full of memorabilia of the romance era.
The view from the top of the stairs is incredible, especially at sunset. However, you should know there will be many men trying to sell you items such as flowers, especially to couples. If you want them, go for it! However they are not free even if they make it seem that way. They will even try to put them in your hands and then demand money from you, so if they approach you, be stern and do not let them give it to you. This is a scam/tourist trap so be careful!
At the bottom of the steps there is a fountain made by Pietro Bernini that he titled 'Fontana della Barcaccia', which translates to 'fountain of the ugly boat'. So, is it ugly? No!! The story goes that in 1598, the Tiber river flooded and left an ugly boat stranded in that exact spot, which is where Bernini got his inspiration from. The French actually wanted to build a statue near the fountain of King Louis XIV but the pope at the time wouldn't allow it, so the construction kept getting delayed and eventually never happened.
A random fun fact about the Spanish square is that in 1986 the first McDonalds of Italy was opened there, however there were many protests against bringing fast food to Italy; 3 years later the slow food movement was born, founded by Carlo Petrini.
'Rome in a Day' Stop Seven: Trevi Fountain
By the time we arrived to the Trevi fountain it was dark outside, and the lights on the fountain looked incredible! We couldn't have been happier to see it at night; due to the wonderful lights, the Trevi fountain is the perfect last stop for visiting Rome in a day! It was about 9p.m. and it was still incredibly crowded - but that is expected with such a spectacular piece of history.
What is the history of the fountain?
The fountain is the location of one of the ancient aqueducts, called the Aqua Virgo, that worked for over 400 years to supply water to Rome. The aqueduct was made in 19 B.C. by Agrippa under the emperor Augustus; the story goes that Agrippa was with his soldiers when he met a young virgin who made a spring of fresh water come out of the ground - he took the opportunity to supply ancient Rome with this water and thus created the aqueduct.
There have been many versions of the fountain prior to the one we see today - the first fountain was constructed at the aqueduct during the Renaissance under Pope Nicolas V. Pope Urban VII commissioned Gian Lorenzo Bernini to sketch new designs for the fountain in 1629, however the pope died and the reconstruction was abandoned for over 100 years. Pope Clement XII held a contest to design the fountain in 1730, and architect Nicola Salvi won; his design, along with some incorporation of Berninis design, was built and completed from 1732-1762 by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. It is now the largest baroque fountain in Rome, measuring at 26.3 meters high and 49.15 meters wide.
So, where did the Trevi fountain get its name?
The fountain is located at the intersection of three roads (tre vie) and derives from the Latin word Trivium, meaning intersection of three streets. The streets are De 'Crocicchi Street, Poli Street and Delle Muratte Street!
What are the statues in the fountain?
The three main statues:
Oceanus is represented in the center under the arch - he is the god of water, essentially the sea itself personified. He is being pulled into the sea on a shell-shaped chariot by winged sea horses and two tritons (young gods of the sea). Of the two horses, one is calm and docile, while the other one is boisterous and wild - this represents the changing moods/tides of the sea.
On the right of Oceanus is Health; she is wearing a wreath crown and holding a cup with a snake drinking from it.
Above Health is the virgin showing the soldiers the water source.
On the left of Oceanus is Abundance; she is holding a horn.
Above Abundance is Agrippa telling his men how to build the aqueduct.
Above the main statues there are four smaller statues, each representing the fertility of earth in their own way:
Abundance of Fruit, holding a horn.
Fertility of the Fields, holding crops of wheat.
Wealth of Autumn, holding a cup of grapes.
Amenity of the Gardens, surrounded by flowers.
At the top of the fountain is the papal coat of arms, being held up by angels.
What is Part of The Fountains Fame?
The Trevi fountain is one of the most famous fountains in the world and has been featured in several films, including:
Roman Holiday (1953)
Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
La Dolce Vita (1960) (This films most iconic scene took place in front of the fountain and allowed the location to gain even more popularity and tourism)
Sabrina Goes to Rome (1998)
The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003)
To Rome with Love (2012)
There is a legend about throwing coins into the fountain - you are supposed to keep your eyes closed and throw the coin into the water over your left shoulder using your right hand, and make a wish. Throw one coin and you'll return to Rome, throw two and you'll meet the love of your life in Rome, throw three and you will get married to your love. Every day around 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain - about 1.4 million euros annually. Each week the municipality of Rome cleans out the fountain and donates most of the money to charities to help poor families, so at least it goes to a good cause!
I hope this guide, mixed with a little historical background, helps you on your next trip to Rom - even if you have to visit Rome in a day!
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