In this video, we explore some of the highlights of Rome, the Eternal City. We begin at the Colosseum, the vast amphitheatre built nearly two thousand years ago under the Flavian emperors. Nearby stands the Arch of Constantine, a triumphal arch commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Emperor Constantine the Great’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312. From here, we go uphill to the Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana, which contains the tomb of Pope Gregory XI, who returned the papacy from Avignon to Rome. We descend along the same route and, back at street level, follow Via dei Fori Imperiali, the avenue laid out in the 1930s through the heart of the ancient city. On either side are the ruins of the Roman Forum and the Imperial Fora, with fragments of temples and columns recalling the centre of Roman power. We stop at Trajan’s Column, completed in 113 AD and carved with reliefs of the emperor’s military campaigns, and see the domes of Santa Maria di Loreto and Santissimo Nome di Maria before reaching Piazza Venezia. Here, the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II dominates the square. Its white marble terraces, built between 1885 and 1935, honour the first king of a unified Italy. At its base lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, marked by an eternal flame. We arrive around 10:45 a.m., and today, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Vittoriano is closed to the public until noon for a special ceremony honoring the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, led by Major General Odawaa Yusuf Rageh, Chief of the Defence Force of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Traffic is not stopped, so our view is limited, and we continue on to the Tiber River. We cross Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, inaugurated in 1911 and decorated with statues symbolising unity and victory. Looking upstream, we see Castel Sant’Angelo, originally built as Emperor Hadrian’s mausoleum and later converted into a papal fortress. Downstream, the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica rises above the skyline. On the opposite bank, we walk along Via della Conciliazione, the processional avenue completed in 1950 that leads directly to St. Peter’s Square. We visit Santa Maria in Traspontina, a Carmelite church rebuilt in the sixteenth century after being relocated to make way for the street. We return to Castel Sant’Angelo and cross the nearby Ponte Sant’Angelo, first commissioned by Hadrian and later adorned in the seventeenth century with angel statues designed by Bernini. On the opposite bank, we reach the Basilica di San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, begun in the sixteenth century as the national church of the Florentine community. The church was shaped by several architects including Sangallo, Michelangelo, and Borromini, who is buried here. Taking a bus through the historic centre, we pass the Vittoriano again, now reopened to the public, and head for the Trevi Fountain. Completed in 1762, this monumental Baroque fountain shows Oceanus, often referred to as Neptune, in a chariot pulled by sea horses. Tradition holds that tossing a coin into the basin ensures a return to Rome; today, it is Dom’s turn to toss a coin. We continue past souvenir shops and end our walk in Piazza Barberini at Bernini’s Fontana del Tritone, created in 1642. The fountain depicts the sea god Triton rising from a shell supported by dolphins, blowing a conch shell from which water sprays upward. It is a fitting conclusion to a day that traces Rome’s layers of history from antiquity to the Baroque. 回