Rome unfolds like a tapestry women in pale beige clusters accented with terra cotta from the vantage point of one of its seven fabled hills. The Eternal City is at its essence, beyond its color scheme, a captivating blend of both ancient and modern. As the sun rises each morning, city buses, Fiats, cyclists and pedestrians jockey to negotiate the bustling streets of the city named nearly more than 2,500 years ago after the ruler Romulus, who, according to Roamn mythology, founded Rome with his twin brother, Remus.
History tells us that the Roman Republic, which began about 500 B.C. and eventually dominated much of the Mediterranean region, gave way to the Roman Empire. After the fall of empirical Rome, the Holy Roman Empire emerged and came to dominate most of Europe. The empire may be long gone, but tangible remnants have endured, in some cases for millennia.
Even to those who have never set foot there, Rome evokes familiarity as a combination of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Vatican City with its Sistine Chapel as well as some monuments and opulent fountain squares. Trodding the ground where some of the most famous, and infamous, figures in world history can be a walk of experience that is both fascinating and unforgettable.