For a stroll through Ancient Rome that is not soon to be forgotten, start by taking the B line metro to the Colosseo stop. As you exit, you may be tempted to stop in awe at the looming sight of the Colosseum. Whether or not you submit to the temptation at this point, the Colosseum is only the first stop on your walk through ancient history.

While standing in front of the Colosseum turn and walk to your right. Be sure to walk on the same side of the street as the Colosseum so that you get a good look at the marble maps that are located along the brick wall between the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. They show the gradual decline of the Roman Empire; it’s rather amazing to contemplate the size of the empire at its height and then to look at the last map, with the single dot on the city of Rome, Italy.

Shortly after you pass the maps, you’ll come to what remains of the former seat of power of the Roman Empire. The Roman Forum once held the most important government, religious and commercial buildings in Rome. Now it is a haunting memory to the glory that once was the Pax Romana. You can actually walk along the same marble streets that the Caesars of old may have traveled. Take a guided tour or purchase a guidebook that includes cellophane overlays that ‘reconstruct’ what you’re looking at so that you can understand just what the Forum would have looked like in its heyday.