Comenius Project “Religious and cultural heritage as a factor in tourism development ” “Pitagora College” San Giovanni Rotondo Italy Italy Meeting – San Giovanni Rotondo

The eternal city...its cultural heritage

Foro Romano It is located between the Palatine and Capitoline hills and it was the civic and political center of the Roman Empire. It extends along the Via Sacra for about a mile to the Colosseum

Dating back to 125 BC, its final organization, begun by Julius Caesar and it was completed under Augustus in 29 AD with the inauguration of the Temple of the Divine Juliu, dedicated to him.

Il Colosseo It is an elliptical amphitheater in the center of Rome, the greatest of the Roman Empire, and one of the most formidable works of Roman architecture and engineering.

With 50,000 seats, it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles, as well as war exercises, animal hunts, executions and dramas based on Classical mythology.

Hippodrome and place of entertainment for the people, it is situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest circus in ancient Rome. Circo Massimo

It was built in 19 BC where originally there were the “three-ways” (le tre vie ). In 1629 it was moved to its current location (on the opposite side to the Quirinal Palace) by Bernini. It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city. Fontana di Trevi

Piazza di Spagna – Via Condotti Via Condotti, the most elegant center of commerce of Rome, began with the opening of the Bulgari store in Today, in addition to Valentino, other designers such as Armani, Hermes, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Salvatore Ferragano all have shops in this famous street.

Piazza del Campidoglio This is square was designed by Michelangelo around 1530 for Pope Paul III. The building behind the top of the stairs (with tower) is the Palazzo Senatorio, seat of the Municipality of Rome.

At the top of the ramp there are the statues of the mythical twins, Castor and Pollux, placed there in 1583.

The Fontana of Nettuno is one of the most magnificent sculptures in Piazza Navona. Piazza Navona

The Via Appia Antica is a Roman road that connected Rome to Brindisi, the most important port for Greece and the East in the world of ancient Rome. The Appia is probably the most famous Roman road and its importance is confirmed by the nickname by which the Romans called : “Queen viarum”. Via Appia

The Baths of Caracalla were public and were built between 212 and 216 AD, during the reign of Emperor Caracalla. The extensive ruins have become a sought after tourist attraction, and a majestic stage of theatrical and musical performances. Terme di Caracalla

Piazza del Popolo An Egyptian obelisk built by Ramses II and brought to Rome in 10 BC, occupies the center of this square. It is the second oldest and one of the tallest obelisks in Rome ( 36 m including its base ).

Via Veneto Built in the late eighth century, it owes part of its fame for being the center of mundane life in the 50s and 60s, thanks to the many cafes and hotels frequented by celebrities and, especially, the scene of La Dolce Vita, Fellini.

Trastevere It is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Roma. The name comes from the Latin “trans Tiberim” ( beyond the Tiber ), which was already the ancient name of the Augustan region; this because the city had its origin and main development instead in the opposite shore.

And the religious heritage...

The Vatican City is a monarchical priestly state ruled by the Bishop of Rome - the Pope. Pope John Paul II was one of the most beloved in the history of Rome. He is the 264º Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, 6th sovereign state of Vatican City. He was elected pope on October 16, Following the cause of beatification on 1 May 2011, he was beatified by his immediate successor Benedict XVI and celebrated annually on 22 October; in the history of the Church, it has not happened for about a millennium that a pope proclaimed “blessed” their immediate predecessor. Città delVaticano

The trapezoidal plaza widens laterally by two passages, with elliptical shape, colonnades topped by a balustrade on which figures of different times and places settle; in the middle of the square there is a monumental obelisk ( 25 meters high and 327 tons), a stone block without inscriptions brought from Egypt and erected in the center of a Roman circus.

Headquarters of the Catholic Church, it is the largest among all Christian churches; it can house 60,000 people... Basilica di San Pietro

La Pietà The Vatican Pietà is a marble sculpture (height 174 cm, width 195 cm, depth 69 cm ) by Michelangelo Buonarroti and it is preserved in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. This is the first masterpiece of Michelangelo in his early twenties and it is considered one of the greatest works of art that the West has ever produced.

La Cappella Sistina The Sistine Chapel is one of the most famous cultural and artistic treasures of the Vaticano. It was built between 1475 and 1481 and it is known around the world for being the place in which it is hold the conclave and other official ceremonies of the Pope. It is decorated with one of the most famous works of art and celebrate the artistic civilization of the Western society. The frescoes are of Michelangelo Buonarroti.

The two basilicas, each of which has a holy door, are part of the " tour of the seven churches " that the pilgrims who came to Rome had to perform traditionally on foot and in a single day. In the churches there are testimonies of every age, of every phase of the culture and history of each architectural style : from the early Christian and medieval to Gothic, from the Renaissance to the Baroque, from neoclassical to modern as the facade of San Giovanni in Laterano (built by Alessandro Galilei) where there is a prelude to the magnificent interior designed by Borromini... San Giovanni in Laterano e Santa Maria Maggiore

Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei martiri The dedication to the martyrs refers to the Baths of Diocletian that were built with the work of Christians enslaved. The building was designed in 1562 by Michelangelo on the basis of the central hall of the Baths at the request of Pope Pius IV. Michelangelo was limited to cover some walls and restore a tepidarium classroom, so he created a very particular church building: dilated laterally instead of longitudinally.

The first part of this church church was built between 1502 and 1519 in the Gothic style. The Gothic nave too was added in the mid-sixteenth century, a new building with an ornate facade of two symmetrical bell towers, designed by Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana. Santissima Trinità

Originally conceived as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome, it was rebuilt around 126 AD during the reign of Hadrian. Il Panteon

It is the oldest structure in the dome of Rome, from the seventh century has been used as the Roman Catholic church.

In Rome, the number of places of worship Protestant, Orthodox and other Christian worship is consistent. Between 1984 and 1992, it was built the largest mosque in Europe.The building occupies an area of ​​ 34,000 m² and it is surmounted by a gunmetal dome surrounded by 16 smaller travertine ones and minaret, whose height reaches 24 meters. Next to the mosque there is the Islamic Cultural Center, an auditorium, a conference room and a library. Mosques

The skyline of Rome is characterized by the presence of many domes, architectural structures created and developed in Roman architecture. Initially they were on buildings of various kinds ( spas, mausoleums, domus ), then they became characteristic elements of the most important religious buildings in several Italian cities from the Renaissance. Domes

Cloisters The cloisters, architectural structures typical of Christian religious buildings ( particularly of convents, abbeys and monasteries ), are mostly medieval buildings.The largest Roman cloister is located in San Giovanni in Laterano.

The altars, places where ancient people performed religious rituals, are a common element in almost all places of worship in Rome over the centuries, from those sites within the Roman temples to those of the great artistic Christian basilicas. In Rome, there are also still some monumental ancient altars (in Latin “arae”), built on special occasions or to commemorate an important event. Altars

Mausoleums - Castel Sant’Angelo This is the Mausoleum of Hadrian, known as Castel Sant'Angelo,and it is a cylindrical high-rise building, whose construction was originally ordered by Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family ; today it is a museum.

Temples - Villa Borghese The “Temple of Asclepius” is a reproduction of ancient Greek temple, located in the this Villa during the 1800s as a decorative piece for the landscape.

And pyramids, sepulchers, necropolis...

“In 2012, tourism in Rome, has grown both in terms of arrivals and that of induced loss”, the Bilateral Tourism in Lazio confirms. In absolute numbers, arrivals correspond to about 12 million, coming close to 30 million of people. Tourists from European Union countries are those that stop most days. Most tourists are foreigners, more than 70 percent. Today, in a time of international economic crisis that has affected most of the market, foreigners continue to choose Rome: this confirms that the city is the leader of tourism in Italy and not only. Tourism is a real asset for the city, a vital sector continues to grow.

Roma...