Baroque bravadoThe Trevi Fountain is in the heart of the the old city of Rome. It is one of the most famous fountains in the world, a marvellous example of high Baroque craftsmanship and a must-see for anyone travelling to Rome. The story of the Trevi Fountain starts in the 1st century BC, with the discovery of a fresh source of water some 14 miles from Rome. This water was of such excellent quality that the Romans soon built the Aqua Virgo aqueduct to transport it to the city, where it splashed out into a pool located exactly where the Trevi Fountain stands today. Work on the current fountain started in 1732 under the artist Nicola Salvi, and finished 30 years later under Giuseppe Panini. Both were considerable characters, the former allegedly designing the outcropped vase to the right of the fountain with the specific intention of blocking the view of a disagreeable barber. The fountain is built from travertine and carrara marble; sculptor Pietro Bracci created the central figure of Ocean atop his triumphal chariot carried by two tritons, and the adjacent figures of Abundance and Health. The fountain is teeming with numerous further allegorical statues, a veritable menagerie of animals, and around 30 species of intricately carved plants including grapes, cacti and artichokes. The money shotVisitors who flock to the Fountain today enjoy the superstitions surrounding it. It is said that throwing three coins over your left shoulder from your right hand into the fountain will bring you safely back to Rome, lead you to meet a new love, and lastly lead to marriage. An incredible €3000 is hurled into the water every day, causing a constant plink of misdirected coins and considerable theft from the fountain. The haul - totalling some €1 million annually - is collected by city workers at the end of every night, and used to run food programs for the needy. The Trevi Fountain has a prominent place in popular culture, famously playing host to Anita Ekberg in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. Its grandeur, beauty and romanticism continue to make it an alluring spot to this day.

Walking SpanishA walk up the Spanish Steps is undoubtedly one of the most popular forms of exercise for visitors to central Rome. Its 135 steps run from the Piazza di Spagna up to the Trinità dei Monti church, comprising the longest (and widest) flight in Europe - a climb that is well worth the view over the city. The Spanish Steps were constructed in the 1720s, designed by Francesco de Sanctis and paid for by the French diplomat Stefano Gueffier. Despite being built with French money, the steps soon came to be known as 'Spanish' because of the Bourbon Spanish embassy at the stop. Steps to greatnessIn early years the steps were a common meeting point for artists and poets, including some of the English Romantics; John Keats came in 1820 to recover from tuberculosis, but died here one year later. The house in which he lodged, at the bottom of the steps, is now the Keats-Shelley Memorial House and holds a wonderful collection of manuscripts and memorabilia. Today the Spanish Steps are still a great place to sit back, relax and watch the well-heeled locals go by. They are particularly beautiful in springtime, when the fanned stairway is bedecked with flowers. The steps have also provided the stage for some local controversy in recent years. In 2008, artist Graziano Cecchini - who has also turned the Trevi Fountain blood red - released half a million rainbow-coloured balls to bounce down the steps, confusing tourists and leaving many locals unimpressed. In the same year, a man managed to drunkenly drive his car down all 138 steps with the help of some passers-by. Police spokesman Massimo Cozzoli offered some sage advice - ‘you are allowed to go down the Spanish Steps, but not in a car!’

Holy dome For the entirety of its two millennia, the Pantheon has been used as a place of worship. It was first built as a temple to the Roman Gods around 126 AD, and became a church after the Empire converted to Christianity in the 7th century - its internal niches now contain fine Catholic artwork including frescoes and Byzantine icons, and a magnificent high altar was added in the 17th century. The building’s consecration protected it from the terrible damage suffered by much of Rome’s ancient architecture during the early medieval period. To this day, the Pantheon hosts religious masses and weddings. It is also the resting place for many eminent Romans, including the artist Raphael and the first king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II. A monumental feat From an architectural perspective, the Pantheon remains one of the great wonders of the world. The sixteen vast granite Corinthian columns of its portico - which each weigh 60 tons - were quarried in Egypt, dragged 100km on wooden sledges to the Nile, floated by barge down the river, crossed the Mediterranean Sea in ships to Ostia, then were transferred back onto barges to travel up the Tiber to Rome - before being rolled another 700 metres to the Pantheon. Quite a journey! Its rotunda is no less impressive, crowned by the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, whose height is exactly equal to the rotunda’s diameter - a 43.3m sphere fits perfectly inside. It is only relatively recently that architects have come to understand how the dome can support itself, let alone withstand the many earthquakes over its long history. The dome’s 4,535 ton construction is ingenious. It reduces in thickness from 6.4m at the base to just 1.2m at the crown, further lightened by internal coffering; its aggregate consists of heavy travertine at the base, then lighter terracotta tiles, then even lighter porous tufa and pumice at the top. At the very apex, where the dome would be at its most vulnerable to collapse, there is no concrete at all: the oculus, a 9m circular aperture, lightens the load as well as allowing in a beam of sunlight. The polychrome marble floor features concealed bronze drainage holes to handle water ingress during storms. Michelangelo himself was greatly moved by his first sight of the Pantheon, declaring it to be the work of angels; he was inspired to design the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, by which time the Pantheon was already almost 1,500 years old. It also inspired Brunelleschi’s stunning 15th century dome for Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The Pantheon remains today as stunning testament to the Roman Empire’s majesty, and one of the most influential and impressive buildings of all time.

Peaceful piazzaPiazza Navona is a spectacular square in Rome's old city centre that is always humming with life. It is a beautiful spot, featuring exquisite fountains and overlooked by the lovely Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone. Cars are banished from the area; all you can hear is the low buzz of conversation and the gentle bubbling of the fountains.In truth, Piazza Navona is more of a thin rectangle than a square - it lies on top of the former Stadium of Domitian, a grand arena used in Ancient Roman times to host chariot races and athletic competitions. An estimated 30,000 Romans would cheer on their favourite in the games, called agones; it is believed that the name evolved from in agone to in avone, and finally navona. Fountains galoreToday, the square is popular with visitors and locals alike. Numerous street artists vie for your attention, and a number of excellent eateries can be found down the surrounding cobbled backstreets. There are plenty of benches for sitting down and taking in the wonderful atmosphere, which is especially pleasant on warm summer evenings.The Fountain of the Four Rivers in the centre of Piazza is one of the most important fountains in Rome. It was designed by the Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and represents the major rivers of the four continents: the Nile in Africa, the Danube in Europe, the Ganges in Asia and the Rio de la Plata in South America. Legend has it that the figure recoiling in the centre is trying to shield his eyes from the Church of Sant'Agnese opposite, which was designed by Borromini, Bernini's greatest rival. Also impressive is another Bernini design, the Moor Fountain, which represents an Ethiopian battling a dolphin, and the statue of Neptune slaying a giant octopus in the Fountain of Neptune.

Field of flowersJust a five minute walk south from Piazza Navona is the busy Campo de’ Fiori, a small market square in one of the most active districts in Rome. Like its neighbour, the Campo de’ Fiori is a pedestrian zone and a short stroll through the square and surrounding streets will provide you with lots to see and do. The square used to be the site of public executions, and an imposing hooded statue of astronomer and pantheist Giordano Bruno dominates the middle ground of the square, in memory of his being burnt at the stake for heresy in 1600. But this is not a gloomy spot. The name Campo de’ Fiori translates as ‘Field of flowers,’ referring to the square’s previous incarnation as a meadow during the Middle Ages. Today it is ringed with boutique hotels and restaurants where you can enjoy Italian cuisine and wine, often more reasonably priced (if less upmarket) than in nearby Navona. Stop to shopThe Campo de’ Fiori also hosts a busy food and flower market every morning, offering a wide range of colourful produce, as well as touristy trinkets. The surrounding streets, which take their names from various trades, such as the roads of the Balestrari (crossbow makers) and Chiavari (key-makers), are great for shopping for clothes, jewellery and shoes. In the southwest corner you will find the Taverna della Vacca (‘Cow’s Inn’), a remnant from the original 16th century square which belonged to Vannozza dei Cattanei, famed mistress of Rodrigo Borgia - later Pope Alexander VI. Directly behind the square is the Piazza Farnese, with the Renaissance architectural masterpiece that is the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy. Within walking distance of many of the bestattractionsinRome, Campo de’ Fiori has everything on its doorstep.

Popular poplarsThe Piazza del Popolo is one of Rome’s most ancient squares. Its name translates as the Peoples’ Square, but the original derivation comes from the poplar trees that once covered the area. While a bit out of the way of the city centre, it is conveniently near to Galleria Borghese and the Villa Borghese Gardens, making for a wonderful day out. The famous Porta del Popolo, a decorative gated archway at the northern end of the Piazza, is an ancient Roman gate which used to be known as the Porta Flaminia. The Porta Flaminia was the most northern gateway in the ancient Roman city and led on to the most important route to northern Italy, the Via Flaminia. It was the first view travellers would have had of Rome, before the invention of railways. Old mastersThe Porta del Popolo is set amidst the old Aurelian Walls, which were built in the third century AD and which enclosed the Seven Hills of Rome. Tucked away in the northern corner, just inside the Porta del Popolo, is the impressive Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, an Augustinian church built in 1099 which houses an astounding array of masterpieces by some of Rome’s most notable artists. Raphael, Bernini and Caravaggio are just some of the big names who have lent their talent to the interior decoration; a Museum of Leonardo Da Vinci is also located beside the church. The modern Piazza was designed by Giuseppe Valadier in the early 1800s. It is a wide open square with two ornate fountains on either side which are flanked in a semicircle by a line of sphinxes, ending in two statues of gods or goddesses. This semicircular frame replaced the earlier trapezoidal shape and gave the space a more cohesive feel with a central focus. In the middle of the Piazza is the colossal ancient Egyptian obelisk of Seti I or the Flaminio Obelisk, adorned with four lion fountains: the obelisk was removed from Heliopolis to Rome in 10 BC after the Romans conquered Egypt, and is one of the oldest Egyptian monuments in the city.

Pope Paul's PalazzoJust behind the bustling Campo de' Fiori is the Piazza Farnese, where you will find the enormous Palazzo of the same name. Farnese was the name of the family of Pope Paul III, who was born Alessandro Farnese before becoming a cardinal under the Borgia Papacy (and who did very well for himself indeed). The Palazzo was built for the family in 1517 during the High Renaissance, and is considered one of the most important palaces of the era to be found in all of Italy. Alessandro ordered elaborate expansion and redesign to the palace he when became Pope in 1534. He commissioned the venerable Michelangelo, who restyled the third floor and the courtyard. The interior is full of stunning frescoed rooms depicting classical scenes, such as the Hercules room and the famous Gallery with 'The Loves of the Gods' by Annibale Carracci, an extremely important Renaissance fresco. House of learningPope Paul III was a lover of classical art and myth, and stocked the palace with his vast collection of Greco-Roman sculptures. It also houses a large scholarly library. The design of the building has been copied around the world, notably by the National Building Museum of Washington DC and the Royal Palace in Stockholm.  In 1936 it was leased to the French government for €1 a year for a period of 99 years, and today it serves as their embassy in Italy. If you visit the courtyard today you will see the magnificent façade by Michelangelo as well as two large granite fountains, which are actually basins taken from the ancient Roman Baths of Caracalla.