Coliseum Roman Forum panoramic photo, Rome panoramic photos and views, Lake of Albano panoramic photo

Rome sights panoramas

Natural vision!

MUSIC: Il mondo (The world),
by Jimmy Fontana, 1965

Coliseum, Roman Forum, Vatican, St. Peters' Aqueduct Claudius, and lake of Albano

Coliseum (Colosseo) pano
Roman Forum seen from Campidoglio (Capitol Hill)
Vatican aerial panorama
St. Peter's and Bernini's colonnade pano
Aqueduct Claudius
Lake of Albano - CastelGandolfo

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Introduction page (also with simpler, and thus lighter photos).
Stunning natural vision panoramic views of Rome from outstanding perpectives.

Coliseum - Colosseo

Rome's icon, and one of the seven wonders of antiquity, is the Coliseum, or Flavian Amphiteathre. Very few recall that it is related with the destruction of Jerusalem by emperor Titus, as the war booty and the enslaved Jews were used for its construction.

The Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine, and the Temple of Venus, on a Sunday sunset. Our phographer left his glasses to the right as signature. YOU CAN ROTATE THE PHOTO BY CLICKING YOUR MOUSE ON IT, AND WHILE KEEPING IT PRESS, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT

The Coliseum was built by covering a little lake in the lowest part of Nero's "Golden House", the spectacular estate which the emperor had built for himself. With innovative concepts, as concrete (still standing to this day) and as the production line (with slaves, naturally), the Coliseum was built in a few years. Wild animals were slaughtered for fun ("Venationes" or hunts), or were forced to hunt and kill prisoners. Gladiator fights were the highlight of the gruesome show. Today the Coliseum and the surrounding monuments are a scenic, romantic sight.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum seen from Campidoglio (Capitol Hill)
YOU CAN ROTATE THE PHOTO BY CLICKING YOUR MOUSE ON IT, AND WHILE KEEPING IT PRESS, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT

The view of the Roman Forum is also fascinating. This panoramic photo was taken from Capitol Hill. The palace immediately to the left is Rome's Municipality since ancient times. The windows overlooking the Forum belong to the Mayor's office. From left to right you can see the Torre Spaccata (the Broken Tower), the Church built on top of St. Peter's jail (Mamertino), the sumptous Arch of Septimius Severus, the Curia or Roman Senate (behind it), the Sacred Way (or Via Sacra - where you see tourists walking), the Temple of Saturn (with its high columns, it was the seat of the Roman state treasury). To its right you can see the remains of the Basilica Julia. The hill to the right is the Palatine Hill, where emperor Augustus lived. Finally in the background you can see the profile of the Coliseum.

Vatican aerial panorama


Bernini's colonnade, St. Peter's, the Vatican, Borgo and Prati: panoramic aerial view from a hot air balloon (montgolfier). YOU CAN ROTATE THE PHOTO BY CLICKING YOUR MOUSE ON IT, AND WHILE KEEPING IT PRESS, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT

The Vatican, hosted in Rome's downtown, is the smallest state in the world, yet it has 800 million faithfuls around the globe. Built on top of the alleged burial site of St. Peter, the basilica is the largest in the world. Its dome designed by Michaelangelo is 136 Mts. high, and it stands out against the skyline from any point in Rome (it is thus dubbed by Romans "Il cupolone", the Big Dome, compared to the other 400 or so in Rome). From left to right in this photo snapped from a hot air balloon you see Bernini's colonnade, St. Peter's basilica, the Vatican palaces (the farthest right, of brown colour, includes the Sixtine Chapel). The quarter in the forefront is Borgo Vaticano, the quarter to the right of the Vatican is Prati. Past the Vatican gardens you see Rome western quarters, and finally the Mediterranean sea.

St. Peter's and Bernini colonnade

St. Peter's Basilica, Bernini's colonnade, and the Vatican during a summer Papal audience.
YOU CAN ROTATE THE PHOTO BY CLICKING YOUR MOUSE ON IT, AND WHILE KEEPING IT PRESS, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT

The colonnade clearly reveals the ideas of Gian Lorenzo Bernini as architect. He believed that architecture was about space, and its relation with structures. Francesco Borromini, his contemporary rival, instead thought that architecture was about building refinely designed structures filling the space.
When you will arrive at St. Peter's, you will not help being impressed by the harmony of the proportions and by the refined design, rather than by its colossal dimensions.

Aqueduct Claudius

Aqueduct Claudius (37-58 AD) arriving in Rome.

Roman hydraulic technology excelled any other ancient civilization, and it set the foundations of nearly any future waterworks achievement of humanity. Suwerages, castles of distribution of water, filtering systems, warm or hot swimming pools, aqueducts, public water supply, mass-scale fountain architecture and knowledge are among the contributions of ancient Rome. The photo shows the aqueduct built by the emperor Claudius. It brings water from a source 46 miles distant from Rome. For 36 miles it is subterranean, and for 10 miles it is carried on sumptuous arches. Strewn in the Roman countryside, they remind the magnificence yet also the frailty of a fallen empire.

Lake of Albano (CastelGandolfo), near Rome

The lake of Albano, seen from the Villa del Cardinale. On the opposite crest of the lake you can see Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope. Beyond you can see Rome indistinctly, in the distance.

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