There's no place like Rome ...

The Roman Forum alludes to the city's grand past. Photo / Jim Eagles

The Roman Forum was almost deserted as we made our way into the valley where a few marble columns and arches, still soaring proudly amid the rows of excavated foundations and tumbled pillars, testify eloquently to the glory that was here 2000 years ago.

But, even though few people were about at this early hour, the place felt far from empty. I suppose it's because I've read so many stories set in Rome - fiction and non-fiction - but it was all too easy to imagine the clamour of history coming from all sides.

The well-worn lava stones of the Via Sacra, the sacred road which passes through the heart of the forum, these days lined with weeds, seemed still to reverberate with the rhythmical tramping of victorious legions of yesteryear, setting out to conquer Carthage and Athens, Egypt and Gaul.

An elegant trio of columns, their marble shining with a blueish light in the early sun and with a clump of poppies glowing blood-red at their feet, surely the remains of an ancient temple, hummed with the memory of priests invoking the might of Jove or another of the myriad Roman deities.

The great Arch of Septimus Severus, one of the few monuments not to have been damaged by rampaging Vandals or Romans wanting cheap building material, told stories of generals like Scipio and Marius, Pompey and Caesar, returning to the city in triumph bearing prisoners and spoils.

The pile of rubble where the senate building once sat set my imagination echoing with the stirring speeches made there, speeches which crowds would gather to hear, such as those of Cicero whose words "Oh tempora! Oh mores!" are still quoted today.

As if by way of accompaniment, there was a blare of brass band music from the top of another of Rome's ancient hills, the Capitoline Hill, where a military ceremony was taking place in the magnificent Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo on what was once the administrative centre of ancient Rome.

And there was more noise at the far end of the valley as the towering bulk of the Colosseum, where 45,000 people once gathered to watch gladiators in combat, once more resounded with excited human voices ... though this time it was the chattering of tourists rather than the roaring bloodlust of centuries past.

Appropriately enough, musing on all these memories of times past was cut short by the rumble of a summer thunderstorm, which appeared to be coming from the great palace that Caesar's adopted son, the first emperor, Augustus, built on the Palatine Hill, a vast edifice which still glowers ominously down on the forum, exuding the awesome power of the empire and the emperors who lived there.

I didn't mind the interruption because more than any place I've visited, Rome has too much to see.

That's hardly a surprise when you consider that this is a city which ruled the known world for a thousand years, and for around 1500 years has been the focal point of one of the world's great religions, so has long been the repository of works aimed at showing the wealth and power of its creators.

From the rooftop garden of our hotel, the Colonna Palace, we could sip our morning coffees and look out over an endless vista of great domes and lofty steeples, proud statues and glittering mosaics, rising from the sea of terracotta tiles and roof gardens.

At every turn in the surrounding streets we would find another reminder of the city's temporal and spiritual majesty.

For instance, the hotel was on the Piazza di Montecitorio, an open space surrounded by lordly palaces, one of which now houses the Italian Parliament, at its centre the Obelisk of Psamtik II, dating back to 600BC but brought back by the conquering Romans as spoils of war. The piazza runs into Piazza Colonna, an ancient open space named for the magnificent carved column erected in AD193 to mark the victories of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, but these days with a statue of St Paul at its summit.

A short distance away down a narrow street was the Pantheon, a vast dome concealed by a facade of classic marble columns, built 2000 years ago as a temple to all the gods, but since AD609 the Church of St Mary and All the Martyrs. Whatever faith it is dedicated to, it is unquestionably an awe-inspiring place.

Just behind the Pantheon is a small piazza containing the Elefantino, a small Egyptian obelisk being carried on the back of a marble elephant. And so on.

Likewise, round every corner is another remarkable church, a reminder of the millions of people who see Rome as the spiritual heart of the world.

No matter how many times you see St Peter's Basilica it never fails to impress, with its vast, all-embracing piazza in front, the magnificent soaring dome and the fabulous art - most notably Michelangelo's statue of Mary holding her dead son - not to mention the sheer size of a place able to hold 60,000 worshippers.

But St Peter's is merely the biggest of almost 1000 churches in Rome including the marvellous baroque San Giovanni Laterano, sitting on the site of Rome's first church; Santa Maria Maggiore, with its beautiful 5th century mosaics; San Pietro in Vincoli, built to hold some chains said to have once held St Peter prisoner, but now famous for Michelangelo's statue of Moses; Santa Maria in Cosmedin, home to the Boca della Verita, a drain which is said to crush the hand of anyone who tells a lie ... and many, many others.

There's just too much to see, too much history, too many memories to absorb them all.

This is a place where you need to pace yourself, to plan what you want to see and be careful not to try to do too much.

Be sure to allow time for regular stops for coffee so you can rest and watch the world go by, muse on the city's magnificent history and enjoy its enchanting present.

GETTING THERE:

Air New Zealand flies daily via Hong Kong or Los Angeles to London
with connections to Milan and Rome with partner airline Alitalia.
For further information visit www.airnz.co.nz.

WHERE TO STAY:

The Colonna Palace Hotel is just off Via Del Corso opposite the
Parliament Buildings and within walking distance of ancient sites.

GETTING AROUND:

House of Travel has land-only packages starting from $680 per
person which include three nights's accommodation at the Colonna
Palace Hotel and a Crypts and Catacombs Tour for travel until October 31. Phone 0800 838 747 or see www.houseoftravel.co.nz.

Jim Eagles went to Rome with help from Air New Zealand.