The Galleria Borghese in Rome houses a substantial part of the Borghese collection of paintings, sculptures and antiquities, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese who was an early patron of Bernini and an avid collector of works by Caravaggio. The painting galleries contain other great works by Rubens, Raphael and Correggio.

Past the catacombs of the Via Appia Antica (south of Rome) on the left side of the road at the top of a hill, rises the Tomb of Celia Metella. This best of the Old Appian Way tombs is the resting place to the daughter-in-law of Crassus, a 1st-century BC land mogul and Julius Caesar’s financier. The tomb was preserved in the early 14th century when Pope Bonifacio VIII donated it to his own powerful family. They turned it into the base of a massive fortress used to guard the road and exact tolls.

Built for the 1960 Olympics in Rome, the palazzetto is a sports stadium in an innovative concrete dome. Designed by Pier Luigi Nervi it hosted boxing among other sports during the Olympic Games. The innovative dome is made of ribbed reinforced concrete.