Rome was founded in 753 BC by the legendary Romulus. The Roman
Empire was created under Augustus in 27 The ancient city was
founded on the left bank of the Tiber. In the neighbourhood
between the Colosseum and the Pantheon, monuments from antiquity
stand side by side those of the Renaissance. An oval
amphitheatre built in AD 80, the Colosseum could seat 50,000 and
was used for races and gladiator combats. An architectural
masterpiece, it has three levels of arcades, with superimposing
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns. The Forums are found along
the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The largest and oldest, the Foro
Romano, served as the political, commercial and religious centre
from the time of the Republic to the fifth century BC. Its ruins
contain 12 centuries of history. Via Sacra, Curia, bas-reliefs
of Trajan, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of Castor and
Pollux, the Temple of Vesta, and the House of the Vestal Virgins
are all set near the grandiose Basilica of By way of the Forum,
we reach the Palatino, one of