Best places to visit in italy

Florence is best for renaissance art. Can't beat the Uffizi Galleries & The David. Also Galileo's grave, Palazzo Vecchio, Giotto's Bell Tower, all kinds of cool stuff.

But I'm really fond of the ancient Roman structures in Rome. The Pantheon was the largest dome on Earth for 1300 years!! A foot bridge, the Pons Fabricius has been in use since 62 BC!! And of course one can wander the Forum, where all the legendary Romans met and debated. Of course the Coloseum is super impressive.

One of my favorite churches is Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, a very open and airy church which was converted from a Roman bath to Christian worship. The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore dates to 432 CE.

For more antiquities, visit the Vatican Museum. Ancient Rome raided the ancient world and brought back sculptural treasures from Egypt and Greece. Many of the treasures that survived the various sacks were collected into the Vatican Museum in later centuries. The collection is staggering.

Of course Rome has plenty of impressive renaissance churches; St Peters first and foremost. The Villa Medici in the Borghese gardens has some spectacular Bernini sculptures. I could go on and on.

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20 miles west of Rome (near a commuter rail stop) is the ruins of Ostia Antica, once Rome's port city. It's not as well preserved as Pompeii (and much smaller) but if you can't get to Pompeii, Ostia is pretty cool.
[b]https://www.rome.net/ostia-antica[/b]