What you didn’t know about Rome, Italy.
Rome is one of the most layered cities on Earth, a living archive of power, beauty, ritual, and contradiction.
Beneath the city lies an entire underworld of ancient life: catacombs stretching for miles, early Christian meeting halls tucked into volcanic stone, and Mithraic temples hidden beneath churches where sunlight never reaches. The Roman Forum you see today is only the surface, entire marketplaces, apartment blocks, fountains, and temples lie unexcavated just below ground level. Rome’s aqueduct system remains an engineering wonder: pathways cut through mountains, stone channels sealed with ancient waterproof mortar, and gravity-fed architecture that still delivers clean drinking water to fountains across the city. Even the food carries unexpected origin stories, carbonara shaped by war-era ingredients, cacio e pepe tied to shepherd pathways, fried artichokes born from the Jewish Ghetto’s centuries-old culinary traditions. Rome also sits on unique geological land: built on seven hills of volcanic tufa, the city’s stone glows warm in sunlight and holds heat long into the evening, helping create its signature golden-hour glow. And while Rome feels eternal, the city is constantly renewing itself, archaeological digs opening new underground chambers, restorations revealing hidden frescoes, and neighborhoods reinventing their identity while still honoring the bones of a two-thousand-year past. Once you see these layers, Rome becomes not just a destination, but a living, breathing palimpsest of human history.
Five fascinations about Rome.
5. Rome has a secret keyhole that perfectly frames the Vatican.
Peek through the Knights of Malta keyhole on Aventine Hill and you’ll see a perfectly centered view of St. Peter’s Basilica, a hidden gem even many Romans don’t know.
4. The city has more fountains than any other in the world.
Rome boasts over 1,500 fountains, including the iconic Trevi Fountain, which collects more than €3,000 in wishes every single day.
3. Ancient Rome had its own version of fast food.
Known as thermopolia, these street-side food stalls served hot meals to the masses, making ancient Romans early adopters of grab-and-go dining.
2. Cats are legally allowed to roam the ruins.
Hundreds of cats live among the Largo di Torre Argentina ruins, and local law protects them. In Rome, felines are treated like furry guardians of the past.
1. The Pantheon’s dome is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world.
Nearly 2,000 years old, it remains one of the greatest architectural feats ever built, and its oculus still opens to the sky, letting in rain, sun, and awe.
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