Rome

Book a two-hour timed-entry ticket in advance to beat the crowds, then spend the first 45 minutes upstairs with the paintings before taking in the sculptures below. — Departures

A pilgrimage spot for art lovers everywhere... adorned with three stunningly dramatic works by Caravaggio... now recognized to be among the world's greatest paintings. — Fodor's

Vespasian began building the Colosseum - which has hosted gory battles between combinations of gladiators, slaves, prisoners and wild animals of all descriptions. — Time Out

A rather vulgar example of the transition from Latin to the Italian vernacular.  — Atlas Obscura

Built by Domitian and erroneously referred to since the 19th century as the "stadium," this was in fact a sunken garden that created a terrace on the slopes of the hill. — Fodor's

A satellite of the Capitoline Museums housed in a former power plant, Centrale Montemartini brilliantly juxtaposes gods and machines. — Travel + Leisure

Recently restored, this magnificent 15C palace today houses the Ludovisi-Boncompagni collection. — Michelin Guide

The Capitoline Museums house a collection of ancient sculptures in a pair of buildings designed by Michelangelo in the mid-16th century. — Afar Magazine

Nearly 2,000 years after it was erected by Emperor Marcus Agrippa, the Pantheon is still one of the most impressive buildings in the world. — Concierge

If you ever wanted to know what all those emperors from your history books looked like, this museum makes them live again, togas and all. — Frommer's

Contains almost a millennia's worth of Italian architecture, from an 18th-century baroque exterior to the 5th-century mosaics lining its interior arch. — Afar Magazine

If you find your imagination stretching to picture Rome as it was two millennia ago, make sure to check out this "new" ancient site just a stone's throw from Piazza Venezia. — Fodor's

Here, everything that makes Rome unique is compressed into one beautiful Baroque piazza. — Fodor's

This imposing building was erected in 135 AD as Emperor Hadrian's family mausoleum, and was converted into a chapel by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6C. — Michelin Guide

Caravaggio, with his Rest on the Flight to Egypt, is the star of a prestigious collection of paintings and sculptures. — Michelin Guide

Artistic highlights of the place include a striking portrait by Velázquez of the Pamphili pontiff Innocent X: this was the inspiration for Francis Bacon's 1953 'screaming pope'. — The Telegraph

Like the church of Santa Susanna across Piazza San Bernardo, this church was designed by Carlo Maderno, but this one is best known for Bernini's sumptuous Baroque decoration. — Fodor's

South African William Kentridge and arte povera movement founder Michelangelo Pistoletto share gallery space in the soaring, vibrantly elastic Zaha Hadid-designed building. — Travel + Leisure

Raphael, Bernini, Caravaggio, Bramante, Pinturricchio, and Annibale Carracci—and that's just the shortlist of artists contained in one church, the little-visited Santa Maria del Popolo. — Travel + Leisure