The Italian city of Rome is one of the world’s most important tourist destinations, owing to its vast archaeological and artistic treasures. Apart from numerous museums, the city boasts various churches, palaces, historical buildings, aqueducts and fountains.

Among the popular tourist spots in Rome are the Vatican Museums. Some of the works on display at the museums are the paintings of Caravaggio, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Raphael, Titian and Nicolas Poussin. The galleries also house Roman sculptures, tombstones and inscriptions. The Niccoline and Sistine chapels are part of the museums as well. At the west side of the Belvedere Courtyard is the Gallery of Maps, a series of painted topographical maps of Italy by Ignazio Danti of Perugia. Visitors can usually enter the museums for free on the last Sunday of the month.

Rome is also the home of the Colosseum. In early times the amphitheater was used for gladiator battles and other public spectacles. Although it is partially ruined due to earthquakes and stone robbers, the Colosseum remains an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

Located at the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the La Bocca della Verita is a man-like face carved from Pavonazzetto marble that is said to function as a lie detector. It was believed that a person’s hand would be bitten off if he told a lie while his hand is inside the sculpture.

The Pantheon is also worth a visit. Constructed in 27 B.C. by Marcus Agrippa, it is the only ancient Rome monument that remains intact. The Pantheon was originally a pagan temple, but it was converted into a church in 608 A.D. The remains of Italy’s king Vittorio Emanuele II and his successor Umberto I are buried there.