Terrazza Italia

Terrazza Italia allows you to enjoy some unique views of Rome, thus previewing the breath-taking 360° view from the Panoramic Terrace. The view to the west frames the Teatro Marcello. Begun by Julius Caesar, it was completed in 17 BC by Emperor Augustus, who dedicated it to his nephew, Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance it was first adapted to become a castle and then an aristocratic palazzo. 
Immediately in front of the theatre, you can see via del Teatro Marcello, which was obtained at the price of heavy demolitions in 1939 and called via del Mare. In the foreground, you can see the sloped ramp-like roadway called the Cordonata Capitolina: the roadway owes its name to the large transverse elements in stone, called cordons. The Cordonata is the work of Michelangelo, who used it to connect Piazza del Campidoglio to Piazza d’Aracoeli.

Right beside it, you can see the staircase of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven: the staircase is the result of an ex-voto offering to the Virgin Mary for having put an end to the plague of 1340. Below, you can see the remains of a Roman insula, i.e. an apartment building on five floors. In the distance, the profile of the domes of the church of Santi Biagio e Carlo ai Catinari stands out, and you will also see the domes of Sant’Andrea della Valle, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Sant’Agnese in Agone and the spiral lantern of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza.

Looking east, you can immediately see the eighteenth-century Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary and the Imperial Forums, that is the monumental squares built by the Roman emperors. 
 

The first to be seen is Trajan's Forum, with the famous Column, almost 30 metres high, decorated with a frieze illustrating the victorious campaign against the Dacians. Behind the Forum you can see Trajan's Market, intended for commercial and administrative activities. In the background, the Tower of the Militia stands out, built in the thirteenth century for the Conti family. To the south of Trajan’s Forum, the Forum of Augustus opens up with the remains of the Temple of Mars Ultor and the Forum of Nerva.

In the foreground, Via dei Fori Imperiali, built in the Fascist period, winds its way and at the bottom towards the south stands the Coliseum, the amphitheatre built by the emperors of the Flavian dynasty and so called since the Middle Ages, perhaps due to the presence of the colossal bronze statue of Nero in the vicinity.