Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/604875
Rome | 31 Rome Never was there a more fitting nickname than that of the Eternal City, a capital famous since it was founded in 753 bce. Every stone here has its memories: of streets once marched by conquering armies led by proud emperors and Spanish Steps trodden by generations of Romans, while walls remember the roar of thousands as gladiators circled the dirt floor of the Colosseum. The city's glorious past is proudly displayed, from the Forum where Julius Caesar spoke to the stunningly preserved Pantheon to the awe-inspiring Sistine Chapel. Visitors to the city have been tossing coins into the Neptune-inspired Trevi Fountain for generations, hoping it will help them return…because although Rome endures, it also evolves. Modern-minded shoppers find paradise in the "Trident," where high-end Italian, international, jewelry, and couture boutiques line the avenues with some of the finest names in luxury today. Contemporary trattorias serve elegant food and fine espresso from state-of-the-art machines, and the young and young at heart make memories discovering the nightlife of this vast city. A more serious note is reintroduced with the rising of the sun, when the city-state of the Vatican, home to St. Peter's Basilica and the Roman Catholic Church's popes throughout the centuries, awakens to welcome another day in the bustling Seven Hills of Rome.