Travel to Rome on Northwest Airlines

> Find airfare to Rome on Northwest Airlines

When you travel to Rome, Italy, you'll be visiting one of the top sightseeing and tourist destinations not just in Europe, but across the entire globe. The list of amazements in Rome is almost too lengthy: from the ancient and majestic Colosseum and it's gladiatorial grounds to the dome of the Pantheon, the sights in and around Rome are truly breathtaking. 

The history of Rome, from its legendary founding by the two brothers Romulus and Remus, through the time of the Roman Empire and up to the present, have been extremely well documented, written about, and fantasized over. When you fly to Rome and see the sights here for yourself, however, you can see why this city holds so much sway over people's imaginations. Starting with a tour of the Colosseum, given how well it has been preserved, it is not too difficult to picture tens of thousands of people cheering on the death matches that once took place here between gladiators and beasts, for example.

Other sights around Rome are equally staggering, such as the city's oldest and also most intact piece of standing architecture, the Pantheon. The Pantheon, with its domed roof and distinctive columns, was built to serve as a temple dedicated to the Roman gods. It is now the tomb of past Italian kings and is still in use as a church today.

When you venture into Vatican City, which Rome surrounds, you'll get to see St. Peter's Basilica. St. Peter's is one of the most astounding structures in the world, has been called one of the most important sites in the Christian faith, and is certainly a top sight to see during a trip to Rome. The dome of St. Peter's owes its design to the great Michelangelo, who died even before it was finished.

However, Michelangelo's greatest works to be seen in Rome are the fresco paintings on the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. These paintings took the artist and prototypical Renaissance man about four years to complete, and have been extensively (and controversially) restored today. The most famous and perhaps most globally recognizable of these is The Creation of Adam. A trip to Rome really does require taking a long look at the grandeur of what Michelangelo accomplished here in the Sistine Chapel.

This hardly scratches the surface of what a Rome truly holds — one could write novels on Italian cuisine alone, for example. However, coming to this great European city yourself is the only way to see and appreciate Rome in all its greatness.