There is simply too much to see in Rome - the Vatican City alone can easily swallow up an entire weekend. Most visitors are overwhelmed and remain torn between running from sight to sight in order to 'do' everything, or lingering over a couple of monuments and museums.

The latter option is strongly recommended - even then, it is best to punctuate cultural trips with ice creams, coffees, and serene walks in the city's parks (the Villa Borghese is one of the loveliest). As for most holy sites, clothing covering midriffs, shoulders and legs are recommended, particularly for the Vatican.

The centro storico is the obvious starting point, with the greatest concentration of Classical and Christian sites enclosed in a relatively small space. Stumbling upon ancient frescoes, Renaissance fountains and beautiful piazzas are part of the pleasures of wandering around Rome's streets.

Rome has over 400 churches and four major basilicas - St Peter's, St John Lateran, St Mary Major and St Paul's. However, it is San Clemente - on Via San Giovanni in Laterano - which encapsulates the multi-layered labyrinth of Rome. At street level, there is a 12th-century basilica with beautiful mosaics. Down one level is a well preserved Roman basilica. Deeper still are more ancient Roman remains, until finally, at the deepest level, is the temple to the oriental cult of Mithras.

The Roman Forum is now a heap of marble fragments, columns and floor layouts. A leap of imagination is required to recreate the former marketplace that was the political, commercial and social heart of ancient Rome, and the symbolic centre of an Empire stretching to Greece, Sicily and Carthage. Fire, barbarians and pillaging builders in medieval and Renaissance times contributed to the Forum's present state of disrepair but the Forum was only revealed during the excavation work of the 19th century. A bird's-eye view is gained from behind Piazza del Campidoglio, and a closer look from along Via Sacra that runs through the heart of the Forum.

Our Italian immersion vacation allows you plenty of time to discover the Culture of Italy & Rome.