You’ll understand the Forum, Colosseum, and Pantheon 10x better with 15 minutes of context. Here’s the minimum viable Roman history.
Plan a history trip →753 BC: Rome founded (Romulus and Remus, wolf, the whole myth). 509 BC: kings expelled, Republic begins. 264–146 BC: Punic Wars against Carthage. 44 BC: Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March (Senate house, now visible in the Forum). 27 BC: Augustus becomes first Emperor. 80 AD: Colosseum opens (100 days of games, 9,000 animals killed). 117 AD: Empire at maximum extent under Trajan. 313: Constantine legalizes Christianity. 476: last emperor deposed by Odoacer.
Rome: Colosseum (€16–24), Forum + Palatine (same ticket), Pantheon (€5 since 2023), Terme di Caracalla (€8), Via Appia Antica (free). Pompeii (€18): a frozen Roman city. Herculaneum (€13): better preserved than Pompeii. Ostia Antica (€12): Rome’s port, easier and less crowded than Pompeii. Villa Adriana, Tivoli (€10): Hadrian’s massive estate.
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