Rome’s Living Historic Center

The marshy lowland area along the banks of the Tiber River was once considered suitable only for soggy military drills, until the Roman Empire conquered nature – along with the rest of Europe, parts of Africa and Britain – to build the first city of a million inhabitants in history. See how three millennia of transformation have turned such legendary sites as Piazza del Popolo, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de’ Fiori, Piazza Farnese and Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio into the historic centerpieces of a Modern European Capital.

An award-winning American architect and professor of design and urbanism, combines his love of cities – public markets, bustling streets, neighborhood pride and storied monuments – with his trained eye for design and how it can transform our perception of place. He engages each new group in a dialogue about how they “read” the city through their own powers of observation, while sharing the historic narratives that have made Rome the world’s most legendary Capital City.