In the year 27 BC, Augustus became Rome's first emperor, and in his memoirs he proudly wrote: "I found a city of stone and bricks; now I leave it to you remade in marble." It is the monumental ruins and imposing buildings that remain from the Eternal City's glorious past that are the focus of this fascinating walking tour that starts with the most famous of them all, the Colosseum.

Begun by the Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD, this elliptical amphitheater is capable of seating 50,000 spectators. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts and executions. After marveling at its vast interior, you'll pass by the triumphal arches of Constantine and Titus as you enter the Roman Forum. The center of Roman public life for centuries, it was the site of temples, a senate house, law courts and numerous monuments commemorating the city's great men.

You will tread the 2,500 year-old paving stones of the Via Sacra as you ascend to the Capitoline Hill. In ancient times the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus stood here, while in the 16th century the space was redesigned by Michelangelo with a monumental bronze statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback as its focus. One of the most magnificent views in Rome can be had from the Capitoline terrace, looking back over the Palatine and Roman Forum.

You can choose the fourth monument you wish to visit: either the Pantheon or the Palatine Hill. Hadrian's Pantheon is the most impressive and best-preserved monument of classical antiquity. It is covered by the biggest cupola ever built by the Romans; a "celestial vault" with an open oculus as its center. Or you can climb up the grass-covered Palatine Hill where legend says that the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. The Emperor Augustus made the Palatine his official power center, thereby initiating a building boom in which many lavish imperial palaces were constructed. Today artworks from these palaces are exhibited in a small museum, along with various artifacts from Iron Age tombs.