Rome Wasn't Built in a Day Trivia Quiz

Answer: Egyptian obelisks

Rome boasts the world's largest collection of ancient Egyptian obelisks, all made from a single stone: there are eight of them, which can be admired in various strategic points of the city's historic centre, such as St Peter's Square and the scenic Piazza del Popolo. The oldest and tallest of them (and the largest monolithic obelisk in the world) is the Obelisco Lateranense (37,3 m/122 ft, not including the cross on top of it), erected in 1588 outside the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano. It was taken from the Temple of Amun in Karnak in the early 4th century AD: its construction began in the reign of Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC), centuries before Rome's foundation.

In addition, there are five Roman copies of Egyptian obelisks manufactured during the Imperial era, one of which can be seen at the top of the Spanish Steps. Until 2005 the city also owned the Ethiopian obelisk of Axum, which was disassembled and returned to its country of origin. There are also five modern obelisks, built between the 19th and the mid-20th century.

Answer: Appian Way

Built by consul Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC as a main route for military supplies, the Via Appia was a miracle of engineering, as it wound its way through the hills and marshes south of Rome before it turned east, heading towards the Adriatic coast and the port city of Brundisium (now Brindisi, in the south-eastern region of Apulia). The original route of the road began at Porta Capena, a gate in the Servian Walls near the Caracalla Baths. Nowadays the first nine miles of the road are found within Rome's city limits; they are dotted with sites of great cultural and historical interest, such as the monumental Porta San Sebastiano, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella and other Roman and medieval remains. In the late 18th century a new road (Via Appia Nuova) was built, running almost parallel to the old one.

The Via Aemilia was one of the most important Roman roads that did not originate in Rome; located in the area of the Po Valley, in northern Italy, it gave its name to the region of Emilia-Romagna, and it still in use to this day. On the other hand, the Via Sacra was the main street of ancient Rome, running through the Forum, while the Fosse Way linked Exeter, in south-western England, with Lincoln in the East Midlands.

Answer: Hadrian

Castel Sant'Angelo's present appearance dates back from the Renaissance, when the massive building underwent a major renovation. It was originally erected during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) to house his remains and those of his wife and first adopted son. Hadrian was the adoptive son of Trajan, the second of the Five Good Emperors (Nerva was the first, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius were the fourth and fifth). Outside of Italy, Hadrian's name is linked to the 73-mile defensive fortification built in northern England - known as Hadrian's Wall - that marked the northern border of the Roman Empire. In the following years, other emperors were also buried in the mausoleum: however, the urns and ashes were scattered by the Visigoths during the sack of Rome in 410 AD.

Beginning with the 14th century, the structure was converted into a fortress by various popes. Castel Sant'Angelo was also used as a prison, and executions took place in the small inner courtyard - as shown in the third act of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Tosca". The castle is crowned by an 18th-century bronze statue of the Archangel Michael, which gives it its current name. According to a legend, in 590 AD the Archangel appeared on top of the mausoleum, sheathing his sword to signal the end of the plague. Castel Sant'Angelo is now a museum, and often hosts important exhibitions in its scenic surroundings.

Answer: mosaic

Mosaic as an art form started in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BC, and its employ for decorative purposes was widespread in ancient Rome. From the 4th century AD, mosaics started being used to decorate churches. Though the dazzling Byzantine mosaics found in Ravenna's churches and Venice's St Mark's Basilica often steal the show, Rome offers a wide range of gorgeous masterpieces of this ancient art.

The three churches mentioned in the question are home to some outstanding examples of mosaic art dating from different periods of the Middle Ages, but they are not the only ones.

The papal basilicas of Santa Maria Maggiore. San Giovanni in Laterano and San Paolo fuori le Mura all boast magnificent mosaics with extensive gold backgrounds, as do the minor basilicas of SS. Cosma and Damiano and San Clemente, both close to the Colosseum.

The mosaics are most frequently located in the apse, whose concave shape emphasizes the luster of the tiles and lends dimension to the images.

Answer: Santa Maria sopra Minerva

As its name implies, the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva (St Mary above Minerva) was built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom (or, more probably, to the Egyptian goddess Isis). The church, whose construction was started by the Dominicans in 1280, was modelled on the Florentine Church of Santa Maria Novella, one of the masterpieces of Italian Gothic architecture. While the facade is in a sober early Renaissance style, the interior shows the church's Gothic origins, even with the rather gaudy 19th-century additions. In the 17th century, Santa Maria sopra Minerva became the headquarters of the Roman Inquisition, and Galileo Galilei was tried for heresy in one of the rooms of the adjoining convent. The church, which is a minor basilica like other important Roman churches, contains a large number of works of art, including a statue of Christ by Michelangelo. The body of St Catherine of Siena, Italy's patron saint together with St Francis of Assisi, is preserved under the main altar; the great early Renaissance painter Fra Angelico is also buried there. In the piazza outside the church, one of Rome's original Egyptian obelisks can be found, supported by the statue of an elephant by famed Baroque sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Santa Maria sopra Minerva is located behind the Pantheon, in Rome's historic district of Campo Marzio.

The remaining three options are also minor basilicas. San Pietro in Vincoli houses Michelangelo's famed statue of Moses, and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme the relics of the Holy Cross, while Santa Maria degli Angeli (built inside the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian) was designed by Michelangelo.

Answer: Piazza Navona

The elliptical Piazza Navona was built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, which was mainly used for athletic games, or "agones" - hence the name of the square, derived from "in agone", and not (as some still believe) from the staging of mock naval battles. However, in the mid-17th century the square was often flooded during the summer months to offer relief from the heat to the Roman population.

Though the story behind the two celebrated Piazza Navona landmarks is probably only a legend, it adds interest to what is undoubtedly one of Rome's most amazing sites. In Bernini's monumental Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers), sculpted between 1649 and 1651, four statues representing some of the world's major rivers (the Nile, the Danube, the Rio de la Plata and the Ganges) surround a Roman copy of an ancient Egyptian obelisk. The statue of the Rio de la Plata faces towards Borromini's monumental church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, cowering in fear of a possible collapse of the striking concave facade, while the statue of St Agnes standing next to the left belltower seems to make a gesture of reassurance. However, the fountain had already been completed by the time the church's building began in 1652. What is true is that a rivalry did exist between those two great architects, who competed for commissions at a time when many ambitious building projects were launched in Rome.

Of the remaining choices, only Piazza di Spagna (home of the Spanish Steps) is located in Rome. Piazza del Campo is the striking, shell-shaped main town square in Siena, while Piazza dei Miracoli is where you would find the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Answer: Villa Borghese

Many of Rome's public parks bear the name "Villa", since they were originally the grounds surrounding aristocratic villas and manor houses. Unfortunately, many of those stunning landscaped gardens were destroyed in the late 19th century, after Rome became the capital of Italy, but those that remain are noteworthy and very popular with both locals and visitors. Villa Borghese, though not the largest of Rome's villas (Villa Doria Pamphili has this distinction), is probably the best known, both for its central position (just outside the Aurelian Walls) and its many attractions, which include a small boating lake, a replica of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, various monuments and museums, and the equestrian arena of Piazza di Siena. The gardens of Villa Medici (seat of the French Academy in Rome) and the panoramic terrace of the Pincio are part of the Villa Borghese complex. The Villa itself, an elegant 17th-century building, houses the Galleria Borghese, one of Rome's foremost art museums, which boasts masterpieces by great Italian artists such as Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian and Bernini.

Of the remaining options, only Prati di Castello - the green area surrounding Castel Sant'Angelo - is located in Rome. The Giardino di Boboli, the landscaped park behind Palazzo Pitti, is in Florence, and Parco Sempione in Milan.

Answer: Quirinal

The Quirinal is the highest of Rome's seven hills. It takes its name from the name given to Romulus, the founder and first king of the city, after his death, when he was identified with the Sabine god Quirinus. The sprawling Quirinal Palace is one of the largest palaces in the world, with an area of 110,500 m² (1,189,412 sq ft), to which the extensive gardens should be added. The palace was built on a site that had been in use since Roman times; its construction began in 1583, as a papal summer residence away from the unhealthy influence of the river. Some of the most celebrated architects of the 16th and 17th century - such as Domenico Fontana, Carlo Maderno, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini - were involved in the building of the palace, which was completed in the 18th century. When Rome became the country's capital in early 1871, the Quirinal Palace became the residence of the Kings of Italy, and, after the referendum of June 1946, of the Presidents of the Italian Republic. In the vast square outside the palace, which affords a stunning panoramic view of the centre of Rome, stands an imposing fountain with Roman statues of the twins Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri) and one of the five Roman-made obelisks mentioned in Question 1.

The three remaining options are all part of Rome's original seven hills.

Answer: law courts

Situated on the west bank of the Tiber, almost next door to Castel Sant'Angelo, the Palazzo di Giustizia (Palace of Justice) was designed by architect Guglielmo Calderini in a style influenced by late Renaissance and Baroque architecture - unlike other landmarks built after Rome became Italy's capital (such as the towering Altare della Patria), which adopted the neoclassical style. The huge building's construction lasted over 20 years (from 1889 to 1911), mainly because of problems with the foundations. Its hulking size and somewhat excessive decoration, together with allegations of shady dealings, gave rise to the pejorative sobriquet of "Palazzaccio". However, for all its troubled beginnings, the monumental palace - surmounted by a great bronze quadriga - is now fully integrated into the city's landscape. The Palazzo di Giustizia is the seat of the Corte Suprema di Cassazione (Italy's highest court of appeal), and also houses the Central Judicial Library.

Rome's main university, La Sapienza, was built in the 20th century, while Italy's Parliament is housed in two late Renaissance buildings, Palazzo Madama and Montecitorio. The seat of Italy's central bank, on the other hand, is in Palazzo Koch, a Renaissance Revival building also erected in the late 19th century.

Answer: EUR

In spite of the hint, the name EUR has nothing to do with Europe or the euro, but is an acronym for Esposizione Universale Roma (Rome's World Fair). For a long time Italian Rationalist architecture - in spite of its ground-breaking quality - was seen in a negative light because of its connections with the Fascist regime, as well as its austere, streamlined appearance, which contrasted with what was commonly perceived as "beautiful". On the other hand, the architects who were active in those eventful twenty years ("il Ventennio") were undeniably top notch. Marcello Piacentini, who was chosen to lead the ambitious project, also designed Rome's University campus (Città Universitaria) and the controversial Via della Conciliazione. The first project for EUR was presented in 1938, as the exhibition was planned for 1942, but the start of WWII brought things to a standstill, and EUR was only completed at the end of the 1950s. It is now a thriving residential and business district, hosting government and private agencies as well as museums and vast green spaces. EUR's most representative building is the pure white Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (1938-1943), also known as Colosseo Quadrato (Square Colosseum). The district, which lies south-west of Rome's centre, about 20 km (12,4 miles) from the Tyrrhenian Sea, can be easily reached by metro, bus or car.

Of the other choices, Trastevere is a historic quarter of Rome on the west bank of the Tiber, while Porta Nuova is Milan's main business district, and La Défense (also a modern business district) lies just outside Paris.