The Colosseum (half in the day, half in the night). Also known as the Coliseum or the Flavian Amphitheatre. It was constructed betwen 70-72 AD and could seat 50,000 people.

Outside the Colosseum

The stairs leading into the Mamertine Prison (aka The Carcer or Tullianum). One of Juba's ancestors, Jugurtha, was kept here after being paraded in the Triumph of Gaius Marius.

The Mamertine is the underground cell where Saint Paul, Saint Peter and even Vercingetorix (the king of the Gauls who was defeated by Caesar) were held until executed. Although there's a shrine in the photo depicting scenes from the Bible, it isn't a church. I was surprised to find the cell empty when I visited. Not many people seemed to be visitng, although it was the site of some of the most world-altering events in history.

A plaque and oil lamp on the cell's walll commemorate some of the events which took place inside.

The empty cell. A frightening place to be, I would assume, when the lights were extiniguished and no air was let in.

Overlooking the Forum

While sightseeing in Rome, many toursits take umbrellas. Although I turned up my nose at buying one, I was desperately chasing down a vendor after a few hours in the brutal sun!

The House of Augustus on the Palatine was opened for public viewing in 2008.

A few frescoes remain in Augustus's villa. Although they're significantly damanged, the colors are still vibrant. These frescoes would have been familiar to Queen Cleopatra's twin children Alexander and Selene, who lived on the Palatine next to Augustus's villa for at least four years after their mother and father's suicide.

Augustus's villa

The villa's ceiling

The frescoed walls. You're not allowed to take flash photography inside the villa, so unfortunately, many of the photos I took came out blurry. This was the best I could do!

Outside the villa.

Not much rermains of Augustus's mausoleum in Rome

What the mausoleum would have looked like from afar

Augustus's Ara Pacis, or Peace Altar, was erected by the Senate in 13BC, long after Cleopatra's daughter left Rome. It was built in celebration of his return from the western provinces.

Standing with an image (but not a likeness) of Augustus

The remains of the Forum

In the Forum with my trusty umbrella (or umbraculum, if you will)

The original floor of the Senate

In the basement of the Capitoline Museum is the Tabularium, where Marcellus and Tiberius went to sign their names on their families' scrolls after assuming the toga virilis in the novel Cleopatra's Daughter. Just as it's described in the novel, the tabularium is a dark, underground place.

The Tabularium

A statue of Romulus and Remus and the Capitoline Hill. According to mythgology, Romulus and Remus were feral children who were brought up and suckled by a she-wolf. They went on to found Rome, and in Cleopatra's Daughter, Marcellus references the myth of how Romulus slew Remus.

The Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa, burned down in 80 AD and had to be rebuilt under Hadrian's reign in 125. He included the orignal inscription which read, Marcus Agrippa, Lucii filius, consul tertium fecit meaning, Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, consul for the third time, made it.

The famous dome inside the Pantheon. It is the oldest domed building in Rome.

A view of the Pantheon from the side

Inside the Pantheon, which was converted into a church

The artist Raphael is buried inside the Pantheon. If you look closely, you can see his coffin.

Marcellus's Theatre was built by Octavia in honor of her dead son.

As Cleopatra's Daughter: A Novel recounts, the Theatre was built in three layers, the first with Doric columns, the second with Ionic, and the third with Corinthian

A local cafe is named in honor of Marcellus and his Theatre

The remains of Tajan's Marketplace

What the market used to look like

Trajan's famous column near the Quirinal Hill was finished in 113 AD and is engraved with scenes from his victory in the Dacian Wars. There are more than 2500 figures on the column.

On top of the Quirinal Hill

Quirinal Hill

SPQR, or Senātus Populus Que Rōmānus, was the phrase of the ancient Roman Republic. It is still in use today (as you can see from the photos below). It means The Senate and the People of Rome. In Cleopatra's Daughter, Octavian uses this phrase to address the Senate. If you look closely above the SPQR in this photo, you'll see an image of Romulus and Remus suckling at the she-wolf.

On the top of public notices in Rome is SPQR

The Tiber River at night

The remains of the Circus Maximus. People now use the oval shape as a jogging track.

Behind a metal fence and several yards of overgrown weeds are the real remains of the Circus

Augustus's villa overlooked the Circus Maximus. It must have been a beautiful sight from above at sunset.

The famous statue of the Dying Gaul is in the Capitoline Museum. Though I smiled for the photo, the subject is actually nothing to smile about, as the Gauls were captured by the tens of thousands and dragged into Rome to become slaves. The statue was found in 1622 in the Gardens of Caesar. It was a copy of the statue created for the King of Pergamon for his victory over the Galatians.

The naked warrior has fallen on his shield and is taking his last breath. His necklace (torques), mustache and hair all indicate that he was part of the Celtic population.

This fountain of the river god Oceanus occupies much of the Capitoline Museum's courtyard. It is one of the few remaining "talking statues" - or pasquinades. Pasquinades were satires which poked fun at public figures, and in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, these satires were posted on this statue for the public to read. The statue is also known as the Fountain of Marforio, although how it received its name isn't clear.

Augustus was extremely fond of the theatre. These are the masks of tragedy and comedy portrayed in a Roman mosaic that's more than two thousand years old.

The Boca della Verita is located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria. It was carved from Pavonazzetto marble during the ancient Roman era, but in the Middle Ages it was used as a sort of lie detector. Villagers believed that if you put your hand inside the mouth and told a lie, the old man carved into the marble would bite it off!