The sizzling midday heat of a Roman summer is enough to make even the most stubborn of Englishmen retreat to the cover of a pavement cafe for a cooling gelato. Later, as the mid-afternoon temperatures drop a few delicious degrees, swarms of tourists re-emerge in search of Rome's incredible array of ancient, medieval and renaissance treasures. The city buzzes. A cacophony of noise rises above the streets and piazzas: discordant Italian voices, whining rogue scooters, irascible car horns, overworked camera shutters and the background percussion of the city's never-ending restoration work.

Wander through Rome's Centro Storico and the shadows of the ancients mingle with the legacy of the last few centuries. Abandoned and broken columns that once knew senators and emperors lie like ostentatious garden ornaments beneath the facades of Baroque and Renaissance palaces. Turn a corner on a nondescript street and you'll stumble across the ruins of temple to a long-forsaken god dominating the skyline. Cross the street and you're surrounded by expensive leather boutiques and designer stores. This is Rome.