On the trail of Rome's buried treasure
History is piled high on almost every street in Rome. For over 2000 years, emperors and popes built opulent palaces, temples, cathedrals and monuments throughout the city. But, picturesque as Rome’s setting is, on a curve in the River Tiber, hemmed in by seven hills, space has always been at a premium. Generations of would-be builders have faced the same problem: how to find a spot for their own monuments among the many other splendid edifices in the city?
Some builders resorted to inventive options, raiding older icons for materials. Marble stripped off antiquities including the Colosseum was used to build Renaissance palaces such as the Palazzos Venezia, Barberini and Cancelleria.
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