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Palatine Hill

The hill where Rome began and its emperors built their palaces: ruins, gardens, and the best view over the Forum.

The House of Augustus • The Stadium • Views Over the Forum

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🏛️ Your Perfect Roman Experience

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Opens 9:00 AM

The Forum and Palatine open half an hour after the Colosseum. Last entry moves with the season.

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2-3 Hours

Longer if you walk up to the Farnese gardens and stop at the terrace.

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One Ticket, Three Sites

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine, valid 24 hours with one entry to each.

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Via di San Gregorio 30

The Palatine gate. Metro Colosseo, Line B.

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Neighborhood: Monti, Celio

The Aventine across the valley is the quiet alternative.

🧭 Why Visit

Rome's birthplace and its Beverly Hills in one. Emperors' palaces sprawl across the hilltop with the Forum on one side and the Circus Maximus on the other. It's the quiet, green, view-rich third of the Colosseum ticket most visitors skip.

🏛️ A Little History

Romulus, legend says, founded Rome here in 753 BC; Augustus deliberately built his (modest) house beside the founder's hut site, and every emperor after him expanded until 'Palatium' became the word for palace in a dozen languages.

💡 Did You Know?

Archaeologists really did find Iron Age hut foundations from the 8th century BC, the right age for Romulus, preserved under the imperial marble. The hill also hides the Lupercal, a grotto Augustus decorated as the she-wolf's cave.

Where to stay nearby

🛏️ Sleep in Above the Forum

The Palatine rises between the Forum and the Circus Maximus. Monti and the Celio put you closest, and the Aventine across the…

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THE WAY UP

The Climb In

From the Via di San Gregorio gate the path climbs past the arcaded slope and the aqueduct before the hill opens out on top.

Cobbled ramp and a broad stair climbing to the Palatine Hill, stone pines on the slope above.
The Way InThe way in from the Via di San Gregorio gate: the ramp and stair up onto the hill.
Gravel path running below arcaded chambers cut into the Palatine slope, under stone pines.
Along the SlopeThe path along the arcaded slope, with the hill's chambers open on the right.
Free-standing brick aqueduct arcade of two tiers on the Palatine Hill in Rome.
Water to the HillThe aqueduct arcade that brought water up onto the hill. The site panel beside it names it the Acqua Claudia.
Tiers of vaulted brick chambers in the Severan substructures of the Palatine, oleander in flower below.
Holding Up the CornerThe substructures that carry the south corner of the hill.
A tall brick arch springing over a vaulted stair passage on the Palatine Hill, seen from below.
The Stair ArchThe vaulted stair arch on the climb up.
THE IMPERIAL PALACE

The Flavian Palace

Domitian's palace covers the centre of the hill. What survives is brick core, a few carved pieces still in place, and the outline of a garden in the grass.

Tall arched hall of the imperial palace on the Palatine, its brick front standing open to the sky.
A Hall of the PalaceOne of the great halls of the palace, seen from the lawn below.
Great arched gateway in the imperial palace on the Palatine, a cypress framed in the opening.
Cypress in the ArchThe gateway through to the court, with a cypress standing in the arch.
Two carved marble corbels set one above the other into a brick pier, Palatine Hill, Rome.
Still in PlaceCarved corbels still in place on the palace brickwork.
Marble relief of facing griffins flanking a candelabrum, set into brickwork on the Palatine Hill.
Two GriffinsThe griffin relief, set back into the wall where it was found.
Marble architectural fragments stacked on storage racks against a brick wall on the Palatine Hill.
Waiting on the RacksNot everything on the hill is on display. Fragments waiting on the racks.
Moulded stucco panels with small figures on the vault of a cryptoporticus, Palatine Hill.
Stucco OverheadStucco surviving on the vault of the cryptoporticus. The site panel gives it to Nero's palace.
Low brick outlines of the palace peristyle garden and its curved fountain, Palatine Hill, Rome.
The Garden OutlineThe peristyle garden, with the outline of its fountain still legible in the brick.
THE SUNKEN COURT

The Stadium

A long sunken court beside the palace, lined with a portico and closed at one end by a curve. Whether it was a garden or a track is still argued.

The long sunken floor of the Palatine stadium, its arcaded east wall running the full length.
End to EndThe stadium end to end from the north.
A curved stone enclosure standing on the sun-bleached floor of the Palatine stadium.
The Later EnclosureThe curved enclosure built into the stadium floor in a later phase.
A receding row of brick column drums on marble bases along the portico of the Palatine stadium.
Drums and BasesThe portico columns, drums and bases, down the east side.
The Palatine stadium from its curved end, the arcaded portico falling away down the right side.
From the Curved EndThe same stadium from the curved south end, looking back along its length.
BELOW THE TERRACE

The Sunken Courts

The lower wing of the palace drops two storeys into the hill, around a court with a fountain island cut in curved frets.

Tiers of arched brick niches inside a curved room on the Palatine Hill, sheeted marble slabs on the floor.
Niches and SheetingInside one of the niched rooms, with marble slabs under protective sheeting.
Arched brick niches in raking sunlight above stacked marble fragments, Palatine Hill, Rome.
Raking LightNiches open to the sky, with fragments laid out below.
The curved fret fountain playing in the sunken court of the Domus Augustana, seen from above.
The Fountain IslandThe fountain island in the lower court, running.
Sunken garden and pool of the Domus Augustana below a brick exedra, cypress on the skyline.
The Sunken GardenThe sunken garden from the terrace above.
Looking down into a deep court of the Domus Augustana lined with tall arched brick piers.
Straight DownStraight down into the light well, piers to the floor.
THE VIEW BACK

The Farnese Terrace

Sixteenth-century gardens laid over the imperial ruins, with a wall fountain in the shade and the Forum, the campanile and the Colosseum below.

Moss and ferns hanging over the basin of the Farnese wall fountain, a marble lion on the rim.
Moss and a LionThe wall fountain in the Farnese gardens, fed into a lion-guarded basin.
The Roman Forum below the Palatine, excavated brickwork and pines running up to the city rooftops.
Down on the ForumDown onto the Forum from the terrace.
The brick campanile of Santa Francesca Romana rising above the Forum, seen from the Palatine.
The CampanileThe campanile of Santa Francesca Romana over the east end of the Forum.
The Colosseum seen through umbrella pines from the Farnese gardens on the Palatine Hill.
Through the PinesThe Colosseum through the pines. This is the frame the Phase A face flag was wrong about.

On the Hill

📷 Gallery
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The House of Augustus

The best-preserved Roman wall painting in the city, in three small rooms behind a SUPER ticket.

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Visiting Tips

  • Go in at the Via di San Gregorio gate. The entrance by the Colosseum had a huge line, so we walked round to San Gregorio instead and were in just after 10:20 on a Sunday morning at the end of August 2026 with no queue at all.
  • The Forum and Palatine open at 9:00, half an hour after the Colosseum. Book the Colosseum slot first and come up the hill afterwards.
  • There is almost no shade between the palace and the stadium. Bring water and go early or late.
  • The House of Augustus is up here too, and the standard Colosseum ticket does not open it. If you want the painted rooms you need the Forum Pass SUPER or the Full Experience ticket.

Photo Opportunities

  • The Farnese terrace gives you the Forum, the campanile of Santa Francesca Romana and the Colosseum from one standpoint.
  • The stadium reads best from its curved south end, where the portico falls away down one side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Palatine on the same ticket as the Colosseum?
Yes. The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine ticket covers all three, valid 24 hours with one entry to each area. There is also a Forum Pass SUPER that covers the archaeological areas without the Colosseum, and that is the ticket that opens the SUPER sites on the hill.
Can I get into the House of Augustus?
Only with the Forum Pass SUPER or the Full Experience ticket, and not on a Monday. It has its own page here, with the painted rooms photographed lit and unlit.
Which entrance should I use?
Via di San Gregorio 30 is the Palatine gate and it is usually the quietest. Via della Salara Vecchia 5/6 puts you straight into the Forum, and there is an entrance by the Arch of Titus. San Gregorio is a short walk round from the Colosseum.
How long do I need up here?
Two to three hours covers the palace, the stadium, the sunken courts and the Farnese terrace at a walking pace. Add half an hour for the House of Augustus if your ticket opens it.

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