Rome - Palatine Hill

(Local Name: Palatino) The Palatine occupies a leading place among the seven hills of Rome. It is associated with the legend of the foundation of the city, and has yielded evidence of the earliest settlement in the area, strategically situated 50m/165ft above the Tiber, near the Isola Tiberina. Under the Empire palaces (the very word "palace" comes from the Palatine) were built here by the Emperors and great aristocratic families of Rome; and although the remains of these buildings give only a very inadequate impression of their former magnificence, a walk over the Palatine nevertheless takes us into the heart of Roman history.