Virtual Flight Over Ancient Rome: 3D Tour Recreates the City in the Second Century AD

Manuel Bravo, a YouTuber known for his informative virtual tours of ancient sites, has released a new 3D reconstruction video titled "Virtual Rome" that offers a drone-like flight over the city as it appeared in the second century AD, when its built environment was at its peak. The tour begins on the Capitoline Hill, the most sacred of Rome's seven hills, and passes by the Temples of Jupiter and Juno Moneta, the Tabularium (which stored mail), the Roman Forum with its basilicas, and the Curia Julia, where the Roman Senate met. It also highlights lesser-known locations such as the Rostra, adorned with the sea walls of captured enemy ships and used by orators like Cicero; the Regia, home to the Pontifex Maximus; and the Tullianum (now Mamertine Prison), a dark, stinking underground facility that remains partially open to tourists for a ten-euro entrance fee. Bravo's previous works include tours of the Acropolis, the Sistine Chapel, Paris, and Pompeii. The video is available on YouTube. The article also references other 3D reconstructions of ancient Rome, including "Rome Reborn" and an animated flight over the city circa 320 AD, as well as a free online course from Sapienza University of Rome on the changing landscape of ancient Rome.