WHERE TO STAY | Fronting the Fountain of the Naiads, devoted to the water nymphs of Greek mythology, the Anantara Palazzo Naiadi has a storied past. During construction in the 1890s, excavators unearthed parts of the Baths of Diocletian. Mosaics from the exedra, or changing hall, have been preserved, and history buffs can hire the hotel’s archaeologist-guide for insights.

WHAT TO DO | In its heyday, Via Appia Antica, the Roman “Queen of Roads,” ran to present-day Brindisi in Italy’s heel. Walk or bike along the basalt blocks worn smooth by ancient cartwheels to spy the remains of early-Christian catacombs and emerald fields dotted with sheep.

WHERE TO STAY | The venerable Antico Albergo del Sole by the Pantheon, home to impecunious artists and alchemists since 1467, has an impressive exterior and quaint interiors.

WHERE TO STAY | The opulent Palazzo Manfredi, which welcomed pilgrims in the 1600s, later became an aristocratic hunting lodge. Its hotel bar faces the remains of the Colosseum and a gladiatorial school. The view puts an onlooker both in the past and the present (where a Negroni comes with a $25 tab).

WHAT TO DO | The magic of Rome resides around every corner: Wander into San Luigi dei Francesi, the church near the Piazza Navona, and find a trio of Caravaggios depicting the life of St. Matthew in one chapel.

WHERE TO STAY | Located within view of the Spanish Steps, the Hotel d’Inghilterra is situated in a 16th-century guesthouse near Via Borgognona. Its heyday came in the early 1800s, when English travelers on their grand tour stayed. Later, the hotel’s literary cachet attracted Ernest Hemingway, Henry James and Mark Twain; today, its old-world panache makes the sitting rooms off the lobby an elegant spot to take tea.

WHAT TO SEE | Also known as the Protestant Cemetery, where the Romantic poets John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley are buried, it is a welcome refuge with shady trails leading through sculpted flower gardens.

WHERE TO STAY | Among the new hotels of Italy’s reunification era (aka the Risorgimento) was Hotel de Russie near the Piazza del Popolo. The former palazzo with multitiered gardens was named for its fin–de–siècle popularity with Russian aristocrats, including Romanov princes. Avant-garde artists arrived next, including Jean Cocteau, who called it “paradise on earth.” Its restaurant is named Le Jardin; its “secret garden” features terraced beds planted with palm trees, yews and white roses.

WHAT TO DO | It’s hard to love the gaudy Victor Emmanuel II Monument, built to honor the first king of unified Italy. Romans mock “the wedding cake” for its excesses, but inside, the Central Museum of the Risorgimento has informative exhibits, while the rooftop terrace offers soaring panoramic views.

WHERE TO STAY | Tucked away near the Termini train station, the family-run Bettoja Hotel Mediterraneo exemplifies the art deco style that flourished between the wars. Then-owner Maurizio Bettoja was an antifascist who hid Jewish families in rooms next to German officers during the Nazi Occupation of Rome in 1943-44. Nowadays, modernist mosaics and marble busts of Roman emperors enliven the refurbished lobby.