The cruise port closest to Rome is Civitavecchia, 44 miles away, and a bus ride of an hour and a half away. Rome: Is the capital of Italy, largest populated comune in the country with 2.9 million residents and fourth-most populated city in the European Union.  Interestingly enough, Rome became the capital of the Italian Republic only in 1946 after World War II, but 1871 has also been mentioned.  Turin and Florence were capitals before Rome. Founded in 753 BC, and some say this is the birthplace of Western Civilization. The Pope has lived here since the first century AD. I've been here several times, Here is a summary of my stay in 2010: My Best Lunch Ever , just off the Spanish Steps, in the Eden Hotel. La Terrazza dell'Eden. I had a  Roman Holiday . Went to all the traditional tourist attractions:  Trevi Fountain. So after lunch walked down the Spanish Steps.  Why so-called?  The Spanish Ambassador to the Vatican lives near here. Walked around St. Peter's Square.  No Pop

Deloitte published their assessment of Rome's 2000 year-old Colosseum, which could well cost from $250 million to $1 billion to build today.  You can  read the details here , but, ta-da, it is worth $79 billion.  It would rank   #14 in the current list of world billionaires . There are moments and experiences, says Mastercard, that are priceless, but many famous historical artifacts are also in that category, especially those of Leonardo da Vinci. Some of his works do have known values.  A prominent one, and most expensive art piece ever sold, is  Salvator Mundi,  which was bought by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman in 2017 for $450 million, some say as a gift to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and today has a value closer to $500 million, or half a billion dollars. To the right is how the Leonardo pictured Jesus Christ, but it is still not clear if he finished it in the 1490s while working in Milan on  The Last Supper , or in Florence after 1500 while painting the  Mona