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Some interesting sights in the central station area:

 

 

Museo Nazionale Romano -- Originally, this museum occupied only the Diocletian Baths. Today it is divided into four different sections: Palazzo Massimo alle Terme; the Terme di Diocleziano (Diocletian Baths), with the annex Octagonal Hall; and Palazzo Altemps (which is near Piazza Navona).

 

 

Palazzo Massimo alle Terme -- If you ever wanted to know what all those emperors from your history books looked like, this museum makes them live again, togas and all. In the central hall are works representing the political and social life of Rome at the time of Augustus Caesar. Note the statue of the emperor with a toga covering his head, symbolizing his role as the head priest of state. Other works include an altar from Ostia Antica, the ancient port of Rome, plus a statue of a wounded Niobid from 440 B.C. that is a masterwork of expression and character. Upstairs, stand in awe at all the traditional art from the 1st century B.C. to the Imperial Age. The most celebrated mosaic is of the Four Charioteers. In the basement is a rare numismatic collection and an extensive collection of Roman jewelry.

 

 

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore -- This great church, one of Rome's four major basilicas, was built by Pope Liberius in A.D. 358 and was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III from 432 to 440. Its 14th-century campanile is the city's loftiest. The basilica is especially noted for the 5th-century Roman mosaics in its nave, as well as for its coffered ceiling, which is said to have been gilded with gold brought from the New World. In the 16th century, Domenico Fontana built a now-restored "Sistine Chapel." In the following century, Flaminio Ponzo designed the Pauline (Borghese) Chapel in the baroque style. The church also contains the tomb of Bernini, Italy's most important baroque sculptor/architect.

 

 

Diocletian Baths -- Near Piazza dei Cinquecento, which fronts the rail station, this museum occupies part of the 3rd-century A.D. Baths of Diocletian and part of a convent that might have been designed by Michelangelo. The Diocletian Baths were the biggest thermal baths in the world. Nowadays they host a marvelous collection of funereal art works, such as sarcophagi, and decorations dating back to the Aurelian period. The Baths also have a section reserved for temporary exhibitions.

 

 

Octagonal Hall -- The Octagonal Hall occupies the southwest corner of the central building of the Diocletian Baths. Here you can see the Lyceum Apollo, a copy of the 2nd-century A.D. work inspired by the Prassitele. Also worthy of note is the Aphrodite of Cyrene, a copy dating back to the second half of the 2nd century A.D. and discovered in Cyrene, Libya.