The Via Vittorio Veneto was originally just called the Via Veneto, but after World War I the name was changed to “Vittorio Veneto” in honor of a battle having taken place at a village of that name. In reality everybody still calls the street Via Veneto, though.
The Via Veneto has become famous in the 50′s and 60′s because of its cafés and luxury hotels, which attracted the rich and famous, the would-be’s and the paparazzi. Federico Fellini’s movie La Dolce Vita made the entire world aware of the street.
The street was constructed in the 19th century and meanders uphill to the Villa Borghese park. There are numerous interesting buildings along its sidewalks, the most conspicous one of which is the Palazzo Margherita, which houses the Embassy of the United States.
Other palazzi of a certain grandeur are the Palazzo Coppedé and the Palazzo Excelsior (which has been turned into a hotel). The Palazzo Hotel Majestic, the Palazzo Hotel Balestra, the Palazzo Hotel Flora and the Palazzo Hotel Palace are other examples of buildings changed into luxury hotels.
In the middle of all this wealth stands the Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata a Via Veneto, otherwise known as the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. When asking directions you had better ask for the church with the bones, though, thanks to its crypt, which uses the skeletons of 4000 cappuccin monks to make a point about life and death.
The nearest metro stop to the Via Veneto is Barberini (line A).
