Modern Rome sits on top of its ancient past for reasons both simple and astonishing. Dust, plants, debris, floods, fires, and centuries of rebuilding slowly buried the city layer by layer.

Archaeologists have unearthed tombs and a shrine dedicated to Hercules from the time of the Roman Republic.

From a reimagined centuries-old palazzo to a private apartment with a rooftop terrace, five new places to stay that offer a fresh vision of the city. By Laura May Todd While Rome’s charms may be, as ...