The treatment of archaeology in Rome is a major issue for several reasons. The sheer extent and richness of the city's heritage and the likelihood of any development in Rome encountering unexpected structures and sites requires spatial planning and 'development control' practices to be designed in the light of a protection, conservation and 'rescue' mentality. This chapter describes the evolution in Rome first in the ancient walled centre and then in its suburbs and surrounding countryside of ways of managing the rich repositories of vestiges of the past that are still relevant to the millions of people who use, visit or live in Rome. It presents an overview of Roman experience in the light of the European Landscape Convention that notably defines 'the aspirations of the public with regard to the landscape features of their surroundings' as being critical to the management and planning of well-functioning, socially responsive landscapes.