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Ancient Rome
The mention of Rome typically conjures up images of the Colosseum and this was where we were headed this morning. The plan for today was to tour the various ancient Roman ruins and sights near the Colosseum. Getting there was easy enough as there was a subway station right next to the Colosseum.
The present structure of this building is apparently only one-third of its original height. That's quite an impressive engineering feat considering that it was built 2000 years ago.
1. The interior of the Colosseum. The actual arena grounds have been excavated to show the basement levels of the building where the slaves worked and where the animals were kept for the slaughter.
2. Images of the Colosseum I wouldn't say that the tour of the Colosseum was anything spectacular but you cannot visit Rome and not come and see the Colosseum ! This would have been the crown jewel of the Roman empire during the reign of Titus. Unfortunately, much of the building's brickwork had been plundered in the intervening millenium to build the other monuments around Rome.
There are some good views of neighbouring historical buildings and monuments from the second level of the Colosseum.
3. Temple of Venus and Rome 4. Arch of Constantine We came back later in the afternoon to see the Colosseum under lights. Rome does a magnificent job in lighting up all its monuments at night and it's quite a spectacle.
5. Colosseum in the late afternoon and early evening.
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The Roman Forum
Adjacent to the Colosseum lies the ruined Roman Forum which for many years it was the seat of power of the Roman Empire. It takes a great deal of imagination to picture what this area would have been like during its glory days.
This whole area was quite packed with throngs of tourists (like us !) and the day was quite hot. There wasn't much shade around the site and we were quickly quite exhausted under the blistering Roman sun. A great thing about Rome is that there is no shortage of drinking fountains sprinkled all over the city. Apparently, the water is sourced from deep springs and it tasted great !
Some of the building descriptions below may not be correct ! Don't hesistate to let me know if I've got it wrong. It's a bit hard trying to match a map's description with the remnants of the building.
4. The gang. 5. I have no idea what this is but it looked like an interesting photo to take.
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Tip :
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This was a huge monument that we passed by yesterday in the cab from the station. At that time we didn't know what it was but were quite impressed by its immensity. This monument was built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king to unify Italy. It was quite difficult to take any good photos of this monument as the bright noon day sun was shining brightly behind it.
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Capitoline Hill
Just behind the Il Vittoriano is Capitoline Hill, the most sacred of Rome's seven hills. There are a number of museums here but we didn't go into any of them. The square at the top of the hill was designed by Michelangelo and it features an equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (he was featured as the "good" emperor in the movie, Gladiator).
7. Piazza del Campidoglio designed by Michelangelo There was also a statue of the twins, Romulus and Remus, and their adopted she-wolf "mother". The original settlers of Rome (the Etruscans and the Greeks) believed that Rome was founded by the twins and Romulus became the first king of Rome.
8. Romulus and Remus There are also good views of the Roman Forum from the Hill. The guidebooks almost recommend to see the sight at night when the Forum is lit up. We stuck around to see that, but honestly, it wasn't that great.
9. Views of the Roman Forum from Capitoline Hill
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San Pietro in Vincoli (Church of St Peter's in Chains)
Near the Colosseum is a small church called the Church of St Peter's in Chains. For such a small church, it seems to hold a disproportionate number of historical and religious artefacts. At one corner of the church stands the statue of Moses by Michelangelo. This statue was commissioned by Pope Julius II for his tomb in 1505 but his grand plans for his tomb were never realised as Michelangelo was diverted to another grand project - the Sistine Chapel.
9. Statue of Moses Another part of the church holds the supposed chains of St Peter that the Empress Eudoxia claimed to have collected from Jerusalem in 431.
10. Chains of St Peter's
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We were absolutely exhausted from the day's activities - primarily from walking under the hot sun. It was so hot in Rome compared to Salzburg !