Rome, Lazio, Italy
We are up at the regular time today, although Mike had a rough night (he had food poisoning and we decided it was the bad olive oil at last night’s restaurant, but who knows?) At breakfast we decided to head out to see the Colosseum and the Roman Forum for today's adventures. We had originally tried to get tickets online for the Colosseum but then we read in Rick Steves' book where he said this is one place that one can just get tickets onsite or at one of the smaller venues nearby. We headed to the Colosseum ticket booth only to find that the line was actually shorter to buy tickets there than the line was for those who already had their tickets! Well yay for Rick! We decided to only get the tickets for the regular tour and not pay extra to tour the basement or the very top level. We can see enough of both of those from the main level. This place is SO marvellous! Can you imagine how long this building has been here? It was built by Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, thus the Colosseum's name is actually the Flavian Amphitheater--I didn't know that, did you? It opened when Rome was at its peak in A.D . 80. so they would have a place for gladiators to fight and to have other public spectacles. This place is really huge--according to the written materials it is 280 feet long by 165 feet wide and could accommodate 50,000 fans! Wow!
One of the most amazing things about the buildings that the Romans built was their use of concrete--they are the pioneers of that material and used it everywhere. We walked around the interior of the Colosseum and then Mike and I went to the 2nd level and looked down into the underground areas. The arena was originally covered by a wooden floor that was then covered by sand (the Roman word for sand was arena). The outside of the Colosseum was once covered with travertine marble but that has been removed and was used for other building projects in later years. Next stop, we meet up with Tammy and off we go to the Palatine Hill or Monte Palatino.
It's beginning to get very warm as we walk to the Palatine Hill and through the ticket gates to the palace ruins and the museum at the top. Many people skip this area but it is worth visiting and the ticket you bought for the Colosseum also includes this venue. This area of Rome was considered to be a very desirable place to live during Roman times and legend had it that Romulus and Remus were brought up here in a cave.
It has been described as a "romantic, melancholy essence of ruins" which includes the huge Imperial Palace. The palace which is in ruins was built by Emperor Domitian in A.D. 81 and was the home to Roman emperors for three centuries and originally covered 150,000 square feet of space. Now that is a lot of space!
After wandering through some of the extensive ruins of the Domus Flavia and Domus Augustana, two parts of Domitian's huge palace built at the end of the 1st century A.D., we head for The Palatine Museum or the Museo Palatino which is inside a former convent. This place is full of statues and frescoes that help you think about the luxury of the imperial palace here. There is so much to see--the Huts of Romulus, the statue of the "Magna Mater" (the Great Mother) on her throne, terra cotta panels from the walls during Augustus' reign, and the wings from a Victory statue (you can get your photo taken with the wings but there was a line so we chose not to do that), just to name a few of the objects here .
Then we head back out into the heat and down the hill to walk through the Roman Forum. The Forum is actually a rectangular valley with the Colosseum on the east end and the Capitoline Hill on the west end. This is considered to be ancient Rome's birthplace and civic centre and is the common ground between the 7 hills of Rome. The rocky path on which you enter the valley is known as the Via Sacra or the Sacred Road. It leads from the Arch of Titus, through the trees, past a variety of buildings and ruins including the large brick Senate building and out through the triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus at the far end. The Arch of Titus commemorates the Roman Victory over the province of Judaea (Israel) in A.D. 70 while the Arch of Septimius Severus celebrates the emperor's victories in Parthia (present day Iraq and Iran) and Arabia. Everywhere you look there are carvings showing the various emperors bringing back their booty from their various conquests. According to the playwright Plautus, the Forum was an area that teemed with"lawyers and litigants, bankers and brokers, shopkeepers and strumpets, good-for-nothings waiting for a tip from the rich.
" Ha Ha! Probably not much has changed today only just now its full of tourists!
There are also ruins of a number of temples throughout the Forum. For example, the Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina which was built in AD 141 is there although it was incorporated into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda in the 11th century. It was believed that St. Lawrence (San Lorenzo) was condemned to death on this spot. The Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestal Virgins are also here. The temple, considered to be the most elegant temple in the forum, is a circular building that dates from the 4th century AD. The house of the Vestal Virgins was once a huge complex with about 50 rooms in three stories although there is only a small section left. The cult of the Vestals was one of the oldest in Rome and 6 virgins were required to keep the sacred flame lit. The Vestal Virgins were chosen between the ages of 6 and 10 years old and served a 30 year term.
At the end of the term they were given a large dowry and allowed to marry, but if they didn't stay chaste during their 30 years they were buried alive with a loaf of bread and a lamp! The man with whom they strayed was whipped to death. Yikes!
Also in here is Caligula's Palace (Palace of Tiberius) who ruled from A.D. 37-41, the Temple of Castor and Pollux which is one of the oldest built in the 5th century B.C., the Main Square where Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome would have meetings, the Temple of Julius Caesar, where he was cremated after his assassination, the Basilica Aemilia, the Curia (Senate House), and the Temple of Saturn, the oldest temple in the Forum, built in 497 B.C. and many, many more sites. We could spend days just wandering around in here as there is SO much to see it is almost overwhelming. But we are getting very hot and tired to so we do a brief walk through and then find a taxi and head back to the hotel.
First stop when we get back is a place to have lunch as it is 2:30 p.m. Our choice is Le 2 Colonne Restaurant across from Santa Maria Maggiore. This is the restaurant that is just up the street from our hotel and we frequent it quite often. Mike and I both had risotto with shrimp and zucchini and Tammy had rigatoni with eggplant.
After finishing our lunch we just sit and listen to a violinist playing. So relaxing! The rest of the afternoon is devoted to shopping at the little shops along the street and deciding where to eat dinner. Then it is back to the hotel as we are exhausted and full from our lunch. We organise our purchases and then lay down for a nap.
Later in the evening we get together to decide what to do for dinner. We decide to eat at a restaurant that is not too far away, Tavolo Cottini. We strolled up the street to the Tavolo restaurant where Mike had scaloppine funghi, I had pennette al salmone, and Tammy had bruschetta with olive cream and then risotto with porcini. Tammy drank prosecco and Mike and I each had a house white. The food was nice and the evening was lovely. After dinner we wander back to the gelato place for dessert and then to our hotel. We have had a lovely time enjoying our time in Rome with good friends.
2025-05-23