The Glory of Ancient Rome

We started our third day in Rome with a trip to the Colosseum. We took the metro, which is filthy, hot, crowded, and still better than walking. The second we came up the escalator at our stop I saw the above picture. It was so huge and just right there in front of me!

We all almost got hit crossing the street because we were just staring up with our mouths open. We had plenty of time to take it in from the outside though because we had to wait around a bit for our tour guide.


There was plenty to see besides the Colosseum. Just a little ways away we could see the Triumphal Arch of Constantine. It was built in 315 AD and contains pieces that were taken off of the triumphal arches of other emperors. Our professors also informed us that the grassy area in front of the Arch of Constantine used to contain a fountain where the gladiators would go wash off their sweat so that everyone could watch them. They also used to sell gladiator sweat as an aphrodisiac.


Directly across from the Colosseum we could see some of the Roman forum, which we were supposed to visit later that day. Above is a picture of part of the inside of a basilica.


Eventually our tour guide showed up and we entered the famous Colosseum. For those of you who do not know, the Colosseum is actually called the Flavian Amphitheater, so named for the dynasty that built it in 80 AD. It got the name Colosseum in memory of the colossal statue of the emperor Nero that used to stand outside of it.


Most of the marble that the Colosseum was covered in has been stripped and used for other buildings and even the metal clasps used to hold the stones together were dug out. You could still get a sense of the size of the place and just how many people it once held, though.


This was our tour guide, John Pietro. He was really good and stayed with us all day, even past when he could have left. He told us that he had been a tour guide for both Russel Crowe and Will Smith.


Like everything else, the Romans built the Colosseum out of brick and then covered it with marble. I really tried to get a sense of just how old this building was by touching the ancient bricks, but its just too big a concept to grasp.


The floor of the Colosseum was made of wood so it is long gone today, but I appreciated that they reconstructed part of it. It allowed me to fail slightly less at reconstructing this building in my mind. Also added to the floor of the Colosseum was a giant cross in memory of the Christian martyrs who died there. Except there is no evidence that any Christians were ever killed in the Colosseum. They were killed in the Circus Maximus.

Eventually we made our way down to the floor of the Colosseum and stood where the emperor's box would have been. It really did have the best view of the floor.


There was graffiti throughout the entire building but strategically placed at the exit we saw A&M, UT, and Texas Tech signs.


Just outside we were accosted by a "gladiator" and after some initial shyness we all decided to take pictures with him for a couple of Euro. I was caught completely off guard by the kiss though.


Then we started the long trek up the Palatine hill to see where the emperors lived. Getting up there was mostly a nature hike. Our guide told us about various plants that we saw along the way, and I had fun learning everything I could about Rome.


The Palatine is quite a big hill and it was a really hot day, so we stopped pretty quickly at one of the drinking fountains of the city. Rome is reeeeeally big on free water and you could find several of these even at historical sites.

The first site we stopped at was the palace of several emperors. The above is a picture of the main hall, which was so big that chariot races and gladiatorial games were actually held there. The semicircular recess on the left was where the emperor and his family would sit to watch these games and their guests.


Everything on the hill was in pretty bad condition, so even though we hiked around it for a little over an hour I didn't take very many pictures. The ones I did take were mostly of the beautiful poppies that were blooming amongst the ruins. They were so bright!


Our last stop on the Palatine was the house of the emperor Augustus. Apparently he was such an awesome emperor that they kept his house preserved and no one else ever lived there. There was very little left to see, but the frescoes that were preserved were amazing.



They were so detailed and bright even thousands of years later. I could have stood there and studied them for hours (plus it was nice and cool inside of the shady chambers).


Coming down from the Palatine we ran into a little grove of orange trees. They were the first that I'd seen in my life and helped to add to the mediterranean atmosphere.


From the side of the hill we had great views of the city and of the Colosseum. These are a couple of the guys in my group with our guide and the Colosseum in the background.


From the Palatine we descended into the Roman Forum, which is in really bad shape. The above picture is of the Triumphal Arch of Titus, which celebrates his sacking of Jerusalem. It has the oldest depiction of a menorah.


The forum was really a mix of time periods. This was the entrance into the temple of Romulus, dedicated by the emperor Maxentius to his son in 309 AD. It has since been turned into a church, but the bronze doors are the original.


This was one of the few temples that still had its columns up. It is the Temple to the emperor Antoninus Pius and his wife Faustina.


Most of what remained were just small chunks of marble, but they were still beautiful.


Here you can see the shape that pretty much everything was in.


This is looking out over the Forum while our tour guide tells us about it. It's pretty flat, and is below the modern street level.


The brick building in this picture is significant because it was the original senate house of Rome. It has stayed in the same location but was rebuilt several times which is why it's much better preserved than the rest of the Forum.


It had been a long day in the scorching sun, so when we were finished with the Forum most of us started heading back to the dorms. The above picture is of the Forum and Market of Trajan which we just saw in passing.


I also had to get a picture of the Column of Trajan, which I have studied in several different art history classes.

Apparently there are shops in Rome where you can buy what one of the guys in my group termed "pope gear." So hilarious.


Not only were there tons of McDonald's in Rome, they were shamelessly associated with famous sites such as the Pantheon.


We finally made it to the Piazza Navona and decided to stop for lunch. I would also like to note at this point that there are a ridiculous number of obelisks in Rome.


At this point our only criteria for a restaurant was shade and a place to sit. We found these rather quickly and sat down for a nice relaxing lunch. I had ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese.

And this is how good that ravioli was! After that I somehow managed to wander back to the dorms and pass out.