Rome Part Three - Classical Rome

The center of ancient Rome, home to famous sites such as the Colosseum and forum, holds a special place in our imagination. David took four years of Latin in high school, and Paul took Latin and a Roman art and architecture course in college. Going in person is an amazing experience. So much of modern western culture, law and politics flow back to this place. That said, most of it is not in what you would call a state-of-good-repair. Time, thieves, and more than one greedy Pope have laid waste to many of these ancient monuments. Luckily, there is still plenty to see and do and what remains provides a base for your imagination to envision what this great city must have been like 2,000 years ago. Just be prepared to share it with a few thousand other tourists.

To start the morning, we went straight to the Colosseum with David E and Christina right as it opened. Purchasing tickets ahead of time, and going first thing, is almost a must. We arrived and entered the site with only a very short wait. Once inside, there are a few small exhibits explaining the site over time and diagrams of what it would have looked like when the structure was completed in 70 CE. There's a lot of information on the many uses of the Colosseum over the years: from a combat stage for gladiators during the Roman Empire to pasture land and housing during the middle ages when Rome was but a shadow of its former self. Despite popular belief, there is no evidence that Christians were fed to lions here - that's just another example of the church's propaganda machine obsession with martyrdom.

The structure itself is impressive in scale and design. At full capacity the Colosseum held around 50,000 people. Stadiums across the world still replicate the basic design and system of portholes for access/egress. The building was originally clad in marble and statues, and from our pictures below you can see that parts of the walls have fallen or been removed over time. Marble from the Colosseum can be found throughout Rome and elsewhere in Europe, in churches and other monuments. It was a lot easier to just steal the marble from ancient Roman buildings than to quarry and cut it yourself.

The Colosseum from the Palatine Hill.

The Colosseum's facade.

Morning sun rising over the edge of the Colosseum.

The under-structure of the Colosseum where slaves and animals were held for combat.

The empress disapproves....

The remains of the Temple of Venus and Roma as viewed from the Colosseum, with the belltower of the church of Santa Francesca Romana in the background.

Interior of the Colosseum.

The lighting in the morning was great.

The area near the Colosseum is super busy by late morning.

Mandatory Colosseum jumping shot.

After visiting the Colosseum, we made our way down the Via Sacria past the Arch of Constantine towards the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. The Palatine Hill is one of the seven historic hills of Rome. It was home to a variety of temples and the homes of high-ranking Romans. Today there's hardly anything left, unfortunately, but excavations are ongoing and the hill provides good viewpoints over the former site of the Circus Maximus (completely gone now) as well as the Roman Forum and Capitoline Hill.

The Forum sits in the valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. It was the center point of Roman political and social life through much of the Republic and part of the Empire periods. The Forum had the highest concentration of government and religious buildings. It was the site of triumphal processions, criminal trials and religious ceremonies (among other things). Today, the Forum is almost completely in ruins, but - like the Colosseum - enough remains for your imagination to picture the site as Julius Caesar would have seen it before his assassination in 44 BCE.

The Arch of Constantine leading towards the Roman Forum.

Arch of Titus leading into the Forum.

Depiction of a menorah on Titus's Arch, from the sacking of Jerusalem.

The Palatine Hill was mostly empty. A nice break from the crowds!

There are still remains of villas on the hill.

View of the Roman Forum from atop the Palatine Hill.

David and the Roman Forum.

An original bronze door on the Temple of Romulus, now the basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, also converted into a church.

After walking around the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum for a few hours, it was time for lunch. Unfortunately, all the food around this area of town is pretty touristsy and crappy. We picked a random restaurant (Osteria Maracuja) that had ok reviews on Yelp. It was mediocre, but it was nice to sit and have an aperol spritz - the official drink of the vacation.

After lunch we walked to the Capitoline Museum. This museum is located on its namesake hill adjacent to Piazza Campidoglio and features antiquities and some medieval artifacts and art. The museum also has great views over the Roman Forum from the Tabularium which connects the two separate buildings of the museum. It houses some scale replicas that show how vast the ancient temples in the forum were 2,000 years ago (especially the Temple of Jupiter). It's a can't miss museum when visiting Rome, along with the Vatican Museums, Villa Borghese, and the Palazzo Altemps.

Aperol Spritz...the official drink of our Italian vacation.

Piazza del Campidoglio.

A view from the piazza looking at the Alter of the Fatherland.

Interior hallway of the Capitoline Museum.

The famous Capitoline Wolf in bronze - date unknown.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback in bronze from 175 CE.

Creepy man-baby.

View over part of the Forum from the Tabularium.

David E. being David E. at the Capitoline Museum

The Dying Gaul - An ancient Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic statue.

Lots of statues in the Capitoline Museum.

On the way back to the apartment, we made a quick unplanned stop at the chiesa di Santa Maria in campitelli (you stumble across a lot of impressive churches in Rome), and had some gelato and sticchi (popsicles).

Looking back at the piazza and museum.

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Campitelli, a 16th centure Baroque church.

The interior was impressive.

A view down the streets of Rome.

After resting at the AirBnB for a bit, David took his parents up the Janiculum Hill at sunset to enjoy the view. From there they went to Castel San Angelo - a defensive fortress built over centuries by the Popes around Hadrian's Mausoleum. The site has great views of Rome and the Vatican. Afterwards they walked to nearby Castrani (the fancy grocery store) to get more wine and candy almonds, a favorite of David's Mom.

Castel San Angelo

One of Bernini's Angels on the Ponte Sant'Angelo.

The evening lighting in Rome is beautiful!

Views from the top of the Castle are pretty great.

Sunset behind St. Peter's.

Meanwhile Paul went with his mother to the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (St. John Lateran), Rome's official cathedral. It's a huge and impressive Basilica, consecrated in 324 CE, with the main building completed in 1735 in a Baroque/neoclassical style. There was a mass happening, with about 30 priests taking part and singing. We also saw the Obelisco Lateranense beside the church - the largest standing Egyptian obelisk on earth. It was constructed in the 15th century BCE, and a few thousand years later was moved to Rome in 357 CE and placed in the Circus Maximus. It was restored and re-erected in it's current location in 1588, where it now towers 150 feet above the plaza.

We also tried to enter the attached baptistery (San Giovanni in fonte), but couldn't find a way in. It might have been closed for the day, as evening was now approaching. We took a tram/streetcar back to the apartment.

The obelisk and side facade of the basilica.

The main facade is impressive.

The soaring and highly decorated interior.

A whole bunch of priests doing their thing.

Later that evening we went to dinner with Paul's Mom, Betsy and Chad at restaurant just a block away from our apartment, Taverna Trilussa. This was probably one of the fancier restaurants we ate at while in Rome and came recommended by Paola (the chef in our cooking class). Paola recommended the cacio e pepe here, which had already become one of David's favorite pasta dishes in Italy by his 3rd day in Italy. Paul loved the caprese salad and there was great cheese and wine from Lazio.

Caprese done right at Taverna Trilussa.

Cacio e Pepe!

That wraps up our (exhausting) day touring classical Rome, museums, and churches. Up next - a day trip to Florence!