Roma Day 4

Phew.  We are getting a bit travel weary.  I remember doing the whole European tour thing with Rebecca, but we didn't burn out until the end of week 3!  Is it increased age or responsibility that is tiring?

So we didn't have any set times today, but we had three reports to record.  Makenna voted to do her report on the Colosseum first.  Isaac's on the Forum was the obvious second, since they are next door.  Then we needed to return to the Pantheon so Jess could give hers in the sunlight.  It was already dark when we were there before.   We chose to join a tour group and got lots of extra background info.  One guide talked about the Colosseum.  Then we had some free time to wander ourselves.  At noon we were supposed to meet up as a group again and guide number two would take us over to the Forum.  Luke from England was our second guide and did a really great job.  He really made the history come alive.  The first lady was good, just not great.

So I'll put in some pictures and notes from our time.

View of Capital Hill from in front of the Colosseum.

  The Colosseum was begun in 72 A.D. by Emperor Vespasian, opened in 80 A.D. when Titus was the emperor.  They used a lego-ish technology.  The stones had recessed notches to link together with pins.  They put melted lead in the holes to keep the pins put, and for good measure, used bronze clamps at the outside edges.  None of this was visible though.  All the stonework was covered by marble slabs, bas-reliefs, friezes, and other artwork.  In the 9th century, stone started being removed for other projects.  There was a huge earthquake that did a lot more damage and folks basically treated it as a ready made stone quarry.  Much was used on the expansion of St. Peter's Basilica.

Holes from former clamps and pins.  

 It was free to get in, but you still had to have a ticket.  The better your station in life, the better your seat.  If you were an unaccompanied female, you got standing room only on the top level.  And no bathrooms.  The only onsite bathrooms were for men only.  The tickets were written on broken plates or pottery.  Paper was too scarce.  On the ticket was written your arch number (for your entrance and exit), floor number and row number.  That sounds so familiar!  The exits were designed so everyone could vacate the place within 5 minutes.  The large aisle behind the seats to allow a rapid exit to the masses?  The vomitorium.  It was a common feature for Roman theaters.

These stones outside were anchors for the ropes used to hold up the massive sails they could rig to cover much of the opening and shield the spectators from the sun.  The sails alone weighed 24 tons! and took two crews of sailors to undertake the rigging.  

People often showed up early and waited, sometimes hours, for the spectacle to begin. While waiting you could Bar-b-que, play dice games, play tic-tac-toe or draw on your seats.  See some examples of this ancient graffiti below. 

Someone's favorite Gladiator

A dog chasing a rabbit. 

Someone else's buffer gladiator.  There were several others that have been preserved, but I liked these best. 

Not the best group shot, but the only group shot, so in it goes.  This is where Makenna stood to give her report.  

A view of the inside. 

That is where the emperor would sit.  The catholic church put a cross there in the year ---- to mark the site as holy and to end the removing of stones.  

An outside view from inside. 

Makenna found the carriage rides. 

Jess looking out at the Forum.

Looking out at one of the 3 remaining Arches of Triumph.   The Arch of Titus was erected after the sacking of Jerusalem.  He needed money after Nero practically bankrupted the empire, so he decided to gather the riches of Solomon's Temple. 

Now we are on the ground floor. Behind them is the shorter side, ruined be earthquake. 

By the emperor's box. 

In the vomitorium.

In arch 51?  I forgot to look actually, but we did see "LI" at one point earlier.  

Outside again.  He is anxious to get over to the Forum.  There used to be a fountain nearby that marked the end of a gladiator fight.  The last one standing/able to walk would go wash in the fountain to claim final victory.  That fountain made it through the conquering barbarian tribes, the dark ages, the middle ages, all the way till a crazy dictator named Mussolini had it removed to make way for a motorcade coming with visiting Hitler.  

Walking to the Forum.  We know this stretch of street well. 

The Courier House/Senate House on the steps of which Julius Caesar was not stabbed.  Shakespeare staged it there for dramatics, not historical accuracy.  It actually happened over at the area now called the Argentina Plaza.  But his body was brought back to the Forum to be cremated and deified.  

These three pillars belonged to the Temple of Saturn, god of the harvest.

Temple of Vesta, goddess of fire.  The Vestal Virgins were priestesses charged with keeping the sacred fire always burning.

The grounds of their house.  It was a 3 story building sitting just below the Palatine hill, where the emperor lived. 

The site of Julius Caesar's temple.  Doesn't look like much now.  

Random shot, I forget what I meant to highlight   

To the left of the Arch of Septimius Severus is the stage where the crier would deliver news of the day or people could give rousing speeches; such as Marc Anthony saying something like, "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears."  A note about the arches. There were once 30 around the city.  Only three remain.  Two are in the Forum and one by the Colosseum.  They were the original Arches of Triumph, dating back 2,000 years ago compared to Napoleon's paltry 200.  They were erected to commemorate great military and financial victories.  The Caesar would ride into the Forum wearing a laurel wreath symbolizing peace, waving to show his power.  He would be followed by his army carrying the spoils of war, and the highest ranking enemy military or political leader would be brought back in as a prisoner to be sacrificed to the roman gods and people.  Death by strangulation.  Noose on neck, tied by feet and stretched.  That is why Marc Anthony and Cleopatra killed themselves rather than be taken back to Rome and killed in the Forum in front of a huge crowd.  

The best preserved building in the Forum, but not very visible just now.  There were attempts to pull down the pillars (chain marks are there near the top) but they were unsuccessful.  It's the temple of Antonio and Faustina.  They have an interesting story as well, but I shall move along.

These pillars are awful pricey and I don't know why they got overlooked by the Vangals.  They are made of porphyry.  Our guide claims porphyry is 6 times more valuable than gold and that the Vatican can account for all the world's porphyry and own 2/3 of it.  The more amazing thing about this building are the original bronze doors which still lock with the original key--how was that not lost throughout the millenia??

The lock above, the door below.

If that pillar were made of gold?  and times it by 6?  Is that really true?

Leaving the Forum.

Two Caesar statues behind a restoration gate.  I have no further info.

One of the landmarks that we are close to the hotel.  This is not so old, just a hundred years.  It's nicknamed "The Wedding Cake," but officially TheVittorio.  It has two winged victory statues on top, the Alter of the Fatherland in the middle crowned by the statue of Rome.  At it's feet lies, since 1921, the tomb of the unknown soldier.  This is in the Piazza Venezia.  Our hotel is just in the middle of this Plaza and the Colosseum.  When we stopped to take this, we are actually racing back to our hotel to get umbrells because it started raining.  We carried them around all day the day before without using them once.  Then when we leave them on a clear gorgeous day, it starts to sprinkle, then pour.

Still walking.

Time to turn left.

After we left the hotel, again, we needed to go back to the Pantheon before the sun set for Jessica's report.  I tried to take a short cut, ha ha.  We ended up at the huge monument and in front of what definitely looked like an important government office, what with the armed guards at the gate of the palace.  But there was no way we could have gotten all the way to the Quirinale so quickly.  But a nice policeman confirmed that it was indeed where we were.  The granite basin of the fountain was taken from the Forum and the obelisk from the Mausoleum of Augustus.  I'm not sure where the statues are from, but they weren't built for this fountain.

Pope Gregory II had this palace built in 1574 and it served as a residence for the Popes until 1870 when Rome was declared the capitol city.  The President of the Republic has lived there since 1946.  

Front of the Tempio Adriano.

We did make it to the Pantheon with some sunlight.  The kids were very curious to see what happens when it rains.  Was something rigged on the roof to cover the hole?  Nope, the floor gets wet.  Maybe the ropes forming an off limits circle in the center aren't to protect the floor, but rather potentially protect visitors from a slippery surface.  

A glimpse of the hole at the top.

Looking out the doorway of the Pantheon.

A lot is crowded into this tiny square. 

Including a few horse carriages

And an accomplished opera singer. 

The kids indulged me to run over to the Piazza Navona, where there are three fountains, one of which plays a role in one of the Dan Brown Conspiracy books.  This is the Fountain of the Rivers by Bernini.  It has a huge Roman obelisk in the center topped with a dove holding an olive branch in his beak.  

A view from the other side. 

The Palazzo Altemps, is ever so much bigger than I could fit in my little travel camera.  It is now a museum. 

The Piazza traces the shape of the former Stadium of Domitian where exciting naval battles were once staged and watched by up to 30,000 people.  Tonight it held a Christmas market where we tried a Roman treat I have seen all over.  They look like giant donuts.  They warm them in a panini maker and then sprinkle with sugar.  We each had a fourth.  Tasty. 

The Fountain of the Moor, sun going down.

Market view, you can see some of the obelisk.  

Fountain of the Calderari.

Walking back now.  The Pantheon and fountain lit up. 

Jess bought a souvenir scarf, but wanted to wear the label too. 

After two bus rides (one went the wrong way and we had to get off and try again) and a metro ride, we ended up back in our neighborhood.  On the little bus we started charting up all the transportation we have used.  Plane, subway, big bus, little bus, feet, funny bicycle, taxi, and shuttle.  We might try a train today and that will leave boat and street car off the list.  We had dinner and came back to crash, talk to Matt, shower and hop in bed.  I did post most of this last night, but am finishing it up this morning.  We will soon head to breakfast and then start our way back to Sicily.  Farewell Rome.