Sun, 21 Sep 2003

author Liz	location Firenze, Tuscany, Italia
posted 21:32 CEST 25/09/2003	section Europe2002/Europe/Italia ( all photos )

Roma II - Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Colosseum ( 61 photos )
On Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast at the hostel, and caught the bus to the Vatican City. The sight of the Vatican City was just as amazing as it had been the day before, but on Sunday we went there for just one thing: to see the Pope! On Sunday mornings, he comes to his study window and looks down on the crowds below and blesses them. On this particular Sunday, however, he didn't appear and we have since found out that he is ill.
But anyway, we spent a very pleasant fourty-five minutes sitting at the side of one of the colonades and gazing up towards the Pope's study room window and looking out at the beautiful square and St. Peter's Basilica.
After a while, we walked out of the Vatican City and started walking towards Piazza Venezia. Along the way, we looked at several Rome tourist books and guids, but didn't end up buying anything.
At Piazza Venezia, we went along the right-hand side of the square and then up some stairs at the side of the huge monument. We crossed the hill and walked down a short way, before getting a marvellous view over the Roman Forum. We took some photos and bought a guide to Rome complete with very interesting pages showing what old ruins like the Colosseum and the Roman Forum look like today and what they probably looked like when newly built and all in one piece. It also has lots of interesting information about each site.
Then we walked down into the Roman Forum, and along its length for the second time. We actually planned to go back a third time and have a really good look at the whole thing, but we ran out of time and probably were too exhausted anyway. So here, I will take a short detour, and go on all about the Roman Forum...
The Roman Forum was the commercial, religeous, political and legal centre of the city in ancient times but until the last two hundered years or so, it had actually become pasture land. So it was pretty amazing to see the huge amount of marble columns, paving, arches and carvings that remain today.
The whole thing is in a valley between the capital Capitoline and Paletine hills and both times we walked through, we went from the Capitoline end to the Paletine end, where we got great views of the Colosseum.
On the left as we walked into the forum was a huge arch - the Tempio di Antonino e Faustina built in 141 BC, and on the right-hand side were the remains of the Basilica Aemilia, built in 179 BC, but then had most of its marble taken away during the Reneissance. From there, we walked down going first to the right hand side, and then to the left, gazing at everything we saw. Here and there lay chunks of marble with beautiful but worn carvings, or a column of coloured, but dull and unpolished marble.
Everywhere were remains of buildings, sections of columns, or ancient paved roads. It feels like you are walking through and abandoned city, which I guess in a way you are. It is quite amazing to imagine ancient Romans living here, walking along the same paths, and looking up at the same impressive buildings - undoubtedly more impressive in ancient times! The Basilica of Maxentius would have been breathtaking to see when it was full of bronze and marble, and it still looks very huge today.
Of course there is more to the whole place than I have mentioned - the two books I am looking at give conflicting names and dates, and because we just enjoued wandering through we didn't really note down names of any of the buildings. I would highly recommend a tour through the Roman Forum.
So, to go back to Sunday, after we had enjoyed the very impressive view of the forum, we again walked along it, seeing new things everywhere we turned. As we came out the opposite end, with old marble columns towering on our left, we again had that great view of the colosseum. But instead of going into the Colosseum just yet, we turned away and headed right, where we got tickets to Palatine Hill.
Palatine Hill overlooks the Roman Forum, the Colosseum and a lot more of Rome too. It was where wealthy Romans built their homes and it is believed to be the site of the founding of Rome - a square furrow ploughed into the ground by Romulus in 754BC or 753BC.
After getting our tickets and before we started climbing up the hill, we sat in the shade drinking lots of cool fresh fountain water and eating some food. It was another incredibly hot day, and we were both feeling sticky and worn out, but the rest did us good.
We made our way to the top of Palatine Hill and then spent an hour or so wandering among heaps of ruins. We saw the Domus Augustana, and internal court with a large motif and fountain - obviously no fountain anymore, and the palace of Domitian, or the House of Augustus (as in the Emperor), the best bit of which was the 'stadium' or hippodrome. We also saw the Domus Flavia, an elliptical fountian, which although is very old, still looks in pretty good condition. And apart from all that, lots of old ruins, arches, carvings and baths.
It was better than I had expected, and most of it was very well preserved.
We even saw the Circus Maximus from the top of the hill, although at the time, we didn't even realise it! It stands beneath Palatine Hill and was once the site of chariot races, up until the 5th century-AD. It was, and probably still is, the biggest building ever built for entertainment purposes (accommodating 300 000 spectators!). Today, all that remains is a sunken oval ditch, but it gives quite an idea of the size that the circus used to be.
So, after lots of nice views out over Rome, and lots more looking around, we crossed to the other side of the hill and began descending. About halfway down, we had another great spot to look down on the Roman Forum, and even better was a view through overhanging trees of the Colosseum. Continuing downwards, we popped out into the Roman Forum and walked out the last section until we were outside the Colosseum.
We decided that we were hungry, so we went in search of a late lunch and found a small and fairly cheap restaurant about five minutes walk from the Colosseum. The food was ok, but the service was really slow and unorganised. At least it gave us a good chance to rest out tired legs and aching feet while we waited for food and drinks. We finally managed to get everything we had ordered, and pay the bill, and then we headed back to the Colosseum.
The tickets we had bought to go up Palatine Hill also gave us entry to the Colosseum, but with the added bonus that we didn't have to wait in a huge long queue at the Colosseum to get our tickets. So we walked straight past the hordes of waiting people and into the cool and dark of the Colosseum.
This place is simply amazing. What stands today is massive, and a lot of it has been pinched and pilfered over the years, so long ago, it was even bigger. I was also expecting it to be quite round, but inside as you look down into the stage area, it is very oval shaped. We could see down into the areas where they used to send lions and so on from their cages, along a ramp and up into the arena., and there was also a section with a 'false floor' to show how it would have looked when the Colosseum was in use. The only seating section that remains is a few meters across and about five or six rows up, but it still gives you an idea of what the seating would have been like all around the Colosseum.
Overall, it was just so fantastic to see such an amazing building and to imagine lions and bears popping up onto the stage floor from the chambers below. We walked all around the upper level, stopping and staring and trying to take everything in at once. We also went along the ground level bit, where you can go about halfway around before exiting. It would have been nice to stay and wander around for days, looking in all the little sections and it would be even better if we could go down into the underground chambers, but, we were worn out and had seen a lot.
From the Colosseum, we walked back to our hostel, going the same way as we had the day before. We cooked pasta for dinner and were happy to have a nice long rest.
After dinner and when it was dark, we ventured out again and caught a bus back up to the Vatican City. We had decided to get some night time photos of St Peter's and the Colonnades, but just as we had set the tripod up, and Tim had taken his first shot, a police car drove up and they told us no tripods were allowed in the Vatican City! We were quite suprised, as we hardly looked like professional photographers, and we weren't doing any harm. So we packed up the tripod and went and sat at the edge of a section of the colonnades. Here, we were sneaky, and used my little tripod to take as many photos as we wanted!
From there, we caught the bus back towards Piazza Venezia, but got off before there and walked along a few back streets until we found ourselves in a beautiful little square. We sat and had some beer and enjoyed relaxing in such a nice setting.
Our last mission at the end of a very long and full day, was to walk to the Tivoli Fountain and take some photos there. It looked very pretty all lit up, so we took some photos and then packed up and dragged our tired bodies back to the hostel where we collapsed into our bunks. What a long but very exciting day!

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