Euroadventure Stop 4: Rome: Day 1

 Looking back, I think our trip could best be characterized as a trip to Rome with a few cool stops on the way. Our little misadventure in Germany meant we landed in Rome a day ahead of schedule and we put our extra time to as much use as possible.
By the time we got checked in and settled, it was all we could do to find some food before bedtime. So we called it an early night and steeled ourselves for a repeat of our Athens trip: a really big first day of classical sightseeing.

The hotel we stayed at was actually a convent. We were taken care of by some very friendly nuns, though most of them barely spoke a word of English.

First stop: The Colosseum
No sense in delaying the inevitable, right?
We made a beeline first thing in the morning for the Colosseum, grabbing our combo ticket to skip the lines that were already forming and then climbing the steps so many Romans and tourists before us have done to explore the site of so much history and imagination

 It's big in there. Takes several minutes to walk the circumference. With the seats on it (today absent), it could hold something like 5000. Pretty impressive. The exits and stairways were so wide and efficiently spaced that it was said the Colloseum could empty after the games in only 10 or 15 minutes.
The pits and hallways revealed in half the playing area were where combatants, animals, and stagehands would work, prepare, store equipment, etc.

The Arch of  Constantine, as seen from the first floor of the Colosseum

A temple of the goddesses Roma and Venus at the south end of the Roman Forum, which was quite literally just across the road

 After strolling around the Colosseum, we decided to hit the forum before we got too tired and overheated. The forum has largely been reclaimed by nature, but our handy-dandy guidebook helped us see some really cool stuff we would have walked right past.

The arch of Titus. And John

These three colossal arches were one third of the Basilica of Constantine, a massive court of justice in the forum.

This spot is allegedly where Julius Caesar's public funeral was held, and where Marc Antony asked for his "friends, Romans, countrymen" to give him their ears. According to Shakespeare, anyway.

And this, supposedly, was where he was cremated. behind the low wall. Those are fresh flowers.

This pool/garden complex was part of the Temple of Vesta in the forum - where the famous Vestal virgins worked and ministered.

 

After the forum we climbed up to Palatine Hill (the three sites were on one ticket, so why not?) to get some goo views of the city as well as see some more ruinous old Roman palaces/houses

 This spot down here was either Augustus' house or the remains of the supposed huts of Romulus and Remus - the mythical founders of Rome. Hard to say. The signage up here was super-difficult to follow.

 One of the big differences between Palatine Hill and the forum is that it asked us to use our imaginations a lot more.

 By the time we were done on Palatine Hill, we were tired and in desperate need of some shade, water, and maybe some gelato. We strolled past the Capitoline museum on Capitoline hill and then camped out in a classy little piazza beside the Victor Emmanuel monument.

Marcus Aurelius. The original is inside the museum (stay tuned!). Largely recognized as the best classical equestrian statue remaining today.

The Victor Emmanuel monument. Despite its classical appearance it was built in the 19th C. to celebrate the first king of unified Italy (he's on the horse). Italy and Germany are both young countries: before the 19th C, Italy was a collection of smaller regional principalities. It's very deliberately classical; linking the new Italy to the glory of the old Empire. This same idea became very important to another Italian leader in the 20s-40s: Mussolini.

 Recovered, we climbed back up Michelangelo's grand staircase to Capitoline hill and the Capitoline museums

Alyssa and Constantine the Great

Told ya! The original is quite weathered but still very impressive. And huge, to boot!

The She-wolf, suckling the infants Romulus and Remus. The mythical founders of Rome were the children of a Vestal virgin who had been molested by Mars, god of war. She abandoned them by the river Tigris, where they were literally raised by wolves. Later, they would come to Palatine hill, get in a fight, and then Romulus, the winner, founded Rome. If that fight had gone differently, would we be calling them the Remans?

The Dying Gaul. I honestly can't remember why this statue is important, but I know we talked about it in my classical civ class at Nipissing. Brian? A little help here? Do you remember what Wenghofer said about this thing?

We surprised Venus, which is why she's giving us that "What the crap! I'm naked! Go away!" look.

 After we finished in the Capitoline museums, we strolled a few blocks north to the Pantheon to close off our whirlwind day of classical Rome. The Pantheon was not just a temple built in the height of Rome's power to all-gods (pan-theos, get it?). It was an architectural wonder. To this day the Pantheon might still be the largest unsupported dome on Earth. Concrete that thins as it goes up with an open-air skylight in the middle that illuminated the whole thing.

The slogan the Emperor Hadrian put on the portico when he rebuilt the temple after a fire honouring its original builder: Marcus Agrippa L. F. Costertium "fecit" -  literally "made this".

The dome interior. Not only are the indentations stylish but functional. It removed a huge amount of the weight of the room without compromising the strength.

A statue on top of Raphael's grave in the the pantheon, commisioned by the painter himself.

The interior. Today the Pantheon is a Christian church, and houses not only Raphael's body but also Victor Emmanuel I and, I think, his son; the first kings of unified Italy.

By the time we were done with the Pantheon, the sun was still up but our legs were beyond rejuvenation. We grabbed some food and then trucked back to the convent for a long, recuperative sleep.