We were woken up at 2am by a massive thunder storm moving in. It crashed right overhead for quite awhile, then moved on, leaving a drenching, heavy rain. The nice thing was that it cleared away the muggy heat that had been our companion for the last several days. I was glad, as today was the day we were to explore Ancient Rome. (Pictures are of the storm damage we saw this morning as we walked to the Metro).
We had tickets to tour the Coliseum at 10:30. We had to get there a hour in advance to exchange the email voucher for an actual ticket. As always, the lines were long. Sharon had planned well, and she was organized, and got us to the right lines at the right time. As we waited, the rain moved in, then cleared again. We were prepared with our raincoats, as we generally travel prepared for any weather. Haven’t had to use the shorts this trip yet, though.
We had a guided tour, which was filled with great information. The Coliseum, actually named Flavia’s Amphitheater, was built in 600 BC, on what was originally a lake for the Emperor. The name Coliseum came from the statue that was originally in front of the building, a 100 colossal statue, which no longer exists. The building itself was built of Travertine, a white stone. Much of the stone has been taken for other buildings over the centuries. Our guide told us that some was used to build Saint Peters Basilica! The holes in the walls were from the iron that held the blocks together. The iron was taken and melted down for armor and weapons. As Sharon commented, today people steal copper wire from buildings, then they stole stone and iron.
It was fascinating to see the construction of the building. Earthquakes, vandals, and
age have deteriorated the building to a point where you see cross sections of the walls. You can see how the bricks were laid diagonally, then a facing put on horizontally. Pollution has also deteriorated the stone, turning the white travertine to black.
Sharon asked our guide about how often they check the building for stability. The guide told us that they monitor it all the time. Currently they only allow 3,000 people in at any given time. The stability makes the strictly controlled entry makes sense. Especially since as I was walking past one blocked off section, just as a small rock fell. The Vatican has paid for much of the restoration work that has been done. I guess it’s moral compensation for the stone that went into Saint Peters.
While we were in the Coliseum the weather had been spotty. Raining hard, then clearing. But it cleared up for good as we headed up the hill for entry into the forum, going through the usually bag screening and metal detectors. The forum is hard to describe. It’s basically a valley of ruins right in the center of Rome. Had I known, I could have looked down the main avenue from our bus home last night and seen the Coliseum. The ruins of the Forum are surrounded museums and other buildings with modern uses. It’s pretty hard to get your head wrapped around the juxtaposition of the two.
I’ve tried to capture the chaos of the area in the pictures I chose to include. The area is a photographers paradise, and I took 260 pictures today alone. I’ve included several at the end of this blog.
The area of the forum has been a continuous civilizations for over 12,000 years. Sharon commented that everyplace we stepped could be on an old shard of pottery, and we wouldn’t even know it. The area is an ankle-breaking mix of boulders, cobblestones of about 2 feet across, and ancient brick. You really have to watch your step. The area was in turns villages, cities, graveyards, and the culture and legal center of Rome. It’s mind boggling to try to comprehend. It was even more mind blowing to exit the forum onto a Main Street, near an area I recognized.
Our final stop was just down the street at the Victor Emmanuel Monument. This is a giant equestrian statue set on layers and pedestals of white stone. It’s huge. According to the Rick Steves Guidebook, the mustache alone is 5 feet across. The statue is 43 feet long, and the white stone monument is 200 feet by 500 feet. The tomb of the unknown soldier is there. But apparently locals don’t like it. Rick Steves book theorizes that it’s maybe because it sits on a full acre of Ancient Rome. I’d love to explore it more fully, but today was not the day.
We head out to meet our cruise ship tomorrow, the Norwegian Epic. We have a four night cruise around the edge of the Mediterranean, with ports in Livorno (Italy), Cannes (France), Palma (Island of Majorca, Spain), and finally, arriving in Barcelona. I’m planning to write each day, but we will have a very limited internet connection, so my uploading will be spotty.
I’ve really enjoyed Rome. We’ve had 5 full days here, and have done a lot. But we’ve only scratched the surface. There is so much to see. Hopefully my two coins thrown over my right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain are correct, and I will return to Rome. I’d like to.
Suzanne’s Travels 