Our second day of touring dawned bright and chilly. The goal was to see ancient Rome in a variety of locations. Despite the fact that ruins seem to be present at every turn in the road, it is estimated that 80% are still undiscovered. We boarded the Metro and headed towards the Colosseum (Rome has only two Metro lines although a third one is being built. So many ruins exist underground that excavation is very deep and extremely time consuming).
Our first stop was the multi-layered church of San Clemente (no pictures allowed inside).
St. Clements, exterior
Courtyard, St. Clements
The current ground level church is dedicated to St. Clement, an early pope who was put to death by drowning. His symbol is the anchor which was a veiled symbol for Christianity before the cross was used openly. Underneath this church is another earlier church where it is presumed St. Cyril is buried and which, in turn, was built upon a pagan temple. It’s even possible to see part of a Roman road—all of three feet wide. Walking there had to have been a noisy, bumpy experience.
A short walk away from St. Clements’ church was the Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheater, its real name. It was built in 80 A.D. when Rome was at its peak and the emperor, wishing to ingratiate himself with the impoverished masses, staged games of animal and human combat (Christians were probably NOT martyred here). Less gory is the fact that the Colosseum is an impressive display of Roman engineers’ use of concrete and the rounded arch enabling its tremendous size. The stadium held 50,000 people who could vacate the building in about 15 minutes. Only a third of the original structure exists today; natural erosion, earthquakes and salvaging for other building projects have taken their toll. Today the Colosseum is the venue for dramatic musical productions, political demonstrations, religious services, and many, many tourist visits.
THe "romantic" view of the Colosseum. The tumbling bricks on the upper left (restored) are supposed to give a sense of the Colosseum crumbling during an earthquake.
Gladiator Training Quarters
Mosaic showing exotic animals whose ferocity thrilled the audience
Underground passageways and wooden playing surface covered with sand (arena) to soak up the blood
Several curious tourists
The Arch of Constantine as seen from the Colosseum. The arch celebrates Constantine's victory over Maxentius in 312 A.D. thereby establishing Christianity as the state religion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next stop was the Roman Forum, the political, religious, and commercial center of the city. At first glance it looked like a jumble of broken columns, arches, walls, and other pieces of marble. Gradually individual structures became discernable.
The garden of the Vestal Virgins
Vestal Virgins were responsible for maintaining the Temple of Vesta’s sacred flame, symbol of Rome’s endurance. Vestal virgins served a term of 30 years; if they violated their vow of chastity, they were buried alive.
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (part of which can be seen in the second Vestal Virgins picture)
In Roman times, a basilica was a combination courthouse, council chamber, and meeting hall. (Christians appropriated this structure for their use but changed the entrance to what we know today so that the building seems to be divided into three long rectangular areas). The building that remains today is only a third of its original size; the roof would have been about 55 feet higher and the interior would have been furnished with colorful marble, a bronze ceiling, and statues of gods.
 |
| Detail, including menorah, of inside of arch |
The Arch of Titus commemorates the victory of Rome over the Israelites of Judea who refused to honor the Roman gods including the emperor. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (except for today’s “Wailing Wall”) and Jewish slaves were brought back to Rome to construct this arch.
Arch of Emperor Septimius Severus
Another triumphal arch, built in 203 A.D. This one commemorates the battles fought in Mesopotamia. The Senate House or Curia, built in 283 A.D. is the yellowish colored building on the left. This official center of government is where senators met to debate and create laws.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaving behind the Forum and its main street, the Sacra Via, we ambled up the Palatine Hill for a look at more ruins.The dominant feature on the Palatine Hill is the massive structure of the Imperial Palace, residence of emperors for three centuries beginning with the Emperor Domitian in 81 A.D.
A look back as we walked up the Palatine Hill. The bell tower belongs to the Church of St. Maria in Cosmedin.
Views form the top of the Palatine Hill. The white monument with two black horses in the first picture is the Victor Emmanuel Monument and can be see from all over the city. It is NOT a favorite of the locals.
Ruins of the Imperial Palace
The Stadium, a garden with strolling paths beside the palace.
Unlike his successors, Emperor Augustus lived in a modest dwelling of four rooms with little lavish marble and only painted arches and windows (but what colors!). His sense of simplicity, however, did not survive.
Casa Augustus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our return walk to our hotel took us past emperor Trajan’s Column. This column celebrates Trajan’s victories in Dacia, modern day Romania. Once a statue of Trajan graced the top of the column; but now St. Peter reigns. I had seen the plaster cast of this column, albeit in two sections, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and now it was gratifying to see the original. With our heads crammed with information about ancient buildings, emperors, and Roman society, all we could do was sit and enjoy the scenery. (2156, 2158
Thankfully our last event of the day, and about all we had energy for, was a group dinner at the Target (!) Restaurant: salad with fennel, a soup of chickpeas and rice, chicken, and panna cotta and coffee for dessert.
No comments:
Post a Comment