Roman Theatrics

Day 1:  Exploring Ancient Rome

What better place to start our little Roman adventure than with its very beginnings.  We turned our walking tour on its head, simply because the nearest Metro stop was the Colosseo.  Stepping out from the dark station tunnel to see the Colosseum (80 AD) in all its glory at close range was a heart-stopper.  Also, the crowds weren’t too bad, all things considered.  It was August & peak holiday season after all!  From the time we found the Roma Pass entry (near the tour groups) it took us about 10 minutes to get inside.  Way to go!  This wonderful structure, said to be capable of holding some 50,000 Roman citizens, is understandably, one of the city’s most popular sites.  Nothing quite conjures up images of Sparticus, Ben Hur or even our boy, Russell (though he did make “Gladiator” in Morocco!) like this impressive stage setting.  Here, gladiator fights, wild animal hunts and even naval battles (the floor was able to be flooded) were staged for blood-thirsting crowds; perhaps a precursor of London’s gin principle to keep the masses happy?  Even so, it’s hard to imagine Trajan’s 117 day extravaganza in 107 AD,. featuring 9000 gladiators & 10,000 animals. 

The bowels of the Colosseum were a hive of cells for storage, animals etc

Capitoline Wolf with twins, Romulus & Remus

From here, it was only a short hop to the Roman Forum & Palatine Hill entry point (& ticket combined with the Colosseum).  The Palatino is the seed that in 753 BC sprouted Rome.  Here, truth and legend mingle to fashion the myth of twins Romulus and Remus.  Historians also believe the village may have grown due to its strategic position along the salt road.  Conquering Etruscans further developed the site, transforming villages into a town and constructing a citadel on the Capitol.  By the time of the Roman Republic, Palatine became the most sought-after residential address for emperors and aristocrats.  Its popularity continued for over 300 years. 

The Roman Forum grounds looking up to the
Capitoline Hill.  You could easily spend a whole day here!

Given the spread of the Palatine’s ruins, we limited our walk through the ruins to a vantage point overlooking the Roman Forum.  The Forum is sited on what once was a marshy hollow between the Palatine and the Capitol and began its life as a humble place of trade (along with other things that such market places attract).  As the city grew, so too did the Forum evolve to become the centre of ancient Rome - its ceremonial, religious, political and commercial core.  It is here that the famous Vestal Virgins kept alive the eternal flame at the heart of the “Eternal City”.  To quote one of my equally ancient guide books, the Forum’s “splendid fame runs the entire history of Rome’s first thousand years”.

Having found the tricky (and only?) Forum exit on Via dei Fori Imperiali, we staggered on (in the heat & through crowds) to find ourselves in front of Il Vittoriano (1885), a vast & imposing structure of blinding white marble celebrating Italy’s unification and to honour its first king, Vittorio Emanuele II.  In a city of “look-at-me” superlatives, this just goes one, or perhaps twenty, steps too far. 

Bernini's Medusa 1630's

There were far more than 20 steps up the Cordonata to Capitoline Hill. Santa Maria in Aracoeli, a 1250 AD church is said to be built on the spot where the Sibyl of Tibur announced the coming of Christ to Augustus. Thankfully, it was given over to a private wedding, so we bypassed those extra steps and found ourselves welcomed to Michelangelo’s redesign project (of the ancient citadel) by giant statues, Castor & Pollux.  They pointed the way to the Capitoline Museum’s tidy café saving us from desperate thirst & hunger….  

 

Then it was back to the Piazza del Campidoglio to take in ‘the most beautiful piazza in Rome” before hitting the Capitoline Museum (the world’s oldest public museum since 1471) with a big” wow” moment in every room.   (This used up our Roma Pass second and final entrance - on day 1…now we were nervous!)

A wall fresco depicting Hannibal

Some of the truly monumental bits of sculpture in the courtyard makes
it easier to understand the grandeur of the Colossos of Rhodes (300 BC).  

We retraced our steps back to the Metro, planning to stop at a bar we spotted for a refreshing ale along the way.  An imperious waiter waved us away from the table we had chosen, pointing to a line of eager customers, who also watched our every move.  Given that there were 5 people waiting and at least 15 tables free, we wondered about the necessity for a queue.  We voted with our feet and made it back to Ostio and WJ3 where the beer was probably colder, served with a smile, and certainly much cheaper…