Thankfully we were able to order our tickets online, this is the ONLY way to do it. We waited for 3 people in front of us, while others were waiting for hours. We decided to get the audio tour on this one so that we could hear about all the history. There are some things you just can’t get from reading little signs. This was the only line we really had to wait in, but it was well worth the 20 minutes. Off we were into the ring of the Gladiators. It was breathtaking and again the construction of such a site is just unbelievable.
The Colosseum of Rome was built in bricks and clad of travertine in a valley among the Palatino, Esquilino and Celio hills after having dried a small lake that Nerone was using for the Domus Aurea. The edifice of four floors, with a total height of 52 metres and an extension covering and elliptical area of about 19000 square metres, is with no doubt the most reknown symbol of Rome all over the world.For the enjoyment of Rome people, here were organized fights between gladiators or against wild animals and fabulous spectacles as "naumachie", real navy battlements in the arena filled with water. Under the arena of the Colosseum there were numerous corridors and rooms aimed at welcoming the gladiators and the ferocious beasts that could be brought at the centre of the arena thanks to elevator carriages and access ramps.
After we had the boys see most of the sites and explained some of the history we found them a shady spot so that we could play their DS’s. Not exactly what we wanted to do, but it was really hot and really not much fun for the boys. We got a few head shakes from people who didn’t have kids and parents that did have kids were looking at us like great idea. But for us you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the kids somewhat happy.
One of the important figures names carved into their place where they sat during the games.
The orginal stairs spectators had to climb.
Boys in their happy place.
After lunch we headed right next door to Palantine Hill also know as Palantino. The museum is located in Caesar’s Palace where, among the monuments collected from the hill site, various artefacts of Iron Age tombs and works of art from imperial buildings are exhibited. The most important of these works are the decorative pictures in the lecture room of Isiaca. According to ancient tradition, it was on this hill that the first settlement of Rome was made by Romulus in the middle of the eighth century B.C. Excavations have revealed huts and tombs from the Iron Age and, an ancient fortification. The Palatino was also the centre for some important cults as, for example, that of Magna Mater (Cibele). Between the second and first centuries B.C. it became a residential quarter for the Roman aristocracy. In this period the House of Grifi, famous for its pictures, was built. The Emperor Augustus made the Palatino his official power-centre and initiated a building program: the construction of imperial palaces and various restructuring and enlargement of existing buildings built by previous emperors.
While going through the Museum, I really liked that Brayden was asking a lot of questions and interested in something we were doing. Most of the time the boys were just ready to be done with most of the history stuff. But I think this year we are doing much better than last year when we didn’t do much for them at all, it was just one castle after another and we said never again will we do that to them, this is their vacation too. But we do have to through in the history things as well.
Right on over the hill was the Roman Forum. I was so surprised at how many artifacts and ruins were still either standing or still there. It looks like new Rome was built on top of most of these old ruins and they were found while digging to build the new land because they were so far below where the new city stands.
The valley of Foro, nestled between the seven hills of Rome, was in ancient times a marsh. From the end of the seventh century B.C., after the improvement and drainage of the marshes, the Foro Romano (a forum) was constructed and this served as the centre of public life in Rome for over a thousand years. Over the course of the centuries, the various monuments were constructed: firstly, those structures which served political, religious and economic purposes and, later, during the second century B.C., the civil buildings or 'basilicas', which functioned as juridical centres. At the end of the Republic era of Ancient Rome, the Foro Romano was inadequate in its functioning as a civil and administrative centre. The various Emperors and their dynasties added only monuments of prestige: The Temple of Vespasian and Titus and that of Antoninus Pio and Faustina dedicated to the memory of the Divine Emperors, the monumental arch of Settimo Severo, built on the extreme west of the square in 203 A.D. to celebrate his military victories. The last great addition was made in the first years of the fourth century A.D. under the Emperor Massenzio, a temple dedicated to the memory of his son Romulus. The imposing Basilica on the Velia was restructured at the end of the fourth century A.D. and the last monument to be erected in the Foro was the Column of 608 A.D. in honour of the Byzantine Emperor Foca.
Thank goodness for all the flowing fountains and water spickets throughout the city because it allowed us to stay hydrated even though we had our camel backs and allowed for the boys to cool off. We had just a few more stops to see before it was back to the camp for some pool time for the boys. But next stop, ice cream. It was really hard to find places in this area to eat or grab some gelato. Normally there are Pizzaria’s and Gelato places every 10 steps. But we passed over by Capital Hill to see the buildings and we found a cute little place to grab some Gelato. That was the most expensive ice cream yet at 22 Euros for two scoops each. Because we sat down at their tables they charged us a crazy extra amount, but we were hot and tired and at that point didn’t care.
Just a few extra things we saw along the way.
Thank goodness the metro throughout Rome was awesome because instead of walking over to Circus Maximus, we hopped on the metro with our day passes and got off to see it. Unfortunantly they were doing construction on this site and we didn’t get to see much of anything here. But the metro was right there and we hopped on and headed back to camp to cool off in the pool and join our friends for some drinks and pool again. This is turning into a pretty good vacation after all.
RYAN’S CORNER:
Colosseum
Ugh! This is a walking day. This is going to be the worst day ever. When I got to Rome WAPOWWWWW! It was like getting punched in the face. It was so hot. First we took a bus, then a train. The first thing we did was the colosseum. When we got into the colosseum there was Egyptian stuff everywhere. Dad took a couple pictures with the rock, then we left.
Palantine Hill
This is Palantine Hill. It’s not really a hill, but there is a lot of cool stuff. This historical stuff is historic. It’s very old stuff. We were at Palantine Hill for about 1 hour, then we went to the Roman Forium.
Roman Forium
This stuff is older than old. This stuff has been here for about 2,000 years. It’s really old. There was this one thing that look like a tiger. It was all broken up though. Now we only have one last stop.
Circus Maximus
We got onto the train to Circus Maximus. When we got there it was closed. So we got onto the train back to the hotel. This day has come to a close.
When in Rome...There is A LOT to walk around and take in!
ReplyDelete22 Euros! The buggers..... an otherwise perfect day :) Ancient city (Palatine) is so special. A good read Sabrina.
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