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Published: September 25th 2012
Rome, what a direct contrast to the past couple of days. It's busy, smelly ( the locals are anyway) and so old you just can't really relate. Today our mission was to see the key tourist attractions, the Colosseo, the Pantheon, the Forum and the Trevi fountain. We had planned to see all of these from the comfort of a hop on and off bus, but soon realized that they were really not that far from our hotel and the distances between each attraction was really a short walk.
The Colosseum, words (our pictures) just can't portray the size or feeling of the structure. Started in AD 72, large enough to hold 50000 people, multiple levels (equestrians at the lowest, the wealthy in the middle, and plebs at the top) to separate the classes and events all put on for free by the emporer to entertain the masses. Not to mention that that somewhere along the way they decided to recycle the materials of the building (marble, stone, iron) to build structures elsewhere. To the West of the Colosseum is the Arco di Constantiono, built to celebrate Constantine's victory over rival Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge (AD 312).
The Roman Forum (Foro Romano), a market place, civic centre and religious complex all rolled into one. Not actually the place where Ceaser was murdered.....that's the funny thing. :-) The site is just a pile of rubble....columns here and there. As we look on to the site, a crane is preparing to lift one of the pieces of something to another place, whilst a lady gets out her tape measure to measure another piece. How or why they plan to rebuild it is a mystery to me. Later in the day we found a large section of the Augustus' Forum.
The Pantheon, a striking 2000 year old temple, now church, is the best preserved of ancient Rome's great monuments. In it's current form it dates to around AD120 when the emperor Hadrian built over Marcus Agrippa's original 27BC temple. The dome is still the biggest ever built.
Trevi Fountain, designed in 1732, depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons, with sea horses. The actual water for the fountain comes from the aqua Virgo, a first century BC underground aqueduct. The name 'Trevi' refers to the tre ve (three roads) that converge at the fountain. On average, €3000
is thrown into the fountain every day!!!!!! The brightness of the fountain gives off an almost illluminating appearance. It's no wonder that Romans find their monuments so captivating. Time for some gelato.. Tomorrow...the Vatican...a country with its own radio, guard and currency.
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Mum
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Does it feel like a dream come true to actually be in Rome? The way you write about it makes it almost possible to feel the ambiance of the place....love to you and Shell xxx