Rome on the BBA

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Saturday 17th October
Rome on the BBA
We think the days of shorts and tee shirts on this BBA might be over. The weather in Rome has turned decidedly cooler and we had better go to the city today prepared also for some forecasted rain.
The mobile home here is half the size of the one we had in Venice, with no extra bedroom in case guests turn up!!!There is also no cooking or kitchen facilities so for the first time in a couple of weeks it seems the microwave starts to earn its keep again.
We are planning a full day in the city so a hearty breakfast of cereals and then scambled eggs is up for this morning.
We were ready to go just after 9am and we didn’t have to wait long for a bus to come along to take us to the subway and on into the city.The absence of a shuttle bus like the one offered in Venice is not a problem as for €4 we can buy an all day ticket for buses,trains and trams in Rome.
We were entertained on the way in for a few stations by a gypsy guy playing his violin.The classical pieces he played were all done at speed as if he had to get in what he could before he passed around the hat and hopped off our train to catch one back to entertain those passengers.He made a bit from our carriage but didn’t approach us.Perhaps we looked like we are on the BBA too much(which means entertainment on trains for us is for free)!!
As we will be unemployed when we get home we are thinking of putting our limited musical talents to work by playing for passengers on the buses in Tauranga.We are sure we can earn a few bob to keep the wolves from the door.!!!Not sure what the council or the bus company will think but hey thats enterprise for ya and we will save the Government some benefit money it would have to pay us!!!
Our first sight as we emerged from the subway was the Colosseum,not a bad way to be introduced to historical Rome.We were a bit like the first time we came up out of the subway in New York at Times Sqaure where we just gaped at sights we had only seen before on TV.We wonder how the locals feel when they come out from this subway station.To them it is probably a bit like us with our own #1 sight of Mount Maunganui which we just take for granted.
We hadn’t even come off the steps of the station and we were being offered an English speaking tour where we wouldn’t have to queue for tickets for only €4 more than a single ticket.They were wasting their time with us after all this is the BBA!!!
We were starting to wonder if we should have taken up the offer when we couldn’t find where to enter this gigantic structure to buy tickets.We ended up doing the complete circuit of the Colosseum before we found where the queue started just where we had crossed the road from the subway.It probably worked out well as it gave us a chance to see the whole of the outside and take photos.
We only queued for about 15 minutes and we were in and those who had joined the guided tours still had to queue anyway to receive their tickets except just in a different queue!!
As we mentioned the Colosseum is enormous and it is quite mind numbing to think just how such a structure was built without the aid of the machinery of today.
Stairs take you up to the entry to the inside,which like the external sight ,is also quite amazing.All around the walkway there are information boards telling of what used to happen to the events held in the arena,who were involved and gruesome descriptions of how the gladiators and others died.
From the walkway you have a great view down on the area under what was the arena floor where the animals(lions,rhinos etc) were kept waiting their turn to be let loose on the gladiators etc.The Colosseum could hold up to 50,000 people for an event.
We spent nearly an hour and a half wandering the two levels of walkways reading the history and viewing the interior from different vantage points.
Then it was time to head for the Palatino where the Roman Forum and houses of various former emperors and wealthy Romans were.On the way we topped up with a Panini and a Fanta from one of the many stalls in the area.They are actually mobile stalls which can be packed up and driven off at the end of the day.
This area too is vast and again it is quite amazing to see how well preserved the history of this part of the city is with extensive portions of houses(more like mansions)still standing after over 2000 years.One of the villas belonged to Domitian which included his own sports stadium within the compound.From history this emperor was all powerful but not particulary liked by the common people.When he died the Senate ordered his name be taken off all statues etc .
There is also a small museum with artefacts and history dating back to the original settlements in the area at around 300BC and this is worthwhile seeing just to remind you that Rome is not just about the Roman Emperors,gladiators ,ruins etc.
The view out over the Forum area which includes the Via Sacra,the road that ran up to the Colosseum,brings everything into perspective and there are buildings dotted all along the road telling the history of early Rome.One such building is what remains of the Basilica which Michaelangelo used as a starting point for the Basilica he designed and built at the Vatican.Today just one third of the building remains and when you stand down in it and try to imagine what the full and original structure would have looked like,it is just impossible.
Outside of the Palatino and cut off by a wide road is an area that used to be the largest shopping centre in existence,back in 79 AD!!The road was built in 1932 during the time of Mussolini and is one of the main arteries of the city.Today the local administrators are divided about whether the road should be closed and the area dug up to reveal the missing part of the Forum area that is covered by the roadway.It would certainly link things up and complete the area in full as far as excavation was concerned.
Behind this area again is the tower which Nero is reputed to have watched as Rome burnt during his reign.The tower is incomplete having had the top removed by a thunderbolt.And when we walked up to it the whole thing seemed to have a lean on as well although we cannot find anything in the history book to say whether it isn’t in fact straight or why.
After leaving the Forum area we took on some more food in the form of a sweet donut tasting bun we walked to view a very large white marbled building with statues atop in the form of winged chariots and other marbled statues at various levels.It was difficult to get all the building in the camera lens and we had to walk back down the piazza to do so.
From here we walked looking for the Trevi Fountain,one of the famous gathering places for tourists.On the way we passed by the Palazzo del Quirinale where there seemed to be military barracks of some sort guarded by soldiers outside and inside a soldier resplendent in a white military outfit.He even posed for photos after coming forward on the instruction of another soldier/officer also resplendent in an outfit a bit more decorative than the soldiers on guard.
The piazza where the famous Trevi fountain is located is relatively small and we don’t think it would have accommodated too many more people at the time we arrived to toss our coin in and hopefully one day return to Rome(that is what the locals say will happen).Gretchen somehow managed to get down the two flights of steps to the edge of the fountain,find a gap big enough to sit in and look my way while I took her photo from above.The fountain was designed by Salvi in 1732 and depicts Neptunes chariot and horses and like a lot of what there is to see in Rome its size is too big to get in one photo from the angles within the piazza.
The Spanish steps were next and here too the crowds were spread out over the whole piazza and also up both sides of the famous steps which were a legacy from the French in 1725 and up to a church that was for the well heeled residents of the area.
A disturbing thing happened though as we climbed the steps to the church.
A gypsy woman begging at the bottom of the steps to the church incurred the wrath of a smartly dressed black guy who looked like a church official.He came marching down the steps towards her and started telling her off for being there.She was in a kneeling position,as they do when they are begging,and he kicked the cup she was using to collect the money people gave her.The few coins she in in the cup went spilling across the pavement while he continued to remonstrate with her until she moved on.
While the beggars can seem like a nuisance they are usually at the side of the pavement against a wall and rarely do they actually approach a person for money.And the guy’s rather violent actions seemed over the top in the circumstances.
The interior of the church wasn’t really anything special and after the incident we didn’t feel like hanging around in it.
We had been a long time on our feet but we had achieved all we wanted to for today and so we caught the train back to EUR Fermi and again we were entertained by the same gypsy violin player with the same tunes. Perhaps his repertoire is limited or did we just strike him when the same rotate of his tunes came around again?
We were ready for our cold Peroni and nibbles and knew that after our dinner we wouldn’t be long before we hit the sack.

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Photos

Gretchen at lunch
Hey one of those panini's is mine!!

Comments

[O & R]

Fountains of Roma
You may have trouble comparing the various attractions you have visited, but you cannot deny the variety world class tourist destinations you have managed to include in the BBA. Did you sing "Three coins in the Fountain" as you tossed your money in Gretchen ?:)

[Leebee]

Ah, Rome!
I love Rome...so much history!!! I felt exactly the same as you on first sighting of the Colosseum. I had been watching my feet so as not to trip up on Romes very uneven cobblestones when Cormac suggested that maybe I should look up to take in the view. Also, I think the big white building you might be referring to is locally known as the "Typewriter" and is actually hated by the locals becasue it is a distratction to all the historical sights around.

[KJ]

When in Rome...
Kia ora Didn't realise you were goint o get to Rome so quickly. My friend Cathie is the Deputy NZ Ambassador in Rome-she loves living in the city. Good to see photos of things I also took photos of 23 years ago too!