Adventures in Italy: Day 19, Rome

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Italy Day 19, Saturday, October 22, Rome



It was a chilly 62 degrees the morning we began our 8:30 A.M. tour of the Colosseum and the Forum. We arrived early in an attempt to beat the crowds but they were already there. I can’t imagine how busy it would have been had we arrived later!





Departing the bus, we were confronted with ancient Rome seeing the Forum to our left and the Colosseum to our right bathed in the morning light and dark shadows adding a mystery to the amazing culture that preceded our present day life. As we walked through the Triumphant Arch of Constantine to get to the Roman Colosseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheater, located just east of the Roman Forum, one couldn’t help but feel a bit awestruck by the history of the people who came before us. The Arch of Constantine is a monument that was built in 315 A.D. to mark the victory of Constantine over Maxentius at Pons Milvius and provides an imposing entrance to these ancient grounds.





Ancient Rome began as a small town in the 8th century B.C. around the Tiber River and ultimately grew into an empire that, at its peak, encompassed most of continental Europe, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. After 450 years as a republic, Rome became an empire in the wake of Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in the first century B.C. The first emperor, Augustus, began his long reign in an era of peace and prosperity. In contrast, the empire’s decline and fall around 476 AD was one of the most dramatic implosions in the history of human civilization.





Palatine hill, known as the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome, is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands above the Roman Forum and the Circus Maximus as if surveying all it has power over. According to legend, Romulus was the first king of Rome and founded the city on Palatine Hill. There are many traditions and institutions attributed to Romulus and it is unclear which is historical or folklore, and even whether he is Greek as some claim, descending from the semi-divine Trojan prince Aeneas. It is said that Romulus persuaded the citizens of the day that power came from the control of the Tiber River and a strong position atop Palatine hill. The fable of Romulus and Remus persists in Rome to this day and even, as I learned, in Siena. Romulus certainly got around.





On top of Palatine Hill was the Imperial Palace of the Emperor built by Emperor Nero around 60 A.D. In 64 A.D. a great fire broke out lasting for 5 days consuming much of Rome. Emperor Nero, known for his debaucheries and political murders, and murders of his mother, two of his wives and stepbrother had an unlikely passion for music that probably led to the rumor that “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”. But Nero blamed the Christians for the fire, thus beginning the persecutions of the early Christians. After the fire, Nero confiscated everything around to build himself a new palace called House of Nero or Domus Aurea, including a private park and gardens on the site we know now holding the Colosseum. Nero became emperor when he was only 17 years old and committed suicide at 31. He was so consumed by his worry of being assassinated that he killed himself. He was a bit obsessed with control, among other things.







The following emperor, Vespasian, completely demolished all memory of Nero and rebuilt the Colosseum in 72 A.D with travertine stone that came from Tivoli. The brilliant white facade surrounding 4 floors must have presented an exciting, yet terrifying, impression o those who lived in Rome, depending of course on your status and likelihood of being a spectator or a victim inside. There were eighty arches entering the amphitheater, with entrances that were numbered to indicate the section reserved for the more important patrons who were seated by rank. Tickets with seating numbers were printed on pottery shards. Common people went thru another general entrance that was not numbered. Attendance was encouraged with free tickets for all Roman citizens. The amphitheater could seat more than 70,000 spectators. The new Colosseum was opened by Vespasian’s son Titus in 80 A.D. with a celebration that lasted 100 days.





Rome can be hot and very sunny so a retractable roof covering made of linen called the Velarium was designed to be moved by a system of ropes, inches and wooden poles along the outer wall. It took 100 sailors, coordinated by a team of engineers from the Imperial fleet, to move the covering in sync with the beating of a drum. All this drama, the noise, the anticipation, the staging, was meant to further the excitement about what was about to happen inside the arena. The interior or Cavea of the Colosseum, also known as the Coliseum, or amphitheater, had sand on the floor to absorb blood from fights and deaths. The word sand means arena in Italian.





The wooden floor and all other similar structures have long since disintegrated. What we see now are the subterranean network of tunnels where cages were located below the floor. Some of the animals that were in cages, as well as criminals, awaited their execution below the base of the Colosseum. Sixty trap doors opened to cages below the arena. The cage doors, opened by slaves, who then operated manual elevators through which, on some occasions, up to 100 lions would appear roaring at the same time into the arena, caused a literal explosion of excitement for the spectators. During Emperor Titus' inauguration 5,000 animals were killed.



Executions were held for the patrons during their lunch. The orchestra played as the criminals, whose clothes were soaked in flammable oil, were set on fire creating a tortuous dance show. Sacrifices were performed in the Flavian Amphitheater to ‘help the dead on their way’. The gladiators, who were mostly men, (but some were women), all waited below the base of the Coliseum for their turn in the ‘games’. Romans loved the excitement of the dangerous games but I have to wonder, and hope, that not all enjoyed this violent show. The average life of a gladiator was 22 1/2 years average. If a gladiator was badly mutilated he would be executed.





During the Middle Ages, all the brick work that was covered with marble, and the huge statues that stood atop the Colosseum walls, were removed. The Colosseum later became an enormous marble, lead and iron quarry used by Popes to build Barberini Palace, Piazza Venezia and even St. Peter’s. The holes can still be seen in some of the columns that were made extracting the lead and iron used by the Romans as nails. The Colosseum has been cleaned with water since I was here in 1970 and looks much more impressive because of it, or maybe it’s just my dusty memory. The previous cleaning of the Colosseum had been done in the 1800s.





The Colosseum was threatened with demolition so in 1749 Pope Benedict XIV declared the Colosseum a religious sacred monument dedicated to the Passion of Christ by placing a cross on a pedestal as a symbol of the suffering of all Christian martyrs who allegedly met their cruel end there. This cross is still the starting point for the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday, and likely the reason we are able to observe this historic site as it is today. I learned from our guide, and through other research since, that the Colosseum was not used to kill Christians as a spectacle.



On the way into the Forum we our guide pointe to a carved panel inside the Arch of Titus depicting a map of Jerusalem. On the inside of this, the oldest of the Roman triumphal arches, erected after the death of Titus, are beautifully preserved scenes. Titus had captured Jerusalem in the year 70 sealing the defeat of the Jewish people in Palestine. On one panel the relief shows slaves carrying treasures in a parade of triumph that included a stolen booty including a large menorah. The other panel had a chariot with Nike showing victory. The emperor was shown riding the eagle to join the other gods.





We entered the Forum on the Via Sacra, the main thoroughfare from the Colosseum to the Forum, the heart and soul of ancient Rome with markets, shops, and taverns, it was a place to socialize and be seen. The Forum, known as the area around which ancient Rome was developed, often flooded because it was built in a marshland. Consequently many remains of the ancient buildings were buried under mud and dirt. And yet, early Etruscans saw this wetland problem and constructed a canal called Cloaca Maxima that is still functioning today allowing the land in this area to drain and have buildable construction sites. It is also known as one of the world’s earliest sewage systems. The valley was paved after the sewer was completed.







I tried to imagine walking on the road in the time of Augustus to envision seeing the House of Vestal Virgins. Would I have been in awe or would I have envied the protection and privileges of these Virgins, chosen young by the emperor? These women were told to save their sexual energy for Rome (meaning of course, the emperor). The virgins were considered the most important women after the empress so I am imagining you are safe unless you fell in love with someone else. You couldn't kill a vestal for having sex with someone besides the emperor but if caught, a virgin could be sent away to starve for her sins while her partner could be flailed and de-limbed.





The Temple of Vesta was one of the most holy and important buildings in ancient Rome. It contained the Sacred Fire, a symbol of divinity that burned 24hrs a day. The flame was guarded by the Vestals, six priestesses selected as children from the best families in Rome. The circular temple had an opening in the roof to let out the smoke from the sacred flame. This temple survived mostly intact until the middle of the 16th century when it was torn down and its marble used to build papal palaces and churches.





The Basilica of Maxentius or Basilica of Constantine, also known as the Basilica Nova or new basilica, was an imposing 6,000 square meter building with huge rooms housing the imperial Roman baths and three impressive halls. This building was thought to be the greatest of the Roman basilicas. In pagan days a basilica had nothing to do with religion, it was a simply a public building. Begun by Maxentius in 306-312 A.D. and finished by Constantine sometime in 337 A.D., the building was later destroyed by one or more earthquakes and finally by looting of the useable building materials left in the rubble. All memory of the magnificent building was lost during the Middle Ages and thereafter was confused with the Temple of Peace. Later Christians began building their churches after this model.





The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano, also known as the Pagan Temple of Romulus was built in the early 4th century as a Roman temple, is thought to have been dedicated to Valerius Roulus, son of the emperor Maxentius who died in childhood. The circular building is flanked by two porphyry columns signifying wealth and power. The bronze door is original and still works! Pope Felix V turned this monument into the vestibule of the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian. The entrance was reopened in 1879.



The wealthy Farneses, whose family members were becoming popes and were very powerful, later turned this area into a public park in the 1500s.



Some members of the GCT family chose to climb and explore the Palatine Hill and its ruins, others of us hitched a ride on the bus to be dropped off closer to the center of Rome to explore the Pantheon and Piazza Navona. On our ride we drove past the “Wedding Cake or Typewriter Monument” to Victor Emmanuel, often referred to as "Rome's blindingly white elephant." This monument was located on Capitoline Hill, the ancient center of Rome, also, according to our Tour Director Renato, the location of the great temple dedicated to Jupiter, Minerva and Juno. A Medieval building was built on top of these ruins. We passed the Circus Maximus where Renato told us chariots had to drive seven times around the massive racing stadium during a race.



We left Renato around the monument of Vittorrio Emanuele II and walked down Via degli Astalli to the lovely Church of the Gesu, the first Jesuit Church built in 1568. Designed and constructed with the help and guidance of the Farnese family, baroque masters enhanced the church with beautiful stuccos and frescoes. The Chapel of the Madonna della Strada has beautiful frescoes depicting the life of the Virgin. What struck me, though, was the extravagant and powerful altarpiece Religion Overthrowing Heresy and Hatred by Legros. Religion hurls down thunderbolts upon an old woman representing Hatred, while a male figure of Heresy writhes vanquished beneath. Now there was a message for you!



Conveniently across from the church we found relief: a place to buy a gelato, sit and relax, to give us energy for more exploration.





We stopped next at the ancient Pantheon, enormous in size with large, rectangular but nondescript pillars outside, it’s surprising round interior, with elaborate frescoes and gold altar pieces and a sloping marble floor, was a complete surprise. The concrete coffered dome, made of lighter materials, soared towards the heavens, and when constructed, would have been gilded to look like the heavenly sphere of all the gods that the name Pantheon evokes.





Built by the emperor Hadrian between 117 and 125 A.D. to replace Augustus’ friend and Commander Marcus Agrippa’s Pantheon of 27 B.C. which burned to the ground in 80 A.D., the inscription on the building indicates Agrippa, not Hadrian, as the builder of this temple. Hadrian produced many buildings during his reign but inscribed his name to only one, the temple of his father Trajan. Hadrian was an architect who loved design. He built the temple opposite the Colosseum near the Forum, then known as the Valley of the Coliseum. “It was considered the best in the world because Hadrian designed it and you'd better agree” said our guide.





The Pantheon, from the Greek Pantheion meaning “temple of every god”, was once a place of pagan worship but later became a Christian church. The dome is one of the largest masonry domes yet built. Interestingly there is a hole, or oculus, in the enter of the ceiling that allows sunlight (and rain) on the inlaid marble floors that are carefully sloped to let any water run safely out of harms way. As the earth turns, the light flows in to circle the interior making the viewer aware of the magnificence of the cosmos. The Pantheon exists today in large part because the Byzantine emperor Phocas gave it to Pope Boniface the IV in 608 A.D. and it was used as a church ever since dedicated to St Mary and the Martyrs. The Pantheon has been in use since the time it was built. Along the walls inside we saw the tombs of artist Raphael and his fiancee, and those of Italian Kings Umberto I and Victor Emanuel II.





From the Pantheon we walked to the Piazza Navona where we stopped to admire the fountains, enjoy the view and relax with a glass of wine and a tasty, thin margarita pizza at the Restaurant Panzirone overlooking the busy Piazza. The movie Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow starring Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren was filmed here in 1963. The maitre d’ proudly showed us the restaurant’s menu boasting a photograph of the frustrated Mastroianni sitting on a bench in front of this restaurant.





After lunch we strolled around the square observing pigeons on Neptune's head in his fountain before admiring Bernini's enormous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. Four river gods lounge on the fountain’s travertine rocks representing four major rivers of the four continents through which papal authority had spread; the Nile, the Danube, the Ganges and the Rio de la Plata. The massive fountain is anchored by a great obelisk and it sits across from Borromini's Palazzo Pamphili, now the Brazilian Embassy in Rome. We were soon off to Campo dei Fiori just in time for Donna to buy some flowers as the stalls were being taken down for the day.





We pushed our tired legs and feet towards S. Maria sopra Minerva stopping for some amaretto cookies and chocolate biscotti to provide sustenance for the next hour. On the way we literally stumbled upon the S Anthony Church or Basilica S. Andrea Della Valle, Padri Teatini (St. Andrew of the Valley) boasting the third largest dome in Rome. This Roman church is as famous for its role in a major setting in the Puccini opera Tosca, as it is for its baroque art and architecture. Situated near the Church of the Gesù, three pontifical families, the Piccolominis, the Peretti Montaltos and the Borgheses contributed to produce this, Rome’s most theatrical basilica St. Andrew of the Valley. St Andrew, the patron of Amalfi, is portrayed in a fresco that depicts the drama and heroism for which he is so revered.






S Maria sopra Minerva church, the only Gothic church in Rome, is deceiving from the outside because it doesn't begin to tell the story of the glorious inside. Located in the Piazza della Minerva, it is within eyesight of the Pantheon. In Roman times there were three temples in this area surrounding the basilica; the Minervium in honor of the goddess Minerva from 50 B.C., the Iseum dedicated to Isis, and the Septum dedicated to Serapis. The Dominicans began building the present Gothic church in 1280 modeling it after the Santa Maria Novella in Florence. The sarcophagus of Saint Catherine of Siena sits peacefully beneath the High Altar amidst beautiful frescoes and magnificent works of art by Michelangelo and Bernini.






Michelangelo’s statue Cirsto della Minerva, also known as Christ the Redeemer or Christ Carrying the Cross, stands statuesque to the left of the altar. Michelangelo created this statue without modest adornments, but later modesty covering was added, I am sure causing Michelangelo to turn over in his grave. To the left are sculptures by students of Bernini and the tomb of Fra Angelico lies at the base of this little chapel. In the little Carafa Chapel we found frescoes by Filipino Lippi. I looked up and was delighted to see gold stars in a blue ceiling as if the heavens were watching over the faithful.



With sore legs and feet and in need of a rest four of us dragged ourselves to the Piazza S. Ignazio to hired a cab to take us back to our hotel.





Early in the evening, earlier than most Romans, we dined again at Sesto Pizzeria Ristorante Wine Bar in the Piazza Buenos Aires. This is a popular trendy spot with the 20 somethings, and apparently with the cost conscious old folks like us! This time we all had the 9 euro per person hors d'oeuvres bar with an antipasto to share. Such a deal and very good!





Back at the Hotel Albani, I attempted to sleep on my rock of a bed, softened a tiny bit with a fluffy duvet thankfully provided by staff in the hotel. I hoped I would be more comfortable than the last few nights but alas, it was not much better. This was one time I truly missed my bed at home.

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Photos

What is left of the brilliant white facade of the Colosseum
The holes can still be seen in some of the columns that were made to extract the lead and iron used by the Romans as nails.

Restaurant Panzirone in Piazza Navona
Made famous from the 1963 movie Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow starring Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren