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Published: July 17th 2016
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It was like raising the dead, Woolly was still half asleep as we headed for breakfast but managed to wake sufficiently to consume a croissant that was nearly as big as himself. Woolly says – The wind had kept me awake for hours.....NOOOOOOOO not my wind! Having attempted to lick the icing sugar off my fur I hoped that Jo wouldn’t realise that I was sticking to everything that touched me! As we headed back towards the coliseum I seemed to be sticking to the pavement, luckily Jo was so busy taking picture’s I appeared to be getting away with it. Our first destination was the Roman Forum and Palentine Hill, we had managed a small walk round the previous evening and had spotted so many buildings through the fences I knew that it was going to be a highlight for me. It was highly entertaining to watch the small fur ball trying to prize his paws off the footpath although the passing tourists seemed to think he might have injured himself! Woolly says – as we passed the coliseum I stood admiring the Arch of Constantine a triumphal arch erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD. Wow I wonder what I would need to do to be granted an arch like that?!
As he looked at me with his big brown eyes I hadn’t the heart to tell him that it was unlikely to happen and that we didn’t have the space I instead pointed him towards the Forum. Woolly says – having already secured our tickets I sat waiting for the girls to put everything through the x ray machine whilst taking in the delights before me. The Roman Forum is a rectangular plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city, it was for centuries the centre of Roman public life: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches and the nucleus of commercial affairs. I could almost see the toga’s passing me by and as Jo joined me I knew that she was thinking the same. We have done a lot of Roman places but this really gave the full idea of how large and magnificent these cities must have been.
Woolly says – as I wandered through what would have been offices there was so much of the layout still on show, although the room size was questionable for the sort of desk I would have if I was in power! The temple of Romulus a circular building at the entrance onto the Forum was built in the early 4th century as a Roman temple, thought to have been dedicated to Valerius Romulus, deified son of the emperor Maxentius. I sat and admired it’s brass doors that still stand today, glancing a few inches to my left I had the tall columns of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, begun in 141 AD by the Emperor Antoninus Pius and it was initially dedicated to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antoninus Pius was deified after his death in 161 AD, the temple was re-dedicated jointly to them both. I haven’t moved an there is so much at my paw tips! Knowing that he would happily sit there all day I suggested that we proceed to the Garden of the Vestal Virgins. The garden had been both a religious space and domestic space. It looked wonderful with it’s ponds and roses and as Woolly decided that he needed to fill one of the missing spaces on the columns I could hear him telling a group of Japanese about the Virgins.
Woolly says – My eager audience lapped up my knowledge of the Vestal Virgins, priestesses of the cult of Vesta, who had lived here from the 6th century BC to the end of the 4th century AD. Vesta (nothing to do with the curry) was the Goddess of the Hearth and the Virgins came from Rome's noblest families, serving for thirty years (eg from the age of 6 to 36) and then becoming private citizens again. They tended the hearth and fire and sprinkled them with holy water from Egeria. Having finished the first part of my lecture they decided that they all needed photo’s taking so I left Zoe to that and moved on. Making our way towards the the Farnese Gardens which had been created in 1550 and were the first private botanical gardens in Europe, although not Roman they gave us a splendid view of the Forum itself.
Woolly says – So much packed into the area and having taken my fill I prodded Jo, just as Zoe arrived from her picture taking session, and we made our way downwards and towards the Santa Maria Antiqua, a Roman Catholic Marian church built in the 5th century. Inside we were greeted by the beautiful and numerous frescoes of varying artistic style crafted from the sixth to the ninth century. Each alcove, wall and altar is attributed to different times and trends of style representative of its artists and patrons, including many of the early Popes. More and more people seemed to be entering and as my paws were starting to ache I suggested that we make our way towards the exit and see what we else we could find. Woolly was right our earlyish start had given us a good opportunity to view many of the wonders uninterrupted but the crowds were building rapidly. Woolly says – Passing the Temple of Saturn, one of the oldest and most scared built in 498 BC, it stood proudly next to the Temple of Jupiter much smaller but older still, how many wonders can one mammoth take in a day! Then onto the Arch of Augustus built in 20 BC, it commemorated the return of the Parthian standard and the Battle of Actium against Mark Antony and Cleopatra, it was outstanding and as my last look at the forum one that I could hardly believe. We were all exhausted so my suggestion of a cooling drink and a snack was greeted with sighs of delight form the women.
Half an hour later and with paws and feet still aching Zoe came up with a bright idea....the metro! Woolly says – she certainly has some good ideas and this was a brilliant one. As we disappeared into the bowels of the earth and navigated our way through the passenger tunnels it took no time at all before we arrived at our next stop and one that I knew Jo had been eagerly awaiting. The Spanish steps had long been a must see for me having seen them in a number of films, usually with cars or cycles careering down them I wanted to see if they were as impressive as the appeared on screen.
Woolly says - The monumental stairway of 135 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier’s bequeathed funds of 20,000 scudi between 1723 and 1725, linking the Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church. My hear almost broke as her beaming smile turned to sadness, instead of the ultimate photo opportunity we were greeted by a glass screen and notices informing us that they were under renovation. Undeterred she still took her picture and we looked instead at the tourists flocking round the fountain below. Nothing to be done but it was a shame and as the mammoth set the pace we followed him towards lunch and the chance to see Bruce Springsteen! Following a long editorial meeting we thought we had better have this as part one with part two to follow...... you’ll be reading for another hour otherwise and somehow loading 120 photo’s ish onto one blog is a big excessive........ to be continued.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Romans, Romans, Romans
So much amazing architecture and history in one location. It would take years to see all that you want to see in this city.