The trip just keeps getting better and better! Today was a full day in Rome. We got to sleep in until 8:00 AM (yup, it should tell you something when I say that we slept in until 8:00) which was when breakfast was, and then on the bus at 9:00 AM. Today was filled with anticipation. Today we headed to the Coliseum. I’ve been looking forward to this from the start of the trip. Especially given what had happened to Christian brothers/sisters of mine in that arena many years ago.
We arrived and the first thing that we saw was what the tour guide called the Arch of Triumph – similar to the one in Paris (the one in Paris is much larger than this one). As a group, we all got together and there was a professional photographer present to take our picture in front of the Arch/Coliseum. It will be nice to see the picture as a remembrance of the friends that we have made along this amazing journey. From there we queued in the group line to get into the Coliseum. Once inside we spent some time on the main floor of the structure and then we walked up the two flights of stairs to the second level.
I can’t even begin to describe this structure. I wish I could go back in time and see how they actually built it. The limestone blocks used to create the pillars are so well cut – you would be hard pressed to slide a credit card between them. We were told that there were roughly 100,000 slaves used to build it and it took them 8 years (from 72 AD to 80 AD). The structure held a total of about 75,000 people. I am in awe. The archways, the bricks and the marble used in this structure is simply indescribable.
It was also interesting to see the complicated network of tunnels under the floor of the Coliseum and to note that the shape of the floor was not round – but oblong or oval. As it was described, many animals were kept under the floor, and special doors that could be raised and lowered were used to bring them up to the surface. When someone was going to be fed to the lions, the lions themselves were rather tame (according to the guide); however, 3 days before the “event”, they would stop feeding the lions and they would get quite hungry and aggressive. Gladiators would also be below the surface, and come up to fight in the “games”. This place was really a work of art. There is a good chance that I walked down a hallway that Cesar himself walked down. That just blows my mind.
After this we went to see the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Pietro Bracci. Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. The fountain has appeared in several notable films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. Work began in 1732 and the fountain was completed in 1762, long after Salvi's death, when Pietro Bracci's Oceanus (god of all water) was set in the central niche. The thing was amazing! And you should see the crowds! I went down to the fountain and, for luck, I tossed a coin with my right hand backwards over my left shoulder. Our guide indicated that the red-cross is the beneficiary of the money from the fountain and they bring in roughly $3000 Euro a week.
From there we walked to the “Column of Marcus Aurelius”. The Column of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honor of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajan's Column. The column’s shaft is 29.62 metres (97.2 ft.) high, on a ca. 10.1-metre (33 ft.) high base, which in turn originally stood on a 3 metres (9.8 ft.) high platform - the column in total is 39.72 metres (130.3 ft.). About 3 metres of the base have been below ground level since the 1589 restoration. The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble, each of 3.7 metres (12 ft.) diameter, hollowed out whilst still at the quarry for a stairway of 190-200 steps within the column up to a platform at the top. Just as with Trajan’s Column, this stairway is illuminated through narrow slits into the relief. The spiral picture relief tells the story of Marcus Aurelius’ Danubian or Marcomannic wars, waged by him from 166 to his death. We did not get to climb to the top, although it would have been neat to do so.
We stopped at an ancient Egyptian obelisk called: Psammetichus II which was originally from Heliopolis. Brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BC with the Flaminio obelisk to form the gnomon of a sundial on the Campus Martius. Found in the 16th century but reburied. Rediscovered and erected by Pope Pius VI in front of the Palazzo Montecitorio in 1792.
Our next stop was the Pantheon, from Greek “Πάνθειον” meaning "[temple] of every god"). The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft). It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" (Latin: Santa Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda". The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The 8 columns on the front of the building came from Egypt and were carved from one piece of marble. The structure is simply amazing.
After that, we stopped at one more Obelisk/Fountain called the Flaminio Obelisk. Originally from Heliopolis this artifact was brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BC with the Flaminio obelisk to form the gnomon of a sundial on the Campus Martius. Found in the 16th century but reburied. Rediscovered and erected by Pope Pius VI in front of the Palazzo Montecitorio in 1792. After this, we were set free for lunch. We had lunch with Steve and Margaret at a small place across the square.
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| Wow - that's a big beer! |
Steve, Alf and I all went back to the hotel and then caught a cab to the Sheraton Golf Resort in Rome to play 18 holes of golf. I still can’t believe we snuck this in! It was a fantastic course, and would you believe it, we three way tied for first place!
Early start tomorrow – bags out at 7:15; On the coach at 8:15.
Curt & Laureen in Rome, Italy.
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