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TRAVEL ENTRY

Rome, Italy - Fallen Empire - 27th January 2001

Posted by Edmond on Wednesday, May 1, 2002

The Colloseum, Roman Forum, the Palatine and the Capitoline Museum is the focus of the day's tour. An exploration of the Colloseum and the main arches and the remnants of the Roman Forum and the Palatine. Tour of the Capitoline Museum's richly decorated halls and exhibits, the Piazza Venezia and the Victor Emmanuel Monument and the Trajan Markets.

Forum, Palatine and Capitol tour:
1. Colloseum and the Arch of Constantine
2. Roman Forum and the Curia
3. The Palatine and the Antiquarium
4. The Farnese Gardens in the Palatine
5. Capitoline Museum
6. Victor Emmanuel Monument
7. Trajan Markets

It was about half past ten in the morning when we arrived at the Colloseum via the Metro. Although lots of tourists were congregating around the ticket booths, we didn't have to wait that long to get past the security checks to enter the remains of the once great amphitheatre of the ancient world. Here, we arrived at a recently made platform where visitors could get a wide-angle view of the Collosseum.

On first examination, it is still hard to imagine what the amphitheatre would have looked like back in Ancient room. Most of the marble that lined the seats and the statues that were placed between the columns outside are now missing, and the stage below seems to resemble one large decrepit maze of brick, stone and weeds. It is also hard to imagine that this maze once housed wild animals primed for glatiatorial showdowns.

After walking across the platform above the maze that use to be part of the stage, we headed across the other side of the amphitheatre and caught the lift up to the seating area. From here, we could get a clear view of the mazes and rooms that would have been hidden below the stage. Around the amphitheatre, exits were logically placed in each seating section, some were covered up while the others produced a clear view of the entry routes. When we got to the opposite end of the Colloseum, there was a clear view of the Arch of Constantine.

We left the Colloseum after a brief lunch for the Roman Forum through Via Dei Fori Imperali. As we walked down the street, there was a clear view of the ruins of the Roman forum with the Colloseum in the background. However, we had to make a steady climb up a road that led up the Capitoline museum and walk down a set of stairs near the Medieval church of Santi Luca e Martina before we saw the entrance and the grand Arch of Septimius Severus. On the arch were reliefs and inscriptions, still well preserved since it was last constructed on orders of Emperor Severus in the 2nd Century AD.

Hard to believe that the ruins before us was once a vibrant community of people, rich in heart and culture with their temples of gods and goddesses. For example, the Temple of Saturn (left of the arch) was where many Romans of all classes made sacrifices and offerings known as the Saturnalia in the last half of December. Then there is the recently reconstructed Curia, a place where the Roman Senate met to discuss issues concerning the city of Ancient Rome, evidence that there perhaps was some civility and justice in the Roman Empire. As we walked by, an american guide tells stories of happenings around one of the areas. We listen, but only briefly to avoid being too intrusive.

We walked west towards the Triumphal Arch of Titus, where some of the temples and buildings were in better condition. Both the Temple of Romulus and the Temple of Antoninus have been incorporated with the building of the church of San Lorenzo and Santi Cosma e Damianco. As we walked past the churches, the remains of the ancient Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius can be seen. As one looks up one of the arches, the basilica was one of the largest public buildings in the forum before falling to ruin. After marvelling at the size of the basilica, we headed back out through the Arch of Titus to Palatine.

The entrance of the Palatine could be clearly seen from Via di S. Gregorio. Since our ticket covered the Colloseum and the Palatine, we didn't have to worry about buying a ticket to get in. Then we followed the long windy road up past the palace of Septimius Severus to the ruins of the Stadium and Domus Augustana beside it. Although most of the area was in ruin, there were some glimpses of mosaics and marble tiles on the ground. Otherwise, it was again hard to imagine how this area once had Roman palaces that housed the great emperors of Rome. Furthermore, the remains of the palaces and the stadium is out of bounds of tourists. After aimlessly wandering around the Domus Flavia nad Austana, we headed off to the Palatine Antiquarium.

The Palatine Antiquarium houses many of the mosaics, statues and wall frescoes that were found in Palatine an in Rome. The location of the artefacts found within the Palatine and in other places of Rome are also clearly indicated, thus giving us perhaps a better idea of what the area may have looked like. We spent a brief time in here before heading out towards the Farnese Gardens.

The Farnese gardens is the most attractive part of the Palatine. Constructed in the 16th century over the site of the Palace of Tiberius by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, Two pavilions stand in a garden with a pond at the front. At the back, a stairwell follows a small waterfall down to another pond. From here, the large ruins of the basilica in the Roman forum can be seen.

By late afternoon, we had made our way to the Capitoline Museum, crossing from the Palatine exit and into the Roman forum again. The museum consists of two buildings - the Palazzo Nuovo and the Palazzo dei Conservatori. In the square is a copy of the statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, now housed in the Palazzo Nuovo. Although not part of the museum, the Palazzo Senatorio stands between the two buildings and was used by the Roman Senate before being used as offices for the mayor.

The Palazzo Nuovo mainly consisted of statues of Ancient Rome. Exhibits that deserve a mention is the octagonal room with Capitoline Venus (Room 3) and the hall of philosophers (room 5) which contain Roman copies of the heads of Greek philosophers. This part of museum was easily covered by us under an hour.

The Palazzo dei Conservatori is much larger than Palazzo Nuovo. We chose the easiest way to get there by leaving through the exit of Nuovo and walking across the square. Unlike the last museum, this one also contained paintings at the top floors of the museum. Many of the halls had their walls and ceiling decorated with carvings and paintings. Some exhibits worth mentioning include the She-wolf and Romulus and Remus which represented the story of the founding of Rome, and the painting "Burial and Glory of St Petronilla".

As it was starting to get dark, we decided to make our final stop at the Victor Emmanuel Monument. This large white monument with a huge collonade at the top is meant to celebrate Rome's reunification with the rest of Italy, led by Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, who was eventually crowned King of Italy. A large bronze statue of Emmanuel on horseback now stands in the middle of the monument. At the front of the statue stood three armed guards in blue uniform. After taking some photos, we made our way up to the top and got good views of the Trajan markets across the road and the Piazza Venezia below. We then made our way back down to the Piazza before heading off for the Trajan markets.

We finished off our tour with a small walk around the area that was the Trajan Markets. As it was about 6pm, the area was closed but we could still walk around the outside. Built in 2nd Century AD, the market is one of the first shopping arcades in the world. Now it stands quiet and empty, overrun by feral cats. As it was closed, we didn't stay for very long before we retired back near Piazza Novona for drinks at a pub, as it was still to early for dinner. As some might know, dinner in Rome doesn't kick in until 8 or 9pm and we found that most restaurants stubbornly stuck to this schedule by opening their doors at the appropriate time.

However, the wait for dinner was worthwhile. We found a seafood restaurant around Via Della Scrofa. Although the waitress's english was not very good when she tried to translate the menu for us, the atmosphere was friendly and lively. I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant, but it served the best seafood I've ever known since coming here. My friend and my sister both had an assortment of small sardine-size battered-fried fish while I had Seafood marinara pasta. Perhaps, by being served this nice food, Rome's culture, richness and liveliness that had once existed in the ancient forums, markets and palaces still lives on.


© Edmond, 2002