Europe 2012- Day 78-79: Rome

I’ve always wanted to go to Rome, at least as long as I’ve loved Italian food. After our last trip to Europe Nate and I decided that if we ever got back we would go to Rome.

Well the time had finally come. Saturday we didn’t have to get up too early as we had a mid-afternoon flight from Eindhoven, so I got up and made us some French toast, ham and eggs for breakfast.

Luckily we had no issues with checking-in or security as it’s a small airport, and after 45 minutes or so we got in line to board our flight. We decided to sit on the right side of the plane, as Nathan had read that you get a view of Rome as you fly into Ciampino airport if you sit on the right side of the plane. 

As our flight took off we climbed above the cloudy skies into the clear blue with an ocean of marshmallow cream below. The sun was starting to set sending a pinkish glow across the beautiful clouds. At this point I wished that I had my camera bag at my feet instead of in the storage up above, but not much I could do about that, so I just soaked in the beautiful view. 

As we came into land I could see the Colosseum which is close to where we were going to be staying, as well as the Termini Train Station, which I have read is the place to avoid, especially at night. We had read that you could take a shuttle that would drop you off at your hotel, but that office was closed when we landed, and our only option was to go to Termini. We took a shuttle bus and then decided to walk to our hotel as it was down a well-lit, main road.

Before leaving I had looked on google maps street view to see what the hotel looked like, and it’s a good thing I did as it doesn’t look like a hotel at all. In fact if it wasn’t for the 2’x1’ sign on the side of the building that said “Foro Romano Hotel,” you would have no idea that it wasn’t just apartments.

After buzzing the door it was opened and from reading reviews I knew we had to go to the second floor. We were greeted at the door by an Italian man that spoke pretty good English. We asked for some restaurant suggestions, and he gave us the name of a good pizza place, and a good pasta place and circled them on a map for us.

Our room was pretty small, but that was of little matter to us as we didn’t plan on spending a bunch of time there. The light above the bed was a chandelier, and we had motorized shades for the window. Oddly enough it was nice that we had AC as it was really warm in the room and humid outside. The bathroom also had a bidet, which I did not use just in case you’re wondering.

When we arrived we didn’t feel like walking far for dinner, and there happened to be a restaurant just below us. The food was good and they even had a live band playing. After dinner we went back up and got ready for bed. We knew we were going to have a busy day and so we wanted to get to bed early.

Our room

Sleeping was easier said than done though as the bed was basically a hide-a-bed and you could feel every spring, making it impossible to get comfortable. Around 6:30 AM we were woken up to the banging of dishes and chatter in Italian. The ladies had come to prepare the breakfast area which was right outside our door, and the walls were very thin with a tile floor and a gap under the door.

We decided it was time to get up, as we couldn’t sleep anyhow. After getting ready we decided to find out what breakfast was, since the night before we were told it was included with our room. There was cereal, and yogurt, neither of which I can have, but they also had croissants with a glaze on them as well as some other bread stuff and some bananas. I guess I can’t complain about breakfast when I was expecting to have to buy breakfast somewhere.

The first thing on our to-do list for the day was the Roman Forum, which was no more than a 5 minute walk down the road. We had read that if you enter from the Northwest side of the Forum you can get a nice view of the whole area, so we decided to go there. After walking around and looking at the maps, the guidebook, the maps and repeat, we discovered that the entrance on the Northwest side isn’t used anymore and we had to find a different way in.

The fuel pumps in the city were just along the side of the road.

It's amazing how you can still see part of the floor.

The details in the carved stone is amazing, especially trying to envision a building trimmed with it and so on.

Not sure if these are blueberries, but they looked like it.

View from the North East of the Roman Forum

The Capitol Building

I thought this statue was interesting. A Roman statue crushing an Egyptian one.

This statue of a she wolf nursing 2 boys Romulus and Remus who were considered to be the founders of Rome.

View from the North West of the Roman Forum.

We discovered that there was an entrance very close to our hotel, so we went there. The tickets for the Roman Forum are a combo ticket with the Colosseum, but there is a much longer line at the Colosseum and so it's better to do the Forum first. That will also allow you to pass the long line at the Colosseum as you already have your ticket.

Nate had seen on Trip Advisor that you could download audio guides by Rick Steves for the Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. We had done this before we left home, and the trip wouldn’t have been the same without it. At almost every place you can pay about 5 euros per person (maybe more) for an audio guide or more if you want a tour guide but this was free to us, and you could go at your own pace.

This stone pathway is original

First we started out at the Arch of Titus. Built in 82 AD to commemorate conquering Jerusalem in 70 AD. It was built by the Jewish slaves brought back by Titus as a monument to their own defeat.

Arch of Titus

Carving of Titus on his chariot after Romes victory

Carving of Romans looting the Temple of Jerusalem.

Next we headed to the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. It’s impossible to describe or imagine how large this building really was. Construction on this building was started by Maxentius in 308, and was finished in 312 by Constantine, one year after Maxentius’s death. The little bit of ruins left give you a peak into its scale. The center nave was 83’ x 263’ and there are outer aisles on either side that added an additional 75’ of width. The archways of the ceiling were around 130’ high, but that fell down long ago, and all that remains is the one side aisle.

Casilica of Maxentius and Constantine

Here is a map of the Forum

We stopped by the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina which has the original bronze doors swinging on original hinges!

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

Next we came to the Forum of Caesar which was built back in 54 BC. Only 3 columns and the foundation survive today. On March 15 (the Ides of March) 44 BC Julius Caesar was attacked and murdered by the men in the senate. His body was then cremated on an alter in the semi-circle area in front of the Forum of Caesar, this area is now covered with a tin roof and often has fresh flowers on it.

All that's really left of Caesars Forum is the foundations.

Where Julius Caesar's body was burned

Near the Forum of Caesar was the temple of the Vestal Virgins. Their job was to keep the sacred fire lit and take a vow of chastity. In doing this they were well cared for and received many privileges and riches, but if they broke their vow of chastity they were placed in a tomb with a loaf of bread to starve to death. To be chosen to be a Vestal Virgin you had to be the daughter of a free Roman citizen with both living parents, and free from mental and physical issues. They were chosen between the ages of 6-10 before hitting puberty. They would be required to serve a 30 year term after which they could retire (with a pension) and were allowed to marry.

The Temple of the Vestal Virgins

I loved how there were roses in bloom with fall colors.

The next building called Curia Julia was redesigned by order of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, This building was the regular senate building, but due to the reconstruction the senate was meeting across town. Due to the assassination of Julius Caesar it wasn’t completed until 29 BC under the watch of Caesar Augustus. This building is still in really good condition, partly because it was later transformed into a church and so it had regular upkeep over the years.

At the far north end of the forum is the Arch of Septimius Severus and what is left of the Temple of Saturn. There were many more building ruins that we passed, but our audio guide didn’t cover them, and there usually wasn’t much more than a pillar or foundations left.

Arch of Septimius Severus in the back, the brick wall looking thing in front of it is actually a platform where people would come to voice their opinion in public.

What's left of the Temple of Saturn.

With our tour of the Forum wrapped up we went to find lunch. Settling on something close, we decided to go for pizza. Nate had a 4 cheese and I had a prosciutto. The pizza was good and had a very thin crispy crust. After lunch we made the long 3 minute walk down to the Colosseum. 

These maps show how the Roman Empire grew over the years.

First we checked out the Arch of Constantine, which is located just outside of the Colosseum. Later in while listening to our Colosseum audio guide it told us a little bit about it. This is the newest of all the arches in Rome, and is the only one that re-used statues of old to decorate it. Built around 315 to commemorate Constantines victory over Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge in the year 312 ending Maxentius’s reign and life.

Arch of Constantine

We saw 2 different couples in wedding clothes having pictures taken in this area.

The Temple of Venus and Rome.

Since our ticket to the Roman Forum was a combo ticket with the Colosseum we were able to skip past the long line and go directly in with no wait. Our tour began at a metal cross and what we learned about this place was simply shocking.

These big steps made me feel like I was a toddler on normal stairs. The stairs were probably around 10" high.

The size of the area is very impressive. It was 4 oversized stories making it 160’ high, and the footprint covers around 6 acres. The Colosseum could seat 50,000 spectators, and it was free to any free Roman citizen that wanted to go. The lower level seating was for the emperor, vestal virgins, senators, and VIP’s, the next level was for people of noble birth and government officials, where the upper section was for the everyday folks, and there was even a nosebleed section for the poorest of people, slaves and women. 

This cross was added by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749 in honor of all of the Christians that were murdered by the Romans for their faith in Jesus. Although it is not known if Christians were killed in "games" at the Colosseum.

To go to a game you were given a ticket on a piece of broken pottery, your ticket would tell you which of the 80 entrances you were supposed to go in, as well as section, row, and seat number. They even had concession stands where you could buy wine glasses with the names of your favorite gladiator on it, or something to eat. The hallways to the seats were called the vomitorium, and at exit time the colosseum would “vomit” out its 50,000 spectators in 15 minutes (this is where our word 'vomit' came from).

It might be hard to see, but there are hols in the very top wall where wooden bleachers used to be for the very poor.

Another interesting thing was that they had a canvas roof that they could spread over the top, covering 2/3 of the arena; this cover sloped downwards towards the center to catch the wind and help provide a breeze to the watching audience, as well as the much needed shade.

Construction took less than 10 years, which was impressive considering the enormous project. To build the Colosseum they first had to drain a lake that was there. Then they sunk concrete foundations some 40’ deep into the ground. The travertine stone used to build it was brought in from Tivoli around 20 miles away; it took 200 ox-drawn wagons shuttling back and forth every day for 4 years to bring all the stone. 

Construction started in the year 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian, and was completed by his son Titus in the year 80 AD. With the construction completed Titus ordered 100 days of celebratory games in which 2,000 men were killed as well as 9,000 animals, all in the name of sport. The stench of death and blood was so bad that they sprinkled perfume around the arena to try masking the horrible smell.

The original wooden floor is gone, but there is a rebuilt section at the far end to help you envision what it would have looked like. You can see what it looked like underneath the main floor; there was a system of hallways and elevators. This was the “backstage” area for the show. Here the animals were prepared, the gladiators warmed up, and prisoners could say some final prayers. 

A good view of the floor

If you look hard you can see some of the 80 elevator shafts that lead to the floor.

The games usually went something like this: Man to kill animal, criminal to be killed by man or beast, and then finally gladiator against gladiator.

When they were ready to start they could hoist up an animal to the floor from one of the 80 lifts with trap doors, so that the person on top never knew by what, when, or where his attacker was coming from. When an animal was killed it was brought down below and immediately butchered. The edible meat was given for free to Roman citizens, and the rest of it was fed to other animals.

When it came time for the criminals/prisoners turn they would do anything from putting them in the arena naked and unarmed with a lion, or dress them up like a classical hero, and force them to star in a play featuring their own death. They would decorate the area with sets, and then kill them in the same manner that the hero had died.

In the late afternoon came the trained gladiators, each having a weapon they specialized in. If one of the gladiators was knocked to the ground they would ask the master of ceremonies if they should live or die, and many times the MOC would let the crowds decided, based on how well he had fought. Thumbs up if they wanted them to die, or a thumbs down to live.

In the earlier years gladiators that fought in the arena were rarely there by choice, but usually slaves that had been brought back from conquering another nation, or criminals.  They were trained hard under military supervision for the sole purpose of going into the ring against another gladiator or wild animal, and if they were very skilled they might survive. In later years almost ½ of the gladiators were volunteers. What would make a free man volunteer himself? Well they were usually poor, and being a gladiator gave them a profession with housing and regular food. Also if they won a fight they could be rewarded with money or even land, and were sometimes even promoted into the personal guards of high ranking officials.

Over the course of some 450 years of “games” if you can call them that, anywhere from 500,000-1,000,000 people were killed as well as around 1,000,000 wild animals that included wild boars, lions, tigers, crocodiles, rhinos, hippos, and bears, all in the name of sport.

You can see the South end of the Roman Forum from the Colosseum

Once we finished our tour around the Colosseum we found that we still had several good hours left in the day to see some things, so after dropping some souvenirs by the hotel we set out to find the Trevi Fountain.

As it was getting dark we took some night shots of the capitol along the way, and we also stopped into several churches that were open, to take a quick peek at the inside.

There were so many birds still flying around after dark, guess with all the city lights they don't know it's night time.

The Capitol

Inside one of the churches we stopped at.

The Trevi Fountain was originally much smaller and less grand, but it marked the spot where 3 aqueducts met to bring clean and pure water into the city of Rome. What is there today was constructed between 1732-1762.

It was packed with people

There is a legend that says if you toss a coin in backwards it will ensure your return to Rome. So I dug out a coin for each Nate and I and we tossed them in. I found out that an estimated 3,000 euros is tossed into the fountain each day. That money is collected and used to help subsidize food prices for Rome's poor.

After the fountain we walked around some other cool building/ruins near by before starting back toward our hotel. Along the way we stopped into a pasta shop to admire all the cool different pastas you could buy, including pasta shaped like colorful sombreros and chocolate pasta. As our feet were getting more and more sore after walking over 6 miles, so we finally settled on a restaurant. One thing that made this meal enjoyable was our waiter. He was very jolly and hummed as he worked. He kept a smile on our face the entire time we were there.

The Roman Forum at night

The Colosseum at night

When we got back to the hotel I wasn’t really looking forward to sleeping on the uncomfortable bed, but when I looked in the cupboard I found an extra blanket, the kind that’s around 1/4 “ think that you put on your bed for winter. Nate and I doubled this up and put it under the sheet and it made all the difference in the world. The bed went from uncomfortable to something you could sleep on. Hallelujah for that!