Ancient Rome

Yesterday we had a nice relaxing morning at our apartment then headed to do some sightseeing.  We ended up having a really long day.

 

We started at the Colosseum which was only a few metro stops from our apartment.  We purchased a Roma Pass when we got to Rome which allowed us to get into 3 sights and use the metro for three days.  What was most beneficial about the Roma Pass was that it allowed us to skip the line and go directly into the Colosseum.  Which was a good thing.  We got there around 12:15 and overheard that both the Colossuem and Forum (our next stop) were closing their gates at 2pm and everyone had to be out be 3 pm.

The Colossuem is 2,000 years old and it is amazing to think about how old it is and that it is still standing for us to be able to see.

We listened to an audio guide on our iPods (from Rick Steves) while walking around. From the guide we learned that the people were given a broken piece of pottery to use as a ticket into the Colossuem and that the events would last 8-10 hours.   We also learned that the on Good Friday the Pope comes to the Colossuem to do the stations of the cross for Holy Week.    Yesterday was Good Friday….which is why the Colossuem was closing early.  We asked at the information booth and they confirmed that the Pope was coming that night around 9:15 pm.  (more on this topic later….).

From the Colossuem we went to The Roman Forum which is the ancient Roman city that is right next to the Colossuem.  Julius Caesar lived and walked in this city.  Everywhere we looked was an amazing view of ancient ruins from 2,000 years ago.  We saw the place where Julius Caesar’s body was burned after he was assassinated.

 The Forum also had the Temple of Vesta which was a sacred place in ancient Rome where the Vestal Virgins of Rome kept an eternal flame burning. The Vestal Virgins lived next door to the Temple and were appointed at 10 years old to serve for 30 years.  After 30 years they were given a huge dowry and permitted to marry.

If they determined at some point that you were no longer a virgin and worthy to serve in the house they would strap you to a funeral car, parade you down the street to a crypt and bury you alive with only an oil lamp and a loaf of bread.

We then had a delicious pizza lunch, which I seem to have every day.  I have decided that the 3 food groups in Italy (for me) are pizza, pasta and gelato.

After lunch (which we ate at 4 pm)  we went to the Pantheon.  This building has an amazing domed roof and is the oldest continually used church in the world. It has been operating as a church for 1400 years.  The architecture was remarkable.

The dome has an opening at the top called the Oculus.  It is the only lighting in the church but it is not enclosed so the rain also comes in.  However, the church floor is slightly slanted towards the center and there are holes in the floor to drain the water.













It was very crowded in the city yesterday.  Most people were off people were off work for Good Friday and there were a lot of people out, locals and tourist. It reminded me of the crowds we saw at the Olympics in Vancouver.

In the early evening we headed back down to the Colossuem to watch what we thought was going to be a vehicle processional. We were hoping to try to get a glimpse of the Pope in his car.  We were allowed access into a section near the Colossuem that happened to be near some lights and cameras.  When we asked some people next to us if the processional would be close by we learned that the Pope would be doing the Stations of the Cross from a tent that was on a bluff about 30 feet above us and 50 feet away.  By pure luck we got a remarkable view of the Pope.  We did have to wait around for about 2 hours but we had a great view and it was worth it.

What we continue to find amazing about this city is that every street we walk down we run into some amazing structure and we don’t know what half of them are.  It seems that around every corner there is something even more amazing.  Here are a few other photos:

Arrivederci!

Maija