Rome Trip (15-18 June 2006) - Part 2: The Ancient City
Rome is the city of the Romans, a very ancient civilization dating back to 9 Century BC. We are indeed very lucky today to have some of the buildings from an ancient era preserved for us, although not in spectacular condition.
Starting from the most ancient parts of Rome, this is the Palatine hill, "Palatino" in Italian or "Palatium" in Latin. It is the hill where legend has it that Romulus and Remus founded Rome upon. Many affluent Romans built their houses here.
The main entrance to Palatino (yes, they charge admission)
This is the Domus Severiana
And a view of an ancient aquaduct
A close-up of the aquaduct: water never ran on top, but through two pipes
These were the riding grounds of the Emperor
Well, just some ruins, you'll say, but it's still interesting that it's been here for over 2000 years!
Ahh... this one's interesting, the Circo Massimo or Circus Maximus! Yes, this is where chariot-racing and Ben-Hur supposedly took place and this is all that's left, but you should know that Circus Maximus means "largest arena" in Latin
So proceeding down to the Foro Romano (Italian)/Forum Romanum (Latin) or simply Roman Forum in English, this is the "city centre", so to speak, in which commerce, business and everything else happened here. There are many temples, basilicas and arches here, all dating back to Ancient Rome. Wikipedia has alot more to offer: Roman Forum
The Basilica of Maxentius
And on the other side is the Piazza del Campidoglio or Capital Square. Situated here is the Palazzo Senatorio or Senator's Palace and the Musei di Campidoglio.
The facade of the Palazzo Senatorio
The copper bust of Emperor Constantine inside the Musei di Campidoglio
And on the other side is the imposing Monument to Victor Emmanuel II
Which also happens to be beautifully-lit at night
And this is a close-up of the statue
Photobucket: Old City minus the Big One
So what's the Big One? What's the first thing you think of when someone mentions Rome?
I sincerely hope we're both on the same frequency here...
Yes, it's the Colosseum! The one place where I will always remember I NEARLY got pickpocketed. Well, actually they already swiped my wallet, just that I checked almost immediately and got it back.
Work on the Colosseum (or "Colosseo" in Italian) started in 72AD and was completed by 80AD, a short span of 8 years, thanks to slave labour. It was capable of holding 50,000 spectators in a combination of seating and standing, and was used for gladiatorial fights. The one problem about the movie "Gladiator" was that this place wasn't even called the "Colosseum" back then, it was known as the Flavian Amphitheatre or "Amphitheatrum Flavium" in Latin, as it was built under the rule of the Flavian Emperors.
The Colosseum was used continuously until 217AD, when it was damaged by fire after a lightning strike. Massive earthquakes in 442 and 508 caused even more damage to the structure. Much of the marble that originally covered the facade was taken by others for their own buildings, especially by the popes who used much of it to build the St. Peter's Basilica. Certain parts of the structure were rebuilt over time and in different phases, as one can see in the difference of material used, namely stone (original) and bricks (modern).
The Colosseum from the outside
In and around the inside of the Colosseum
A view of the central arena, with the basements uncovered
Views from the upper levels
That's me, and yes, I'm wearing a Hard Rock Cafe tee from Barcelona (wrong city, I know)
It's even more beautiful at night
Glowing the dark, splendid
There are times when the lousy built-in flash works for you, this is one of them
One last nugget of information for you: The name "Colosseum" comes from the word "colossus", as a colossus of Emperor Nero (yes, the person thought to be responsible for the fire, and thus the CD-burning software too) was thought to be nearby.
Photobucket: The Colosseum
Starting from the most ancient parts of Rome, this is the Palatine hill, "Palatino" in Italian or "Palatium" in Latin. It is the hill where legend has it that Romulus and Remus founded Rome upon. Many affluent Romans built their houses here.
The main entrance to Palatino (yes, they charge admission)
This is the Domus Severiana
And a view of an ancient aquaduct
A close-up of the aquaduct: water never ran on top, but through two pipes
These were the riding grounds of the Emperor
Well, just some ruins, you'll say, but it's still interesting that it's been here for over 2000 years!
Ahh... this one's interesting, the Circo Massimo or Circus Maximus! Yes, this is where chariot-racing and Ben-Hur supposedly took place and this is all that's left, but you should know that Circus Maximus means "largest arena" in Latin
So proceeding down to the Foro Romano (Italian)/Forum Romanum (Latin) or simply Roman Forum in English, this is the "city centre", so to speak, in which commerce, business and everything else happened here. There are many temples, basilicas and arches here, all dating back to Ancient Rome. Wikipedia has alot more to offer: Roman Forum
The Basilica of Maxentius
And on the other side is the Piazza del Campidoglio or Capital Square. Situated here is the Palazzo Senatorio or Senator's Palace and the Musei di Campidoglio.
The facade of the Palazzo Senatorio
The copper bust of Emperor Constantine inside the Musei di Campidoglio
And on the other side is the imposing Monument to Victor Emmanuel II
Which also happens to be beautifully-lit at night
And this is a close-up of the statue
Photobucket: Old City minus the Big One
So what's the Big One? What's the first thing you think of when someone mentions Rome?
I sincerely hope we're both on the same frequency here...
Yes, it's the Colosseum! The one place where I will always remember I NEARLY got pickpocketed. Well, actually they already swiped my wallet, just that I checked almost immediately and got it back.
Work on the Colosseum (or "Colosseo" in Italian) started in 72AD and was completed by 80AD, a short span of 8 years, thanks to slave labour. It was capable of holding 50,000 spectators in a combination of seating and standing, and was used for gladiatorial fights. The one problem about the movie "Gladiator" was that this place wasn't even called the "Colosseum" back then, it was known as the Flavian Amphitheatre or "Amphitheatrum Flavium" in Latin, as it was built under the rule of the Flavian Emperors.
The Colosseum was used continuously until 217AD, when it was damaged by fire after a lightning strike. Massive earthquakes in 442 and 508 caused even more damage to the structure. Much of the marble that originally covered the facade was taken by others for their own buildings, especially by the popes who used much of it to build the St. Peter's Basilica. Certain parts of the structure were rebuilt over time and in different phases, as one can see in the difference of material used, namely stone (original) and bricks (modern).
The Colosseum from the outside
In and around the inside of the Colosseum
A view of the central arena, with the basements uncovered
Views from the upper levels
That's me, and yes, I'm wearing a Hard Rock Cafe tee from Barcelona (wrong city, I know)
It's even more beautiful at night
Glowing the dark, splendid
There are times when the lousy built-in flash works for you, this is one of them
One last nugget of information for you: The name "Colosseum" comes from the word "colossus", as a colossus of Emperor Nero (yes, the person thought to be responsible for the fire, and thus the CD-burning software too) was thought to be nearby.
Photobucket: The Colosseum
posted by Chiu Weng | 10:36 PM
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