The day started off great – we got to sleep in a bit because our train to Rome was leaving about 12noon. We’re only 10 minutes from the Train Station by car. We took our time getting things ready, went to breakfast, our driver arrived, and we were on our way. Once at the Train Station, Cindy realized that I forgot to unplug the battery charger (with the camera battery in it) and left it in the room. With only 25 minutes before the train was to leave, I made a panicked call to the hotel. They found the charger/battery, put it in a taxi, and rushed it to the Station. He arrived just minutes before we were to board and leave. What a way to start the day!
Once we arrived in Rome, our driver met us (Sergio) at the end of the platform and whisked us away to the hotel. We are at the Rose Garden Palace directly across the street from the American Embassy. I guess if there’s any problems, we’ll grab our passports and head for the gates! It’s a beautiful building, security everywhere including at our hotel.
I had made reservations for us to see the Colosseum this afternoon so, once we were settled, we left for the subway system. We bought a three day Metro pass – the metro is very easy to follow here – and jumped on the train for the Colosseum. As we walked out of the station, this is the first thing you see.
Emperor Vespasian started construction of the Colosseum in AD 72 over the lake that stood in the gardens of Nero’s palace. Eight years later, his son (Titus) open the arena in a 100-day celebration. Spectators entered through 76 gates (it could hold more than 50,000 people) while four unmarked gates were reserved for upper crust citizens like the Senators. This stone stands at one of the entrances, carved with the names of some of the last Senators to come here in the 4th Century.
The Emperor’s entrance is marked by the cross (far right side, lower corner of the picture) that was placed here in the 13th century in repentance for the amount of blood that was shed in this place. It had many “modern” featured including rope-pulled elevators to bring up gladiators and animals from the tunnels underneath the wooden floor (you can see these tunnels in the picture below), a flooding system so they could do mock naval battles, and adjustable awnings to cover the arena in bad weather.
By the 5th century, the arena was no longer in use and was turned into a quarry. The tunnels were filled with dirt and many of the stones were used to build other structures like St. Peter’s Basilica.
From the Colosseum, we crossed over to Palatine Hill. We had no idea what this place was but it was a part of our ticket entrance fee. We decided to explore. Turns out it was well worth the trip!
The word “palace” comes from this place – once the home of emperors. Now, it’s mostly ruins with a museum. But these ruins are incredible. This is the only city I’ve ever bee in where you have to ask if something was built BC or AD! Walking through the grounds where ancient Rome’s most famous cities once lived was remarkable. Rome’s first king, Romulus, and Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, built palaces on these hills. Caligula and Nero also once lived in these ruins. You can see the private quarters of Emperor Augustus currently being excavated on the property.
In AD 81-86, Emperor Domitian made the Palatine Hill the ancient equivalent of Buckingham Palace building a huge mansion that was used by his successors until AD 305. We wandered through the grounds, slowly ascending until we reached the formal gardens that were installed in the 16th century by the Farneses. There is a incredible view of the Roman Forum from the terrace!
From both the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, you can see the Arch of Constantine. It was built in AD 315 to commemorate the victory of Emperor Constantine over his rival Maxentius. The arch has a bit of controversial history that goes along with it. The dedication to “Instinctus Divinatus” revealed Constantine’s belief in Christianity, a shunned faith until Constantine became it’s most powerful patron, but also satisfied the pagan Senators who didn’t want to put the name of CHRIST on one of their public monuments.
It was a long, hot day so we decided to head back to the hotel. We happen to come to Italy during one of their worst heat waves in a long time – temperatures near 100 degrees every day.