Tripping Over Ruins

Seriously, it feels like Rome has ancient ruins on every corner (and because of the cobbled streets, I (Kenzi) have done my share of tripping). What a marvelous place, full of incredibly rich history. For this blog post, we'll stick to Ancient Rome and save the Renaissance for our next post. The Roman Empire lasted about 1000 years, from ~500 BC to ~500 AD. This included about 500 years of growth, 200 years of peak, and 300 years of decline. 

It feels very comfortable here, perhaps because I was here 12 years ago, or maybe because the way to a lady traveler's heart is through her tummy, hello gelato! My favorite flavor so far is Nocciola (hazelnut) and Bill's is Stracciatella (chocolate chip).

Delish gelato, but you have to eat it fast before it melts!

We are still adjusting to the luxury of traveling for such a long period. So far, it has meant that we can afford to chill out in our air conditioned AirBnB during the hottest parts of the day, without feeling guilty about missing things. We've also been able to visit sites multiple times if we want to, and Google questions of interest to get a deeper understanding of the history. For example:

• When was the sack of Rome? There were several, most recently 1527.
• Why is Peter always depicted with keys? Because Jesus told him "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven..."
• What was so special about the Vestal Virgins? They were highly regarded ladies who took a vow of chastity and were responsible for keeping the sacred fire going in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum.

It's a whole new way to travel, and Bill is concerned that after this year, travel will never be the same for us. Ha!

We started our trip with a visit to the Pantheon, an amazing ancient building from 126 AD, that was converted to a Catholic Church in the 7th century. Definitely one of my favorite churches. The oculus at the top keeps it well-lit and the circular shape makes it feel as though everyone in attendance is equal.

Pantheon makes you feel small

The oculus allows for great light inside the Pantheon

Keeping with the theme of circular shaped buildings, we visited the Castel Sant' Angelo, which was originally built as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian around 135 AD, but was later used as a fortress and prison by the popes.

I personally cannot get enough of the Roman sculptures. I'll try not to bore you with tons of pics, but here's a sampling. I get painting, but sculpture is a whole new level. Michelangelo said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." What?? That sounds impossible! I have such admiration for these sculptors. Don't you just get a feel for what the ancient Romans looked like, or perhaps wanted to look like?

Roman faces from sculptures at the Capitoline Museum

We had a bit of a failed venture to see the Appian Way, the oldest and largest Roman Road. Parts of it still exist. The Romans built excellent roads, and in its day, the Appian way was very smooth. We were told it would be closed to cars on Sunday, so we could walk along it and see some of the ancient Christian tombs along the way. 

This section of the Appian Way had sidewalks, but most of it didn't. It also had walls on either side. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't closed, so we spent some time dodging cars and then decided we should save our lives and probably get some gelato instead. Notably, we didn't die, unlike about 6,000 slaves who were crucified along the road in 71 BC when Spartacus's slave rebellion failed.

**Note: Many old Roman stories end in gore. Which is a perfect segway to the Coliseum...

We toured the Coliseum in the evening. The tickets cost far too much, but touring in the cooler hours was lovely. We were able to see below the floor of the Coliseum, where up to 2000 slaves were hard at work during the games, corralling the exotic animals, and working the elevators to raise them up to the ground floor. The Canadians have built an elevator similar to what was used during the Gladiator games, and it was quite the contraption. It took 8 men to operate and there were up to 100 elevators in use at a time. The Coliseum has a wide and varied history, and most of the reason parts of it are in shambles is that it was picked over for building materials, which weakened it structurally for later earthquakes.

Coliseum at sunset

Inside

Us at the Coliseum

Under the floor

Finally, we've been able to see the Roman Forum several times. Most of the ruins are several meters below today's ground level. The city has just been built up over time. The Roman Forum is where all the action happened. Temples, law courts, shopping squares, victory arches, and there are ruins of it all here. If we weren't already impressed with the Romans' ability to create lasting, huge structures, we were after seeing this.

I still don't fully understand why the Roman Empire fell, but sadly, when it did, this part of the world was plunged into the dark ages. Our next post will focus on stuff we've learned and seen from the Renaissance, when people came out of their dark slumber.

**Special thanks to Google maps for keeping us from getting lost all the time, and to Wikipedia for helping us understand what we're seeing. Seriously, how did people travel before these?