This next morning, we headed out to see the Roman Forum. We had a free guided tour, that came with our tour of the Colosseum, but we didn't want to do it the day before. We arrived early, and decided to see some of the nearby ruins. We found one amazing place, which used to be like a huge shopping mall in the Roman times. It was a big market place with several levels, and lots of different things were on sale there.
Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
Vittorio Emanuele II Monument
Then we went to the 'Vittorio', aka 'The Typewriter', to fill in the rest of our time. It is an enormous white building dedicated as a memorial to 'the unknown soldier'. It is an impressive building, but it is hated by the Romans. 
The building dominates the skyline, and distracts from other older features of the city. It is also covered in marble that was taken from the Roman Forum and other ancient ruins in Rome. So essentially it was the new destroying the ancient and much loved remains of the city. It was built by Mussolini, which also lends it notoriety. He built it as a propaganda statement, to demonstrate how powerful he was.
It is not a bad place to go as a tourist though, because it is free and there is a great view of the city from the top. Inside a museum has been established, and is dedicated to the people who lost their lives in war. There are lots of exhibits of uniforms worn by the soldiers, and paintings and sculptures of people in war time. We had a brief look around, as we didn't have much time. 
At the end, we went up to the top of the building, and stared out at the indredible view over the city. We could see so many great landmarks stretched out over the city. Roman
Pallantine Hill
Eventually, we reached the Colosseum where we were headed to meet up with our tour group. Our guide was an American girl who was living in Rome. She explained a few things to us first, and then took us up the hill to see where the houses actually were.
She told us that most people know Rome as a city on 7 hills, but it is actually built on several more than that. She also told us about the aqueducts that Claudius built, and how they are still in use today. She encouraged us to refill our bottles of water at the fountains all around the city, because the water is clean and healthy, and the only thing you can get for free in Rome.
We climbed up a staircase with long and wide steps. They felt a bit awkward to walk on, because they had actually been designed for horses to ride on. The emperors often rode up and down the hills of Rome on horses, and they wanted to look graceful while they did it, so they designed the stairs specially for a smooth horse ride.
At the top of the hill, we could see down into an enormous courtyard. It was bigger than a sports field! Emperor Domitian built his this area as his own home entertainment system. It was basically a smaller version of the colloseum. The indoor sports stadium was used for private games, and the Emperor's wealthy friends were invited to watch. He could schedule games for whenever he felt like watching something. There was not much left of the building, but you could imagine what the place looked like, covered in marble and with seating all around the outside. There were a few columns left and parts of the stand where the Emperor used to sit, but apart from that, most of the marble had been stolen.
Another emperor who lived on Palantine Hill, loved to take a warm bath every evening. He had an enormous marble bath tub. Every morning, his servants would pull it out into the sun, and fill it with water. The hot Roman sun would heat the water during the day, and in the evening, the servants had to drag the full tub back inside. So every day, the emperor had a lovely warm bath waiting for him.
One rich family who lived on the Hill, was so wealthy that they would throw enormous banquets and everyone would eat with cutlery made of pure gold. This in itself is pretty rich, but they wanted to look even richer, so at the end of their meal, everyone was told to throw their cutlery away, out the window. Everyone was in awe of their wealth and how rich they must be to throw away gold. However, outside, their were servants with nets, who would catch the cutlery and bring it back inside later.
As the empire expanded, new foods were constantly being encountered and brought back to Rome. The nobility were very curious and eager to try these foods, so there were huge banquets thrown so every one could taste them. Each banquet served the guests 80 courses! No one can physically eat this much, so there was a special place outside of the house called a 'vomitarium'. The guests were escorted out to this place when they were too full, and assisted in disposing of their food. After this, they would come back and continue with the rest of the courses.
Palantine Hill was the home of many wealthy and powerful people, but after the fall of the Empire, the land fell into ruins, and people started to use it as a rubbish dump. Soon the once prosperous area became buried under layers of trash. It became grass covered land eventually, and cows grazed on it. Rich families knew of what lay beneath the trash, and over the years, they sent their servants to dig around and try to find sculptures, marble and any other valuable items. This was how most of the valuable things from this area were stolen. These families often ended up donating their finds to the Vatican.
Roman Forum
After the tour finished, we headed down to see the Roman Forum. We had a fabulous view of it from above, as it lies between the Capitoline Hill and Palentine Hill. Throught the era of the Kings, the Republic and the Empire, the forum was the social, religious and political center of the Roman world.
Most of the place consists of ruins that are hard to recognise or comprehend without assistance. We managed to figure out what some of them were though. Later we bought a great book, which shows what the ruins look like today, and then they have a clear leaf that fits over the top, showing what they looked like originally.
We saw the 'Tempio Di Antonino e Faustina', which was erected by the Senate in 141 AD, and was later transformed into a church, in the 8th century. There was the Basilica Amelia as well, which was built in 179 BC. It was built along the Via Sacra, which is the main street which runs from northwest to southwest. 
Parts of this building were left intact, and it was literally the biggest church we had ever seen! Apparently, the Vatican demanded that the St Peters basilica be at least as big as this church. The parts which remain are the naves of the church, and just these parts alone were astounding enough to see.
Other things that we saw were the 'Curia', which was once the meeting place of the Roman Senate and converted into a Church later. There was the 'Lapis Niger', which is a big piece of black marble. It's supposed to be covering the grave of Romulus, one of the two brothers who founded Rome. According to legend, Romulus and Remus, were raised and suckled by a wolf, and later in life they founded the city of Rome.
There was a big arch called, 'Arco Di Settimo Severo', which was built in 203 AD, in honour of the Emperor and his sons. It is considered to be one of Italy's major triumphal arches. The two sons had a falling out later in life, and one of them killed the other. He also erased all memory of him from monuments and statues. The name of his brother was chiselled off the arch, and replaced with his own.
The 'Tempio di Saturno', was one of the most important temples, and was dedicated in 491BC to the God of Chaos and Disorder. It was later used as the state treasury. 
The 'Basilica Giulia', was the seat of justice, and we also saw the 'Tempio di Giulio Cesare'. It was erected by Augustus in 29 BC, on the site where Cesar's body was burned. The 'Criesa di Santa Maria Antigua', was the oldest church in the forum, but it was closed to the public.
Another interesting building that we saw, was the 'Casa delle Vestals', the home of the Vestal Virgins. The role of these women, was to tend the eternal flame of rome, and to keep themselves celibate for their whole lives. They lived luxurious lives and even had box seats at the Colosseum. It was an honour to become one of them, and usually only beautiful and virtuous noble women were elected to the position, at the age of 10. After 30 years of service, the women retired at the age of 40. However, if they betrayed their vow of chastity or let the flame go out, they would be buried alive!
Another big arch in the forum, was the Arco di Tito. This arch was located pretty close to the Colosseum, and was built in 81 AD, in honour of the victories of the Emperor Titus and Vespian against Jerusalem. The arch was in pretty good condition and you could see the pictures carved all over it, in great detail.
Nero´s Golden House
After the Roman Forum, we went to see the ruins of the Golden House, where Nero used to live. Most of it was in ruins, so we didn't get to see much, but there was one big section that remained intact. It looked like some kind of fortification. The house was built on top of a hill, so we had a great view from there, over the Colosseum and the surrounding buildings.
The building dominates the skyline, and distracts from other older features of the city. It is also covered in marble that was taken from the Roman Forum and other ancient ruins in Rome. So essentially it was the new destroying the ancient and much loved remains of the city. It was built by Mussolini, which also lends it notoriety. He built it as a propaganda statement, to demonstrate how powerful he was.It is not a bad place to go as a tourist though, because it is free and there is a great view of the city from the top. Inside a museum has been established, and is dedicated to the people who lost their lives in war. There are lots of exhibits of uniforms worn by the soldiers, and paintings and sculptures of people in war time. We had a brief look around, as we didn't have much time. At the end, we went up to the top of the building, and stared out at the indredible view over the city. We could see so many great landmarks stretched out over the city. RomanPallantine Hill
Eventually, we reached the Colosseum where we were headed to meet up with our tour group. Our guide was an American girl who was living in Rome. She explained a few things to us first, and then took us up the hill to see where the houses actually were. She told us that most people know Rome as a city on 7 hills, but it is actually built on several more than that. She also told us about the aqueducts that Claudius built, and how they are still in use today. She encouraged us to refill our bottles of water at the fountains all around the city, because the water is clean and healthy, and the only thing you can get for free in Rome.We climbed up a staircase with long and wide steps. They felt a bit awkward to walk on, because they had actually been designed for horses to ride on. The emperors often rode up and down the hills of Rome on horses, and they wanted to look graceful while they did it, so they designed the stairs specially for a smooth horse ride.At the top of the hill, we could see down into an enormous courtyard. It was bigger than a sports field! Emperor Domitian built his this area as his own home entertainment system. It was basically a smaller version of the colloseum. The indoor sports stadium was used for private games, and the Emperor's wealthy friends were invited to watch. He could schedule games for whenever he felt like watching something. There was not much left of the building, but you could imagine what the place looked like, covered in marble and with seating all around the outside. There were a few columns left and parts of the stand where the Emperor used to sit, but apart from that, most of the marble had been stolen.Another emperor who lived on Palantine Hill, loved to take a warm bath every evening. He had an enormous marble bath tub. Every morning, his servants would pull it out into the sun, and fill it with water. The hot Roman sun would heat the water during the day, and in the evening, the servants had to drag the full tub back inside. So every day, the emperor had a lovely warm bath waiting for him.One rich family who lived on the Hill, was so wealthy that they would throw enormous banquets and everyone would eat with cutlery made of pure gold. This in itself is pretty rich, but they wanted to look even richer, so at the end of their meal, everyone was told to throw their cutlery away, out the window. Everyone was in awe of their wealth and how rich they must be to throw away gold. However, outside, their were servants with nets, who would catch the cutlery and bring it back inside later.
As the empire expanded, new foods were constantly being encountered and brought back to Rome. The nobility were very curious and eager to try these foods, so there were huge banquets thrown so every one could taste them. Each banquet served the guests 80 courses! No one can physically eat this much, so there was a special place outside of the house called a 'vomitarium'. The guests were escorted out to this place when they were too full, and assisted in disposing of their food. After this, they would come back and continue with the rest of the courses.Palantine Hill was the home of many wealthy and powerful people, but after the fall of the Empire, the land fell into ruins, and people started to use it as a rubbish dump. Soon the once prosperous area became buried under layers of trash. It became grass covered land eventually, and cows grazed on it. Rich families knew of what lay beneath the trash, and over the years, they sent their servants to dig around and try to find sculptures, marble and any other valuable items. This was how most of the valuable things from this area were stolen. These families often ended up donating their finds to the Vatican.Roman Forum
After the tour finished, we headed down to see the Roman Forum. We had a fabulous view of it from above, as it lies between the Capitoline Hill and Palentine Hill. Throught the era of the Kings, the Republic and the Empire, the forum was the social, religious and political center of the Roman world.Most of the place consists of ruins that are hard to recognise or comprehend without assistance. We managed to figure out what some of them were though. Later we bought a great book, which shows what the ruins look like today, and then they have a clear leaf that fits over the top, showing what they looked like originally.We saw the 'Tempio Di Antonino e Faustina', which was erected by the Senate in 141 AD, and was later transformed into a church, in the 8th century. There was the Basilica Amelia as well, which was built in 179 BC. It was built along the Via Sacra, which is the main street which runs from northwest to southwest. Parts of this building were left intact, and it was literally the biggest church we had ever seen! Apparently, the Vatican demanded that the St Peters basilica be at least as big as this church. The parts which remain are the naves of the church, and just these parts alone were astounding enough to see.Other things that we saw were the 'Curia', which was once the meeting place of the Roman Senate and converted into a Church later. There was the 'Lapis Niger', which is a big piece of black marble. It's supposed to be covering the grave of Romulus, one of the two brothers who founded Rome. According to legend, Romulus and Remus, were raised and suckled by a wolf, and later in life they founded the city of Rome.There was a big arch called, 'Arco Di Settimo Severo', which was built in 203 AD, in honour of the Emperor and his sons. It is considered to be one of Italy's major triumphal arches. The two sons had a falling out later in life, and one of them killed the other. He also erased all memory of him from monuments and statues. The name of his brother was chiselled off the arch, and replaced with his own.The 'Tempio di Saturno', was one of the most important temples, and was dedicated in 491BC to the God of Chaos and Disorder. It was later used as the state treasury. The 'Basilica Giulia', was the seat of justice, and we also saw the 'Tempio di Giulio Cesare'. It was erected by Augustus in 29 BC, on the site where Cesar's body was burned. The 'Criesa di Santa Maria Antigua', was the oldest church in the forum, but it was closed to the public.Another interesting building that we saw, was the 'Casa delle Vestals', the home of the Vestal Virgins. The role of these women, was to tend the eternal flame of rome, and to keep themselves celibate for their whole lives. They lived luxurious lives and even had box seats at the Colosseum. It was an honour to become one of them, and usually only beautiful and virtuous noble women were elected to the position, at the age of 10. After 30 years of service, the women retired at the age of 40. However, if they betrayed their vow of chastity or let the flame go out, they would be buried alive!Another big arch in the forum, was the Arco di Tito. This arch was located pretty close to the Colosseum, and was built in 81 AD, in honour of the victories of the Emperor Titus and Vespian against Jerusalem. The arch was in pretty good condition and you could see the pictures carved all over it, in great detail.Nero´s Golden House
After the Roman Forum, we went to see the ruins of the Golden House, where Nero used to live. Most of it was in ruins, so we didn't get to see much, but there was one big section that remained intact. It looked like some kind of fortification. The house was built on top of a hill, so we had a great view from there, over the Colosseum and the surrounding buildings. 
The parks surrounding the ruins were very pretty, and it was cool just knowing the history behind the place that we were visiting, even though we couldn't see much of the building itself. It was the same in the Forum, we struggled to piece together what some of the buildings were, but you could see from the size of the place and the ruins that were left, that the city of Rome must have been absolutely spectacular and huge.
After our explorations in the ruins of Rome, decided to head back into the city. We walked through the Piazza Venezia to the Piazza Della Criesa Nuova, and stopped along the way for some lunch. Unfortunately, it wasn't lunchtime by this point, and pretty much everything was closed. After a bit of a struggle, we found a little place that served grilled Paninis, so we collapsed onto some chairs and took a break.Piazza Navona
After our recovery, we headed for the Piazza Navona. It was quite spectacular with its Renaissance architecture by Bernini. His amazing 'Fontana del Quatro Fiumi', was just beautiful. The square is really long and quite narrow, and used to be used for 'Games'. Nowadays, it is a beautiful place just to wander and watch artists and tourists.
The buildings on all sides were beautiful and tall, and some of them were so big and spectacular that they competed with the fountain and the huge obelisk on display. The obelisk was enormous, and was positioned further down the long square. It was one of many things that were stolen from Egypt over the years. You see them all over the countries that the Roman Empire conquered. 
We found several beautiful churches near here. They each had spectacualr facades, and we couldn't stop ourselves from going inside to see what was behind the exterior. Each one was spectacular in its own way. 
They all had enormous ceilings and marble everywhere. The paintings and frescoes and sculptures inside each one, were just beautiful. The decorations were so ornate, and every surface was covered with a beautiful, colourful pattern.
We also came across another amazing square with a huge column in the centre. The column had the most detailed reliefs carved on it that we´d ever seen before. It looked like they were depicting entire battles, curving round and round the column like a ribbon. It was pretty incredible to see!
Pantheon
Next, we visted the Pantheon. We were not disappointed with this building at all. The columns outside were enormous and imposing, and the circular shape of the building indicated that it was a temple to the gods. It has since been converted into a Catholic church, but it is hard to forget its history. It is one of the best preserved ancient buildings, so its like looking at picture in a book, but its real!
It was built in 27 BC, by Marcus Agrippa, the son-in-law of Emperor Augustus. The enormous dome at the top it amazing to see, even today. There is a hole at the top, called an 'Oculus', which allows light inside. It's amazing just how well this tiny hole manages to light up the whole building. Many Italian Kings were buried inside this building, so the history of it continues all the way to the present.
Trevi Fountain
We made our way to the Trevi Fountain, after admiring the Pantheon. It was designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732, and spawls over the entire piazza. It depicts Neptune's chariot being led by Tritons, with sea horses representing the moods of the sea. Loren was so thrilled to see it! It looked even bigger than it did in the movies and in all the pictures she saw of it.
The crowds around it were so thick, it was hard to get to the front. The sculptures in the fountain were absolutely beautiful, and the whole piece was just breathtaking. We sat near the water and threw coins in over our heads. We threw some Italian coins and some Polish coins, and made a few wishes. It was such a magical experience, and it really made our day. We really felt like we were in Rome, and were so thrilled to be there.
Circus Maximus
We decided to stop by Circus Maximus on our way home. It used to be the biggest stadium ever! It was about 600m long and 200m wide. It could hold up to 300,000 people at one time! The entertainment here was mostly chariot races, and during the persecution of the Christians, it was used for their deaths. Games like those in the Colosseum were enacted here, but Christians were often the victims. It was right here, in this now peaceful looking meadow, that some Christians were even rolled in wax and used as human torches for the games.
The movie 'Ben Hur', depicts chariot races in this arena, and you can see just how big it is. Now, it is just a big field of grass, with a few remains of what were buildings in the center of it. There is a sandy track around the outside of it still, and the edges rise up where the seating used to be. It's not hard to imagine what it used to look like. These days, you can see children playing football here, and joggers circling the long path around the outside.
Eventually we made it back to our hostel, and we collected our bags and headed to Olgiata for the night. It was so nice to be back in a real house, and collapsed onto our beds for a well deserved rest. To see the photos from the post in slideshow mode, click on on the link below:
Rome pictures
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