Exploring Rome

Outside the Colossuem
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Where can I start with Rome....Unfortunetly as we were travelling with a group of family and friends at the time we had to cram all of Rome into one and a half days of non stop walking, sun, gelatis, churches and tours! We began at Palatine Hill and the Palaces designed by Michaelango which are still used as council buildings today. Wandering around between them we suddenly saw a vast area of ancient Roman Ruins known as the Forum right in front of us in the middle of a bustling modern city. It was awesome....I was blown away to see Temples, pillars, archways and streets, some parts preserved from as early as 29BC. There were blocks of carved marble sitting the the sun with tourists perched on them. Beautiful Roman and Hierogylphic inscriptions, fresh flowers on the spot where Caesers body was burned and in the background the imposing structure of the Colusseum rising up. We simply explored these sites on our first day. Listening to tour groups passing by and reading our guide books as well as learning from Glen who remembers a lot from his previous visits.

Trevi Fountain
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We did a tour of the Colusseum and it was defintely worth it to hear that the area could be flooded with water and battles were held with navy ships for entertainment. We could see the shafts that were once under the arena floor and used to contain elevators to lift lions, panthers and crocadiles up through trap doors to fight each other and the gladiators. We learnt that it was the catholic church who stripped the colusseum of it's marble seating to use it in the vatican (as it was much closer then the marble quarry!) We saw where the emporer sat and where the boys aged 10-12 would sit in alcoves and provoke the animals to fight. It was very moving, astonishing and exciting to be there and imagine it all unfolding right where we were standing.

The Pantheon At Twilight
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To visit the Vatican museums we also did an organised tour which was VERY worthwhile. We were there at 9am when it opened and walked straight past a line of at least 200m which wasn't moving at all. We heard all sorts of stories about the artworks, sculptures and masterpieces that we would never have known as well as stories about the artists themselves, their quirks and personalities. Our guide sat us down and talked about the paintings in the Sistine Chapel with posters so that once we were inside we could walk around in our own time, understand what we were looking at and the symbolism and appreciate the beauty of Michaelangos masterpiece. The three hour tour included the ancient Greek and Roman antiquities, where one of my favourite sculptures was, the Raphael rooms where his famous fresco the "School of Athens" is housed, the gallery of beautiful ancient tapestrys and priceless collections of art and artifacts that the Vatican has collected over the years. We were meant to end in St Peters Basilica however it was closed as a VIP was visiting so we went off for lunch before returning.

Roman Forum Ruins
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The Basilica is the largest Roman Catholic Church in the world and also contains the remains of popes, Michealangelos 'Pieta', stunning mosaics on the wall so fine and detailed that they look like paintings and contain over 700,00 tiles and the remains of St Peter himself. Four stories below the high alter St Peters remains were found in a necropolys and in 1945 the pope had scientists verify them. They were found behind a wall inscribed with St Peters name and the skelton had no ankles as St Peter was crucified upside down. Above the alter stands a beautiful gilded bronze canopy made from the bronze that was once statues of pagan gods in the Pantheon. Above the canopy the huge dome soars high and can be seen all around Rome. We visited the Crypts containing the remains of popes including the late John Paul 2nd whose burial place is covered in fresh flowers and surrounded by people praying all day.

St Peters Square
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Through St Peters Square we continued our journey along past Castle Sant'Angelo and across the river to the Spanish steps. They were teeming with tourists and locals enjoying the sun so we climbed them and headed at Neils request (a friend of Justins family) across town on two crazily crowded peak hour subways to Circus Maximus. Once a huge oval arena built when the Colsseum became to small for navy ship battles, and also the place of ancient chariot races all that now remains is an oval of weeds and some small crumbling ruins in the corner! It was pretty funny so Neil took a photo and we headed back to battle the crowds! After this small detour we walked down to the spectacular Trevi fountain. It was an oasis of cooling water amidst the heat of Rome and I could've sat for hours mesmerised by the clear tourquiose water splashing over the God of Ocean in his chariot. We all made our wishes by throwing our coins in backwards over our shoulder, paused for a gelati (I'm sure Neils favourite part of Italy!) and continued our walk through market lined streets to the Pantheon.

Once a pagan temple to all gods and first built in 27BC, the Pantheon was taken over by the pope and is now the oldest catholic church in Rome. It's an imposing circular structure with a domed ceiling and 16 huge pillars standing out the front. Even with all of it's Bronze removed for the Basilica and to make canons the Pantheon is still an awe-inspiring builing dominating the square where it stands. There is an apperture 9m in diametre in the ceiling and when it rains water simply cascades through the roof like a waterfall onto the floor which on close inspection has tiny little drainage holes everywhere! We wandered around, visited the tomb of Raphael which is inside and you can still see the empty spaces where the statues of pagan gods once stood. As the sun went down we wandered over to Piazza Navona, surronded by palaces and containing the foutain of Rivers it is the home of artists and as we ate dinner in the saure we were entertained by lovely classical music from (very talented) buskers. It was then time to returne to our villa and fall into bed.