Today we spent another HOT day in Roma, covering a little bit of the history that is found here. We started at the Colosseum, which was awesome! As you will see from forthcoming photos, the place is huge, and the ground is a series of mazes and holding cells the Romans used to bring wild beasts out into the arena! We learned about gladiators and what life in the Colosseum was like. They even speculate that the basin of the place used to be flooded to host mock naval battles.
Next, we headed to Palantine Hill and the Roman Forum (nothing funny happened on the way, haha) which are basically huge archaeological sites that date back to the mythical founders of Rome. We saw the remains of palaces, stadiums, and the monstrous forum....the site was amazing, and showed how much was truly "hiding under the surface" in the center of Rome.
Next stop, the Pantheon; the only surviving (intact) edifice of the beginning of Roman times...it dates back to 25 B.C.! What is amazing is that there is this HUGE freestanding dome for a roof, with a big hole in the middle that was used for a sundial and to determine the solstices. There are no arches, beams, etc. holding up this perfect dome, and engineers today cannot figure out how the thing was built, and what keeps it standing today!
The Trevi Fountain is a piece of art itself. According to legend, throwing one coin into the fountain means you will make a swift return to Rome, and throwing 2 coins in means you will fall in love in Rome. Since I am already married and have no desire to come back to Rome, I threw in zero coins, and hoped that meant I would be sitting poolside soon.
Additionally, we made a stop at the Republica, some monumental art museums, and a basilica or two. Or three.
Now we're hanging out at the campsite and swimming. Tomorrow we're planning on going to the catacombs!
Wishing you cooler days than we're experiencing!! XOXO - C & J
No comments:
Post a Comment