Rome - the Colosseum and the Forum

Bright and early this morning, we once again met our guide, Claudia.

This time, she had agreed to guide us through the Colosseum and the Forum.

Constructed in 80 AD and originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre,
the building was renamed the Colosseum due to the enormous - colossal -
statue that used to stand nearby.

Emperor Nero - an unsavory and unusual character  - placed a giant 100 foot bronze statue
of himself in the center of the city.  What started as a nickname became the name that stuck.

Eventually, Emperor Hadrian had the statue removed, but the name remained.

This building has more than 80 entrances and could hold more than 55,000 people.

It was most famous for the gladiator matches that were held here.

These matches were an intricate theatrical performance.  The entire production was

displayed on a stage that covered the entire floor of the arena.  

There were trap doors operated by slaves underneath that would spring

up and, to the delight of the audience, change the scenery or introduce new animals or
gladiators to the match.  The entire floor was covered with sand so as to disguise
these doors and maintain the surprise.
Claudia also taught us that the word "arena" is derived for the latin word for sand.

A small portion of the stage has been rebuilt for current display, but the labyrinth that was

necessary underneath the stage for these performances is still evident.

In their day, these matches were used as political and social tools.
Prominent politicians or leaders, looking to gain favor with the people, would
foot the bill.  For the people attending, the match was free.  You only had to be given a ticket.
At the end of the match, no gladiator would be killed without a nod from the patron as he had to pay for the loss of the gladiator to his owner.
Gladiators were not inexpensive.  First they were purchased as slaves
and then years of training had to be paid for by their owners.
Animals were also brought in from all over the world.
Elephants, lions, giraffes, and all sorts of other exotic animals were used in the matches.

Fortunately, as Christianity grew throughout the Roman Empire,
these matches slowly became a thing of the past.
 Unfortunately, the great Colosseum fell into ruin.

From the Colosseum we walked past the Arch of Constantine and up to Palatine Hill.
The Arch of Constantine is unique in that it is the only arch that symbolizes the victory of one Roman over another.  Rome was experiencing a period of unrest - civil war.
Constantine defeated Maxentius and built this arch.
Also unusual, he built it taking pieces of other buildings and arches dedicated to other
popular rulers of the Golden Age of Rome.  Hadrian, Trajan, Aurelius - this arch has a piece
of all of them as if to say, "I will return Rome to the Golden Age."

From the Palatine we could view the Forum on one
side and Circus Maximus - the tract where chariot races were held - on the other.
Rome is known as the City of Seven Hills.
The Palatine is the central hill and all other hills of Rome can be seen from here.

The beautiful center court of the Imperial Palace

The Forum was the promenade of ancient Rome that housed, government buildings,
churches, and commerce establishments of the day.  It was main street.
More that that, it was the hub of a city that was the center of world power.

There is one building right in the center of the Forum that is still in use today.
The Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda holds services in what was once the
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, built in 141 AD.

The Temple of Saturn

It was a wonderful and educational morning.

We are so grateful our outstanding guide.

Claudia grew up in Rome and spent four years studying World history

and another four years studying Roman history.  Her insight was invaluable.

She was so patient with all our questions - we never managed to stump her!

She got extra cool points for teaching the boys how to crack 

the pine nuts falling from the trees and eat them.

After almost four hours of touring, we were all starving.

That is a very good problem to have in Rome - as it is very easy to solve!

On our way back to the apartment to get some schoolwork done,

we took in the sights of the Castel Sant'Angelo.

This impressive fortress has served many purposes.

Built by Hadrian to serve as a tomb for his family, it was later comandeered as military

stronghold during all civil unrest.  Under Nicholas III, the palace became papal property.

A tunnel, known as the Corridoio or Passetto, was built  between St. Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo so that Pope could be secreted away to safety at the first sign of trouble.