Today’s post is 2000 words, 46 photos, 1, video, a 9 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

This week I’ll take you to a protest and our first look at some ancient sites in the city of Rome. Thanks for the likes and comments about last week’s blog that started off this series. In the event you missed it, click here. First a little bit about Rome.

Rome

The city of Rome, with a current population of the metropolitan area at 4.3 million people, is located in central Italy on the Tiber River. The city border extends to the west reaching the Tyrrhenian Sea, a distance of about 15 miles (24 km). Rome is the capitol of Italy and it’s most populated city, followed closely by Milan with 3.15 million residents. Italy has a population of about 59 million. In terms of area, Italy is equivalent in size to Georgia and Florida combined.

Rome has a long and complicated history. Discoveries through archeological digs have uncovered evidence that people were living on one of the seven hills as easy as 14,000 BC. Those villages eventually grew together in 700 BC to form the city of Rome. Legend has it that Romulus and Remus, twins who were said to be suckled by a she-wolf, were responsible in building the city together. However, Romulus killed his brother and he became King with the city taking his name. After a couple of centuries of peace, warfare greatly expanded the empire eventually included most of modern day Europe and the British Isles. Those Romans really got around but their warring caused problems at home so things began to fall apart in the third century AD. Eventually, Christianity took hold and Rome became the center of the Catholic version.

War continued to affect Rome throughout the centuries until the Italian Renaissance began in the 15th century. In Rome, this is when St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were built. During this time, Rome became one of the great art centers in the world. After World War I, the rise of Benito Mussolini and Fascism and the alliance with Nazi Germany led to World War II. After the surrender of Italy in 1944 and the end of the war with Germany in 1945, Rome was part of the post-war construction and modernization creating an economic boom.

Since the establishment of Vatican City in 1929, a city-state within the territory of Rome, it has become a pilgrimage site for much of the Christian world. This and other ancient sites bring in large numbers of tourists (estimated at 7-10 million per year, twice as many in Jubilee years such as the one coming up in 2025) making it one of the most important destinations in the world. In addition to hospitality, Rome is known for its technology companies, banking and finance, insurance, education, and a robust film industry.

With that background, let’s learn more about this fascinating city.

The Protest

Last week I mentioned we were at the Vatican for the Sunday Angelus by Pope Francis. After our late lunch, we caught the Metro back to the Cavour station. As we exited the underground station, we saw police cars blocking the street and heard a loud speaker getting the attention of bystanders. He certainly had our attention.

As the large group got closer, the noise was close to ear splitting. Here’s what it sounded like:

 

We weren’t sure what was going until someone handed us a piece of paper with statement written in three languages: Italian, English, and Arabic. This explained the purpose of the protest. It was against the racist policies of the current ruling party of Italy. The government is led by Giorgia Meloni of the hard-right, nationalist Brothers of Italy, what some describe as a neo-fascist party concerned about immigration, reproductive rights, and LGBQ+ rights. The protesters were immigrants from several countries demanding full rights for immigrants and unity between Italian and immigrant workers. It is true that Italy doesn’t treat immigrants very well even though the population of Italy is aging and declining in numbers.

Here are a few more photos from the march.

The Colosseum

One of the iconic symbols of Rome, the Colosseum, is located in the center of the city. Our AirBnb was about a fifteen-minute walk to the Colosseum. The evening of our first full day in Rome, we walked over there to have a look in the dark. On our way, we walked past part of the Roman Forum that is being restored, it was lit up for night viewing.

It was fun to see the Colosseum at night with the lights illuminating the many remaining statues in the arches. There is a lot of construction work going in the area of the Colosseum. A lot of people were out and about on that cool, pleasant Sunday evening, taking photos and checking out all the sites in the area.

The next morning, we made the walk back to the Colosseum with our timed entry tickets in hand. With the large number of tourists visiting Italy, it’s highly recommended purchasing advance tickets for a number of the main attractions in Rome. Otherwise prepare to wait in long lines or be disappointed when all the tickets for the day are claimed. I purchased our tickets on the first day they were available from the recommended site, Coop Culture. This ticket also includes admission to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. A couple of other pointers, when booking get the earliest entry time as is available, the crowds are smaller early in the day. Also, be prepared to go through an airport type security check when entering any of the popular Rome tourist sites. I can’t tell you how many times I had to take off my jacket and empty my pockets to go through a security checkpoint. Some places were more lenient than others but it still takes time and certain level of aggravation.

While waiting for our assigned entry time at 8:40 AM, we watched some of the archeological work being done around the Colosseum. It appears to be painstakingly slow but critical to preserve the past.

Upon entry, visitors pass through a museum of how the Colosseum was built. Construction began in 69 AD and was completed in year 80 AD.  It’s the largest ancient amphitheater ever built and despite its age, the largest amphitheater still standing. During its heyday, it could seat up to 80,000 spectators with the royalty at ringside and the peasants in the nosebleed seats at the top. And it was free for all to attend the gladiator contests, animal hunts, public executions, the persecution of Christians, reenactments of famous battles, and dramatic plays. The Colosseum fell into disuse during the Dark Ages (beginning with the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD until the Italian Renaissance began in the 1400s) after fires and earthquakes damaged the building and looters carried off some of the limestone bricks.

The Colosseum was built primarily by Jewish slaves from a raid on Jerusalem (estimated to number between 60,000 to 100,000) and supervised by Roman engineers. The limestone was mined and transported from Tivoli, a distance of 20 miles. It took 400 carts pulled by oxen working around the clock for four years to move the rock to the construction site in Rome. It is truly a remarkable feat of engineering given that it’s nearly 2000 years old.

Even though we had an early entry time, the place was still quite busy. Plan to spend an hour and a half walking around the amphitheater and reading the informative signs. There are tours and self-guided audio tours, those are good options but are an extra expense.

This was my second time in the Colosseum. Both times I was in awe of the construction, the engineering, the massiveness, and efforts of preserving a piece of the past. The original wooden floor was covered with sand. It’s long gone. Underneath was a network of tunnels, cages, and storage. The gladiators would wait their turn in this subterranean area to do battle in the arena. Wild animals for sacrifice were kept in the pens below. You can see what is left of this lower level in the photos below.

This photo was taken in the late afternoon after exiting the Roman Forum. There were still crowds even though it was close to quitting time.

Palatine Hill and The Roman Forum

After exiting the Colosseum, we stopped to admire the Arch of Constantine before heading to the nearby Palatine Hills and Roman Forum. The Arch of Constantine is dedicated to its namesake Constantine the Great who was Emperor from 306 to 337 AM. He was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity. It was constructed between 312 and 315 to commemorate Constantine’s victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312.

Since it was mid-morning, there was a long line to the main entrance to the Roman Forum. From studying the Rick Steves guidebook, I knew there was another entrance in the area of Palatine Hill. As we were walking to the alternate entrance, there was this large group of students (high school, I believe) having their photo taken with the Arch and Colosseum in the background. I stopped to take a photo then I was recruited by the group leader to take photos so he could be in the picture. I gladly obliged and got a good cheer after snapping several photos with several cameras. I hope one turned out.

After clearing security for the second time, we made our way around Palatine Hill stopping to snap photos and gawk at the huge buildings, the sunken gardens, and the seagulls! There were a few sprinkles of rain so we found refuge in the alcove of one of the many remaining buildings. Palatine Hill is one of the seven hills of Rome. Legend has it that Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome on Palatine Hill. Many of the wealthy Romans had their homes and palaces on this hill. Emperor Augustus and others who followed him had their palaces here.

From the overlook, visitors can see the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica to the northwest of Palatine Hill and to the north in the second photo, the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first King of a unified Italy.

After descending Palatine Hill to the Roman Forum, we walked through the ruins amazed that even after hundreds of years much remained. For centuries, the Roman Forum, in the valley between Palatine and Capitoline Hills, was the center of daily life in Rome. There were government buildings, markets, shrines, and temples. Since it was a marshy area, it was prone to flooding from the Tiber River. When floods occurred, sediment was deposited resulting in layers upon layers of buildings. When the Forum was excavated, archeologists found the ruins of ancient buildings and clues to how people lived and conducted business.

Note the people at the lookout from Palatine Hill.

The Arch of Septimius Severus is located the edge of the Forum below Capitoline Hill. It’s a monument to commemorate victories over the Parthians in 194 to 199 AD. This was the beginning of nearly 700 years of war between the Roman Empire and Persia.

The Temple of Saturn before the advent of Christianity.

Other sites in the Roman Forum. There are too many to mention. Towards the end of our walkabout, our heads were swimming with information from reading the placards and viewing all the ancient buildings.

My last shot of the day of the Arch of Constantine after a brief rain shower.

The Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Roman Forum are must sees when in Rome. Plan to spend a full day with breaks for coffee and lunch. We ended the day with a nice meal at the Satiro vino cucina in the Monti neighborhood near our AirBnb. I had the seafood risotto and my Traveling Partner the spaghetti. Both delicious. Then on the walk back to our lodging, we stopped for a scoop of gelato. She’s partial to lemon and I like the pistachio the best.

Join me next week for more stories and photos from Rome,

Until then, happy travels!

Tom