One of the best days we had in Rome we spent at the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. We had booked a tour. It went for five hours with a short break for lunch. The guide was an archaeologist so it was really excellent.
Officially, it was supposed to be 24 degrees Celsius but it felt more like 28 or 30. If this is Rome in October, imagine how unbearable it would be in the height of summer!
The Temple of Jupiter was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline Hill. It had a cathedral-like position in the official religion of Rome.
The Arch of Septimius Severus 203 CE to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194-195 CE and 197–199 CE.
This is the west apse of the Basilica of Maxentius near the Forum Romanum in Rome where the Colossus of Constantine, a huge statue of the late Roman emperor Constantine the Great (c. 280–337). We saw the actual Colossus the next day at the Musei Capitolini.
This bit shows the stealing of the Menorah from the Temple.
Inside the Colosseum. The Colosseum's real name was the Flavian Amphitheatre after the Emperor Flavian who built it. The name Colosseum came from the colossal statue of Nero nearby. Flavian had built over and erased Nero’s vanity project of a palace that Nero had built for himself after the great fire of Rome in 64 CE so it’s ironic that it’s now known by a name that actually commemorates Nero.
Our guide told us that the Colosseum had awnings over the top that were manipulated by ropes to keep the spectators shaded from the sun. For the participants in the games, life was not so great. The gladiators were on 24 hour suicide watch. Nevertheless, many managed to kill themselves.
After a hot and thirsty day looking at the old ruins, went for a drink on the famous Minerva Rooftop Bar where you can look down on the Pantheon.
Imago Dessert from Trevor Angst on Vimeo.
