Roman Forum, Palatine Hill & the Colosseum

Monday, 2 October 2017 

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.

Us in front of the Colosseum (obviously).

This is the Arch of Titus 82 CE erected by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus ostensibly to commemorate Titus's victories including the siege of Jerusalem. Our guide told us that Domitian murdered his older brother to get the throne and so built the arch to throw off suspicion about what he had done.

This bit shows the stealing of the Menorah from the Temple.

Looking down on the Roman Forum from the Palantine Hill.

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. 

We booked dinner at the Imago Restaurant, which also had excellent views as it was at the top of the Spanish Steps. This is on the way to the restaurant.  It was so lovely and warm I didn't even need a coat. 

We had the seafood tasting menus and it was one of the best meals we’ve ever had.

Imago Dessert from Trevor Angst on Vimeo.

The Pantheon and the Capitoline museum

Tuesday, 3 October 2017 
Headed out early and were one of the first people in the Pantheon.  Because it was turned into a church, it was one of the few Roman temples to survive close to the original condition into modern times without being picked at over the centuries.  The interior still had all the marble facades which gave us a good idea of what the Palaces on the Palatine Hill must have looked like in their hey day.  

Then onto the Capitoline Museum which is right next to the Roman Forum ruins and houses many of the finds from there.

One of the most famous exhibitions in the Capitoline Museum is the 2.4 metre bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius (176 CE) to commemorate his victory over the Germanic tribes.  It is the only fully surviving bronze statue of a pre-Christian Roman Emperor and it is believed that the Christians did not destroy it (or melt it down to make coins) because they thought it was the Emperor Constantine.

This was the rooftop view from the Capitoline Museum Café.

Constantine’s big head. I think he got a big head after the Christians called him ‘great’.

The famous bronze statue of the She Wolf with Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome.

And an awesome Medusa by Benini, looking a little upset that she’s had her head cut off.

Then onto the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica Palazzo Barberini to see Caravaggio’s Judith (the one where she cuts of Holofern’s head). Really, really, really wanted to see this particular painting. But there was an exhibition of Caravaggio’s works in Milan and so they had loaned all his good paintings out. Hmmm…shall we say “not happy”. 
Nevertheless, here is the original famous picture of Henry VIII.

How weird to find this huge Picasso at the museum.

And finally a wonderful wine bar for Aperitivo.

Before we left Trevor had researched some of Rome's best Enotecas to see where we could buy some good Italian wine.  Enoteca Costantini which is just behind the Costello San Angelo, had this massive underground cellar with all this awesome wine from across Italy.  We bought a 2004 Valtellina to drink.  A thirteen year old wine at bottle shop price (€35) to drink with our aperitivo.