Rome (part 2)

Day Four

Walked towards the Colosseo Metro station and had our breakfast at one of the bistros (left photo below). Got myself a tomato & mozzarella cheese sandwich at EUR 4.90 (right photo below). It was a quick bite before our visit to the first sight.
Arch of Constantine

The Arch of Constantine, or Arco di Costantino in Italian, is a triumphal arch dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D. The arch is located besides the Colosseum in Piazza del Colosseo.

It is the largest Roman triumphal arch measuring at 21-meters high, 25.9-meters wide and 7.4-meters deep. Following photos were taken during the day (left photo below) and night (right photo below).
Colosseum

The main highlight of the day was the Colosseum. We bought a combined ticket for Colosseum and Palatine Hill tour with a guide at EUR 20 per person from Romaround Tours.

While waiting for our tour to start, we saw fake gladiators (left photo below) and sellers (right photo below) wandering outside the Colosseum entrance. One should be aware of these fake gladiators (often dressed in breastplates, helmets and sandals) and sellers may be pushy and aggressive. Was told that these fake gladiators would charge exorbitant sums for photos and even jump in front of cameras without invitation, then demand money from photographer.


Colosseum, or Colosseo in Italian, is an oval amphitheatre located in east of Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built and still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today. Colosseo has become an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome (photos below). Construction began in 72 A.D. and completed in 80 A.D. during the Flavian dynasty.
Two interesting facts about the Colosseum:

• Colosseum is just a nickname for this structure. The real name is Flavian Amphitheatre after the dynasty that built it. This is evidence from the plaque attached to the middle ring of the Colosseum, which reads Amphitheater Flavium, and few Popes names who were essential in preserving the building (left photo below). It was only in the year 1000 that people began referring to it as the Colosseum, due to its "colossal" size. Of course, in Italian, it would be il Colosseo.


• The 54th entryway to the Colosseum is written as LIIII instead of LIV (right photo below). As it was built some 2000 years ago, the Roman numerals did not use the subtraction property or 'French Roman Numbers' that we are taught where 4 is written as IV instead of IIII.
  

The levels of Colosseum were organized by class and social standing which was entitled by birth:

• The fourth-tier and fifth-tier were made of wooden rows. It was in this area where the common woman sat.


• The class of commoners, or Plebians, without noble bloodlines sat in the third-tier. The wealthy Plebians could sit at the lower seats of third-tier while upper seats for the true commoners.


• The Equites or Knights sat in the second-tier. They were of similar social class as senators, but military in nature. The picture below showed what a second-tier view would be (photo below).
  
  
• The emperor sat in the first tier, obviously, and had his own podium. On the same level sat Vestal Virgins, Senators and Magistrates. The left picture below showed what a first-tier view would be (left photo below). At one corner of east entrance is a reconstruction of some of the original seats of the Colosseum (right photo below).
  Note: third to fifth-tiers were closed to public during our visit.

A framework of tunnels supported the arena floor whose stone walls supported the wooden floor (left photo below). There were as many as 36 trap doors that would literally unleash hell-like features on any person standing on the stage (right photo below).


We were then brought to an exhibition within the Colosseum. It exhibited the battle suits worn and equipment used by the gladiators throughout its history (photos below).
The exhibition also showcased the archaeological findings of the items used during that time (photos below), even the cups and spoons used inside the building by spectators.
Skulls of animals found in the colosseum proved that animal fights were Roman's favorite sport (photos below).


The pictures in the exhibit illustrates the ancient scenes of animal fight (left photo below) and the rowdy spectators (right photo below).
Palatine Hill

The Palatine Hill is centremost ancient parts of the city relative to the seven hills of Rome and has been called 'the first nucleus of the Roman Empire'. The site is now mainly a large open-air museum and a modern Palatine Museum.

House of Augustus and Atrium

The House of Augustus, discovered in 2006, was believed to be the birthplace of Rome's first Emperor Augustus (right photo below). A section of corridor and other fragments under the Hill were found and described as 'very ancient aristocratic house'. The two-storey house appears to have been built around an atrium (right photo below), with frescoed walls and mosaic flooring.

Flavian Palace

The Flavian Palace, or normally known as Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill. It was completed in 92 A.D. by emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus.

The Aula Regia (royal hall) was an enormous rectangular hall used as an audience chamber (left photo below). Although the remains are mainly low walls today, they would have stretched upwards 30-meters from floor to ceiling. A huge peristyle garden was found with a unique octagonal island with a labyrinthine pattern of channels and with fountains in its centre (right photo below).

Arch of Titus

The Arch of Titus, or Arco di Tito in Italian, is a 1st century honorific arch to commemorate Titus' official deification and the victory over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea (left photo below). It provides the general model for triumphal arches, including inspiration for the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The arch measures 15.4-meters in height, 13.5-meters in width and 4.75-meters in depth.

This Arch is beautifully decorated. The soffit of the axial archway is deeply coffered with relief of the apotheosis of Titus at the centre (right photo below).


The north inner panel depicts Titus as triumphator attended by various genii and lictors, who carry fasces. A helmeted Amazonian, Valour, leads the quadriga or four horsed chariot, which carries Titus (left photo below).

The south inner panel depicts the spoils taken from the Temple in Jerusalem during the First Jewish-Roman War (66–74 CE). The golden candelabrum or Menorah is the main focus and is carved in deep relief (right photo below). This menorah depicted on the arch served as the model for the menorah used in the 'Emblem of Israel'.

We ended the guided tour in Palatine Hill and free to explore the Roman Forum by ourselves.

Roman Forum

The Roman Forum, or Foro Romano in Italian, is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important government buildings at the centre of ancient Rome. For centuries the Forum was the centre of day-to-day life in Rome from the 7th B.C. onwards (photos below).
Although wrecked by earthquake, weathering, pollution, and centuries of architects robbing it of its stones and columns, the Roman Forum, nevertheless, remains one of the most impressive sites surviving from antiquity and a unique window into the once-great glorious world that was Rome.

Temple of Saturn

This temple was dedicated to Saturn and was built on the site of the original building dedicated c. 497 B.C. by the dictator Titus. The temple stands on a pediment of travertine blocks while the eight remaining columns are of the Ionic order (left photo below). The shafts of the columns are made from Egyptian granite, the two on the side from pink Aswan, and the six facade ones from grey Mons Claudianus.

Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Castor and Pollux was erected in the final decade of the 1st century B.C. Today only the large podium survives of the original temple and the inner concrete core of the podium and three Corinthian columns (right photo below). The massive structure used to have an area 32-meters by 50-meters, and reached a height of almost 19-meters.

The column of Phocus

The most recent monument to be built in the Roman Forum, the still-standing Column of Phocas (left photo below) is a comparatively modern addition to the area's urban fabric, erected in 608 A.D. to honour the Eastern Roman Emperor who gives the column its name. The beautiful fluted column with Corinthian capital was certainly crafted many centuries earlier, possibly at the height of the empire in 2nd century.

The Template of Antoninus and Faustina

Part ancient temple and part Baroque church, depending on your perspective, this fascinatingly 'schizophrenic edifice' is either called the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina or San Lorenzo in Miranda (right photo below). The original ancient temple was built by the emperor Antoninus Pius to honour his wife Faustina, and subsequently rededicated to them both on the death and deification of the emperor himself.

Arch of Septimius Severus

The Arch of Septimius Severus, or Arco di Settimio Severo in Italian, is a white marbel triumphal arch (left photo below) dedicated in 203 A.D. 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 A.D. and 197–199 A.D. The arch was richly decorated with sculpture which depicted scenes from the military campaigns in Parthia, the triumph procession, the seasons, various deities, and victories (right photo below).

Umbilicus Urbis Romae

The Umbilicus Urbis Romae or "Navel of the City of Rome" was the symbolic centre of the city from which, and to which, all distances in Ancient Rome were measured (left photo below). Originally covered in marble, the Umbilicus is now a forlorn-looking brick core some 2-metres high and 4.45-metres in diameter.

Temple of Romulus

Nothing to do with the legendary founder of Rome, the Temple of Romulus was actually built in honour of Valerius Romulus, son of the Emperor Maxentius, who met an untimely death in 309 AD. The real highlight of the building, though, is its brilliantly green bronze door, an original 4th-century survival (right photo below). Amazingly, the ancient lock is still operational.

Temple of Vespasian and Titus

The temple of Vespasian and Titus is located between Temple of Concordia and Temple of Saturn. It is dedicated to the deified Vespasian and his son, the deified Titus. All that survives today is the podium's core, parts of the cella (two fragments of its travertine wall and part of the pedestal at its back for the cult statues), and three Corinthian columns at pronaos's south-east corner (left photo below).

Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine

The Basilica of Maxentius was begun by the emperor of the same name in 308 AD before being completed by his rival Constantine after the latter's victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. The surviving part of the structure today features three enormous barrel vaults studded with huge coffers; although only a tiny fragment of the majestic original building, it gives a vivid sense of the awe-inspiring scale of ancient Rome (right photo below).

Trajan's Market

Trajan's Market, or Mercati di Traiano in Italian, form a semicircular complex of more than 150 shops and offices built in the period of Emperor Trajan (100 - 112 AD). The markets are located on the slope of the Quirinal Hill in Rome and the complex consisted of five floors, where horticultural products, spices, oil and wine were traded.

Later the complex had various functions. It was part of the fortifications in the 13th century. For example, behind the complex there is still a square tower (Torre dei Milizie) as part of this. Then, in the 16th century, a monastery was built on the remains of Trajan's Market. When the monastery was demolished in the early 20th century, the remains of the market became visible again (photos below).


Victor Emmanuel II National Monument

The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument, or Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II in Italian, is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935 to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy (photo below).

The monument is 135-meters wide, 130-meters deep and 70-meters high. Two sculpture groups flanked the lower end of the Entrance Stairway, namely "The Thought" (left photo below) and "The Action" (right photo below).


Above the stairway and under the statue of Goddess Roma is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (left photo below). It is a sacellum dedicated to the Italian soldiers killed and missing during war. At the centre of the monument stands the Equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II (right photo below) at 12-meters tall and 10-meters long.


We happened to visit the museum inside the monument, dedicated to the history of Italy, especially the Unification of Italy (photos below). As its exhibition was of no particular interest to us, we left the museum after 10-minutes visit.
Late Italian Lunch

It was close to 2.30 pm and we finally had the chance to have our late lunch at an Italian restaurant (left photo below). We ordered a pizza for sharing at EUR 10 (right photo below), a spaghetti with clams at EUR 9 for myself (bottom left photo), while my colleague got a cutlet at EUR 9 (bottom right photo). Food was delicious as usual in Italy.
We then return to B&B to have some washup and checked out from there.

Piazza della Repubblica

Before we took the Leonardo express to the airport, we explored the Piazza della Repubblica which is a circular piazza next to Termini station.

Fountain of the Naiads

The fountain in this square was originally the fountain of the Acqua Pia commissioned in 1870. In 1901, the originals were replaced with sculptures of Naiads (left photo below). The naiads represented are the Nymph of the Lakes: recognisable by the swan she holds, the Nymph of the Rivers: stretched out on a monster of the rivers, the Nymph of the Oceans: riding a horse symbolising of the sea (right photo below), and the Nymph of the Underground Waters: leaning over a mysterious dragon. In the centre is Glauco group, symbolizing the dominion of the man over natural force.

Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs

Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs, or Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Italian, is a basilica and titular church, built inside the ruined frigidarium of the Roman Baths of Diocletian in the Piazza della Repubblica (photos below).

Dinner at Airport

After gotten our boarding passes while waiting for the flight, we decided to have our dinner inside the airport transit area (left photo below). Ordered a small pizza and a drink at EUR 6.70 (right photo below). This small portion, which I hoped, could satisfy my hunger throughout the journey back to Neuchâtel.
Baboo Airways

Baboo Airways is a regional airline based on the grounds of Geneva Airport. The IATA code for this airline is F7. Probably it was a new aircraft, its seats were leathered and well-maintained (left photo below).

To my surprise, refreshments were served in this flight. A bottled drink with small salad was served, followed by a sandwich (right photo below). Chocolate ice-cream and a hot drink were then served (bottom left photo), and lastly followed by a wet towel and a Swiss chocolate (bottom right photo).

✍ Update:
Baboo Airways ceased its operations on Nov 2010 due to the acquisition by Darwin Airline Group.

With this, it ended our short trip to central Italy over the weekend and marked my final trip out of Switzerland during the 6-months training period.