We departed the hotel at 8:00 determined to beat at least some of the hottest weather. It was still cool in the shade, but even now, any extended time in the sun felt oppressive.

Our first stop was the Trevi fountain which is fed by a roman aqueduct rebuilt in the 16th century. Another fountain had been constructed at this site, but a later pope found it not dramatic enough, so Nicolas Salvi built this.

From pictures I had always thought the fountain to be in an open area, but the square it’s in is actually quite small. Seems most pictures of the fountain are taken with a fish eye lens… I didn’t say this was an interesting story.

As promised, next up was a visit to the coliseum. On the way we passed by the monument to Victorio Emmanuel the uniter of Italy, and noted it was open, so we ascended the steps to get a vista of the city.

The monument itself is a war museum, though it seemed to skip over that whole WWII bit. Maybe it had to do with them being on the wrong side of the war? Attached to the rear of the monument, was the one basilica on Capitol hill to not be destroyed in the construction of this monument. We took a look inside, there was actually a wedding going on, which seems to be happening a lot around here right now (this is the 5th we’ve seen).

So finally down to the coliseum. The line wrapped out around the structure and moved quickly at first. Then everything degenerated into chaos. The line area was fairly wide, with the corners even wider, so instead of an orderly line, it was rather a herd of people, whenever it widen, others would cut over, then squeeze their way back in. For the coup de grace, as the line came around the last corner the ticket booths windows were flatted out behind two pillars with no delineation between them, and the only way for people who bought their tickets to get back out, was to push back through the line. Worst. Queue. Ever. I’m sure the Romans never had so much trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now finally in the coliseum, the second level has been made into a museum of what was before, during, and after, with artifacts found in and around the arena. When you walk back out into the sun in the interior, you can feel the heat radiate off of the ancient stone and can only imagine the intensity those forced to compete would feel on the now vanished arena floor. Astounding after all this time how much remains intact, after earthquakes, looting, and the various uses the coliseum was put through (a collection of shops and homes, a castle, a monastery) some of the original seats an stairs are still intact and some water still comes into the coliseum under the sub levels, though the fountains are gone at this point.

 

 

 

 

Now getting toward the heat of the day 34°C (95°F) we got on Rome’s metro to head toward the Domicilla catecombs in the southern part of the city. I found the warning in the bottom left hilarious

We stopped by a small diner which ended up being quite a find (I had rotini flavored with a reduction of chianti wine, mixed with porcini mushrooms and speck (thick juniper flavored bacon) my mom had a farro salad with shrimp, cabbage and lox and Mitch had a tri-cheese calzone with mushrooms, prosciutto, and zucchini . All in all quite good.

Next stop the catacombs, which even if you have no interest in, is an excellent idea to visit for one reason: It’s always cool despite the surface temperature.

These catacombs are one of 66 found in Rome, but at 15 km of tunnel are the largest. Sadly, only a small portion is open to the public and all the bones were moved to the other parts due to 1) Would be grave robbers having broken the marble seals not knowing that Christians aren’t buried with possessions and 2) People on earlier tours through the crypts were stealing bones from the bodies. Stealing bones, who does that?! Despite this, it was still interesting to see the frescos and the meeting places early Christians used for church services when under persecution. I apologize for the quality of these pictures, they don’t allow photos or videos of the catacombs. But since I don’t recognize papal authority and I have learned how to be very sneaky with an iPhone, here are a few shots from the top of my pocket.

On the way back we passed by some of the last reaming pieces of the elevated aqueduct in Rome,(most were underground here)

Had some Chinese food for dinner and decided to turn in early for the night owning to fatigue and wanting to be clear of the streets in case of any trouble from the futbol match.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2012 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Italy. You can follow responses to this entry through the Comments RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.