Colosseum and Forum

For years Wendy has been trying to get me to go back to Italy. She visited before we started dating and I really had no interest. I am glad she was persistent. This summer, 2015, she and I spent two weeks in Rome, Milan, Turin, and Florence. Each one of the cities of Italy has a different feel, but each one of them shared a common trait: they were all amazing.

We spent the first day touring the Colosseum. Built in the 1st Century A.D., the Flavian Amphitheatre is a colossal monument to the advancement of the Roman civilization at that time. The size of a modern NFL football stadium, it is in surprisingly good condition for what I expected of a two thousand year old arena. It is even believed they had the technology to flood the grounds to host a miniature naval battle for fans, but only once or twice. If you have the opportunity spend the extra money to go on the underground tour of the Colosseum. The tour takes you down into the pits where the gladiators prepared to fight, takes you out onto where the main level was to see the seats the Roman senators sat in to watch the fights, and to the top of the Colosseum for a birds eye view of the whole site. While you are there look around at the walls. You will see graffiti on the wall that is thousands of years old. Some of it was carved by children watching their favorite fighters, others were carved by the gladiators themselves. Another interesting site is the view from the top that allows you to look over into the Forum, which must have been an amazing sight at the height of the Roman empire.

Across the street from the Colosseum is the Forum, the home of the ancient Roman city life such as their markets,churches, and government buildings. Here is another critical tip. Do NOT try and use the entrance directly across from the Colosseum. At the time we arrived there was more than an hour wait in line. We decided to bypass it for the day and walk to the Circus Maximus remains. On our way up Via di S. Gregorio we found the secondary entrance into the grounds of the Forum, which also includes the former palace of the emperors, the Temple of Apollo, and countless gardens to wander through. This entrance, while just a few blocks walk had no line and saved us hours of time in the hot sun. When you enter on this side you will be on the Palatine Hill which will allow you, after spending a good amount of time wandering around, to have a bird's eye view of the Forum below. Once you decide to walk down into the Forum you will find ancient ruins dating back to the 8th Century B.C., which date back to prior to the Roman empire when Rome was a growing city-state. Some of the highlights are remains of the Temple of Castor and Pollux (the names used by John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in "Face Off"), the enormous Arch of Septimius Severus, and the Temple of Romulus (which has been the active church of Santi Cosma e Damiano since 527 A.D.).

When you are done walking around, and please take your time viewing all of the history in there, leave out the exit by the Mamertine-Tullian Prison in the back right corner. Up these steps will take you past several museums and plenty of places to eat lunch, and then will walk you right out in front of the Victor Emmanuel Monument, or Altare della Patria. Built in honor of Victor Emmanuel, the first King of Italy who drove out the ruling Austrians in the mid-19th Century, the monument is one of the most striking sights in a city that is full of amazing sites. The semi-circular tribute the their king sets him on horseback riding into the city on top of a marble base with hundreds of unique images of individuals carved on the face. On top of the monument in each corner is two chariots carrying angels to support the "cause" of Italian freedom. While newer than most of the sites around it by close to two thousands years, I imagine it is as striking to me as the Lincoln Memorial must be to foreigners who visit Washington DC.