Today was a long, wet day. We began our day at 8:30 AM with the walk downhill to the Metro station for a ride to the Colosseum area. Shortly after meeting with our group, the rain commenced and continued (pouring qt times) for the duration of our tour (until 1 PM). We covered alot of ground today, seeing some of Rome’s most ancient sights. The pictures are not very pretty due to the rain. Juggling the umbrella and trying to keep the lens dry was quite a feat.
 |
| Colosseum |
Our first stop was the Colosseum, a massive structure that was built in the 1st century (80 AD). It’s real name is the Flavian Amphitheatre, but it was commonly called the Colosseum because of a 100 ft. tall colossal bronze statue of Nero that he had erected nearby. It amazed me with its size and complexity – it was built on 4 levels and held between 50,000 – 80,000 spectators. Much of it was destroyed by an earthquake, but 25% of the structure remains intact. Just imagining what it was like back then is mind boggling. Contrary to popular belief, Christians were not martyred, fed to lions, or used to fight gladiators here – common and political criminals were used for this purpose, as an example to the people.
 |
| Roman Forum |
Then we continued to the Roman Forum – the Forum was the political, religious, and commercial center of the city. Located between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills, it contained many of the oldest and most important structures of the city.
 |
|
Temple of Jupiter The Temple of Jupiter, built in 507 BC on Capitoline Hill, was one of the most important temples in ancient Rome. |
Through the rain, we plodded on to the “Wedding Cake”. This is the name given by the Romans to the building dedicated to Victor Emmanuel, the first king of Italy. It is located in the Piazza Venezia, which is the central hub of the city.
 |
| “Wedding Cake” |
 |
| This is one of the oldest sights, near the Forum, where Julius Caesar was believed to have been assassinated. |
This site is the home of multitudes of cat’s (gatti) which , along with she-wolves (remember Romulus and Remus?), are now protected by the city as national symbols. They have a veterinary clinic on site for the cats, and people may may now adopt Roman gatti internationally.
From there we travelled to the Pantheon. Another MASSIVE structure consecrated to all gods in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa as part of a building program undertaken by Caesar Augustus.
The columns for this building weighed more than 10 tons a piece. Each was transported to Rome individually from Egypt by boat. The ceiling (picture did not turn out well) was stunning.
 |
| PANTHEON |
We then walked to the Trevi Fountain for our third day in a row, to the Spanish steps, had gelati, and then taxied to the Vatican. After lunch we started our tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica.
 |
| Entrance to the Vatican Museum |
I really did not know what to expect in the Vatican Museum. But I was amazed at the number of ancient artifacts that were there – sculptures and statues, masterpieces of all shapes and sizes from as far back as first and second century BC were everywhere.
The paintings of Raphael were beautiful. I especially enjoyed the huge, intricate tapestries depicting scenes from the life of Christ.
The Sistine Chapel, with the paintings of Michelangelo in the ceiling, was breathtaking. Seeing this masterpiece in person was an awesome privilege.
,To take in all that is there, you really have to be constantly looking up, down, and all around.
St. Peter’s Basilica is also massive in size and opulence. Enough said.
We ended the day by going to to the top of the dome in St. Peter’s, a mere 310 steps up and 310 down! The view of St. Peter’s Square and Rome beyond was awesome ( and the sun had finally appeared).
 |
| Rome from the Dome |
When we were finished at at 6:30 PM. We decided to eat pizza and YES, more gelati! If you are counting, that is two for today! This was a two gelati day!
 |
| This one is for you, Jenny! |
Everywhere one walks or drives in Rome, one sees these beautiful streets made of sampietrini stones -they are small, black, cubed stones made from volcanic rock, very durable and very slippery when wet. And they were wet today!
Nasoni (big nose), Rome’s free drinking fountains – there are 2,500 of these throughout the city of Rome, dispensing constant cold, fresh drinking water constantly. Each fountain is cast iron and weighs 200 pounds. You can fill water bottles from the spout or, by placing your palm against the end of the spout, water is force upward out of a small hole ti form a perfect small “water fountain” stream for drinking right out of the spout. Perfectly pure, safe water flows into Rome from the surrounding mountains through the aqueduct system.
So, after sightseeing, pizza, gelati, and water, we are actually going to bed before midnight (barely) for the first time this trip.
Buona notte!