Arrivederci

Our last full day in Rome was reserved to catch something of the glory that was the Roman Empire. We planned to visit the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, the Capitol, and, of course, the Colosseum. 

Roman Forum

We'd already caught glimpses of ancient Rome on our open-top bus tour but now we were to immerse ourselves in history for a few hours. I'd already been awestruck by the size of the Circus Maximus, the site of the largest stadium of Ancient Rome, said to hold 300,000 people to watch horse and chariot races. The Forum also gives the impression of the size of the public and other buildings that dominated the city in its pomp. The cityscape changed many times through its history, of course, not least when Nero, having allegedly set fire to Rome and fiddled while it burned, then covered a wide area of the heart of the city with his 'golden palace', the Domus Aurea. His successors, keen to distance themselves from his evildoing, destroyed the palace and rebuilt those parts of the city, with Vespasian constructing the Colosseum from AD 72 onwards.

Detail from the Arch of Titus

The Forum is full of atmospheric remains of this great civilisation, the history of which  intersects critically with the history of the Jewish and Christian faiths. I was struck, for example by the reliefs inside the Arch of Titus which clearly show Roman soldiers carrying off the spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem after its destruction in AD 70. The ruins of temples told of the power of ancient Roman religion and other buildings reminded us of the scale and importance of the justice system and of commerce. I began to feel that I was inside a computer game re-constructing the ancient city in my imagination.

Palatine Hill

The Palatine Hill is a delight, with shady pine trees, flowers and the ruins of Domitian's huge palace from the end of the 1st century AD. It was one of the most restful, and photogenic, parts of the city, even though it was a steep path up from the forum to reach it. There were hints here of the lavish lifestyle of the ruling classes.


When we had completed our self- (or, rather, Dorling-Kindersley-) guided tour of the Forum and Palatine Hill we walked another steep route to the Capitol, once the site of the great Temple of Jupiter and the centre of the Roman world. Today the seat of the city's government and a couple of fine museums occupy the space at the top of the hill, in front of which stands the dominating Victor Emmanuel Monument. In the centre of Michaelangelo's Piazza de Campidoglio at the top is an impressive equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. History is everywhere, but on this occasion we were only able to   get a superficial taste of it because the museums (and their well-recommended cafe) were closed on Monday.


So it was time to find somewhere cool and enticing for lunch, and this time we made up for the previous evening's error of judgment by picking a winner, Cavour 313 (click that link and look at the gallery of the food, at least! You'll be booking your table!). We ate salads and drank red wine and couldn't have been more contented at lunchtime on our last day in this wonderful city.


Cavour 313 set us up for our final major visit, to the Colosseum. I have to admit that I had always rather assumed that the Colosseum was more or less a hollow shell and therefore there wouldn't be much to see. Far from it. The interior is dramatic and it's not difficult to imagine the atmosphere as gladiators fought to the death or the Emperor decided their fate with a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' sign. But the walkways at the different levels feel just like the interior of a modern stadium, built to a similar design.

The Colosseum

It was a fitting climax to four outstanding, unforgettable days. We could hardly have improved on our programme, or on the whole experience. Rome delighted, inspired and excited us, and enriched our understanding of history and, indeed, of our faith. 


And so we came to Rome.....Acts 28:14