I quickly dropped off my backpack at the B and B where I stayed and headed out to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill!
When I loaded this picture, one of the sizing options was "Original size," and boy do I wish I could do that. The sheer size of this structure is incredible. When I walked out of the subway squinting and saw this bad boy on the horizon, I couldn't help but rubber neck with the rest of the tourists (of which there were hordes).
All the guides recommend bypassing the Colosseum (momentarily) because the lines for Palatine Hill are much shorter and the ticket includes both. I followed this advice and was later rewarded by my God-given right to self-aggrandize as I strutted past the amateurs waiting in line at the Colosseum.
I guess I was also rewarded by the intriguing ruins on Palatine Hill. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I started crying tears of joy a little at this point. I took this picture partly to remember the moment but also to check that I wasn't transforming into a mascara panda bear. (You can also see in the background a French couple for whom I later took a photo. Learning to count to ten in French FINALLY came in handy, as I knew it would.)
Palatine Hill is one of the oldest parts of the city. According to legend, it is the location of the cave where the she-wolf found the infant brothers Romulus and Remus. The twins later killed people, fought a lot, and decided to build a new city. Later, they fought some more and Romulus killed Remus, thus earning the right to name the new city after himself. And so, Rome was created.
(Roman mythology also places Hercules' tenth labor -- slaying of the monster Cacus -- on the hill, which created a dent in the hillside.)
Its name also gave birth to the English word "palace." There. Now you know as much about Palatine Hill as I do.
A view of Rome from the hill.
My map was a bit deceptive and I didn't realize what this was until the third time I walked past it: the Arch of Titus! Here's the wiki cliff notes: "It was constructed in c. 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of the triumphal arches erected since the 16th century—perhaps most famously it is the inspiration for the 1806 Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, completed in 1836."
According to my audio guide, after besieging the Jews in Jerusalem, the emperor forced them to build this arch in honor of their defeat (in perhaps the earliest instance of adding insult to injury). To this day, Jewish people refuse to walk under the arch. I just stood by it and took pictures. Solidarity!
But for real, it was breath-taking. On to the Roman Forum...
This fresco was inside the Temple of Caesar. Construction begun on the temple in 42 BCE and was where Julius Caesar's body was brought upon his death.
These statues stand outside the house of the Vestal Virgins. In ancient Rome, noble girls were selected as early as age 6 to take a 30-year vow of celibacy, then revered and honored by the people. They were considered to be married to the city itself. At the Colosseum, they even had their own reserved section across from the emperor. If a girl completed her term, she was given a large dowry and allowed to marry. If she failed, however, she was paraded through the streets, given a loaf of bread and some water, then buried alive in a crypt.
Only these eight columns remain of the Temple of Saturn, from the 5th century BCE. It's hard to fathom how old these things are. I still can't get over it.
This was one of my favorite parts of the forum, it was so substantial and placed at the head of the square, standing formidably over the ruins. It's the Arch of Septimus Severus, so I'm not sure if my love of it makes me a Slytherin or what, but I'm willing to take my chances.
A close-up of the arch's details
At the Colosseum! (See: How girls take photos)
I was in Rome for four days. I ate gelato four times. I'm not sorry.
Finally! My first look inside the Colosseum. The walls you see along the bottom of this photo -- which used to be covered by a stage and sand -- created a sort of backstage area for performers and animals involved in the shows.
The walls formed small rooms that were used to store props and sets, house animals that would later fight (each other or a person), and they allowed gladiators to pop up into the arena from trap doors hidden under the floor. The word arena comes from Latin harena, which was sand used in the Colosseum (and other arenas) because it absorbed blood well.
The view from the upper deck
Interested in learning more about the Colosseum? Here's the History Channel's bit about it.
Heading home; Rome's subway ain't got nothing on Seoul's. Day one ended with a pizza, a shower, and a good night's sleep. Stay tuned for day two!
