The Eternal City, Day Two

Thursday was our first full day in Roma, and despite our best intentions, we didn't head out for the day's sightseeing until around 10:00 AM. We did, however, meet a nice young couple at breakfast from Toronto, and they let us borrow a very cool little book that shows what Rome's ruins looked like when they were brand new.

The first stop of the day was another church, St. Peter-in-Chains. It was very peaceful here, as there were not so many tourists. We saw Michelangelo's statue of Moses and also the chains that held St. Peter at the Mamertime Prison and also under Herod's lock and key. It is said that when the two sets of chains were brought together, they miraculously joined.

After St. Peter-in-Chains, we headed for the Colosseum. When the massive structure came into sight, we both stopped to admire (and gawk) at it. So many times we had seen it, on TV, in the movies, in our school books. Now we were really there. On a tip we got from Rick, we walked to the Palatine Hill ticket office, purchased our Archeologia Cards, and then were able to skip through the lines at the Colosseum straight for the turnstile. I must say, the place is HUGE --- a theme we are noticing more and more in this city. From the Vestal Virgins box (these young women tended the eternal fire of the city), we observed the now-visible floor plan of underground tunnels and passages that were used by the gladiators and the wild animals they fought. You can still see the elevator shafts that brought up surprise rivals for the fighting men to fend off. We hiked up immensely steep stairs (Jason said we were going to watch the fights and give our thumbs up (live) or thumbs down (die)) and got a better view of everything. We stood where the emperors box was located, and pondered the power these men held --- and then snapped some pictures.

After walking around the Arch of Constantine, our next stop was a quick lunch, followed by the massive Forum. This area was the main drag in ancient Rome. Today it is the site of some pretty darn cool ruins. We followed the tour in Rick's Rome 2007 book and saw the spot where Caesar's was burned, the Temple of Saturn, the Temple of the Vestal Virgins, the arch of Titus, and much more. We were going to tour Palatine Hill, but when we got up there we decided that we were tired enough, and had enough left to see, to bypass this chunk of history and leave it for next time.

From the ruins, we walked to the Pantheon. At it's earliest point, this building was a temple dedicated to ALL the gods, not one in particular. It still looks today pretty much as it did in the early years of the first millenium. The reason it has been so well preserved is that, as Rome fell, the Christians converted it to a church and no one messed with it. It is also the longest continually used building in Rome. Before we stepped inside, we were both impressed with it's 40 foot tall solid granite columns (rock brought here from Egypt). Once inside, the only light comes from the massive hole in the top of the dome --- and what a dome! It was the last one built until Brunelleschi's in Florence over 1,000 years later. Shortly after we arrived, mass started (odd to think about mass being said in a building previously used for pagan worship) and we left.

We wandered the streets, looking for a little bar that we read had a good, cheap menu. We found it, ordered a pizza to share, and enjoyed the city's ambiance as we ate. After our meal, our waiter brought us complimentary sparkling wine and we savored the evening some more. Finally we forced ourselves to leave, and headed home.