From the Colosseum to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill to ancient temples and churches only recently excavated, today was a day to imagine life in ancient Rome. My first stop of day was the Colosseum, where I had a guided tour of the Underground, Arena, and Third Ring. The tour started on the arena level where we could imagine thousands of people watching everything from gladiator contests to public executions. From there, we headed to the Underground to see the corridors, tunnels, and elevators used to transport animals up to the arena floor. Our final stop was the third ring (“mid-class seats”) to see the view spectators had of the entire Colosseum.
Next up was a walk to a few churches near the Colosseum. I saw the Basilica of San Clemente, which is made up of the current 11th-century basilica, which was built on top of a 4th-century basilica, which was built on top of a 2nd-century pagan temple. From there, I stopped at Santi Quattro Coronati, a small church and monastery at the top of a hill. I wandered in and sat to admire the ceiling paintings for a few minutes as several nuns took seats around the altar. As I was leaving a woman told me in very broken English that the nuns were going to pray together. I sat back down and was able to listen to a 10 minute sung prayer service by the small group of nuns. It was amazing. The last church I visited was San Giovanni in Laterano, which is a much larger cathedral with lots of gold.
My final stop in ancient Rome was at the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. I had downloaded Rick Steve’s audio guide, which was a definite help in understanding the history of the Forum. It was incredible to wander around the ruins and see toppled columns, foundations, and marble inscriptions thousands of years old. By the time I was done, my feet were begging for a rest. I intended to just walk up to the viewpoint on Palatine Hill, but took a wrong turn and did a lot more walking that I expected. I finally got my overview photos of the Forum, then made the long trek back to my hotel. Dinner tonight was at a small trattoria I had passed this morning. The pasta was good, but the tiramisu was as light as a feather and topped with an even lighter cream sauce that was divinely creamy and rich!
Traveling with Laura 