By Saul Schwartz
Rome is probably the city in Europe where ancient history is the most visible. You can’t stroll through the Forum without tripping over ancient ruins or walk around the historic centre without encountering one imposing antique structure after another.
History is alive here like no other place and defines the Eternal City. And nothing shouts “Roman history” more than these iconic buildings.
Follow Saul Schwartz on his continued quest as a first-time visitor to soak up the beauty of Rome in these historic places.
The Colosseum
Built over 2000 years ago, Il Colosseo was constructed as amphitheater to host the city’s entertainment, including gladiator fights.
The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre ever built and was designed to hold over 50.000 spectators. It contains underground tunnels, as well as a hierarchy of seating levels. The lower seats were designed for religious and political authorities, with a special place for the Emperor. It is amazing that the main structure still stands today and it is one of Europe’s most recognizable landmarks.
To get to the Colosseum, we took the Metro to the Colosseo stop on the B line. We booked an English language tour through Viator/TripAdvisor. The 3 1/2 hour tour of the Colosseum allowed us to skip the line and the tour provided us with an informative guide who shared stories about life in ancient Rome.
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- A visit to the Colosseum is included in the Forum ticket. It’s valid for two days, but only for one visit in each site.
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- The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in the world and it was completed in AD 80 by Titus. He belonged to the Flavian Dynasty and thus the arena used to be called The Flavian Amphitheatre.
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- This is not just an arena, or amphitheatre, this is the symbol of Rome itself. So much that it’s depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent Euro coin!
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- Amphi-theatre means “both-sided theatre”, because the Roman theatres were normally semicircular, but when you put two of them together, voila: you have an amphitheatre!
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- The may holes in the walls were inflicted during the Middle ages, where people would dig out the metal holding the stones together. Tough times!
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- Back in its heyday it could hold between 50.000 and 80.000 spectators
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- They even had pull-out canopies on top of the Colosseum to provide shade when it was hot. Notice the stones on the eastern side just 15 metres from the arena – they were used to secure and tie the rope used for the canopies.
We learned that the normal daily entertainment included animal hunts involving exotic animals imported from Africa and the Middle East and mock sea battles.
The Roman Forum
Our Colosseum tour included walking through the Forum Romanum, the core of ancient Rome. A tour guide is essential here to explain the purpose of particular structures and ruins. The plaza consists of ancient government buildings, temples and a market place which were the center of everyday life in Rome. Today these ruins and grand arches are what remain of the political, commercial and religious city center.
Hearing the story behind the Arch of Titus was particularly interesting to us. This well preserved arch commemorates the Roman victory over the province of Judea in 70 A.D. One side of the arch shows in a sculpted relief the booty from the sacking of the temple in Jerusalem. Soldiers are shown carrying a Jewish menorah and other plunder, such as silver trumpets.
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- Yup, let’s start with the obvious, because everything emanated from here. This was the heart of ancient Rome, the most celebrated meeting place in the world and in all history.
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- While Rome is said to be founded on exactly the Palatine Hill, it was generally the seven hills of the area that were first occupied. The middle ground, the flat land in the heart of hills soon became a marketplace where the different tribes would meet and exchange goods. This became the Forum Romanum
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- This was really a place to show off the power and wealth of Rome.
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- The senate gathered here to discuss political matters and they had temples, where people came and made offerings to the gods
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- The senate gathered here to discuss political matters, they had temples, where people came and made offerings to the gods, and triumphal arches boasted the conquering successes of different emperors.
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- Everywhere you go inside the Forum, you encounter epic monuments like the 1800-year-old Arch of Septimius Severus.
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- In the other end of the Via Sacra road, you have the Arch of Titus from 82 AD.
Our tour ended on Palatine Hill. Overlooking the Forum, this hill is the oldest inhabited spot of ancient Rome. Walking up the Hill, our guide told us the story of the mythology of the formation of Rome that took place on this site. Two abandoned baby brothers, Romulus and Remus, were found by a she-wolf who kept them alive in a cave by the Palatine Hill. From here, they founded Rome.
The Pantheon
This domed circular temple is said to be antiquity’s best preserved Roman building.
The Pantheon we see today was built as a Roman temple by the emperor Hadrian in 120 A.D. The exterior portico is Greek in style with large granite columns at is entrance. The rotunda sits under a concrete dome, with a central opening to the sky. Today the Pantheon is used as a church and admission is free, through two ancient bronze doors.
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- The Pantheon is so unrivalled in its engineerical achievement, that’s even Brunelleschi modelled the dome of Florence’s cathedral after Pantheon. 1300 years after.
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- Pantheon means Temple of God and it used to function as Roman temple before it was converted into a Christian church in 609.
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- When you enter the very Roman-looking portico with its imposing columns, you enter the rotunda, a structure not commonly found in Europe in this large scale, with a so-called oculus in the top.
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- Like many other temples throughout Italy, the building’s consecration as a church saved it from the demolishment, that most ancient buildings suffered during the early Middle Ages.
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- The most impressive feature of the Pantheon is its dome-shaped concrete roof, weighing a whopping 4.535 tons. It still holds the record for the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome.
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- The prices at the many restaurants are – of course – higher than elsewhere, but you can always sit by the fountain, like million of people before you, have a gelato and contemplate the Eternal City that is Rome.
The interior holds decorative statutes and the tombs of famous Italians from more recent centuries, including several painters and an architect. Two kings are buried inside – Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I. The artist Raphael is buried near the main altar. To get to the Pantheon, we walked from the Barberini metro stop on the A line.
More info
Follow Saul into The Vatican – Rome of the Popes to uncover this miniature state with maximum to see. Or check out these 10 Roman fountains, that each have a special story to tell.
About Saul Schwartz
Saul lives in Alexandria, Virginia and has lived in the Washington, D.C. area since 1984. He loves to travel throughout Europe with his wife and family and particularly enjoys interacting with local residents and learning about life in their city and country.
He has visited Berlin for one week, cruised on the Romantic Danube, wrote a 1-week city guide for London, roamed the ancient architecture of Rome and much more! Check out all Saul’s contributions.
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Get under the skin of Rome by staying here a bit longer than just one week. We can strongly recommend Crib Med for medium-term rentals in the eternal city.
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