On Friday, we were off on two walking tours of Rome. In spite of it being a slower time of year, the number of tourists is, at times, overwhelming. Where we haven’t seen many Americans in our month long travels so far, Rome is full of them – by the bus loads! We could hardly walk the streets today (Saturday) because it was so busy. Traffic appears always heavy and the number of Mercedes’ Smart Cars is amazing.
Our first stop on Friday was the Coliseum and the Roman Forum (the original “downtown” of Rome). Also, known as the “Flavium Amphitheater” (named after the family that built it), it is the most amazing structure when you actually see it in person. Pictures do not do the Coliseum justice. It was a surprise to find that inside the Coliseum, it is actually an oval structure rather than a round configuration. There were 80 arched entrances allowing easy access to 55,000 spectators who were seated according to rank. The Roman gladiators (who were usually prisoners of war, slaves, or condemned criminals) put on bloody shows multiple times a day. Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered with another layer of sand and the show went on! There actually were a few female gladiators, but our guide told us that little has been written about these female fighters.
The Arch of Constantine was another spectacular sight, where pictures don’t do it justice. It was located right next to the Coliseum and was the entrance road to the Roman Forum, one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, and ancient Rome’s showpiece center. Although it is an impressive site; it is also a rather confusing sprawl of ruins. It was the marketplace of Rome were commerce, business, prostitution and administration of justice took place. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the forum was buried by the silt from the annual flooding over the 600 years that Rome was abandoned. It actually was a cattle pasture during the Middle Ages!
After lunch, we met our guide and visited the imposing Vatican City. We were told that the Papal Palace is 9 miles long-a fact that did not surprise us! This “tiny” country is truly “enormous” due to its abundance of historical religious treasures. There are 4.4 miles of exhibit halls with about 54 galleries and 40 rooms in total. The majority of the museum are rooms of ancient Roman sculpture and Renaissance paintings. One of the most impressive areas was actually the Gallery of Maps “Hall”. It is a 394 foot long tunnel and it includes a set of all the maps that represent Italy. The maps were amazing-especially considering the low-tech way they were made. Another interesting area was the Gallery of Tapestries were all the floor-to-ceiling tapestries were designed in Raphael’s Belgium workshop and tell picture stories from Raphael’s drawings. The tapestries were quite spectacular and one of the tapestries actually had an optical illusion woven into it. The “animal room” containing life-size stone animals was another highlight. We were quite surprised that the Museum was so incredibly crowded in early April. Often, it was impossible to get good pictures.
The last part of the tour was a visit to the famous Sistine Chapel which attracts about 4 million visitors a year. Prior to entering the Chapel, our guide explained the significance of the Michelangelo’s first commissioned frescoes on the ceiling (which took 5 years to complete and is the most impressive part of the room) and Botticelli’s and Perugino’s paintings on the walls. Upon entering the Chapel, one is mandated to maintain complete silence; however, the sheer quantities of people who were here today made the experience not quite serene and magical.
After the tour, we headed to St. Peter’s Basilica. It is one of the largest churches in the world and so spectacular it left us almost speechless. It is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites and can hold up to 60,000 people. Today was a remarkable and memorable day for us in beautiful Roma.
