Ancient Rome

We decided to spend the final two days of Emily’s visit in Rome. It made for a convenient return trip to the airport for them and meant that we didn’t have to try to find another time to see the city. While it is true that they were interested in seeing most of the same sites as our other guests, they also had a number of different requests and a bit more time to get everything done. So, we packed up our bags and took the mid-morning train from Viterbo, arriving at Ostiense a few minutes before noon and making our way by subway to the Hotel Orlanda near Termini, the main train station for Rome. We headed out to lunch and a trip to the ancient sites, stopping along the way to mail some postcards. Yes, they might eventually get there in anywhere from one to six weeks. We do have the pictorial evidence, but don’t hold your breath waiting.

We spent quite a bit of time near the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Here is a picture of the ladies in front of the Arch of Constantine with the Flavian Amphitheater in the background.

Instead of just cruising past the ruins, we decided to climb the Capitoline Hill and saw some of the forum which we don’t usually get much of a look at, even at those times when we go into the ruins themselves. Here we have the Portico of the Dei Consenti, near the base of the Capitoline museum.

Next is the Column of Phocis, the remains of one of the individual columns and pieces of temples which jut up from the sunken area of the dig site.

Finally, a picture of the Arch of Septimius Severus, one of the three arches in the area. The other two are the Arch of Constantine, pictured earlier, and the Arch of Titus, shown in a post from last year.

After our trip around the forum, we stopped at the Theater of Marcellus which has some interesting “modern” apartments on top of the original theater structure. Modern is relative, since the living space was added in the 16^th century. The land for the theater was cleared by Julius Caesar, the building was done on the orders of Augustus and it is named in honor of Augustus’ favorite nephew who died before its completion.

To round out our tour of the ancient sites for the day, we stopped by the Pantheon, but were denied entry due to an imminent mass which none of us desired to see. We finished off by visiting Piazza Navona, now famous for its fountains and Christmas fair, but originally the site of the Stadium of Domitian and was originally used for athletic contests, such as foot races. We headed back to our hotel, footweary and ready for dinner.