My two months in Europe have flown by. I’ve loved the places I visit and Rome is an absolute highlight. But I am ready for something completely new.
However my flight is overnight so I still have all day in Rome! And today is the day to see one of the highlights- the Colosseum.
Wanting to fix their reputation after the craziness of Emperor Nero, Vespasian tore down much of his grand Golden Palace and built the colosseum to entertain the citizens. He drained Nero’s lake and had it built beside the Palatine hill.
I took a special tour that includes the underground areas. You see where the animals and gladiators waited for their battles, the remains of the impressive elevator system to quickly pop them up in the middle of the action. And most impressively the remains of the original pump system is still there. The amphitheater originally was able to be flooded and they would hold mock navel battles.
All of the marble is gone, but an impressive amount of stone still remained. The main walls all still remain though most of the outer facade is gone, one side braced with brick to help protect its stability. There are 80 arches around the circumference of the building, each was numbered and citizens would be given reusable tokens to know which entrance to use to help organize the crowds.
After my tour and walking around for a bit to look at all the views, I met my mother for lunch, then we went to see Castle San Angelo. It’s an impressive building. The original was built by Hadrian for his mausoleum, but the church took it over and used it as a fortress, hideaway, prison, and now it’s a museum. The views of Rome from the top are wonderful, and it’s interesting to look and see the elevated passageway built so the Popes could sneak out of the Vatican if attacked. Or in some cases, sneak their mistresses in.
After a final hug and a good bye to my mom, I headed off to the airport for my flight. And in the morning- I’ll be in Africa.
No comments:
Post a Comment