Dear Fossils,
Our first morning in Rome dawned bright and clear and we headed to meet our guide near the Colosseum. The purpose of today was to take a leisurely walking tour of ancient Rome in the morning and then a tour of some of the major sites in the afternoon to get our bearings so that we could go back and visit at our leisure with some background information.
Our guide was an extremely knowledgable archeologist of German descent but brought up in Italy, so she brought a very academic approach to the explanations of what we were seeing in the parts of Rome where the excavations had occurred, under Mussolini's direction no less, back in the late 1930's. He believed that Italians should embrace and be very proud of their ancient roman history.
First stop the Colosseum. Did you know it was only open 20 days per year and though it seated 50,000, this didn't mean too many of the great unwashed got to see what was going on. 30,000 seats were reserved for the noblemen and senators. 10,000 seats for their wives who were required to sit separately in the "Ladies Lounge" leaving only 10,000 for the common man.
According to our guide there are lots of myths and misunderstandings about the Colosseum. Christians were not fed to the lions here for the entertainment of the Romans. Rather that misunderstanding is a product of Hollywood or the Catholic Church's propaganda unit trying to establish some support for the Christianity and catholicism against the Romans, who in fact, believed and tolerated many religions until the Emperor Nero who was more than a tad mad.
Also that whole thumbs up/thumbs down thing is also a fallacy as the gladiators were highly trained and highly paid athletes (and soldiers) and as such Rome couldn't afford to have them knocked off on the whim of the Emperor. It is estimated that only 5% actually died in combat and that was more accidental than anything. Rather they had referees who stage managed the whole ritualistic fighting between gladiators which sounds a lot more like the World Wrestling Federation bouts than genuine mortal combat!!
A day at the Colosseum went more like, First Up: Gladiators fight wild beasts (no contest as poor animals transported from Africa and Asia were hardly up for a serious blue) Lunchtime: over lunch, in a Wimbledon equivalent of strawberries and cream, the Romans ate and watched the pre-match entertainment, which was putting all the nasty criminals to death. A real morbid Lionel Ritchie/Meatloaf event. Then the real game was the. Ritualistic fighting between Gladiators, but as previously described - all very stage managed with each Gladiator having signature moves!!!!!!
We moved onto the Republican & Imperial Forums, Pallantine Hill, Circus Maximus etc. Not one for old stones and the need to use one's imagination, I was totally immersed in how fantastic this was and how talented these people were. From here we headed to The Pantheon, the one remaining Ancient Roman Temple that remains, inside at least, how it was two thousand years ago. It is without a doubt both Siobhan and my favorite building because of both it's beauty and it's age. The original front door, still used to this day, weighs seven (7) tonne.
We passed many beautiful points of reference as we wandered through Rome, Piazza Nuovona, Piazza Campo di Fiori, Spanish Steps and the magnificent Trevi Fountain - all of which we shall revisit at our leisure over the next ten days. To get an overview of when they were built and why and by whom was a wonderful basis upon which we could explore this gorgeous City.
Our day of walking passed in what seemed like minutes but by the time we headed home after about six hours we were stonkered. I think that I am at least three inches shorter than when I first began this holiday !! We picked up some yummy supplies and headed home to our beautiful apartment overlooking The Tiber, where we relaxed and absorbed what we had seen and learnt this wonderful day. Tomorrow we head to the Vatican to see how St Peter is doing in his tomb under the alter of his very own Basilica.
Call me cynical, but I don't think some Prime Minister or President of Australia in two thousand years time, when deciding to dig up Hoppers Crossing or the Docklands is going to have that much to rave about!!!!!
May your only ruins be stones and bricks......
Kelly & Siobhan xxxxx
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