Last few days in Rome — The road liss traveled

I still had two more days in Rome, with one major tourist activity planned per day, the Colosseum and the Borghese Gallery. I was still keeping my ‘up at 6am’ schedule going, because it really is the best part of the day before the tourists and heat comes out. The next morning I decided I’d go photograph the Colosseum at sunrise. It’s actually somewhat difficult to get a good angle shooting the place because all the elevated places you’d want to be to capture the sun coming up behind the Colosseum are part of the Forum, which is all fenced off. But I still got something pretty good! From there I walked around the outside of the forum a bit, wandered through some more neighborhoods, stopped for a cappuccino and pastry, the usual stuff, and then hit the Capitoline Museum at 9am open, which is on the top of the hill overlooking the forum.

It was one of the first museums (possibly the first) in the world opening in 1734. It has a statue of Marcus Aurelius out front on a horse (a copy, the real one is inside) which survived the Christian destruction of many Roman statues because people thought it was the Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. It was a very nice museum (obviously museums in Rome set a very high bar) and hardly anyone there when it opened. Perfect. After that it was time for a quick bite at the market, some very tasty amatriana pasta, and a siesta. I ended just walking home, as usual. At first I really thought I was going to be taking the bus or the metro everywhere, which is part of why I stayed where I stayed, but the buses are hot, crowded, not always on time, there’s traffic etc, so if I have a 15 minute bus ride or a 20 minute walk, I’m walking. Even if it is 95 degrees outside.

well you can kinda see Marcus on his horse

After the nap I went to a church that was built on top a church that was built on top a church. So three levels, two below ground. Pretty interesting and a good way to beat the heat before making my way to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was the one place I was hoping to take a guided tour, because otherwise you’re just looking at a big old stadium and thinking hey that’s a nice looking old stadium. Which is what happened because the guided tours were all booked out. Although I did do my research on it ahead of time and learned some cool tidbits and saved some more stuff in my phone. One thing that surprised me was how often animals were involved, I guess 9,000 animals were killed in the 100 day opening ceremonies in 80 AD, and then 11,000 were killed in a festival in the next century. So yeah, they really liked killing animals, the more exotic and dangerous the better. At least the crowd didn’t like it when they killed stuff like elephants and giraffes.

After that it was off to Forum, which still has a lot buildings pretty well preserved and some that are just some columns still standing. Cool place, although it definitely takes some imagination in parts. But yeah, you do really get the feeling of impressive ancient Rome was at its zenith. After spending most of the afternoon in the sweltering heat it was time to take a shower, get some pizza, and find a sports bar to watch some Olympics. I will say eating dinner alone in Rome is kinda awkward. They don’t want to give you the outdoor tables which might be “reserved” because those are more in demand, and they don’t like one person taking up a two person table, so they throw you in the back of the restaurant, which I guess is the least desirable spot. Well whatever. I also decided I like the pasta better than the pizza in Italy.

The last day I did my usual early morning walk and then hopped on a bus to the far south part of town where I’d rent a bicycle to ride the Appian Way, which was one of the most important military roads into Rome, starting from 300 BC. On the route are some ruins, mausoleums, and churches with catacombs, as well as lots of pleasant rural scenery. I stopped in to do a catacomb tour, which was kinda neat, and also a good way to beat the heat, because the riding was hot as hell. In the afternoon it was off to the famous Borghese gallery, which hosts some of the most famous ancient sculptures in the world. It was pretty interesting, definitely a lot more intricate work going on in some of these big elaborate sculptures than the usual head and shoulders bust or the naked guy standing there sculpture. but I forgot about getting the audio guide, so I was flying blind for a lot of it. Anyway, I thought three full days in Rome was a good amount of time to see the main stuff without feeling too rushed. It really is a lovely city. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I was more of a history buff!

But I will say, one of the things that impressed me the most about Rome was how it was much much more than just a historic downtown district. It’s not like so many cities that have their lovely little old town tourist area and the rest of the place is kinda drab. Literally everywhere you go is full of history and amazing churches and sculptures, gated walls, catacombs, aqueducts, and just nice looking architecture and old buildings. It’s the whole city, a living history.

The Appian Way. You do not want to bike on the cobblestones!

Prosephina being abducted by Pluto and taken into the underworld (Bernini)

David about to take down Goliath (Bernini)

Daphne the nymph escapes Apollo’s advances by turning into a tree (Bernini again)

And these were just the shots I took walking around town…