Rome - the Colosseum and surrounds

Following our visit to Rome in 2015 where we saw many things quickly we decided this trip should be a little more focused with a day spent at the Colosseum, Palantine and Forum. The Colosseum was inaugurated by Titus in AD 80 where the most popular spectacle for the 50,000 crowd were gladiatorial combats. 

Inside the structure was complex. A floor (a part replica can be seen at bottom left) covered an array of corridors and rooms that accommodated animals, slaves, sets etc. Shows included hunting animals, animals v slaves as well as gladiators who were usually slaves fighting to win their freedom. After some 400 years the demand for such blood thirsty spectacles diminished and the Colosseum was abandoned and only used as a source of materials for new buildings such as the Vatican.

Outside is the impressive Titus arch (built by his brother Emperor Domitian in AD 81) 

with its remarkable detail still largely intact.

The view from the second level of the Colosseum to the temple of Venus and Roma at the entrance to the Forum.

Everywhere you look there is one historical building after another. It really becomes quite overwhelming, take this shot:

In the foreground are the arches of the Bascilica di Massenzio e Costantino with the small dome of the Temple of Romulus behind and behind that the portico of the AD 141 temple of Antonius and Fasutina. The arch in the middle distance is of Septimius Severus. By comparison the chariot in the far distance is the top of the Vittoriano (the monument to Victor Emmanuel II the first King of Italy) a relatively new building built in 1911.

I rest my case……

Next to this site is the Palatine that held the first square built by Romulus in 753 BC. The ruins are more dilapidated so unless you are a student of archaeology…..

One fallen column had a chip off the bottom. The colour of the marble in its un-weathered state was remarkable. When built it must have been very grand.

After some lunch we meandered our way towards the car passing Saint Ignazio di Loyola.

The ceiling was elaborately painted and rather than lying on the floor thoughtfully a mirror has been provided so it can be easily viewed standing.

Outside the rather plain Templo Adriano an entertainer had decided to liven things up. The giggles of children and colours through the hundreds of bubbles all helped to enliven what was an otherwise quite drab square. 

Our meanderings took us past the much photographed Fountain of Trevi. This was a delight given that during our last visit it was being cleaned and was dry. It is huge.

Its size can be better appreciated when viewed with the awed crowds.

Fortunately the car was parked underground near to the Metro and Spanish steps. There was a great bar at the top which we could not walk past. Ginger Ale for me (driving) and Pink Negroni (so called because of the addition of pink peppercorns) for Helen. The latter went down so well that a second was insisted on as was paying the bill – an excellent outcome to a brilliant day.