Ancient Rome
Rome, Italy

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By Pat Hunter
May 7, 2003

If you wish to visit places outside the centre of Rome, such as the Vatican, the Borghese Gardens and the picturesque suburb of Tivoli, there is a cheap and very efficient transport system.

However, since most of the other important sites are reasonably close together, you should go on foot in order not to miss other interesting places off the beaten track.

Before I briefly describe the principal attractions, I advise you to guard your possessions against gangs of professional thieves who operate on buses, the metro, and anywhere else crowded. As I know from bitter experience, they can steal items from a zipped bag without you being aware of it. Also be wary of men dressed as Roman soldiers who invite you to sit for a photograph while they pose around you. Not only is it taken with your camera, they then demand an exorbitant amount for the privilege.

Foremost of the seven hills is the Capitoline (above), graced by statues of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the divine twins Castor and Pollux. From there you get a panoramic view of the Roman Forum. Contrary to popular belief, it and other ancient places were not destroyed by barbarians, but by medieval noblemen, including Popes, who appropriated the precious marble to build palaces and churches.

Although some parts of the Forum (below, left), are presently closed for excavation, you can see the original Senate House and walk on the smooth basalt flagstones of the Via Sacra (right), along which Roman generals led their troops in triumphal processions.

In the heart of the Forum is Julius Caesar’s temple, raised on the spot where his body was cremated five days after his murder on the Ides of March, 44 BC. Even today, locals and tourists bring floral tributes. (I laid the red roses shown below on March 15, 2003).

At the far end of the Forum is a stone amphitheatre that could seat 50,000 spectators. It was nicknamed the Colosseum because a huge gilded statue of the infamous Emperor Nero once stood nearby, but was actually built by the Flavian dynasty of emperors towards the end of the 1st century AD.

Note: Although gladiatorial fights and wild beast shows were always popular, most Romans preferred to attend chariot races held in the Circus Maximus. This was a wooden structure built in Republican times, and still holds the record for accommodating at least 200,000 people. Unfortunately, nothing is left now except a grassy outline of the course, but it’s easy to imagine the contestants careering around it amid noisy encouragement.

The Pantheon (above), begun during the reign of the Emperor Augustus and embellished by subsequent rulers, has walls and floor lined with marble of many different hues. Unusually, the only source of light for the interior comes from an 8 metre wide opening in the top of the concrete dome. The dome itself has a diameter of 43 metres, and is 22 metres high. How it was constructed without supports remains a mystery. Michelangelo was so inspired by it that he used it as a model for the one he designed for St Peter’s Basilica.