Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

After leaving the colosseum, I headed across the road to the Roman Forum, having to wait in a queue of people with tickets until I could enter. It did not take very long but was a bit annoying to have to re-queue but I entertained myself until I could finally enter. As with the colosseum, I had downloaded the free audio guide of the roman forum from Rick Steve's website. 

The Roman Forum is a rectangular plaza surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings.

Above is the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, the largest building of the Roman Forum built in 312 AD. The basilica is a marvel of Roman engineering as at the time of its construction it was the largest structure to be built

It was a lot of fun walking through all the ruins and seeing them in person. You can touch them, they aren't hidden behind glass or behind ropes.

Above and below the Temple of Romulus.

Above is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, started in 141 AD by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, he dedicated the temple to his deceased and deified wife, Faustina the Elder. When Antonius Pius died, the temple was re-dedicated to join the two deities by Antonius'  successor, Marcus Aurelius.

Above is the Temple of Julius Caesar, built in 29 AD. Julius Caesar was the first resident of Rome to be deified and so honoured with a temple by his adopted son Augustus. 

Above the Temple of Castor and Pollux, built in 495 BC and dedicated to the twin sons of Zeus and Leda.

Above is the Temple of Vesta, a circular temple, the entrance facing east to symbolize connection between Vesta's fire and the sun as sources of life.

This grassy area and the ruins behind was the House of the Vestal Virgins, located just behind the Temple of Vesta. A vestal virgin was a young girl consecrated to Vesta and vowed to chastity, sharing the charge of maintaining the sacred fire burning on the goddess's altar. A vestal virgin was sworn to celibacy for 30 years.

Above is the large Arch of Septimius Severus, an arch dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the victories against the Parthians.

Looking towards Palatine Hill, which stands 40 meters above the Roman Forum. Recent excavations of Palatine Hill show that people have lived there since approximately 10,000 BC. Many affluent Romans had their residences there as well as several emperors. The ruins of the palaces of Augustus, Tiberius and Domitian can be seen on the Hill.

Above the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis.  The stadium was built in 86 AD by the Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus as a gift to the people of Rome. It looks like you were once able to walk along the stadiums grassy area and you can see that it is kept manicured.

The view of the Colosseum and Roman Forum from Palatine Hill is amazing. You can see all over the ancient ruins and gives you an idea of what the people who lives on Palatine Hill saw when everything was in tact.

The visit to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill was a perfect start to my birthday. I had a really good time in all three areas of ancient Rome and I think the price is worth it but I recommend getting to the sites earlier as I saw a lot more people arriving and crowding the forum as I was making my way to the exit. 

Colosseum

I woke up early and walked for the Colosseum from my hostel, wanting to arrive as it was opening so that there would not be much of a queue. At first I thought to get tickets at the Roman Forum area and go into the Colosseum without the line later on but the line going into the Colosseum seemed to be moving a lot faster so I headed over and within ten minutes I was inside the ancient amphitheatre.

It was my birthday and I was walking through the 1,946 year old building. It was a lot older than me that was for sure. Armed with a Rick Steve's audio tour on my ipod, I walked along taking in my surroundings and trying to absorb the sights I had only ever seen images of.

The Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built and is made of sand and concrete. The Colosseum could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators. Anfield in Liverpool can hold 45,522 spectators though thats soon to be increased with the stadium expansion but it puts things in perspective.

There of course used to be a floor to the colosseum, now the underground structure or hypogeum is revealed. The arena is 83 meters by 48 meters and was covered by wood and then sand. The hypogeum area was used to cage animals and hold gladiators and other fighters before the fights.

One the upper area of the colosseum, you get a nice view of the surrounding area like the Roman Forum which would be my next stop. Entrance to the colosseum costs €12 and includes entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

I really enjoyed my wander around the colosseum and was glad I downloaded the free audio guide from Rick Steve's website as it did help me understand more about the building. Visiting made me want to watch Gladiator but I haven't had a chance to watch the film just yet.

St. Peter's Basilica

Just before you enter St. Peter's Basilica there is an ornate ceiling welcoming you in. As you enter the size of the size of the basilica hits you. Walking forward on your right is Michelangelo's Pietà, the only work he ever signed. It went on tour to New York for the 1964-65 World Fair. The poor statue has had a hard time in the past when a mentally disturbed geologist walked into the chapel and hacked at the sculpture while shouting "I am Jesus Christ; I have risen from the dead!" He removed Mary's arm, knocked off a chunk of her nose, chipped one of her eyelids. She looks pretty good after her restoration and is now well protected behind glass.

The church is one of the largest in the world and was consecrated November 18, 1626. It is 730 feet long and 500 feet wide. It's height is 448 feet.  It's just so massive and the ceilings are so high and ornate. Everywhere you look there is some detail and tomb of a Pope.

Below was the one of the things I found most interesting in the church. It is St. Peter's Baldachin which is a large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy which stands at 20 feet which is like a six story building. It's huge. It fits nicely in the big church. Designed by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who has featured in a few of my blog posts now with his sculpted works.  The source of the bronze used to make the structure is unknown with some saying it came from the bronzed roof of the Pantheon though Pope Urban said the bronze from the Pantheon was used to make canons and the bronze for the baldachin came from Venice.

More Barberini Bee's in the photo below on the baldachin.

Leaving the basilica I could not resist taking a photo of the Swiss Guard. I felt bad but I am sure they are more than used to getting their photo taken by all the tourists and pilgrims that find their way to the church. I find their costumes funny but I am sure I would not find them very funny if they were to get mad at me. If you want to be a Swiss Guard you must be single, Catholic and Swiss, of course.

I headed out onto St. Peter's Square which was designed by Bernini. The obelisk was erected a hundred years before Bernini created the square.

I had to find the West/Ponente tile that is in St. Peter's Square that is featured in the Dan Brown's Angel and Demons novel/film.

I left the Vatican, adding a new country to my list of countries I have visited as the Vatican City is the smallest.