Il Colosseo

On Thursday we decided to be real tourists and see the Coliseum in Rome- a 2,000 year old amphitheater that you have definitely heard of before so I definitely don't need to give any more of an introduction. :)

So we got up and ate our cereal for breakfast and headed in that direction. 

We were going to go with a group, but the group got split up so it was just Jeremy, this guy from South Africa, and me. More on that if we talk in person. 

The key to seeing the Coliseum is to get the ticket across the street at the rest of the ruin site. The Palatine Hill and Roman Forum are two connected sites, and the ticket is €12 to see all 3 sites, only the line is waaaay shorter if you get it there instead of at the Coliseum. Then you go around the ticket line at the Coliseum and straight in!

So we got to the Palatine Hill and got our tickets, and made our way through the 14-acre site first. 

The entrance. 

Aquaducts. Seriously-- soooo cool! An outside pipe that could transport water over hundreds of miles. Amazing!!!!

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the 7 hills that Rome was built on. It is assumed to be the site of the original Roman settlement, and became the site of the residences of many Roman emperors including Augustus, Tiberius, and Domitian. It is actually the origin of the word "palace." Here are just some pictures of it for you- I don't know too much about it. Mostly we just walked around and took it all in, but I'll fill in any information that I have along the way. 

An ancient fresco. How did this survive this long?!?!

The Stadium of Domitian- actually not a stadium but more of a garden for royalty. 

Rome peeking over the ruins

A fountain that was described in some writings that have been discovered. So we know now that this was the site of massive feasts and parties around this fountain. 

40 meters below this palace is the Roman Forum- the center of ancient Roman life. It was a market place, city center, and political hub. 

The main road. 2,000 years ago it was lined with shops and homes. 

Remains of the Basilica, which has been mostly destroyed and looted since ancient times. 

The emperor's seat in the Basilica. 

All of this really made me want to watch Hercules, by the way. 

Looking out over the ruins. 

Temple to Saturn

Us at the ruins :)

Ok enough of that. I'll tell you more about it if you're interested, but I want to show you the Coliseum!

We finished all those ruins in a little over 2 hours. We got a sandwich at a little stand on the street and walked 5ish minutes over to the Coliseum. 

It was magnificent. 

So as you probably know, this was the site of gladiator battles, public executions, and other games and competitions. It was also filled with water and used for naval competitions and other displays before the basement (I'm sure  there's a technical term) was built. 

The floor of the arena was wooden, so its long gone. Under that was a system of corridors, cages, elevators, trap doors... Everything needed to put on the shows. 

There was one section where the floor and seats have been recreated. 

There were also some old details on display, including a sign that read "Area"- meaning arena or amphitheater. 

This is the coolest "graffiti" I've ever seen- fans would carve images and names of their favorite gladiators into stone. 

It was just really cool to walk around and imagine thousands of people cheering on crazy events; people and animals being killed as citizens and emperors watched and yelled. Two thousand years ago. Right here. 

All of that was a good 4-5 hours an we were exhausted. We walked back to the hostel and went and got pizza just down the street again. We called it an early night- I needed rest after all that!

I know that a lot of these sights are recreated or refurbished, and a lot of it isn't the exact stone that Roman slaves put down or whatever, but still! It is an amazing place to be. The center of ancient, and yet still modern, civilization. It was a very cool day despite how badly my feet hurt by the end! Definitely worth it. 

<3