Before we continue with the regularly scheduled content, let's pause and talk about the best dogsitter in all of Spain: Jessi! While we are off traveling Europe, Miss Jessi takes Hugo and Reynolds on long walks and takes the cutest pictures of our babes. Knowing they are happy while we are gone makes traveling so much easier!
Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled content! This time around, Bryan and I decided to write this blog together. My text will look like this, while Bryan's will look like this.
Sunday, January 14: Colosseum & Roman Forum
Bryan and I woke up to a text from Mom and Dad, saying they were already up and getting breakfast, so we got ready quickly and then joined them for a bite to eat! Then it was time to hit the ground running! Bryan got us on the Metro and down towards the Coliseum quickly!
Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore
As we made the 12-minute walk from our hotel to the Colosseum, we walked past Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, our first stop from the golf cart tour from yesterday. We checked in with our tour company, Crown Tours, and met up with our tour guide Carolina (pronounced Care-oh-leen-ah, not like Carolina.) At 11:00 am we set off for our first stop, the Roman Forum!
Foro Romano: Roman Forum
For those wondering what a Forum is, you're probably like me in thinking it's a place for discussion or debate, but it just means it's a city square. The Roman Forum is the largest of all of the Forums found in Rome and is considered to be the beating heart of the ancient city of Rome.
Tempio di Antonino e Faustina: Antoninus and Faustina Temple
The next stop on our Forum tour was the Tempio di Antonino e Faustina, a temple that was dedicated to the emperor Antoninus Pius' wife when she died and was given goddess status in 141 AD. Then, when her husband died in 161 AD, the senate added another giant stone on top of the existing temple to dedicate the temple to him as well. Nothing like having a temple dedicated to your beloved to complete a true Roman love story!
Tempio di Romolo
The next temple we passed was dedicated to the son of Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius, a self-proclaimed emperor. In 309 AD, the temple was dedicated to Valerius Romulus, who died prematurely and was given deity status.
You may notice a pattern here: when high-ranking officials died, the Senate held the power to name the deceased a god or goddess. Once given the title, temples could be dedicated to their worship and memory. This practice continued throughout the Roman World until the adoption of Christianity.
Casa delle Vestali: House of the Vestals
The next stop on the tour was the House of Vestals, the residence of the Vestal Virgins at the foot of Palatine Hill. The House of the Vestals was located adjacent to the temple of Vesta, the Roman virgin goddess of the hearth, family, and home.
Vestal Virgins were selected before puberty to become priestesses and dropped all legal ties and obligations to their birth family. If found to have lost their chastity, they were buried alive, and their partner was publicly beaten to death. Most Vestals retired in their late 30s or early 40s with a healthy pension and were then free to marry.
Palatine Hill
Next is Palatine Hill, home to the residences of the Roman Emperor. The palace complex on the top of Palatine Hill overlooks the Circus Maximus to the south and is a conglomerate of numerous palaces: Domus Augustana, Domus Flavia, Domus Augusti, Domus Severiana, and also a temple to Apollo, Roman god of the Sun. One of the coolest parts of the tour was getting to see the marble and colorful tile floors that remained; we got to walk on the same floors as Roman emperors!
You may also remember, that we stood on the opposite side of the Circus Maximus yesterday during the golf cart tour. Seeing Palatine Hill from down below made today's experience that much more impressive!
Basilica di Massenzio: Basilica of Maxentius
As we continued our tour, we visited Basilica di Massenzio, which was originally three times bigger than what remains today. This early church used to be covered in colorful marble and was used as a multi-purpose building for the early civilization. Eventually, it was transformed and used as an early-world medical clinic for the people. This is one of the earliest forms of organized medical facilities in the world! How cool is that?!
On a terrace atop Palatine Hill, we were able to get fantastic views of the Roman Forum to the north, the Victor Emmanuel II Monument to the west and the Colosseum to the east.
Arco di Tito: Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus is the smallest and oldest arch in the Roman Forum and was built in the First Century AD to commemorate Rome's defeat of the Jews in Israel. After the Romans sacked the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, they used the treasure they stole from the temple to fund the construction of many buildings, including this arch and the Coliseum. This arch inspired the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!
Arco di Costantino: Arch of Constantine
The largest and newest Arch, the Arch of Constantine, stands just a few hundred meters outside of the Colosseum and was built in 315 AD in honor of the emperor Constantine for his victory over the previous emperor Maxentius.
Colosseum
As the day went on, it was finally time to go inside THE Colosseum!!! As we waited in the quick-moving line for tour groups, our guide continued to share interesting facts while showing us pictures of what the area looked like at the peak of the Roman World.
Just across the street from the Colosseum lies the ruins of the Temple of Venus & Rome. According to archeologists, a large 100-foot bronze statue was between the Colosseum and the Temple; during the sack of Rome in the 5th century, the statue was destroyed and the bronze repurposed (probably to make weapons.)
Ok, so now for the big ticket item of the day: the Colosseum! The Colosseum was built in just eight years, being completed in 80 AD! It could hold anywhere from 50,000 to 80,000 spectators.
We entered the center of the Colosseum through the gate where the Gladiators entered; as we walked in, we were stunned at the size and grandeur of this ancient arena! It's unbelievable that something so massive, functional, and long-lasting could be built in just 8 years. In today's world, this would've been a 20-year project and we have modern technology to help us.
One of the cool things about the Colosseum is that it has a basement with tons of different tunnels and rooms; to make things exciting for the fans, they would bring in exotic animals like lions, tigers, and rhinos and raise them into the arena from the basement through trapdoors. At one moment you have gladiators fighting to the death, and the next moment they now have to fight a group of tigers. They would even flood the basement with water and have reenactments of famous sea battles. It's incredible what the Romans were able to construct thousands of years ago!
We also learned that part of the upper Coliseum walls collapsed due to earthquakes. Since then, additional measures have been added to stabilize the remaining walls and to keep this magnificent structure standing.
We then made our way to the second level of the Colosseum where normal Roman citizens would witness these brutal games. You may notice the white marble seats in the photos below: those seats were reserved for Senate members. There are written records of a tiger jumping into the Senate section during a match from the main arena floor! Can you imagine?!
At 2:30 pm it was time to say goodbye to our fantastic tour guide and make our way out of the Colosseum.
Pizzeria alle Carrette
We had worked up an appetite after a full morning of Roman ruins, so it was time to find lunch! Thanks to Kelly's food recommendations, we headed to Pizzeria alle Carrette for €9 pizzas.
We gave Bryan the power to choose our drink and he chose well! None of us had ever enjoyed sparkling red wine, but boy was it delicious! And it was the perfect pair with our killer pizzas. Between the margarita pizza and lasagna that Mom and Dad split, and the sausage & proscutto pizzas Bryan and I tried, we left with very full tummies and ready for more afternoon exploring!
Chiesa di Santa Maria ai Monti
Remember back in Cadiz when I stumbled into the random church and Mom and Dad were a little nervous that we weren't allowed to enter? Well, they got over that feeling throughout their visit as we wandered into another open church just to see what we could see.
Stunning.
I'm telling you, churches are ruined for us for the rest of Europe after this trip. These tiny Catholic churches have the most stunning ceiling paintings. We walk in and are immediately taken by the beauty!
Sac
Earlier in Rome, Mom mentioned that she would like to get a purse as her souvenir for the trip, so after visiting a few different shops, we stumbled upon SAC. With the help of the saleslady, I found the perfect brown leather bag for Mom! The straps of the purse pull through and also double as a backpack-style purse and I LOVED it.
Lucky for me, they had the exact same bag in red. Y'all know me- red is my color!!! So Mom and I left the store with matching bags to remember our trip by! Nothing like an Italian purse to commemorate our trip!
Libreria Libraccio Roma - Via Nazionale: Ibs+Libraccio
While Mom and I were shopping for purses, Bryan was tasked with finding a bookstore. Don't worry, it only took us three bookstores before we found our Italian copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone! Bryan and I were pleasantly surprised to see the cover art matches our Thailand copy.
The Gelatist Via Torino 25
As we made our way back to the hotel to drop our purchases, it was finally time to complete our Roman food tour with scoops of gelato! Mom was quick to choose the chocolate cherry flavor, Dad was in heaven with a Snickers option, and Bryan went with cookies & cream and coffee (for me,) because I had to have lemon and mixed berry!
There are many great qualities in my wife, but choosing ice cream flavors has always caused tension in our relationship. Her two favorites are lemon and coffee, but as anyone with any common sense knows, those two can't go together. So that means, I am stuck with getting coffee while she gets her tart sorbet. Good thing I enjoy it too!
I admit, I married up in the ice cream department.
Then my taste buds took a trip to heaven. There's a reason gelato is always on the top of people's foodie tours in Italy and this stuff SMACKED. (We even loved it so much, we had to come back later in our trip!)
Museo e Cripta dei Frati Cappuccini: Capuchin Friars Crypt
After dropping our purchases at the hotel, we were off for an evening of creepiness. Now, I planned this evening knowing it was WAY out of all of our comfort zones, and I couldn't wait to get a glimpse at my parents' faces when they saw our next stop: The Capuchin Crypt.
From the outside, it looks like any other church. Once we entered and paid the €10 entry fee, we were each handed a headset for the audio tour of the little museum. Dad was clearly over the tours as he found benches to sit and listen as the narrator talked about these unique Friars who give up everything (including access to coats in the winter) to suffer like Christ.
This was all cool, but then it was time to enter the main attraction: the Crypts.
Now, forwarning, we weren't supposed to take pictures here. But you know me: I'm a risktaker (and I knew nobody would believe what we saw if there wasn't photographic proof!) It's said that a creative monk was "atoning" down in the crypts, dug up the bodies, and used the bones to "decorate." All I can say is he must have lost his mind while being down there to have created this "masterpiece."
The walls and ceiling were covered in decorative patterns created entirely out of bones. Even the light fixtures were adorned with bones. This place was beyond eerie!!!
Take a look below and see if you can locate sculls, ribs, vertebrae & pelvis bones:
Was I wrong!? This place was beyond creepy! Well worth a stop- and no pre-booking was required. We went an hour before they closed and had more than enough time to listen to the audio tour and see everything in the crypts. Highly recommend stopping here for anyone planning a trip to Rome! It's very memorable!
Signorvino
Once we exited the crypts, we were ready for a drink! Just down the street was a wine bar, Signorvino, where Mom and I ordered a glass of wine, Bryan ordered an Aperol Spritz, and my Dad stuck to water. Alongside a little dessert, we enjoyed sitting and chatting!
After a quick train ride down the street, we made it back to our hotel! Mom was shocked at the glass cases in the Metro that pointed out Roman ruins that were discovered when the Metro was being dug. You can't go anywhere in the city without seeing some kind of ruins from the Ancient Romans!
We ended our day with a game night in Mom and Dad's room before calling it a night and preparing for our last full day in the city!
But this trip isn't over yet! Be on the lookout for the final part: Vatican City!
--Katie & Bryan
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