We spent much of today at probably the two most iconic monuments in Rome: the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill. And we had the unique opportunity to visit the lowest and highest levels of the Colosseum - areas that have only recently been opened to the public and will only be open for tours until the end of the month. Mike was so excited about today that he barely needed the alarm clock this morning.
We arrived at the Colosseum just as it was opening so we could avoid the crowds and get a look around before our tour started later in the morning. Its a remarkable structure and to think that it was built in 80 AD and still stands just makes it that much more amazing. After about an hour, our tour started and it was worth every cent. I know its probably boring to just read facts that you can find on the internet, but I'm going to list some interesting things we learned anyway:- The Colosseum isn't actually named "The Colosseum". The real name is "The Flavian Amphitheater". Its called the Colosseum as a nickname after the giant statue (you could say 'colossal') of the Emperor Nero that was located just outside of the theater. The statue was 37 meters (over 100 feet) tall.
- This Nero guy was something else. Supposedly he set fire to the city when he was emperor and decided to make much of the area that was destroyed his own. At the end of the day, he owned more than a quarter of the city land. After he died, the government that followed took back some of the land, such as the area where the Colosseum is now located, and made it a public space. All the shows (and food, for some time) at the Colosseum were free to the public.
- There was a wooden platform on which all the gladiator contests and other spectacles were performed. There was sand on it to make it easier to clean up the bloody mess that was often left behind. In Latin the word for sand is "arena", which is why we call it an arena. Also, the floor was full of trap doors. The gladiators never knew which animal (or person) they would be fighting, or which door they would come out of.
- A gladiator only fought three or four times a year (the rest of the year they were training). And they only found out the afternoon before that they were "on" for the next day. The night before their fight they were thrown a "last supper" for them and their friends (in case it might actually be their last). Most times, they would enter the arena through an underground tunnel that connected the Colosseum to a smaller arena next door where they would train.
- When the Colosseum was opened, there was a 100-day celebration. During which 2,000 men and 9,000 animals were killed. During the time the Colosseum was used, some shows lasted longer than that (some up to 250 days long) - my question: didn't people have to go to work back then??
- When we were in the underground portion of the Colosseum, we got to see where water was brought into the arena for nautical shows. The slaves that worked there would flood the area overnight, and ships that were stored in the underground area would slowly float out of their "dry docks" into the arena for the show.
- After the Christians took over the Roman Empire, they put the cabash on the inhumane gladiator spectacles. The last spectacle was some time around 550 AD and historians have pretty good proof of this based on the remnants of food that they found in the arena (they also figured out what times of year the Colosseum was used based on the food that people ate). After the Colosseum wasn't in use anymore, people sort of forgot about it. It was considered somewhat of a quarry for materials that were used to build other things in town (like St. Peters Basilica). The area where the Colosseum is located was no longer in the city center and became a rural area where cows grazed. It wasn't completely uncovered until the 1930's.
Ok. Enough data. After we finished our tour, we made our way to the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. I won't go into a lot of detail about these sites except for three small items:- The Roman Emperors built their palaces on Palatine Hill and ruled the empire from this area for 300 years. The English word "palace" comes from Palatine Hill.
- Archeologists recently made a new discovery. They unearthed what looks like a huge winch on Palatine Hill and they believe that this winch was used to rotate Emperor Nero's rotating dining room. Yes, you read that correctly. I said rotating dining room.
- I am totally impressed by the power of oral history, even when it sounds crazy. There is a story about two brothers (Romulus and Remus) that were abandoned after their mom was executed and were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by a shephard who cared for them. Romulus ended up killing his brother and built some huts within a square wall up on what is now Palatine Hill, creating Rome (Romulus, Rome, get it?). Anway, this happened oh, about 850 BC. The first emperor to build a palace on Palatine Hill did so explicitly because he believed (without any proof) that this was where Romulus had created the city. Low and behold - in 1940 archeologists discovered remains of huts underground that continue to confirm the legend.
We spent about six hours at these site and finally went to get some lunch before going to our last stop for the day - the National Museum where we saw a lot of statues, frescoes, mosaics, coins, and jewelery. After another long day on our feet we made it home, cooked dinner, and put our feet up.
Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:
Mike - Creme Caramel e Stracciatella
Aviva - Cioccolato e Amarena (what gelateria doesn't have menta???)
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