The Coliseum, begun in A.D. 72 and inaugurated in A.D. 80.
Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica. Inside the Basilica is Michelangelo's Pieta. I was here Aug. 31, 1999.Verdict: So, admittedly, Rome wasn't one of my favorite European cities. Maybe it was just the experience I had there, but the people weren't as friendly, the city wasn't as clean, etc. Even so, with everything Rome houses and represents.... gotta do it before you die! Page 192.
UPDATE: Thankfully I had the opportunity to go back to Rome in November 2021. Twenty-two years makes a big difference! I was older, had more money to see and do more things and the maturity to have more appreciation for everything I was seeing and spent more time in the city this time around. So here are my updated pics and my updated verdict:
The Colosseum
The Arch of Constantine. This arch marks one of the great turning points in history - the military coup that made Christianity mainstream. In 312 AD, Emperor Constantine defeated his rival Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Constantine supposedly saw a vision of a cross in the sky the night before this battle and then credited his victory to this vision. Constantine became sole emperor and legalized Christianity. So, with this one battle, an obscure Jewish sect with just a small number of followers became the state-sanctioned religion of the entire Western world.
Notice the Colosseum in the background.
The Colosseum was started around 72 AD under the emperors of the Flavian family. Vespasian broke ground on it and his son Titus inaugurated it. Titus's son Domitian finished it. The whole thing from start to finish was completed within 10 years.
The Romans pioneered the use of the rounded arch, which helped them build on this grand scale.
When it was in use, there were 80 ground-level entrances and tickets were pieces of broken pottery which listed your entrance, section, row and seat number. The venue could hold 50,000 fans. Normally, that's what it feels like today as well for those "fans" viewing this awesome site..... but not for us! Only a handful of other people anywhere in sight. How lucky are we?!
What you see here is a complex, maze-like set of pathways that existed underneath the floor. Back in the its heyday, this is where Gladiators would pace the floors before their fights, where employees would tend to the wild animals and where the set designers would prep for the next event.
It's a little sobering to think of the shear number of people who were killed in this arena. "Games" often pitted animals against animals, men against animals and gladiators squaring off against each other in mortal combat where the fight wasn't over until at least one of them was dead.
But gruesome history aside, today it is simply an amazing 2000 year old sight to behold. Especially when you have the place to yourself to explore.
After we left the Colosseum, we headed to the Roman Forum. Here is the Arch of Titus. This arch was built to commemorate the Roman victory over the province of Judaea (Israel) in AD 70.
This area was the heart of Rome. It was here that conquering generals would return in all their glory.
If you've ever dreamt of going to Rome and having the Colosseum and Vatican and Sistene Chapel all to yourself.... go off season (like November), and deep enough into a pandemic that things have reopened, but still in it enough that people aren't fully back to traveling. If you do, then the Colosseum will look like this. And it's pretty amazing.
Julius Caesar's body was burned on this spot after his assassination in 44 BC. May loved him. Some obviously hated him. But either way, it is indisputable that he personified the greatness of Rome.
From there, we went to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Pretty impressive.
You can see the two soldiers standing guard. The tomb, between the two soldiers, is beneath the goddess Roma. And above her is the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the first king of a unified Italy.
From there, we went to the Pantheon.
Sliding the mask down for a Pantheon selfie
The Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona.
Then we ate at Armandos! It is located right next to the Pantheon and was the best meal we had while in Rome! Two thumbs up all the way! Get reservations in advance and also... get the bruschetta caprese as an appetizer.... you won't be disappointed!
But save room for dessert!
We tried every gelato place in the city, or so it seemed! But our two favorites were 1) La Romana and 2) Giolitti.
Trevi fountain
And the Spanish Steps
The following day, we did Vatican City and the Sistene Chapel:
UPDATED VERDICT: Yes! Rome is one of the great cities of the world. It is the perfect blend of ancient wonders and modernity. Of history, religion, art and all things cultural and you get to do all of this with breaks full of home-made pasta and mouth-watering gelato!
You may not have the benefit of going at the tail end of a pandemic like we did, but I highly recommend going during "off" season or "shoulder" season if possible to avoid the crowds.
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