Rome is a city of culture: the Vittorio Emanuele memorial,the Trajanus markets and the Jewish ghetto, the Spanish Stairs, Circus Maximus,
the Colosseum, the Forum Romanum and of course the Vatican. To relax, walk
along the Tiber river or visit the park Villa Borghese.

Rome, Roma in Italian, is a cosmopolitan city with3.8 million inhabitants. A city of culture, capital of Italy and seat of the
Vatican. It lies on the river Tevere (Tiber), on seven hills.

Since it became Italys capital in 1870, Rome has grownrapidly in size. This has caused problems because of the many archeological
sites: try and dig a tunnel for a subway when there are valuable archeological
finds everywhere in the ground.

I am at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino and amdesperately looking for the logo of the Italian railways (Æ’), when I suddenly
realize that the railway station probably is in a different building.

Outside the heat gets me. In August its 30 degreesCentigrade in Rome. Cabs offer their services, but I want to take the train. On
the other side of the road I notice the Italian Railways logo.

The train to Termini in downtown Rome takes almost 40minutes to get there. Not because of the distance, but because it doesnt pick
up speed on the way, as if it will stop again any minute.

Rome is huge city, but the historical center is relativelysmall. Its roughly between the Tevere (Tiber) river, Villa Borghese, Termini
train station and the Forum Romanum.

This is convenient, because it means that everything is atwalking distance. The Vatican is on the other side of the Tevere.

Before exploring the city I have a pizza slice in asnackbar. There are lots of these small eating places in Rome, where you can
have a sandwich, a slice of pizza and sometimes also spaghetti, eat in or take
out. And this for only a few euros.

On the Piazza della Republica I see the first big fountain.The four nude nymphs caused a scandal when the fountain was unveiled in 1901.
Each of the nymphs rests on some kind of water animal: a seahorse, a seasnake,
a swan and a weird frill-necked lizard.

The Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli, designed byMichelangelo, sits on this square.

From the outside its not all that impressive, because thefront has been kept simple. It looks as if the entrance was hewn from a rock.
Once inside, the basilica turns out to be very large and covered in colored
marble. The walls and ceiling have paintings on them and the floor is covered
with mosaics.

Vittorio Emanuele II Memorial

Nicknames: the bridalcake and the typewriter

The Vittorio Emanuele Memorial on the Piazza Venezia isdedicated to King Vittorio Emanuele II. This building is clearly newer than
other historical buildings in Rome. It was finished in 1911.

Everything about this memorial is gigantic. Built with whitemarble it has nicknames like the bridal cake and the
typewriter. In front of the building is a bronze horse on a pedestal with
a lenght of 12 meters. From the upper galeries of the memorial you can see the
Colosseum. On the other side are Trajanus Markets, with a few fora.

Just around the corner from the monument is Caesars Forum.Julius Caesar built the first imperial forum in Rome. It cost him a fortune to
buy the land and demolish the houses.

In the temple were statues of Caesar as well as Cleopatraand Venus. Only a stage and three columns remain of the temple. The forum
itself once was surrounded by a double row of columns, but a fire destroyed
most of it. The forum is not open to the public, but can be seen from the
street.

Trajanus Markets and the Jewishghetto

Everything was for sale here: silk,spices, fish and fruit

The Marcati Traianei (Trajanus Markets) were a complex ofstores and offices in the second century. Everything was for sale here: silk,
spices, fish and fruit.

The markets and the adjoining Forum Augusta and Forum diNerva used to form one large complex with the Forum Romanum on the other side
of the road. Mussolini had a road constructed on top of these ancient cultural
treasures, in order to have his army march there for his own glory (the Via
dellImpero, now Via dei Fori Imperiali).

When I try to walk around the whole complex, I end up in theformer Jewish ghetto.

During the Roman Empire Jews were highly respected for theirfinancial and medical talents.

Starting in 1556 Jews were forced to live in a walled-inarea in Rome, as decreed by Pope Paul IV. This was the beginning of a period of
intolerance toward Jews that lasted until mid-nineteenth century and started
again in the Second World War.

Of the ghetto itself only ruins remain. But there still is aJewish neighborhood where you can have an excellent kosher meal.

 

Wandering through Rome I all of a sudden come upon widestairs that are incredibly crowded. At first I think that people are waiting to
see a parade, but soon enoughI understand that these are the famous Spanish Stairs, a popular meeting place
for young people.

 

I walked by the Trevi Fountain in the daytime and now I comeback at night to see the way the fountain is illuminated. Its a
disappointment. I expected that this famous fountain would be in floodlights,
but the illumination is minimal.

At 9 PM the streets are as busy as in the daytime. This isthe time when most people go out for dinner in Rome.

A walk along the Tevere

In the middle of the river is asmall island

The Tevere (Tiber) winds through Rome. Its great to take awalk along its banks. The foot path is mostly in the shade, which is pleasant
when its hot. In some places you can approach the river at close distance.

In the middle of the river is Tiber island, a smallisland with a few houses, a hospital and a church.

Rome is noisy because of all the traffic, but this part isalmost like a village. From the other side of the river its clearly visible
that the island causes a little rapid.

Circus Maximus

The horse racing stadium had 300,000seats

Circus Maximus was a racing track for horse races, but itwas also used for athletic competition. It had 300,000 seats and was famous in
Roman times. It was built in the 6th century BC in the Tarquins era. It was
later rebuilt by Julius Caesar, because Circus Maximus burnt down twice. The
stands collapsed at least on two occasions, causing several fatalities. Now
only grass grows there.

 

To the left is the Palatium (Palatine). It is namedafter the hill on which it was built: Palatinus. It used to be Alexander
Severus Imperial Palace. The palace had a view, on the other side, of the home
of the Vestal Virgins. According to legend a she-wolf nurtured Romulus and
Remus on this hill.

The houses bordering on the Palatium are old anddelapidated. Still, their worn terra cotta is picturesque. The only parts that
seem to have been maintained over the years are the rainwater pipes. They are
painted a fresh yellow.

Colosseum

In only one day, hundreds ofgladiators died here

The Colosseum is the largest amphitheatre in Rome. Emperor Vespasiunusstarted building it, it was dedicated in the year 80 by Emperor Titus and later
finished by Emperor Domitianus.

The Colosseum was Romes first permanent amphitheatre. Itbelongs to the most important architectural landmarks of ancient Rome, both
because of its size and because of its allure. It has the shape of a large
ellips, 188 x 156 meters, and had 50,000 seats around an ellips-shaped arena.
Beneath the sand-covered wooden arena floor was a system of corridors and rooms
for wild animals, gladiators and everything else they needed for a spectacular
show. The corridors, which lead to the arena, are shaped by over 80 walls.

Between the inner and outer walls where corridors on everylevel. They are decorated with three layers of arches. The stands were adjacent
to the inner wall and could be covered if necessary. The building is a
construction of concrete, large stones and masonry. It is 48.5 meters high,
roughly the heighth of a modern 15 stories apartment building.

In the arena were fights between gladiators and betweengladiators and (wild) animals. They were bloody fights. It was not an exception
that in one day a thousand lions, ten elephants and hundreds of gladiators
would die. The gladiator fights were held until the year 404, fights with wild
animals until 523, when they were outlawed.

Outside the Colosseum are real Romans who try toconvince tourists to pose with them for a picture. They often are successful.
Meanwhile they also seem to be hot in the sun.

Forum Romanum

The ancient commercial, politicaland religious center of Rome

The Forum was the commercial, political and religious centerof ancient Rome. It lies scattered in the valley between the Capitol and
Palatine hills.

The Forum was built over a period of 900 years and comprisesarchitectural styles from the time of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Traianus, Nerva
and Vespucianus. In its heyday it must have been very crowded here. When the
Roman Empire started to fall apart, the Forum was ever less maintained and
eventually fell to ruins.

On the east side is the House of the Vestal Virgins. Thesevirgins were universally respected. They were selected from nobel families
between their sixth and tenth years. Then they were trained for ten years. In
the next ten years their most important task was to keep the sacred fire
burning in the House of Vesta. During the last ten years of their thirty years
of service they trained new virgins. After that they were free to leave the
House and get married. The Vestal Virgins had to take an oath of chastity. If
they broke their oath, they were buried alive.

Above the Vesta House is the Palatine. This Palace ofAlexander Severus is open to the public.

The Forum also housed the Senate, where Julius Caesar wasassassinated. His ashes rest in the Forum.

To the Romans, Rome was the center of the world. To be moreprecise: the milestone Milliarium Aureum on the Via Appia was the center. Think
of the expression All roads lead to Rome.. That once wastrue. From Rome a network of roads spread all over the known world. All road
signs indicated the distance to Rome

The Vatican

Once youre at the top, theres agreat view of Rome

To visit Rome without seeing the St. Peter is of courseimpossible. And its not only fun to see where the pope gives his annual
urbi et orbi blessing, the building itself is really worth a visit.

I take the subway to St. Peter. The Metropolitana (subwaycompany) is helpful in marking Ottavanio station as S. Pietro. When Ireach St. Peter Square I hear an American say: Im a little disappointed,
I thought it was bigger. He hasnt even entered the square and hasnt
seen the inside of the basilica. Well, in America apparently everything is
bigger.

In my opinion it really is the mother of all churches andcathedrals. Its grander, more impressive and more decorated than any cathedral
Ive ever seen before. The building is decorated with meters high statues.
Immediately upon entering one is overwhelmed by its size.

On the floor the sizes of other basilicas are indicated.This stresses the size of the St. Peter. You can go up to the cupola. I take
the elevator for the first part. It takes me to the mosaics above the text
callorum. From here there are 300 steps to a panorama spot.

It starts with a regular spiral staircase. Half-way thewalls become slanted, which looks weird. The last part has a piece of rope as a
handrail.

The diameter has meanwhile shrunk to a little over a meter.At the top the view is stunning. We can see most of Rome, including the
Vatican.

Back downstairs I just have enough time to explore thebasement of the Vatican. The dead popes are buried here.

Just around the corner is the Vatican museum. I get therearound 9 AM. Bad timing: theres a line all the way down the block.

Inside, the herd is lead through endless corridors with paintingson both sides.

I want to see the Sixtine chapel and try to walk fast. Thisis hard because of groups of visitors who stand in the middle of the corridor,
admiring the paintings. As an introduction to the Sixtine Chapel you pass by
other painted walls and ceilings that are so beautiful that I cant imagine
that the Sixtine Chapel could be even more impressive.

But it is. After the last restoration the colors are soclear that the Italians call it the Benneton Michelangelo.
Originally the ceiling was simply painted as a starry sky. Michelangelo changed
that drastically.

Many images have been painted in a kind of 3D: theperspective of the painted columns is right and the painted figures also throw
shadows on the background.

Because of this you have to look to find out whether theimages are just painted or are statues which have been painted.

There is much more to see in the museum, from statues topaintings, from utensils to religious ceremonial objects.

Villa Borghese

Many statues, fountains and placesto sit down

After crowded Rome its wonderful to relax in the quiet parkof Villa Borghese. On the map the old city wall is indicated and I decide to
walk via the city wall to the park.

But the wall is not everywhere and soon enough I lose myway. When I take a look at the map, an old man approaches me: I zpeakah
Englis. He advises me to take the bus.

When Im on the bus, it turns out that I cant buy a ticket.The driver is enclosed behind a glass wall. Oh well, Ill go without a ticket.

When I see a sign Villa Borghese, I get off thebus at the next stop. And I am in front of the entrance of the park. The bus
turns into the park: there are bus stops throughout Villa Borghese.

At first I dont know where to go and so I wander alongfountains, a kind of athletics course and statues. It becomes clear to me that
villa is Italian for park. It does not refer to a building.

The zoo is at the other end of the park, so while walking toit, I see most of the park. The entrance fee to the zoo is only 8 euro. The zoo
itself is spacy, but clearly still in the process of improving animal habitats.
Some animals already have surroundings that are adapted to their natural
habitats, but others are still in cages.

The zoo has several picnic spots and a playground for kids.They are used well. The zoo is an outing for many Italians.

There are other parks attached to Villa Borghese. Sometimesyou dont even notice getting from one to the other, but sometimes the parks
are fenced in by huge walls. They are just as beautiful as Borghese and also
have statues, foutains and places to sit down.

Its so hot in August that most people just want to sit inthe shade. For me its the perfect place to wait until its time to take the
train to the airport.