Colosseum - Rome, Italy Saturday was one of the fullest and most interesting days of the trip. The exploration was in the opposite direction from our hotel, starting with a timed entrance to the Colosseum at 8:45 AM. A week earlier, I had booked the tickets at 2 AM Kansas City time, when they went on sale exactly a week in advance of the time slot. In 2012, we visited the older and better preserved Verona Arena in northern Italy, but this building is much larger and we spent over 2 1/2 hours exploring the Colosseum.
Lunch was at the nearby Pasqualino Al Colosseo dal 1956- Trattoria Romana, where I had Abbacchio alla Scottadito (grilled lamb chops) & Patate Fritte (French fries), while Linda had Piz Proscitto (Prosciutto pizza). The chops were very good.
After lunch, we walked back past the Coliseum to photograph the Arch of Constintine, then entered Palatine Hill, which was once covered with the palaces of wealthy families and early emperors. We slowly made our way up the hill through gardens, photographing ruins from over many centuries.
After photographing the Foro Romano (Roman Forum) from Palatine Hill, we made our way around to the Forum's east end and slowly worked through the area, exploring the remains of government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials, statues and churches which were the center of Rome's day to day life from the 8th Century BC to the 7th Century AD.
Returning to the area of our hotel, we decided it was time to see the interior of the Pantheon or we might find ourselves leaving Rome without seeing it. The Pantheon was completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD, replacing earlier temples which were destroyed by fires, and devoted to an ancient god or gods. Exactly which ones is unknown. In 609 AD it was consecrated as a Catholic church and has been in nearly continuous use since then. It is now the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs and is one the best preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. Tickets were no longer being sold for this day, but searching on my phone, we found timed tickets for a "tour" though Viator. We needed to meet the tour operator in the nearby Piazza Capranica in less than 40 minutes and had a hurried supper, splitting a takeaway "Purgatorio" sandwich from All'Antico Vinaio. It was a large sandwich of Tuscan salami, stracciatella (creamy Pugliese cheese), onion cream, and zucchini, was quite good, and a nice contrast from the meals we had been having.
The tour was basically just a re-seller of tickets at about 3 times face value. They did walk us over to the Pantheon, but we never saw them again after entering. Still, they got us into the church and that was what we wanted. The most striking feature of the church is the 142' 1900 year old (world's largest) unreinforced concrete dome. The dome has an oculus, a circular opening at the very top, which provides the only natural light and actually lets rain fall into the building.
We had needed to eat supper before visiting the Pantheon, because we had an evening golf cart tour of various attractions with "My Best Tour." Daniele was our guide and picked us up at our hotel. He did a great job of showing us many of the attractions within a mile & a half of our hotel after dark, including the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Palatine Hill and others. We even made brief stops to see the interiors of a couple of churches we had missed earlier in the trip. It was amazing how much we were able to see and learn in just two hours. Daniele's story was interesting as well. He had somewhat recently taken a pilgrimage like walk to Portugal and returned to Rome with a woman from a small town in Germany who he met on the way. His faith has been strengthened or developed by the journey.
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Colosseum
