One of the things that I didn't know about the coliseum was that it
had a basement! Actually, two of them... the performance floor having been
made of wood. Apparently, all sorts of mechanical contrivances were provided
to quickly raise the various acts to ground level, from the basement levels.
At present, the wood is long gone, providing a view into the maze that
was the lower levels. A section of the wood is reconstructed, both to demonstrate
the original view and as an observation platform. The tourist route goes
through the center of the floor, providing the same view that the various
criminals and Christians saw just prior to being eaten. Actually, we were
told that there is no solid evidence that the Christians actually were
put to the lions – this may just be either propaganda or bad press.
After visiting the coliseum, we spent some time in the archeological site southwest of it; an area called Palatine. The area held a fascinating flavor, reeking of greatness being humbled. I was reminded of the poem Ozymandias, despite its setting being several thousand years and miles away.
Next on our agenda was the original Roman Forum, or what's left of it. This was a location central to the surrounding villages that became Rome, and ultimately became the place to do law, business, and religion. We were very fortunate to hook up with a no-cost walking tour provided by an outfit called Discover Rome (discoverome@hotmail.com). The apparently offer this tour as a come-on for their paid tours, and based on our experience here, I'd recommend both. If we had the time, I think we'd have taken them up one of their tours.
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This is another place where you can just feel the history oozing out around you. And perhaps, all of Rome is that way – I get the feeling I could have easily spent a week here and hardly scratched the surface. And with a word the size of this one, I don't know that I'll be back here any time soon.. there are so many other places that I haven't seen. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'll be back eventually... touring the place where western civilization began is a tough act to follow.
Our original plan was to visit the Vatican museum in the afternoon, but we'd found out that it was closed on Sunday. With the sun taking its toll, we opted for a brief though late linch followed by a vist to the Vittorio Emanuele II monument (a.k.a. The Wedding Cake, due to its described-by-some grotesque appearance). And then a subway ride back to the hotel to rest our weary feet.
Dinner last night at Piccolo Orangio, found by Judie in the Cheap Eats book. A hike, but pretty yummy, and at a not unreasonable price.... and Judie finally got the fried Zucchini flowers she wanted. I tried the Gnocchi for the third time on this trip (they did a pretty good job of it), and the rest of the meal was fine as well in this small, unpretentious, pleasant place. Then the equivalent hike back to the hotel, this time on the early side to give us time to pack.