Our guide today was once again Federica, and we met her at the Flavian Amphitheater, or the Coliseum. This huge, imposing structure that saw bloody gladiator fights, crucifixions of Christians, battles between exotic animals, Vestal Virgins and 100,000 thumbs.

The “games” held here were to curry political favor; they were free to the masses and when the Emperor wanted to make those masses happy he arranged for a bunch of poor sods to lose their lives. Charming.

The “games” held here were to curry political favor; they were free to the masses and when the Emperor wanted to make those masses happy he arranged for a bunch of poor sods to lose their lives. Charming.

What a great way to show the people the power and reach of the Roman Empire; bring back crocodiles, lions, giraffes and the like and sacrifice the pitiable beasts. One bit of misinformation is that Christians were thrown to the lions here. Not so. Ephesus in Turkey? Yes. Coliseum? No. They just crucified them around the outside. We commented at the entrance to the arena (which means ‘sand’ in Latin, and was spread there to absorb the blood) that when a gladiator heard the screaming crowds there was a pretty good chance he was about to die. Thumbs up, or thumbs down. Chilling.

Once Christianity was legalized (it actually became the primary religion of the entire Western world) bloody slaughters were deemed politically incorrect, the doors were closed and the Coliseum fell to ruin. Today the Coliseum is pockmarked by holes that originally held the iron rods that stapled the huge stones together, which were hauled off (along with some of the stones and bricks) for other building projects.

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Federica led us to the Roman Forum, showing us the ‘lasagna’ that is Rome; layer upon layer of ancient roads, ruins of temples, squares, and palaces. Because of this it is damned near impossible to tour Rome chronologically, and the jumping back and forth between Emperors, Senators, Kings, and Popes was dizzying.

Federica tried her best to show us what these ruins looked like back in the day. She had what she called a ‘very popular book’ that showed the ruins today and provided an overlay with an artist’s rendering of what the structure looked like originally. Definitely helpful.

One thing Federica made a point to show us was where restoration was attempted and how at times did more damage than good. The stance now is to preserve what exists vs. attempting to restore it. We had an interesting conversation about her work in preservation; she attended a conference where they spent 3 days discussing how to keep birds off of antiquities. Pigeons beware.

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We ended our tour at the Mayoral Palace at Piazza de Campidoglio, the square Michelangelo restored to its ancient glory. The statues of Marcus Aurelius and Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf are reproductions, but we took the time to visit the Capitoline Museums to visit the originals. We said our goodbyes to Federica, walked up the steps to the back door entrance to the Victor Emmanuel Monument and had a cappuccino and pastry at the café there before buying tickets to take the elevator to the top of the monument. The views were spectacular. We made a quick tour of the Santa Maria in Aracoeli church, which houses a beloved wooden statue of the baby Jesus (Santo Bambino) in a separate chapel. Roman women who wanted a child would climb the 125 steps of the church on their knees. They no longer do, and Italy has Europe’s lowest birthrate. Superstition aside, I’d say the church is losing it’s birth control battle.

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We had a late lunch, and walked back to the hotel by way of the Trevi Fountain, which is having a little work done, so we couldn’t appreciate it fully. We’ll need to watch some old films like ‘La Dolce Vita’ or ‘Roman Holiday’ to see it in all its glory.

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Federica told us about a recent Academy Award winning Italian film called ‘The Great Beauty’. She said her friends disliked it, but she saw it as a love letter to Rome. Alitalia was showing it as one of their selections on our flight to the states, so I got the chance to see it. I loved it for its bittersweet story of an aging writer, its laser sharp focus on the excesses of today’s youth, and Federica was right, its love letter to Rome.

Ciao bella.

Deborah

Last but not least, Basta de Pasta!