The Roman Tour November 29, 2006
Today we toured the ruins of old Roman capital. We started with a brief metro ride to the Circus Maximus. This racing field situated in the valley between the Palatine Hill and the Aventine Hill. Legend has it that Romulus chose Palatine Hill for the site of the new city while his brother Remus wanted Aventine Hill. The argument ended with Romulus killing his brother and founding the city which turned into an empire that lasted over a thousand years.
The Circus Maximus was the venue for the great chariot races and other events which could be viewed by more than 300,000 spectators including the emperor who would watch from his palace on Palatine Hill. Originally built in the 6th century BC the last race was held in the 6th century AD. As well as races gladiatorial events, wild animal hunts and processions were held here. A full turn around the track was just under a mile long and could be covered in eight to nine minutes. An unusual feature of the circus was that male and female patrons were allowed to sit together which was not the case at temples or the Colosseum. Today the Circus is little more than a large oval depression with the remains of a few buildings located at either end.
The Palatine or Palatine Hill was the address of the movers and shakers of ancient Rome. Even before the emperors came into being the wealthy enjoyed the prestige and convenience of this area with the poor occupying Aventine Hill across the valley. Palatine being located between Circus Maximus, the Colosseum and the Forum was all about location, location, location. There is evidence that man has occupied the Palatine for at least 35,000 years because of the abundance of natural resources in the Tiber River drainage. To early man Palatine offered access to these resources along with an area above the flood plain that was easily defendable. During the time of the Roman Empire the hill became the resident of the emperors and home to many temples and gardens. Today many ruins remain to remind us of its former glory. Excavation has been extensive and reconstructions of the former structures on Palatine give a good idea of the size and scope during the height of its use. Many antiquities have been recovered these being on display in museums here as well as many other cities around the world.
The Forum while impressive if you utilize some imagination and conjure up memories of Cecil B. DeMill movies today is more of a jumble of columns and stone blocks placed around the area. We did not have a written or audio guide of the Forum so it was hard to know all of what we were seeing but it reminded me of a marble recycling yard. The exception would be the Arch of Titus and the Arco di Settimio Severo. The latter although built after the event is adjacent to the spot where Mark Anthony delivered Julius Caesar’s funeral address.
The Flavian Amphitheater commonly called the Colosseum, was the highlight of a memorable day. The grand structure is amazing if for no other reason than it is still standing, but once you are inside and reading about the engineering and events that took place here we were in awe for so many more reasons. The stadium which could hold up to 70,000 people is famous for its gladiatorial games. During its use spectacles of all types were held here with a familiar theme of how you top the last show. Man fighting man, man fighting beast, re-creations of famous battles anything to pacify the masses. It was the football of the day. Systems for channeling and seating spectators (each visitor was given a ticket with an assigned seat), vendor facilities, toilet facilities, the huge wooden floor above the basement area on which the games took place, trap doors for introducing animals or other spectacles to the floor, water drainage all of this go into making this truly a wonder of the ancient world even if it didn’t make the official list.
The Circus Maximus was the venue for the great chariot races and other events which could be viewed by more than 300,000 spectators including the emperor who would watch from his palace on Palatine Hill. Originally built in the 6th century BC the last race was held in the 6th century AD. As well as races gladiatorial events, wild animal hunts and processions were held here. A full turn around the track was just under a mile long and could be covered in eight to nine minutes. An unusual feature of the circus was that male and female patrons were allowed to sit together which was not the case at temples or the Colosseum. Today the Circus is little more than a large oval depression with the remains of a few buildings located at either end.
The Palatine or Palatine Hill was the address of the movers and shakers of ancient Rome. Even before the emperors came into being the wealthy enjoyed the prestige and convenience of this area with the poor occupying Aventine Hill across the valley. Palatine being located between Circus Maximus, the Colosseum and the Forum was all about location, location, location. There is evidence that man has occupied the Palatine for at least 35,000 years because of the abundance of natural resources in the Tiber River drainage. To early man Palatine offered access to these resources along with an area above the flood plain that was easily defendable. During the time of the Roman Empire the hill became the resident of the emperors and home to many temples and gardens. Today many ruins remain to remind us of its former glory. Excavation has been extensive and reconstructions of the former structures on Palatine give a good idea of the size and scope during the height of its use. Many antiquities have been recovered these being on display in museums here as well as many other cities around the world.
The Forum while impressive if you utilize some imagination and conjure up memories of Cecil B. DeMill movies today is more of a jumble of columns and stone blocks placed around the area. We did not have a written or audio guide of the Forum so it was hard to know all of what we were seeing but it reminded me of a marble recycling yard. The exception would be the Arch of Titus and the Arco di Settimio Severo. The latter although built after the event is adjacent to the spot where Mark Anthony delivered Julius Caesar’s funeral address.
The Flavian Amphitheater commonly called the Colosseum, was the highlight of a memorable day. The grand structure is amazing if for no other reason than it is still standing, but once you are inside and reading about the engineering and events that took place here we were in awe for so many more reasons. The stadium which could hold up to 70,000 people is famous for its gladiatorial games. During its use spectacles of all types were held here with a familiar theme of how you top the last show. Man fighting man, man fighting beast, re-creations of famous battles anything to pacify the masses. It was the football of the day. Systems for channeling and seating spectators (each visitor was given a ticket with an assigned seat), vendor facilities, toilet facilities, the huge wooden floor above the basement area on which the games took place, trap doors for introducing animals or other spectacles to the floor, water drainage all of this go into making this truly a wonder of the ancient world even if it didn’t make the official list.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 12:53 AM
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