1.11 - The monuments of Rome, the Coliseum

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of Rome,  the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, built of concrete and stone. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: "Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma" (when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world"). This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus. However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

1.10 - The city of Rome, along the Tiber

Aerial view of the city centre of Rome - http://binged.it/SmSgDS

Rome, the Eternal City, the Head of the World, is one of the cradles of "western civilisation", and a city who has lived the last two thousand and five hundred years as a major player in the political, religious and cultural domain. Each century and each event has left traces still visible in the city, its buildings and its inhabitants, creating an unique environment that can be seen in only few other places in the world.

The city

As one can imagine, the city is shaped by the geography as much as by the story. The current city centre is in the ancient Campus Martius and monuments are scattered everywhere in the areas delimited by the Aurelian Walls. From there, the new city continues along the path of the ancient Roman roads (Aurelia, Flaminia, Nomentana, Tiburtina, Appia...) which are now, in their initial parts, also the main streets of the city.

Along the Tiber. Between the Capitol, Via del Corso and the Tiber there is the last part of the city centre covered in this page. From the south, the Forum Boarium boast three temples in perfect state and the church of St Maria in Cosmedin, with the "Bocca della Verita" of "Roman Holiday" fame. Behind the church it is possible to see the Circus Maximus, an ancient charriot racing stadium, there since the time of Romulus. Continuing to the north, there is the Getto, with the Sinagogue and the Porticus Octavie. The Jewish (Sephardic) comunity of Rome, is one of the most ancient of the diaspora and several dishes of the traditional Roman cuisine can be traced to a Jewish origin. In front of the Sinagogue, there is the Tiber Island, occupied almost entierly by an hospital since the time of the Roman Republic, when a temple of the god of medicine Aesculapion was built there. Finally, it is possible to see the magnificient Palazzo Farnese, now the embassy of France, which was used as a model for a number of urban residence in Europe. After the palace and the homonym square, there is Campo dei Fiori, a characteristic square with a popular market during the day and a good nightlife in the evening. The square has at the centre a statue of Giornano Bruno, a religious burned alive there as heretic in 1600.

the caracteristics streets of the Getto

Campo dei Fiori, it's market and the statue to Giornado Bruno

The Tiber island

The "Bocca della Verita" in the church of St Maria in Cosmedin, probably  part of an ancient roman fountain

1.09 - The city of Rome, Capitol, Forum and Palatine

Aerial view of the city centre of Rome - http://binged.it/SmSgDS

Rome, the Eternal City, the Head of the World, is one of the cradles of "western civilisation", and a city who has lived the last two thousand and five hundred years as a major player in the political, religious and cultural domain. Each century and each event has left traces still visible in the city, its buildings and its inhabitants, creating an unique environment that can be seen in only few other places in the world.

The city

As one can imagine, the city is shaped by the geography as much as by the story. The current city centre is in the ancient Campus Martius and monuments are scattered everywhere in the areas delimited by the Aurelian Walls. From there, the new city continues along the path of the ancient Roman roads (Aurelia, Flaminia, Nomentana, Tiburtina, Appia...) which are now, in their initial parts, also the main streets of the city.

Capitol, Forum and Palatine. The area from piazza Venezia to the south was the centre of ancient Rome. The Capitol is now partly occupied by the huge Altare della Patria, a monument to the king who unified Italy. Behind it, there is the church of St Maria in Aracoeli and the square designed by Michelangelo, with the bronze sculpture of the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Walking few hundred meters, you can jump directly from the renaissance to the ruins of the empire, with a view on the Fora, the Colosseum, and the Palatine. In the Forum of Trajan, it is still possible to see the Trajan's Column, where it is represented the campaign of this emperor and the conquest Dacia, modern Romania.

The church of St Maria in Aracoeli. Aracoeli: temple of the sky, it is the place where the ancient priests observed the flight of the birds to predict the future. According tot a christian legend, it's the place from where the Virgin mary ascended to the sky

Piazza del Dampidoglio, designed by Michelangelo.

The Curia Iulia, the senate of the ancient Rome restored by Augustus.

1.08 - The city of Rome, The "Tridente"

Aerial view of the city centre of Rome - http://binged.it/SmSgDS

Rome, the Eternal City, the Head of the World, is one of the cradles of "western civilisation", and a city who has lived the last two thousand and five hundred years as a major player in the political, religious and cultural domain. Each century and each event has left traces still visible in the city, its buildings and its inhabitants, creating an unique environment that can be seen in only few other places in the world.

The city

As one can imagine, the city is shaped by the geography as much as by the story. The current city centre is in the ancient Campus Martius and monuments are scattered everywhere in the areas delimited by the Aurelian Walls. From there, the new city continues along the path of the ancient Roman roads (Aurelia, Flaminia, Nomentana, Tiburtina, Appia...) which are now, in their initial parts, also the main streets of the city.

The "Tridente". The historical city centre is cut in four parts by a set of three streets, Via di Ripetta, Via del Corso and Via del Babbuino, starting from Piazza del Popolo. The central of the three streets is Via del Corso, the main avenue of the city, connecting Piazza del Popolo to Piazza Venezia. Via di Ripetta goes until the old river port of Ripetta and pass next to teh Mausoleum of Augustus, and Piazza Navona. Via del Babbuino, continues until the Quirinal Palace (now siege of the President of the Republic) and pass next to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. Between Via di Ripetta and Via del Corso there is the Pantheon and Piazza Colonna, with the Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Piazza del Popolo and the "Tridente", from left to right: Via del Babbuino, Via del Corso and Via di Ripetta

The Column of marcus Aurelius in Piazza della Colonna

The monument to King Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Venezia.

The Spanish Steps and the Church of St Trinita dei Monti

The Trevi Fountain

1.12 - The monuments of Rome, the Pantheon

The Pantheon (from Greek: Πάνθειον "temple consecrated to all gods") is a building in Rome, Italy, commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome, and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. It is one of the best-preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a Roman Catholic church dedicated to "St. Mary and the Martyrs" but informally known as "Santa Maria della Rotonda.
The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres.

1.06 - History of Rome, The Italian State

Aerial view of the city centre of Rome - http://binged.it/SmSgDS

Rome, the Eternal City, the Head of the World, is one of the cradles of "western civilisation", and a city who has lived the last two thousand and five hundred years as a major player in the political, religious and cultural domain. Each century and each event has left traces still visible in the city, its buildings and its inhabitants, creating an unique environment that can be seen in only few other places in the world.

History

This is not the place to write about the history of this city, because too many books have been written by much more competent people and because this is a website about tourism, but a short summary is necessary.

 The Italian State XIX AD. The world changes again, the Papal States who managed to resist the neopaganism of Renaissance and Neo-Classicism, the reform and the Enlightement couldn't resist to Romanticism and Nationalism. The different city states of Italy were, one after the other, occupied by the Kingdom of Sardinia (actually based in Turin, Piedmont) with the aim of creating an unified Italian State. Rome felt in 1870 and became immediately the capital of the new Kingdom, that after WWII became a Republic. In this period new residential areas were created for the functionaries of the new state and the new inhabitants coming from the different regions of the peninsula. A new series of fortifications was built (far from the city centre) along with the Termini train station and the monumental E.U.R. area characterised by its rationalistic architecture.

E.U.R, aereial view of the area

The "Square Colosseum" (Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana) in the E.U.R.

1.05 - History of Rome, The Papal States II

Aerial view of the city centre of Rome - http://binged.it/SmSgDS

Rome, the Eternal City, the Head of the World, is one of the cradles of "western civilisation", and a city who has lived the last two thousand and five hundred years as a major player in the political, religious and cultural domain. Each century and each event has left traces still visible in the city, its buildings and its inhabitants, creating an unique environment that can be seen in only few other places in the world.

History

This is not the place to write about the history of this city, because too many books have been written by much more competent people and because this is a website about tourism, but a short summary is necessary.

The Papal States XIV-XX AD. In the Fourteenth century the world started to change very fast, once again. In the east the Ottoman Turks destroyed wat was left of the Byzantine Empire (the eastern part of the Roman empire which survived the barbarian invasions) continuing a war of conquest in the Mediterranean and in the Balkans. In the west Spain and Portugal started to enjoy the fruits of oceanic trades and discoveries and in northern Europe a contestation movement started to spread. And Italy was being changed forever by the movement of the Renaissance. The Papacy was a magnet for artists poets and philosophers and after that the city was sacked in 1527, the efforts to improve it were multiplied. In the private courts of the nobility and the ambassadars the Baroque, a new style started to take shape. Artists such as Michelangelo, Raffaello, Bernini, Borromini and Caravaggio were active in Rome in this period contributing along with many others to create the city that we can see today. The Basilicae of St Peter and St John, as almost avery other church and palace of the city have been rebuilt or restiled in this period, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sixtine Chapel and Raffaello the rooms of the Vatican Palace. Bernini and Borromini dotted the city with their architectures and sculptures and Caravaggio painted for the nobility and the religious orders.  On the other side the papacy, an absolutistic theocratic government, was keeping an even thighter control on the people and the intellectuals that could undermine the basis of its power. This was the period when it was possible to represent naked women or pagan gods in the Vatican, but also to be burned alive for questioning the theological truth of the Curia.

Bernini's Extasis of St Theresa, in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria

Borromini's St Ivo alla Sapienza. La Sapienza is the first university of Rome, founded in  1303

Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel

Michelangelo's paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Raphael's The School of Athens, in the Vatican Palace

Caravaggio's The Inspiration of Saint Matthew in the church of St Luigi dei Francesi, with other works of the artist