Day 2 morning realization - there are a lot of churches in Rome. While that seems obvious (it's Rome) you don't really know it until you're living in the center and the clock strikes a new hour. It sounds like a carillon with all the bells ringing. Truly awesome.
Breakfast at the College was a hearty and filling breakfast of breads, cheeses, and prosciutto, with yogurts, fruits, and cereal. The coffee flowed like the Tiber. The group had some good conversation, which I see as a good sign as the trip commences.
Class was held in a small classroom in the College. Discussion included an overview of Jesus' life, the concept of the Kingdom of God, the pre-"Christian" Jewish followers of Christ under the leadership of Peter and Paul, and the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Roman emperor Titus.
Following a nice lunch at another cafe (I had an IMMACULATE cut of veal of which I savored every bite), we met Prof. Coolman for a guided tour of the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum. Our tour guide was a very friendly and informative Dutch woman who, as we were told partway through, gives the same tour in English, Italian, Dutch, French, and German. I wouldn't be able remember the information she knew in one language, forget five, but she was fantastic.
The tour started with the Colosseum, or, as our guide preferred, the Amphitheater.
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| The foundation marking the base of the once towering Colossus of Nero |
As I learned for the first time today, Romans never referred to the Colosseum as the "Colosseum" but as the "Flavian Amphitheater". We call the arena the "Colosseum" due to the Colossus of Nero, a 30m tall bronze statue of the Roman emperor Nero which stood just outside. When Nero committed suicide, the statue was altered to commemorate the Roman sun god and was eventually lost.
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| Entrance 53 to the Colosseum, numbered just as we number our stadium entrances today |
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| Panorama of the inside of the Colosseum |
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| Detail of the ruined pulley mechanism for lifting game pieces to the arena floor |
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| The Arch of Constantine, unfortunately undergoing renovations, from the Colosseum |
The tour of the Colosseum concluded at the Via Sacra, the "Sacred Road", which leads through the Forum Romanum to the Temple of Jupiter. We followed the Via Sacra to the Forum Romanum to begin our next tour.
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| Via Sacra looking towards the Arch of Titus |
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| Excavations outside the Forum |
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| The Triumph Arch of Titus commemorating his sack of Jerusalem |
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| Relief showing the Romans taking the solid silver menorah from the Temple of Jerusalem |
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| Pagan temple in the Forum Romanum which survived ruin due to its conversion into a church |
Upon exiting the Forum we got a good view of Trajan's Column
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| Trajan's Column rising from the crowd |
We broke for dinner, where I successfully ordered wine for the table and meals in Italian without any problems (a personal victory). I finally had myself a plate of spaghetti carbonara - delicious. We rendezvoused with Prof. Coolman outside of the Altar of the Fatherland to see some evening sites.
We first travelled to the Pantheon. Hopefully I will be returning to this site myself before the trip is up - we don't have a scheduled time in the course to visit inside and truly take in the magnificence.
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| The Pantheon and the Fontana del Pantheon |
We then made our way through the streets to the Piazza Navona and the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi. Here, at the suggestion of a friend back home, I had a Tre Scalini "tartufo" - a ball of chocolate ice cream with a cherry in the middle, rolled in chocolate shavings, and topped with whipped cream and a wafer cone chip. A hidden gem.
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| Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi |
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| The Angel of Peace, a dove atop the Egyptian obelisk above the Fontana |
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The Piazza Navona
Brief musing for today: no matter where you turn in Rome, the sun will ALWAYS be directly on you. Rome is forecasted to have 90˚ weather every day this week with little cloud cover. The good news is that it is not humid, so the temperature is at least bearable. The real challenge, however, is the fact that Italian men do not usually wear shorts. Walking around a stone city for miles a day wearing dark blue jeans in 90˚ direct sun is somewhat of a warm experience. But it's all worth it in the end.
Luckily, the Romans left us with something that many people forget: clean running water. The same water that fueled the Empire is still available to us in Rome. The city has fountains that are always flowing, providing clean, cool water all day. Not a bad addition to a big historical city. I will try to snap a picture of one tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we will visit the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and the Tre Fontane Abbey.
Thus ends the 2nd day.
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