Friday 1 October 2010

Holiday instalment #10- Rome - the ancient City

Back again...
Rome is a city of so many contrasts.  Parts of the city are SO old - over 10 centuries BC... can you imagine that!   We did a walking tour around the oldest parts of the city... parts that are still being excavated.  Totally mind blowing... to think I was walking on the same paths that Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and all those other famous Roman's  walked on... yes some of the paths we walked were the original stones....






 We walked through the old city, saw a small stadium where there would have been sporting events, saw the forum where the senate sat, and the final photo shows the shrine where Julius Caesar's body was cremated.   Following on from the ancient city we arrived at the Colosseum.  This is a stunning piece of architecture.  For it's size and the time it was built ( 72AD) it took only about 6-8 years to build, mostly with the assistance of the slaves captured during the Roman conquests.  It was partially destroyed in the middle ages by devastating earthquakes....




You could almost see the gladiators and the wild animals... the atmosphere was incredible.  I thoroughly enjoyed this tour we did... having a great guide helped as she gave us some insight into the lives of the ancient ones.  We did have a few minutes of rain while we were walking.... some thunder as well.... but within 10 minutes it was  all over.

My next instalment will show you some more ruins and another Italian city - Naples and Pompeii.   See you then....

5 comments:

CinnamonSally said...

Wow Dawn its like reliving my trip all over again, fabulous photos. Its about ten years since I visited Naples and Pompeii, can't wait for the next installment. My DH and I love visiting Italy and especially all the Roman ruins. There is a fabulous Amphitheatre in Verona that is still used as a music venue for Opera.
Sally

Tiffany Ervin said...

Wow! That is spectacular to think about and the history that is behind all of those structures...it's fascinating that they haven't been ruined or destroyed by Mother Nature!

Tilly said...

Am really enjoying your travel journal Dawn. So many happy memories have returned as I did a 3 month backpacking trip on an almost identical route with my DD about 10 years ago. So special. (Which magazine has my card in it?)

Barb said...

So amazing, Dawn! You must have loved seeing all that history!

Suzanne C said...

Stunning pictures. Loved them!