Italy 2015 - Rome Day One - Part Two

Italy 2015 - Rome Day One - Part Two

Continuing on from The Palatine we strolled through The Forum. We didn't spend too much time here as we had all been to the Forum in the past.

Temple of Romulus and Remus - Was converted into a church

Temple of Antoninius and Faustina

Temple of Vesta

The site of Caesar's Funeral Pyre

Temple of Antoninius and Fasutina

House of the Vestal Virgins

Temple of Saturn

Arch of Septimius Severus

 After making our way out of the Forum my stepmother expressed a wish to go inside Il Vittoriano which is an enormous victory monument commonly known as "the wedding cake".

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We went inside and there was not too much to see. The inside was beautiful but in need of repair. Water marks and cracks were very obvious on the ceiling. We did take the opportunity to use the washrooms that were housed here, disgusting!

We went out to the observation deck and took in the fantastic views of Rome.

Since we had already made the climb up we decided to go inside Basilica Sanctae Mariae de Ara coeli which is sandwiched between Il Vittoriano and the Capitoline Museum.

This was a nice break as it was very hot outside and also allowed us to rest our feet and take in the beauty of the church.

Hard to believe that so much beauty lies inside such a nondescript building (pictured at the top of those very steep stairs).

Next up was another headliner of our time in Rome, the Capitoline Museum. Home of some of the finest works in Rome. The museum itself is also a beautiful piece of art. Michelangelo designed the Piazza in which the museums sit.

Michelangelo's famous staircase - the Cordonata

Michelangelo's famous staircase - the Cordonata

I loved my visit to the Capitoline Museum which was "free" with our Roma Passes. I studied Classical History and Archeology in university and it was thrilling to see my textbooks come to life. Seeing these pieces of history in person is indescribable.

The first thing that we saw, pieces of the colossus of Constantine, was not even housed inside but is instead in the entrance courtyard to the museum.

Capitoline Museum - Constantine

Entrance courtyard of the Capitoline Museum

The only thing that really marred our visit to the museum was the fact that we seemed to be followed by a very loud school group. The students did not seem to care about what they were seeing and always seemed to be blocking our path or obstructing our view of the artwork. We did eventually lose them as they outpaced us thankfully.

If you are going to visit museums in Rome make sure that the Capitoline is at the top of your list!

Italy 2015 - Rome - Day One

Italy 2015 - Rome - Day One

We woke up early on our first day in Rome eager to hit the streets and see the sights. First though we had to fill our bellies. We were staying at the Crosti Hotel which includes a complimentary breakfast with your room. We were pleased with the offerings, especially my Dad who had three cappuccinos. The breakfast room attendant laughed at my Dad and soon learned to just keep bringing the cappuccino after he asked for another one a few times.

We were on our way around 8am. It was a nice spring day and I was enjoying the warmer temperature. The trees had already produced fruit! This was amazing to me as I had just traveled from Canada where we had still been buried in snow.

I absolutely love Rome. The whole city is bursting with beautiful art and architecture. Here are some pictures from our walk down toward the forum.

We passed by the Quirinal Palace on our walk and enjoyed a beautiful view of Rome. We could see the dome of St. Peter's in the distance.

Quirinal Palace

View of Rome and St Peter's from the Quirinal Palace

Our first destination that morning was the Colosseum. On my previous trip to Rome I did not get to go into the Colosseum so I wanted to make sure to do so on this trip.

Once I caught sight of Trajan's Column and the Il Vittoriano I knew we had arrived at our destination.

Il Vittoriano and Trajan's Column

Detail from Trajan's Coumn

We got to skip the line to buy admission since we had our Roma Passes. This is when my Dad started to realize that I knew my stuff and that he should start listening to me. ;) That and I had navigated our way to the Colosseum with no problem. Our admission to the Colosseum also included admission to the Palatine Hill and The Forum. The Palatine Hill was our main destination that morning as none of us had ever been there before whereas we had all been to the Forum and Dad and Maria had been to the Colosseum. But, before exploring the Palatine I got to enter the Colosseum for the first time.

It was very crowded but that did not bother me. The Colosseum is meant to be crowded after all!

Arch of Constantine as seen from the Colosseum

Arch of Constantine

Arch of Constantine

 After my exploration of the Colosseum we made our way over to The Palatine Hill. The Palatine was where the emperor's lived, most famously Augustus.

Entrance to the Palatine Hill

 The Palatine was lovely with a wide mixture of ruins from different time periods.

Ruins of an apartment complex on the lower Palatine Hill

 There was a lovely garden built a couple centuries ago that featured a great view over The Forum below.

View of the Forum from The Palatine

View of the Forum from The Palatine

View of the Forum from The Palatine

Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum as seen from The Palatine

View of Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

View of the Temple of Romulus and Remus in the Roman Forum

Arch of Septimius Severus in The Roman Forum

We wandered into a tunnel that had these beautiful carvings on the ceiling. I was surprised to see these outside rather than protected in a museum.

Water fountains were everywhere in Rome.

 The ruins of Augustus' Palace were very impressive. It was very easy to imagine how these buildings must have looked when they were intact. Definitely suitable to be the home of the emperor's.

Had my stepmother stand below this window to show the scale

The Circus Maximus

 Once upon a time the emperor's would have been able to walk directly from their palace on the Palatine to their viewing box in the Circus Maximus which is located directly next to the Palatine Hill. Chariot races would have been held here and it was a major gathering spot during the Roman Empire.

There was also a small museum on The Palatine that housed a small sculpture collection. Overall we were very impressed with the size of the ruins on the Palatine. Before the trip our impression had been that there was not much to see there but that was not true at all. We got to see the ruins of the palace of the emperor's, lovely gardens, and ruins of some of the original hill settlements of Rome.

Next we descended into The Forum