Our first full day in Rome
Trip Start
Jul 21, 2005
1
2
15
Trip End
Aug 05, 2005
Rome,
Italy
Sunday, July 24, 2005
We were up early for breakfast at the hotel, great selection of breads, cheese, meats, scrambled eggs, etc. and fresh cappuccino. Eating it in the relaxed atmosphere of the enclosed courtyard garden under the orange trees. We packed up to move to our next hotel also in the same area.
Travestere House is a quaint little building in the heart of the old Roman quarter within walking distance of Piazza Santa Maria. The room was small but quaint with the toilet on one side of the window and the shower on the other.
After getting settled, we set out to tour the Colosseum interior at 1 p.m. The interior is divided into three parts; the arena, cavea and podium. The arena originally had a wooden floor, which was covered in sand to prevent the combatants from slipping and to soak up the blood spilled. Trapdoors led down to the underground chambers and passageways beneath, which are visible today. The cavea (seating for spectators) is divided into three tiers. Knights sat in the lowest tier, wealthy citizens in the middle and the populace in the highest tier. The podium, a terrace in front of the tiers of seats was reserved for emperors, senators, and other VIPs. The interior damage is evident everywhere, after several earthquakes, the use of the building as a quarry for travertine and marble and the vibrations caused by traffic and the underground railway has all taken their toll.
After our tour of the Colosseum, we crossed the road to the Metro station to meet up with another tour group to visit the Catacombs of San Callisto. The catacombs are a series of underground corridors used as burial grounds down to a depth of 20 meters. There are 20 kilometers of tunnels to explore, with a guide only for obvious reasons. Our guide ( a priest, with a crusty attitude outside and a heart of gold inside) took us down to the second level. Instantly there was a marked difference in temperature. The tunnels and walls are carved into the soft tufa rock (volcanic) and once exposed to air, harden. All the corridors are lined with carved rectangular niches of varying sizes into which the corpse would be placed and sealed by either marble or terracotta slabs. The San Callisto catacombs contain the tomb of the martyred Santa Cecilia, and seven popes martyred in the 3rd century. At the end of our tour the priest prayed a beautiful prayer for all of us. It was very touching and non denominational in nature. Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph the catacombs.
After leaving the catacombs, our tour guide (Brandon from Florida) took us on a walking tour of Rome, through the Jewish ghetto and ending at Largo Argentino.
The ghetto was established in the 16th century when Pope Paul IV ordered the confinement of Jewish people into this area, marking the beginning of a time of intolerance that continued well into the 19th century. The walk in this area took us by artisan workshops, framers, and bookshops, the ruins of the Chiesa di Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, a medieval fish market, a 19th century synagogue and the Jewish museum, reminding us what it might have once looked like. The tour ended at Largo Argentino and archaeological zone with ruins simply labelled A,B,C,D. It is below present day grade, and is home to numerous cats, all abandoned by owners when they go on holiday.
After a quick snack in the streets near our hotel (roast pork sandwich which was delicious), and a short rest, we set out for Piazza Santa Maria for the evening. Another fabulous meal and live music, we closed this restaurant as well, and moved along another alley to a wine bar, for snacks of cheese and meats and great local and very expensive wine. To bed at 2:30 a.m.
