Ancient Rome - Day One

Modern Rome, the city of stunning fountains and dusty alleys - of churches simple and splendid, where papacy is inextricably intertwined with the architecture,with a history rich and vivid... Our week's holiday in the city took us back into time,down the lanes of the great Roman empire and into the very heart of Christiandom.

What I write here really doesnt do much justice to the grandeur of the city,nevertheless, I shall strive here to capture in black and white the beauty of the city which was rightly named 'The most beautiful city' of the

ancient world.


The Foro Romano



Let me start off with our visit to the ''Foro Romano'' .Of all of the ancient structures in Rome, The Roman Forum could win hands down in best representing the ancient city's grandeur and its gradual decay.What began as the republic's main market square,soon became the commercial and legal hub of the city.

Though in ruins today, it was easy to to imagine how the ruins would have looked like at the zenith of the Roman regime.Spectacular triumphal arches,temple complexes and intricately carved pillars - each having a story of its own,glorifying the great emperors who once ruled over the ancient city. Trudging along, under the sweltering afternoon heat (August, generally being the hottest month for the city) clicking photos,I could almost see how , as the Roman empire declined,this great complex structure followed suit in falling to decay and oblivion. Today,The Temple of the Vestal virgins and that of Castor and Pollux (The divine twins), The temple of Jupiter, The column of phocas, The great triumphal arch of septimus severus and the arch of Titus, are all but mere shadows of their past splendour. As I clicked the last of my pictures and left the crumbling but yet impressive Forum, it seemed to me all the more a venerable structure even in its ruins.



The brilliantly lit colosseum by night

  To the South west of the Foro Romano lies the palatine hill where Romulus the Founder and the first emperor of Rome founded the great empire in the 9th century BC.We left the Palitine hill and took the narrow path that led us to the Colosseum - The monumental amphitheatre,completed around 80 AD which for centuries has been the tourist insignia of Rome.It is said that the name 'Colosseum' was derived from the huge colossi (statue) of Nero that once stood outside the structure.Rome owes this architectural marvel to the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus.The Colosseum was where the Emperor,senators and the public were entertained by gladiatorial combats and hunting games.It is said that the colosseum was ideally built close to the Roman forum , the commercial centre of the city, so that the people could be entertained after their busy day at the market square.It was also where thousands of gladiators and hapless beasts met their valiant but unfortunate deaths.But as humanity prevailed , these mindless killings of man and beast were banned by around 525 AD.Sadly enough, this marvel of Roman engineering was partly destroyed in massive earthquakes and what remaind intact today is only a minor part of the colossal structure.The underground rooms which served as the caging area for wild animals and storage for weapons and armors can be seen even today.The colosseum , despite the wear and tear of centuries ,in its evening illuminated brilliance, was indeed a noble sight.

Despite a long tiring day,we literally had to tear ourselves away from the colosseum and drag our tired souls into our hotel rooms.Even long after the 'goodnights' , it was hard to fall asleep as my mind was still in awe of what it had seen in the course of the day!

PS - Watch out for the next instalment of travel and history....In 'Day Two' of Ancient Rome..WIP :-)