Eating Our Way Through ROMA Pt. III
05/10/2012
For the last couple of days of our vacation in Rome we relaxed and continued to eat, A LOT. On Wednesday we went to the Roman Forum and The Colosseum! The weather was horrible with wind and rain but hey, we were at the freaking Colosseum? And the rain added a certain ‘cool’ factor to the scene. We first went to the Roman Forum, which is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. The Roman kingdom's earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge which included the ancient former royal residence, the Regia (8th century BC), and the Temple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins, all of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome. Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and the Shrine of Vulcan developed into the Republic's formal Comitium (assembly area). This is where the Senate—as well as Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials and statues gradually cluttered the area. Over time the archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia (179 BC). Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia, along with the new Curia Julia, refocusing both the judicial offices and the Senate itself. This new Forum, in what proved to be its final form, then served as a revitalized city square where the people of Rome could gather for commercial, political, judicial and religious pursuits in ever greater numbers. (Another OBVIOUS Wikipedia moment, but hey, I really had no clue what it was when I went as I lazily did NOT do my homework before our Roman adventure so at least you’ll be well versed if YOU ever go!). All that is there is today is ruins, ruins of a plaza that was built gradually where government officials of ROME (!) used to frequent. Cool, right? I can’t believe I got to walk there as well!
Roman Forum
Roman Forum
Memorial for Caesar in the Roman Forum
From the Forum we went to the Colosseum, something I was SO looking forward to! When we got there I heard the soundtrack from “Gladiator” in my head and was hoping Russell Crowe would be there, or at least someone who looked like him dressed up like a gladiator, and yet, no dice. DISAPPOINTMENT HAS A NAME. Ok, back to the Colosseum. 1) It was massive 2) it was really crazy to be there and think about everything that happened there 3) the ‘stage’ was nonexistent so you were able to see the hypogeum or the underground tunnels where slaves and animals were kept ready to fight for the gladiatorial games. The animals and slaves would be let up through trapdoors under the sand-covered arena at any time during a fight. EEK! That gives me chills. So I’ll be real here, I was absolutely expecting the floor/stage to still be sand and resemble the Star Wars Episode II battle and every other gladiatorial arena Hollywood has produced, so when I walked in and saw a floor of tunnels that looked like catacombs I was thinking, “What the heck?! This cannot be correct, here!” I don’t know, it just wasn’t what I was picturing before I went but DO NOT get me wrong, it was beyond amazing! We when arrived at the Colosseum, Kelly, Shelby and I were all kind of in a goofy mood. I was whipping my umbrella everywhere threatening all of those shady vendors with a gladitor-esque beating and began speaking in Spanish every time one approached me, and Shelby ‘claims’ to have been just trying to climb on a fallen column when Kelly and I looked over to find her legs sprawled wide open for a solid minute. It was hilarious (and I believe she really was trying to just get situated but it was fun ragging on her about it…for the entire day). After visiting the Colosseum and reading all of the signs, I went back to the hotel and did some research to grasp what really went on there. Prepare for another Wikipedia moment…Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine (Ha! I thought this was ironic. Thou shalt not kill, ring a bell?) A popular type of show at the Colosseum was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, Barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, Caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days. Recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor, and animals would then be introduced. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story – played by a condemned person – was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death. Gruesome, huh? All in all, the Colosseum was one of my favorite parts about the Rome trip; I mean it was the ORIGINAL Hunger Games (sorry, I had to)! I just think the history is crazy and slightly cool. Society has always had (and will probably always have) a fascination with morbid and gruesome things, the Romans of the first and second century just had a slightly exaggerated approach to depicting the fascination, well, an EXTREMELY exaggerated approach, but hey, who am I to judge? Ha!
Colosseum
Rain, rain, go away...to a day when we're NOT at the Colosseum
WHERE'S THE SAND?! Just kidding...but, really.
My walk into the arena...watch yo'self
Shelby after the "Column Incident"
WE SURVIVED THE HUNGER GAMES, I mean, the Colosseum...
On Thursday we prepared to leave Italy by going to the most famous gelato shop in Rome, Giolitti’s, and proceeded to eat the best gelato, ever! Then we walked to the Pantheon to get some good pictures and ate gelato again! So good, although I felt really nauseous after the second helping (I mean, I did eat gelato twice within 2.5 hours) and had to lie in my hotel bed until dinner. Dinner was delicious, per usual and made me sad to leave all of the delicious food, although I was pretty pumped to go back to England and eat a nice salad; I was on carb overload at that point.
GIOLITTI'S GELATO
GIOLITTI'S GELATO
Overall, I was so happy I got to visit Italy with the people I did and got to visit some of the greatest historical monuments in the world! I will admit that I was excited to get back to England where everyone is nice and speaks English, with an awesome accent that makes everything sound fancy, no less! Till next time-
Kels xx
ET TU, BRUTE?!...Depicting the death of Caesar
Colosseum
