Part One: Trip to Rome

We left for Rome Friday morning at 6 a.m. We went on our regular bus, but not with our regular driver. He was under the weather. Was that why it took us longer than scheduled to reach Rome? Who knows (we did have some bad traffic). After checking in, we headed to the Colosseum. Last week was "Culture Week" in Italy, so a lot of museums and monuments were free, creating longer than normal lines. This video is to show the line.

We moved along fairly well, though. They are a lot more lenient through the metal detectors than the airports are.

There are lots of reasons for visiting the Colosseum, but you can't help but think back to the time it was built and the tools people had to build such massive structures. The holes that you see in the structure are not caused by age or machine gun damage from the war (as Filiberto once heard some guide tell a group) but rather that the place originally had all sorts of marble statues and other do-dads that people over the centuries removed. Quite simply, the Colosseum had

been used as a quarry that people came to for building materials. I know the picture taken through the arch is too high contrast for the bog camera I'm using, but I hope it shows an entry to the seating area. Kind of amazing that a stadium built millenia later would look pretty much the same. Those Romans really knew some stuff. Most people think of the "Christians v Lions" events that were held here, but the stadium was used for a lot more than just that. Events
were free, too. As Filiberto explained, Roman culture understood that to keep the people happy required

entertaining them. I know I have previously commented on Filiberto's skills, but I must do so again. Visiting a place with him is like having your own encyclopedia with you. Some of the students have comments that they have visited places without him and have wished he was there to explain to them all the things they are seeing. I think in the future, I will look to hire a professional guide anytime I visit any historic site. There is a significant difference in the experience.

Lots of people are aware that they even did naval battle reenactments in the Colosseum by flooding the area with a few feet of water and using mini flat-bottomed boats. While the events were free, there was a hierarchy to who sat where. There was not a roof, but they had an early version of a retractable dome using huge sails that would be draped above

the stadium for shade.

Constantine's triumphal arch is located just outside. The pavement all around the monument is full of tourists and vendors. People sell everything from post cards (one was shouting "cheaper than Wal-Mart") to plastic gladiator armor. You can even get your picture taken with someone dressed as a gladiator (as Nicole did at my insistence years ago).

We had spectacular weather the whole weekend. We were a little worried starting out, as there was a light rain as we left Macerata, but that ended before we reached Rome and we had plenty of sun. Mornings were cool enough to need a jacket but by afternoon everyone had removed them and all were trying to soak up the sun.

The Colosseum also had an exhibit of ancient works. This is from Pompeii, about 300 years BC

Circus Maximus looks like just a big field, and it is used by residents as one - running, biking, playing soccer. Thousands of years ago, this place had horse races and could host many more spectators than the Colosseum. Had to believe, but more than 200,000 could watch an event here.

I like this picture for lots of reasons. Here we are in the middle of the tour. We've just visited Circus Maximus and are headed toward Parco di S. Alessio (a nice, quiet park in the big city), Filiberto was on the phone, dealing with other arrangements for the tour. Notice also that most of the students are trying (unsuccessfully) to keep up. He's more than twice their age but he has more than twice their energy. Most of them slept on the bus to Rome while Filiberto worked the
entire time with the AHA accountant, going over budget items line by line.

I'm going to create a collection of these. In Bologna I have the "Don't park bikes" sign with a bike chained to the post. In the park you can see a couple of people "making new Romans" in the background. They weren't really, but that is the euphemism we came up with.

Here's a short clip of Filiberto lecturing outside the Temple of Vesta. I liked
this shot because he was elevated. Pay attention to the fact that the accountant who kept him awake on the bus is seated while he works. Note also at the end of the clip the couple of students (behind Caroline, who is waiving) sitting, too far away to possibly hear.

We walked through the old Jewish ghetto with its ancient ruins.

Notice that at the top of this spectacular old theatre, some noble put his residence hundreds of years ago.

We visited the Basilica of Santa Sabina, which was originally built on this site in 425. Obviously lots of things were added and renovated since then,. but it is distinctive for many reasons, including as the original Dominican church in Rome. Both St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas lived in the monastery at same time.

Perhaps because of its relation to Dominic, perhaps because we had never been here, Kim took a bunch of pictures (more than she did in St. Peter's). Kim and I discussed the fact that returning to Rome this time was a nice mix of familiar sights and new things. We were happy to return to visit the Colosseum and St. Peter's, but St. Sabina, San Pietro in Vincoli and the Campidoglio Museum (in a later post) were great new things for us to visit. Actually they are quite old - just new to us.

The first day ended with dinner at La Grotta Azzurra (The Blue Grotto), a restaurant that appears to cater to groups. We were met by Sarah, who in 2002 assisted with guiding our tours while Filiberto was recovering from surgery. She is now doing a post-doc at the British Institute in Rome. She's Australian, her mom lives in Hawaii and she lives in Rome, thanks to the Brits. How international can you get! Day 1 ended about 16 hours after it started.