Roman Ruins
From my way-too-short visit to the Eternal City…
In June of 2017 my wife and I made a much-anticipated trip to Rome. Three days and four nights was nowhere near enough time to spend in such an historic city, but we gave it our best shot! Center stage in our visit was, of course, visiting as many of the ancient Roman ruins as we could get to in such a short period of time. As a result of that whirlwind tour of ancient Rome, I present the following meager offering of photographic souvenirs. For the record . . . one of the best trips we've ever taken. Can't wait to return!
Our first view--through the upper-deck windshield of our BigBus transportation--of the Flavian Amphitheater. Neither pictures nor words do justice to how massive a structure the Colosseum really is.
Another view of the Colosseum taken from Oppian Hill, which hosts the ruins of both Titus and Trajan's massive bath complexes.
The scene inside is equally stunning! From this angle, looking down and into the bowels of the Colosseum's subterranean passages, you get a real feel for just how complex a structure this really was.
Still inside the Colosseum. This angle makes clear where the action took place, at the level represented by the planked section of the arena floor. All above would have been stadium-style benches separated only by walkways.
The fabulous Arch of Constantine, just a stone's throw from the Colosseum. The Palatine Hill is visible behind.
View of the Circus Maximus as seen from atop the ruins of Domitian's Palace on the Palatine Hill. The Aventine Hill lies in the upper right-hand corner of the photo, on the far side of the famed race course.
And this looks down the Circus Maximus at ground level. The bricked ruins of Domitian's Palace,at the edge of the Palatine Hill, lie just beyond.
Remnants of the Aqua Claudia, which once brought fresh water to the Palatine from over 43 miles away.
One of many remaining sections of Trajan's baths. Bits and pieces of this once great facility--and it's neighboring Titus' Baths--remain standing today, just enough to give a true sense of the enormous scale of these structures.
View of the Forum taken from the Palatine Hill. Must have been quite a sight when Rome was at the height of its power!
Another view of the Forum from the Palatine. Note the garden area in the lower right hand corner of the picture. This formed part of the Atrium Vestiae, which housed the famous Vestal Virgins of Rome.
One last shot of the Forum looking back toward the Palatine Hill. The Temple of Saturn to the right and the Arch of Septimus Severus to the left frame the Forum nicely, but from this height, you don't get a real sense for how tall these structures (or the Palatine, for that matter) really are. Makes one feel fairly insignificant!
In modern Rome, two thousand year old ruins seem to grow out of nowhere as the remnant of this ancient apartment block suggests.
Multi-story construction in brick, mortar, and stone characterized ancient Rome. The floors pictured here are actually the third and fourth stories of this apartment building, the bottom two stories now well below the modern ground level.
We "discovered" this city block of ancient temples and shrines. LOTS of columns, and the narrow spaces between some of the ruins gives a good indication of just how densely constructed Rome became. Would have seemed to us a virtual maze of narrow, twisting alleyways leading from one city block to the next. The entire area seems to have been turned into a feral cat sanctuary and the little critters were everywhere!
The Pantheon remains an incredibly impressive sight to behold. This is one gigantic, stone building!
Inside the Pantheon is like something lifted out of a Tolkien novel, the opening in the domed roof providing a solid, almost tangible shaft of light that somehow illuminates the entire room.
Never mind what it looks like, this is my happy face!