Day 22: 2nd day in Rome 1/1/2011
Our New Year certainly started with a BANG!! The crackers had been going all evening but at midnight, they really went off big time. From our hotel window we could hear fireworks all around us and we could see some which were being fired from a nearby building. One of the men on the tour went to one of the several venues in the city centre and he estimated there were half a million people there.
We toured Rome with our group. Despite everything being closed, it turned out to be a very interesting day and we returned to our hotel at 2:30pm, thoroughly exhausted. We have enjoyed having the rest of the day as down time, ready to have a few full-on days between here and London.
We had a local guide, another one who was very knowledgeable about Rome and who filled in many of the gaps in my knowledge of the history of the city. We were not able to get into the Forum, but we had a wonderful view overlooking it. With the help of a very good little book of overlays which he borrowed from a hawker who turned up just at the right time, the guide showed us how it all would have looked in the glory days. We bought one of the books as it really helps to bring the many ruins alive. I’ll also find it handy for my teaching.
Our guide explained that once the Roman Empire had fallen, around 500AD, and the “barbarians” from the east had taken over, the former wonderful buildings were simply recycled and that much of today’s Rome is built with parts of the ancient buildings. We had seen this happen also in Turkey, with the cistern under Istanbul being built from disused Roman buildings. The guide said that it was only in comparatively recent years that the preservation of the ruins has been a priority and that there are many people in Italy who have parts of statues, columns etc in their homes.
From the Forum we went again to the Colosseum and heard again the stories we had heard yesterday. However it was good to hear them again and to see the Colosseum with few people there as it was still early on New Years Day. We were told of the issue of free tickets to Roman citizens – seating arranged by social class, with the lower classes having the higher seats. The mornings were spent with animal fights. Apparently the most wonderful collection of animals was brought her e to have staged fights to the death. The guide just went on and on naming the animals that were brought here. We all know about the lions and tigers of course but apparently there were also elephants, giraffes, gizelles, crocodiles, rhinoceroses, camels, hyenas…..the list just went on and on! They were kept in cages under the floor of the Colosseum and were not fed for two days. Once released to the light and the roar of the 25,000 strong crowd, they became frenetic and fought each other to the death. This happened all morning and then there was a break for the execution of criminals : crucifixion, skinning alive, dismembering by each limb being attached to horses which went in four different directions!!! Then sand (the latin word is ‘arena’) was spread over the stadium to soak up the blood and entrails in preparation for the main event for the day – the gladiator fights.
The gladiators were usually slaves but sometimes men who had fallen on hard times and who contracted their lives to a master. After a specified number of fights, if still alive, they could be granted their freedom. The decision as to who had won the fight, although made by the Emperor or some other dignatory with a thumb up or thumb down, was at the behest of the crowd. The guide said that contrary to popular opinion, the Colloseum was not the scene of Christians being eaten by lions. This certainly happened, but it has been discovered by archeologists that it was not at the Colosseum. Another interesting discovery has been a cemetery for gladiators which has revealed that between 100BC and 100 AD, females were allowed to be gladiators!
The Colosseum was never the place for chariot races, which were held at the Circus Maximus which had a capacity of a staggering 250,000 people! We drove past this but I was not able to get a good photo. We were amazed at its capacity as it doesn’t look all that big – two and a half times the capacity of the MCG.
The next stop was St Peter’s square – another repeat of yesterday’s travels. Today however, being New Year’s Day, there were blue peace balloons flying and a Christmas/New Year mass was being celebrated. I found it a great thrill to stand amongst the huge crowd, watching the mass on the huge TV screens that were placed around the square. We had wonderful vision from inside St Peter’s Bascilica, with the camera focusing several times on the dome or on other parts of the interior of the church. It was wonderful to hear and see the choir, with absolutely glorious music – a huge choir and two organs. A highlight for me was the Alleluia before the gospel reading and another piece which we did not know but which was very Taize in style while the pope received various people before him. The first of these was a group of three children and he spent quite a few minutes talking to them. Then came various other small groups, no doubt representative of various orders etc. The crowd of several thousand people just stood quietly watching and listening to the mass. It was just a wonderful atmosphere with reverence and quietness. Many people, including me, were wandering around taking photos but this didn’t seem to be inappropriate. There were even guides leading groups, including our group in the first half hour, but again, this was done quietly and without disruption to the atmosphere.
At the Trevi fountain, Roger threw in his coin, according to tradition.
We had a delicious pizza lunch and then walked on to the Spanish Steps which were, by that time of the day, so crowded that we really only stopped for a few minutes to take a few photos and then moved on. The guide walked us through the streets which are lined with exclusive shops and antique dealers and then it was back to the bus and the hotel.
Interesting observation: we have seen hundreds of the tiny “smart cars” in Rome- obviously very handy for the narrow streets and squeezy parking spaces.
Roger has the pleasure of watching a ‘Miss Marple’ on TV as I write this. As I have now mentioned a few times on other blogs, Christmas is still alive and well here, with Christmas carols and ads for Christmas gifts still in proliferation on the TV. Apparently in Italy their main celebration is Epiphany on January 6th , when the wise men bring the gifts. However, our guide Victor said that they also cash in on December 25th and so gifts are often given on both days.
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