Few places on the planet have such history. Athens comes to mind, but yet it’s such a shadow of what it once was. You can make a case for Cairo but so much of its antiquities are outside the current modern city. Perhaps more than any other city in the world’s history, Rome has stood the test of time and passed with an “A”.
I remember when we came here the first time, nearly eight years ago with my mom and dad. Trey was only two years old and just learning to talk. I can still close my eyes and see his chubby little legs staggering down the cobblestone sidewalks as we passed the outdoor café’s on Via Veneto Vittorio. The woman thought that he was the cutest thing that they had ever seen and the men…well lets just say he was the ultimate “Little Bambino” to the men.
We’ve intentionally avoided coming to Rome for the last several months because we wanted to experience it again as more than just an appetizer over a normal 48 hour weekend. Yet even with the four full days that we spent in Italy’s ancient capital at the end of May, we still felt as if the time was inadequate.
Rome’s greatest asset is its biggest challenge as it is so overwhelming at times. Rome is not an overly large city, but it feels that way at times. However, consider that it packs in its three million inhabitants and still manages to host virtually every culture as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
What really makes the former capital of the world so interesting and overwhelming all at once is sheer number of historical things to see. It’s as if Rome is an onion, and as you continue to peel back its layers, new ones appear that you never new existed.
The top layers are the places that everyone visits their first time to Rome:
The Colluseum: The spectacular host of Gladiator Matches over two thousand years ago.
St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City): The World’s largest church and home to the Pope
The Trevi Fountain: Second to no fountain on the planet and a gathering place for people from all over the world.
The Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel: One of the greatest Museums on earth and home to Michelangelo’s other great masterpiece, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
This is only a small sampling of great things to see and we’re still talking about well known attractions.
Anna and I wanted to peel back a few layers and see some things that many tourists never have the time to explore. We of course were limited, in that we only had four days to do it and also have a nine and six year old.
Our trip to Rome ended up being a bit of a world wind, with us having a private tour two different days and doing some exploring on our own. The highlights were our visits to the Coluseum, The Vatican Museum and the Church of St. Clement…
The Coluseum: Those that have seen the movie Gladiator, should note that I spoke with a couple of historians on the subject of old Rome and the consensus is that the movie did a very good job of depicting how things were. Knowing this makes a visit to the Coluseum so much more intriguing as you can play out in your mind what it must have been like to be in such an impressive stadium with the crowd on their feet cheering for blood!
The Coluseum was built in 72 AD and it took fifteen million slaves eight years to complete (Almost as long as it took those Italian woman to clean the first house we lived in when we first moved to Florence!)
It held fifty five thousand spectators and the arena could be emptied in only ten minutes due to its sophisticated architectural design!
Our visit through the Coluseum taught us a great deal about the importance of sport and entertainment back in the time of Cesar. In many ways it was his way of controlling the people, by providing them with a spectacle that they had never seen.
When viewing the photos, note that the temporary flooring that is at the far end of the stadium is to show where the fighting floor existed back then. The fascinating thing about the Coluseum is that below the fighting surface was a vast labyrinth of Gladiator holding cells, hallways and trap doors for surprise entrances through the stadium floor and cages to host the numerous wild animals that would take place in the fighting. What you see in the photos are the remains of this labyrinth.
To this day, it remains one of the greatest pieces of archeology in the world and it was every bit as impressive the second time as the first.
The Vatican Museum: I remember having visited the Vatican Museum with a private tour guide eight years ago, but I think that I forgot how impressive this museum really is. In fact it may be the best museum that I have ever been to and that includes the Louvre in Paris.
The Museum itself was started back in the early 1500’s by Pope Julius II and it hosts some of the worlds finest art ranging from ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, to amazing tapestries, mosaics, amazing frescos, oil on canvass and of course the World’s most well known Ceiling Fresco, the Sistine Chapel.
They line up for hours waiting to get into the museum and it’s for one reason, to see the ceiling crafted by the great Michelangelo. When asked by the Pope to take on the monumental task of painting the ceiling, he responded “I’m not a painter, I’m a sculptor”. To see the results of something that he considered himself to be “second best” at, is the truest testament to his greatness.
In all it took him four and a half years to paint Capella Sistine, which depicts various scenes from the Old Testament. Michelangelo was solely responsible for the ceiling while he and other great artists of the time (Such as Raphael and Botticelli) assisted in painting the surrounding walls.
A trip through the Chapel can be frustrating as the first thought that crosses your mind is all the people that you know that have not witnessed something so spectacular. Unfortunately its not possible to recreate the experience, even IF they would let you take photos inside!
The Church of St. Clement – One night here in Florence, Anna was watching the history channel and took interest in a show that was telling all about the “Underground” city in Rome that very few tourists ever get to. According to the show, much of ancient Rome is buried under the ground as centuries have seen dozens of new building erected on top of the cities antiquities.
We decided to ask our tour guide to take us to one of these locations. Her suggestion was the Church of Saint Clement. It turned out to be the highlight of our trip!
As you enter the small church at street level, you ask yourself the question “What’s so special about this place”, especially if you have been in as many impressive churches as we have. However its what’s “underneath” the current church which was built in the 1200’s that is the amazing thing!
As you descend down the thirty some odd stairs that are at are on the far side of the church, the air becomes more damp and the temperature significantly more cool. You are entering the old St. Clement Church which was built in 500 AD! When the barbarians from the North conquered Rome in the 5th Century, they destroyed many of its ancient buildings by removing the ceilings and filling them in with dirt.
Once the Christians took hold in Rome they began to erect buildings on top of the old remains using a great deal of the marble columns from the Roman Empire to assist in their new construction.
The lower church is in remarkably good shape and even has several sarcophagi in its catacombs. I was able to hold the camera still in the dim light to pull off a few photos.
Just when we thought that we had descended to the bottom, our guide informed us that the old city streets of Rome were actually below the first church that was built in the 5th Century! We were astonished to find that we could go down even further below the ground and that below the underground church were old buildings and city streets dating back to before Christ! It was so cool being down so far below the earth’s surface and imagining what life must have been like.
As it turns out there are dozens of sights like this one (Although The Church of St. Clement has some of the more developed excavations) throughout the city, some of which have still yet to be dug.
So, when I say that Rome is like an onion with layers that still need to be peeled back, perhaps you now better understand the analogy! Literally the current city is in large part built “on top” of ancient Rome.
Anna and I have discussed whether Rome would be a place for a future Braheem family adventure? Lets at least say that its worth many more visits and a lot more digging :>)
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