Mar 1 - Visiting Ancient Rome

The heavy rain of yesterday was just a memory when I awoke to bright sunshine -- and knew that this would be a great day to see beyond the Vatican.  The Metro delivered me directly across the street from the massive Colloseum early enough to avoid any crowds and to be able to enjoy a leisurely, audio-directed (my free Rick Steves app) tour inside and out, and nearby.  I couldn't help but think of parallels to our modern day sporting events when listening to how the gladiator "games" served to entertain the masses -- maybe one difference is that the wealthy/rulers made them free so as to keep miscreants occupied/off the streets.

The Colloseum was just the beginning of this day of contemplation on the rise and fall of the great Roman society.  Right next to the Colloseum is this Arch of Constantine which is less well known, but more significant to our lives today:

As author Rick Steves explains, "if you are a Christian, were raised a Christian or simply belong to a so-called Christian nation, ponder this arch -- it marks one of the great turning points in history: the military coup that made Christianity mainstream...in the year 312..."  I'll spare you the rest of the history lesson though the entire day did leave me feeling that I wish I'd paid more attention in my history classes.

A short walk from the Colloseum and Arch is ground zero for ancient Rome -- two heavily toured areas of ruins known as Palatine Hill and The Roman Forum (essentially ancient Rome's main street). All fascinatingly interesting, brought to life by the excellent audio guide as I walked where Julius Caesar lived (and died) and Vestal Virgins lived (and some were killed).

As with all my travel, no photo does justice to the experience -- but just for the record:

My days' journey continued to Rome's "Capitol Hill" area -- and I enjoyed a silent laugh when I found this statute that seemed to have captured what I had been doing all day -- taking a "selfie."