Day I: Delta sucks!
Didn’t sleep at all last night, I was too busy finishing packing, and I was, quite frankly, too excited to even think about sleeping. My flight out of Sacramento was at 7am, and even with such an early flight time it took me about 30 minutes to get through the security check point. Once on board I’m asleep before the plane even taxis out to the runway. I wake up in Atlanta for a three hour layover, which turned out to be a lot longer than three hours. We board the plane bound for Rome and taxi out to the runway. We’re next to take off. Then the captain comes over the intercom, “folks, we’re going to have a slight delay as we’re having a problem with our aircraft collision thingamajiggy.” Ok, he didn’t say thingamajiggy. Anyway, after hearing this I fall asleep. When I wake up we’re taxiing again. I look to the guy next to me and say “so we’re taking off now?” The look on his face told me that we weren’t. Back to the concourse we go, where we disembark, and have to board another plane. Except before we can do this we all, tutti tutti, have to re-check in and get new seating assignments. Three and a half hours after we were supposed to take off we taxi back out to the runway. I fall asleep before we even take off.
Day II: I have arrived.
I felt giddy with anticipation as I stepped off the plane in Rome. Like I did when I was a kid and visited Disneyland for the first time. I didn’t waste any time getting a cab and didn’t even think twice about paying the 75 euros to get to the hotel, which I would later find out was twice as much as it should have cost. I got to the hotel to find that I couldn’t check-in for another hour or so, so I left my bags there, and with map in hand headed out. The first thing I noticed about Rome was the number of mopeds on the street. They’re everywhere, they travel in packs, and they have no fear of pedestrians, or other motorists for that matter. It was all a bit crazy at first, what with the frenzy of mopeds and Clios and Smarts (think Mini-Cooperish, but smaller) on the streets, and the ambling Italians on the sidewalks; the contrast was so sharp. In the end, this contrast would only add to the charm of Rome for me.
Anyway, I had no clear plan or destination in mind for the first day so I just started wandering around trying to orient myself. Shortly thereafter I came across Santa Maria Degli Angeli e dei Martiri (Our Lady of the Angels and the Martyrs). The church was built in the remains of the Baths of Diocletian, by orders of Pope Pius IV, and was designed, and works begun, by Michelangelo shortly before his death. The façade of this church (as you can see in the picture below) gives no hint as to the beauty to be found within.
Though my knowledge of the art world is limited, I was simply floored by the beautiful frescoes inside the church. I spent the better part of an hour and a half inside, wandering from painting to painting and trying to take it all in. It was a near impossible task. I will soon be looking into seeing if I can figure out which works of art where done by which artist, but for now I will simply post a few pictures.
Continuing on I headed down Via Nazionle and eventually found myself in front of the Victor Emanuel Monument. This monument is dedicated to the memory of Italy’s first king Vitorio Emanuele II and “celebrates the great patriotic and military values which had triumphed to forge Italy into a single nation.” Say what you want about the Italians…but they damn well know how to build a monument!!!
From here I decided to head over to the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). The fountain, which depicts Ocean riding in a sea-chariot drawn by two Tritons into the basin below, symbolizing the sea, was impressive. Tradition has it that tossing coins into the fountain will guarantee a return visit to Rome. You better believe I tossed in a handful of coins, and unbeknownst to me at the time it would pay off sooner than expected.
This was definitely a hot spot for the tourists, especially in the late afternoon. I would end up spending the rest of the afternoon here, enjoying a gelato and a few drinks. And, in fact it would become my morning spot where I’d enjoy a cappuccino before starting out, and my afternoon spot where I’d come back from the day’s adventures to enjoy a gelato and a drink or two before heading back to the hotel to freshen up and head out to dinner.
Day Two: Imperial Rome
This my friends was the driving force behind my trip to Italy and I was awake by 6 a.m. and rearing to go. After enjoying a cappuccino at Trevi Fountain I wandered down the Via dei Fori Imperiali and found myself at the base of Trajan’s Column.
Trajan’s Column was built, on order of Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus) Roman Emperor from 98 AD – 117 AD, to commemorate his victories over the Dacians in 101-102 AD and again in 105-106 AD. Unfortunately, part of Trajan’s Column was obscured by scaffolding (not sure if they were cleaning it or doing other renovation work to it), but the spiraling relief’s that were visible were remarkable.
Trajan’s Column marks the beginning of Trajan’s Forum and the Basilica Ulpia. As you can see in the picture below not much remains of the Basilica Ulpia other than the columns (and remnants of columns which are strewn throughout the forum).
Across from Trajan’s Forum stands the Markets of Trajan. Ladies, tonight when you go to sleep say a prayer of thanks to Emperor Trajan. You see the Markets of Trajan are considered to be the first example of…the shopping mall! The Markets of Trajan was a tri-level commercial complex and market that contained up to 150 individual shops. Much of the markets are still intact, unfortunately I didn’t realize you could go into the markets from the rear so I had to just admire them from the front.
Next to the markets lies the Forum of Augustus and its Temple of Mars Ultor (the God of War to whom the entire Forum was dedicated). The Forum of Augustus was vowed by Augustus (Octavian) on the eve of the battle of Philippi where he defeated, and killed, Brutus and Cassius who had earlier assassinated Augustus’ adoptive father, Gaius Julius Caesar.
The next of the Imperial Forums is the Forum of Nerva which was dedicated by Nerva in 97 AD. Not much is left of the Forum of Nerva, save for the back wall and some scattered column fragments. The Forum of Nerva can be seen in the right half of the picture below. It was created to provide a thoroughfare that joined the district of Suburra behind it and the Roman and Imperial Forums.
The next Forum is the Forum of Vespasian or the Forum of Peace. The forum was dominated by the Temple of Peace and was vowed by Vespasian after the capture of Jerusalem. Again, little remains of this forum, and somehow I managed to miss taking pictures of it save for this one that was taken at night which didn’t come out very well. Oh well, just another excuse to go back and take more pictures!
Across the Via dei Fori Imperiali is the Forum of Caesar. The Forum of Caesar was the first of the Imperial Forums. The land on which the forum is situated was purchased by Caesar from the spoils of his campaign in Gaul and reportedly cost more than a million gold pieces. The forum was dedicated in 46 BC even though it was not yet completed; Augustus would later complete the forum. At the center of the forum was a temple dedicated to Venus Genetrix (Venus the Universal Mother). Originally Caesar had vowed a temple to Venus Victrix (Venus Victory) before the battle of Pharsalus (48 B), but that snake Pompey beat him to the punch when he built his theatre (Theatre of Pompey) and crowned it with a temple to Venus Victrix. Thus, Caesar dedicated the temple to Venus Genetrix, the divine ancestress of the Roman people; the Julia family claimed to be direct descendants from Venus Genetrix.
Well, that's it for today folks, going through all my pictures and notes is taking longer than I thought it would. In any event, stay tuned for Part II of my travelogue covering the remainder of Day II (the Colosseum and the Roman Forum) and Day III (Pompeii?).
