No
other city in the world equals the history of the Eternal
City. Founded more than 2,700 years ago, the city of Rome
(or Roma as the Italian's call it) reigned as the Caput Mundi,
or Capital of the World. Monumental buildings like the Pantheon
and the Colosseum are reminiscent of the era when emperors
like Nero, Trajan, and Hadrian ruled the Roman empire.
Rome
is a city on so many levels, literally, that even long-term
residents have yet to see it all. The ancient inhabitants
would build newer cities on top of old ones, so if you would
cut the earth in half right in the center of Rome, you would
see layers upon layers of ancient history. Rome is constantly
changing, as new excavations unearth yet more ancient treasures.
On
the next few pages, you will see pictures of everything we
were able to see as we toured Rome. We saw quite a bit, but
we didn't even stratch the surface of all the treasures of
Rome.
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| Welcome
Dinner: |
The
night before our tour officially started, we had a lovely
welcome dinner. It was a four course meal complete with serenaders.
The meal started at 7:00 PM and ended after 10:00 PM. At the
end of the meal, the head waiter gave all of the ladies in
the group a rose and a kiss on the check. It was the perfect
welcome to Italy! |
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| The
next morning, our tour officially started. We were woken bright
and early to start our site seeing. We first visited the Vatican
City, then we moved on to the ancient city of Rome.
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| Colosseum: |
Once
we arrived at the ancient city, we visited the great Colosseum,
the symbol of Rome. Some interesting facts about the Colosseum:
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It's
true name is "Flavian Amphitheater". |
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It
is 187 x 155 meters wide and 55 meters high. It was designed
to accommodate an estimated 80,000 spectators. |
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In
ancient times it was the site of the "Naumachie"
or navy-battles, the "Munera" or gladiator-fights,
and the "Venationes" or wild animal-hunts. |
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There
were special places for married couples, for young men
accompanied by their tutors, for families and servants,
for women, and for servants. The "nose-bleed"
section was usually reserved for single women so they
wouldn't distract the single men from watching these barbaric
games. |
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During
the Italian Civil Wars, people looted the steel-rod
supports inside many of the columns to make more weapons
for the war. When the earthquake of 1703 hit Rome, part
of the outer ring collapsed because the walls were no
longer strong enough to sustain a major earthquake. |
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Soon
after the earthquake, Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) consecrated
the old amphitheater by setting up a Great Cross where
the Emperors used to sit. There is a myth that the cross
pays tribute to the thousands of Christians killed in
the Colosseum. However, there is no evidence that there
were ever any Christians massacred here. The real massacre
of Christians took place at Circus Maximus. |
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Vatican | Next
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