Ancient Rome - Everything We’d Hoped For, And More!

Day 13 - The Colosseum in Rome was one of the the things we were looking forward to the most on this trip. Today was our day, and it did not disappoint! We got some nice cloudy, breezy weather, a nice change from the hot days we've been having in Rome (we even had a little rain in the morning).

We met our small group tour, and proceeded to enter the Colosseum through the "Death" Gate ...where they hauled out all the dead animals and people ... yikes!

A few notable things. The Rome Colosseum is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world today. It's average audience size was 65,000 people! So, picture your favorite NFL stadium! There were 80 arched entrance gates, each one was numbered and the tickets were on little pieces of pottery which guided the spectators to their assigned seats. See the Roman Numerals over the arch in the picture below ("LII" or 52), that is the number of the entrance gate. Those numbers are still visible from the time of construction in 72 AD (it was completed 8 years later in 80 AD).

Being inside of the Colosseum, you could just imagine the gladiator contests, animal slayings, executions, mock sea battles, and raucous crowds!

To say we were awestruck would be an understatement. Today was going down as the trip highlight for sure!

The surprise of the day came when we left the Colosseum to tour the Roman Forum. We each had a different thought in our minds about what the Forum was and what it looked like, but none of our visions were correct. We entered under the Constantine Arch, and the Forum unfolded from there!

The Forum is a huge, rectangular city center, with a remarkable number of archeological sites representing important ancient government, religious and other public buildings (with the Colosseum anchoring one end).

After hiking to the top of Palantine Hill (where the ancient Emporers and Nobles built their palaces), the views over the Forum were amazing!

Strolling through the ruins of the Forum was an otherworldly experience.

You could almost picture the bustle of Ancient Rome, with toga-clad people everywhere, and an occasional chariot whizzing by!

After the tour, and a lovely lunch, we walked back to our hotel for a quick refresh, then Lori, Scott and Gayle headed out for a tour of St. Peter's Basilica.

We've been to a lot of big churches on this trip, but we were pretty sure that they could all fit inside St. Peter's!

The crowds of people entering St. Peter's we're large (it was a 30-minute queue in the security line), but once inside, it didn't feel crowded at all. Of course, this cathedral can hold 60,000 standing people, so it has plenty of space!!

We toured the Basilica, admired the artwork and the architecture, and even got to go down to the Vatican Grottoes, where the Papal Crypts are located. Even for non-Catholics, St. Peter's is awe-inspiring.

Michaelangelo's "Pieta", dated in 1498 AD, shows the Virgin Mary cradling Jesus's body.

A mosaic of Raphael's last painting, The Transfiguration, which he was working on at his death in 1520 AD.

Ah, Rome, we've loved our time here! Alas, we depart in the morning for our next adventure...The Amalfi Coast.

“Yes, I have finally arrived to this Capital of the World! I now see all the dreams of my youth coming to life… Only in Rome is it possible to understand Rome.”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet

Tours: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Small Group Tour by City Wonders

Tickets to St. Peter's Basilica purchased from their website (the earlier you purchase the better so that you can pick the time you want to enter)

Step Count: 17,429 steps or 8.75 miles (our biggest walking day of the trip!)