Well it looks like I’m going to hell. You would think it’s because, having toured both the Vatican/St. Peter’s and the Colosseum now, I much prefer the Colosseum (argument in defense of my position will be detailed below). But that’s not the offense for which I am condemned.
TWO tour guides told me that I have sealed my fate for the crime of ordering a cappuccino with my lunch. Seriously. And I could overlook the judgment of Micaela, the “false private tour” guide, as she passes judgment on so many various things. But mild-mannered and supremely honest guide Sonia agreed with her and so I think I am done for. I tried to delve further into what lunchtime coffee is acceptable with Sonia and she could not fathom such a thing.
We started our day with a 3 kilometer walk in the rain, making a quick stop to purchase umbrellas on our way to the Pantheon:
Next stop – Trevi Fountain:
We then headed over to our main site for the morning: The Museum of the Liberation of Rome. The Liberation museum focuses on the 9 month period between September 1943 and June 1944 when the Germans occupied Rome. The building was used by the Nazis to imprison and interrogate Italian resistance fighters. On liberation day – June 4, 1944 – people entered the prison and freed everyone there.
The museum signage is all in Italian, so we were limited in our understanding, but a few key things stand out. The prisoners were not allowed visitors at all but their families could send them clean laundry once a week. That laundry was used to transmit messages, like on this sock:
There were two isolation cells in the building, and the walls were covered with etched notes from inmates. Here’s one of the cells:
And one of the etchings:
Kris and Jim were real troopers at the Liberation Museum, especially since we walked an hour in the rain to get there and then were stymied by the lack of English information. So I do wonder what they thought of my tour planning skills when Ron discovered – as we exited – a lovely English pamphlet for touring the museum:
There was no time to turn back, though, as we were due to meet Sonia Tavoletta again for another afternoon of touring. We stopped for lunch here and this is where I had the cappuccino that sealed my fate, but check out that wonderful view of the colosseum:
The colosseum was built in about 70 AD. It is over 1940 years old. It is absolutely magnificent. Here’s a picture from outside:
And from the inside:
The colosseum was used for gladiator games, animal hunts, public executions and more. Sonia said it could hold between 50,000 to 80,000 people. Citizens would arrive and make a day of it, spreading out on the bench seating, relaxing, eating, enjoying. 110 soldiers could be used to extend a series of pulley-controlled awnings to provide a roof, looking something like this: (picture not mine, obviously)
The best part of the colosseum visit was the minutiae they had. Look at these 2000 year old toothpicks!!!!
And these seeds and pits they found, showing what the spectators would eat – cherries, peaches, raisins and more!!!
Sonia then walked with us through the remains of grand palaces on Palatine Hill, one of the key first neighborhoods of Rome. The second picture is the remains of a 2000-year-old heated dining room floor, which collapsed from the weight of dirt cover over the years.
Final stop was the Forum (scene of public meetings, law courts, public markets) which is definitely important, but holy cow we were exhausted and I was still marveling over the toothpicks so here is your single obligatory picture:
We parted ways with Sonia here and headed back to our hotel. Rome is a fantastic juxtaposition of mostly old, mixed in with a little bit of new. Every time I turn a corner, I see a skyline of gorgeous old architecture. It’s a truly fabulous city. Here’s a few pictures from our walk. The last one is a live movie set we walked through:
I will leave you with this – Ron, attempting to explain something important to me and Kris in the Pantheon, probably when he couldn’t find Jim to have a more enlightened conversation with:
Travels with Valerie 