Flaminia House Bed And Breakfast invites you to Visit Rome in One Day - second day

ROME ESSENTIAL (from an APT Roma idea. All pictures courtesy of APT Roma)

The second day of the tour includes:

1. Colosseum (Colosseo) follows the direction to:
2. Roman Forum (Foro Romano) than walk to:
3. Capitol Hill (Piazza del Campidoglio) and back to Flaminia House B&B

1) Colosseum

The Colosseum owes its name to a colossal bronze statue, representing the Emperor Nero, more than 35 m. tall, that used to stand in this area. Symbol of Rome worldwide, the Colosseum was built by the emperors of the Flavian dynasty between 72-80 A.D., on the site once occupied by an artificial lake belonging to the magnificent Domus Aurea, a compound of buildings and gardens built by Nero now in ruins but with beautiful decorations which inspired Renaissance painters. As many as 100.000 cubic meters of travertine from the Tivoli quarries were used to build this amphitheatre, the largest ever built in Roman empire. The Colosseum could hold more than 70,000 spectators who could watch the fights between gladiators, the hunting of animals and, at the very beginning, the naumachias: naval battles that took place in the arena that was flooded. The architect who designed the Colosseum is said to have been thrown alive to the wild beasts "as a reward for his own work", thus inaugurating the long story of blood and cruelties of the building he himself had conceived.

In the middle ages the Colosseum was transformed into a fortress. Later on, stripped of its structures, it became in turn a quarry for building materials and finally the seat of hospitals, fraternities and craft guilds. It was only towards the middle of the 18th century, that Pope Benedict XIV had it decreed "sacred site", and the plunder and devastation was stopped.

2) Foro Romano

The Roman Forum, the most important archaeological area in Rome, extends from the Capitol Hill to the Palatine. As far back as the 7th century B.C., the Forum was the centre of political, commercial and religious life. Later on, to the original Roman Forum were added the Imperial Forums: Foro di Cesare, Foro di Augusto, Foro di Nerva, Foro di Vespasiano and the most imposing one, the Foro di Traiano, of which one can still admire the huge Column of the Markets.

3) Capitol Hill

Since its origins the Capitol hill has been the seat of the city's government and the adequate place for solemn public celebrations. Piazza del Campidoglio, designed by Michelangelo, is surrounded by three noble palaces: the central one, Palazzo Senatorio, is the seat of the Municipality whereas the two on the sides, Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo, host the treasures of the Capitoline Museums.

The Capitoline Picture Gallery contains over 200 paintings from the 14th to the 18th centuries by extraordinary painters such as: Tiziano, Pietro Da Cortona, Caravaggio, Guercino, Rubens and many more. The square is dominated by a copy of the bronze equestrian statue of Marc Aurelius that survived destruction because it was believed to represent the Christian emperor Constantin. The elegant plinth was designed by Michelangelo. The original can be admired inside the adjacent Museum.