Rome Day 4

San Pietro in Vincoli/Colosseum internal tour/Roman forum

It was another hot, sweaty, sunny day as we set out to tour the San Pietro church. Of course, it was another beautiful structure full of art, but in all honesty, I’d reached a point where one church was much like the next.

We waited for our tour group at the designated meeting point and commenced the tour by walking through the crowds up to the palace of Palatine Hill. Walking on ancient, uneven stone roads made me feel like an extra on the set of Jesus of Nazareth. The ancient stone roads were worn flatter in sections from wear over the ages; we passed olive trees hundreds of years old. Most of the olive trees were flush with bumper crops of fruit.

The group stopped to refill water bottles from one of over 2500 free water fountains in Rome that constantly flow from the old aqua ducts. The water was surprisingly fresh and cold for such a hot day. Coming from Brisbane, I couldn’t understand how I was accessing cold water from an old outdoor system that was not refrigerated.

Walking through the palace ruins was incredible. The marble tiling that once served the pools was still full of colour, and the formal structure of the grand gardens is still evident.

We eventually reached the platform that looked over the entire forum, where the rest of the Romans lived and converged. Being so high made me feel like the grand Emperor, and I had the urge to deliver a grandiose speech.

We then moved down to the forum. Long story short: the Roman people slept in their own homes with no kitchen or flowing water. Each morning, the people would rise and head down to the forum, where all the churches, kitchens, political senate buildings, etc, were grouped. Due to this, the community was very social and close-knit unless you were an Emperor with a target on your back.

Next up…inside the Colosseum. Holy mother of all gladiators! I don’t know how it happened, but I morphed from an Emperor to a Gladiator. Standing in the ancient building on a hot day was cooler than outside. I marvelled at the airflow from all the arches as my hair blew about as though I was outside. These Roman engineers knew what they were doing.

I stood, imagining the sound of giant grated doors being drawn up to the roar of the crowd. I wondered what people wore to these events and what food and drinks they brought.

How many days and hours did they spend here each year?

How terrifying it must have been to be a gladiator!

One fun fact before I close off: each Roman citizen/family received a tablet with a number for entry to the Colosseum's shows. These numbers were lifelong and reflected the family's social standing. The number assigned correlated with a single arch of the Colosseum titled with the same number. This would be their entry point and seating zone for life.

After the tours – like proper Italians Nathan, Jamie, and I went to a local restaurant for dinner at 11 pm.