Rome

By far my favorite place on our trip. So much history. There's so much to talk about in so little time. I'm going to try keep as brief as possible. 

We used a 'hop on hop off' bus to see the sights of Rome. It definitley was not as good as the one in Florence, but I got to see what I wanted. 

We first visited the Trevi Fountain, Lisa's favorite place in the world. It was packed with people. It's common practice to throw a coin into the fountain to make a wish.Giacomo was not in a very good mood this day. We did get to eat ice cream on the side fountain however and throw a coin in. The fountain dates back to 19 BC but Pope Urban VIII decided to make a fountain. During the construction he died. In 1730, Pope Clement decided to take up the project. It took 30+ years to build and was completed in 1762.

The Colosseum was my favorite sight of the whole trip. Just walking through the stadium where others had 1500+ years ago gave me goosebumps. The Colosseum took 10 years to build, beginning from 70 AD and completed in 80 AD. It's main purpose was to hold gladiator contests and other public specticals such as animal hunts, famous battle re-enactments and dramas based on classical mythology. I spent a good two hours inside, and I could have spent a few more if we did not have Giacomo. There is a lot of damage too after an earthquake, the floor of the theater is fully fallen away and you can see the structures underneath where the slaves and animals were keept. You can see that it had three levels to it, but again, the earthquake has caused the side of the third level to crumble. Also, there are a whole lot of artifacts inside but we never got to view them. 

Next to the Colosseum is 'The Arch of Constantine'. Becoming sole Roman Emperor in 324, is known for bringing christianity to Rome. The Roman Empires largest arch was erected to commemorate Constantine's victory in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

Unfortunately we never got to stand inside the Brasilia of St. Peter but it was awesome to see. It took us a while to find it as we took many wrong turns, but got there in the end. The church is found in the world's smallest country, Vatican City, and is known by manyfor being where the Pope addresses the people. Also, it is famous for being the burial ground of the Apostle Peter. Giacomo pretty much ran around the square while I chased him and we ran into a pidgeon eating another.

The Roman Forum was difficult because it was the late afternoon, it was hot and Giacomo had no intention on listening what so ever. So we did what we could. You could easily spend a few hours in this place but spent about 45 minutes here. What we saw was awesome, especially the pillars casually standing around. In the middle of the archeological ruins stood tall white pillars that you see in movies or books. The Forum was the centre of political life to ancient Rome and was known to many as a market place.

Rome has been favorite place by far on our holiday. I've enjoyed being surrounded by lots of ancient history and learning about some of Rome's influence on the ancient world and our world today. 

After Rome we travelled south to Salerno where we took day trips to the Amalfi Coast, Napoli and Pompeii.