You know how we said we’d be punctual?  Believe me, we were and still are trying, but the odds have not been in our favor lately.  Currently we’re having some technical difficulties so we’ll do our best to get you content amidst it.  Anyways, here’s a summation of the past two days, and we’ll have the summary of Venice sometime soon.

Yesterday began with a revisit of the Colosseum but instead of the same content as last time we got to see some more exclusive content.  Not only did we get down inside the Hypogeum, but we also got up to the third level of the stadium.  The Hypogeum, as some of you may know, is the underground portion of the Colosseum.  It’s organized like a maze at a brief glance but in reality it had a brilliant purpose.  Down there is where the Romans stored wild animals and sometimes gladiators.  Using pulley systems, powered by animals or slaves, the ancient Romans were able to lift combatants in either cages or on platforms up into the middle of the field where battles were no doubt raging already.

There wasn’t a whole lot of the Hypogeum we could explore, so not long afterwards we went up up up to the highest safe point.  From there we had a great view of the Colosseum and surrounding areas, so the only thing new I’ve got for you is this picture.

Next came a bus tour.  A bus tour?  So late into the trip?  Our thoughts exactly.  Unlike the routes we had taken on the bus previously, we were taken around the outskirts of the Colosseum area.  More specifically, we travelled down the Via Appia, the first Roman road.  Seriously, the first.  We had a chance to take a look at the aqueducts and baths, which were colossal, but not Colosseum colossal. 

Our next stop took us to the Domus Romane, another excavation similar to the Scavi, but 100% more spacious and not a necropolis.  The Domus in general is a large, luxurious home, owned by the wealthier members of the Roman society.  This Domus had a sauna, pool, cold pool, and a large outdoor plaza as far as we could tell by what had been excavated.  The site was under a renaissance house that had dug out parts of the house to lay its foundation.  Like other excavations, we were not allowed to take pictures, so I’ll paint the scene.  We go down a flight and enter an underground tunnel.  From the tunnel branches off a dark room.  Upon entering said dark room, we notice that the entire floor is glass and under the glass is the ruins of the Domus.  The employee in charge of our squad initiates an electronic tour in a convenient english-language-with-a-british-accent announce voice.  As the announcer talks, multiple projectors light up the areas referred to projects simulations of how the Domus used to look.  It was rather cool.  The tour continued like that for a bunch of rooms and lasted around 1.5 hours.  All in all, it definitely painted the picture better than the Scavi did.

And that, besides some free roaming, brings us to today.  Near noon, we gathered to head to the nearby Castel St. Angelo.  Originally, the castle had the purpose of being the tomb of the family of emperor Hadrian.  Not long afterwards it was converted into a barracks and then into the residence and defensive castle of the popes.  Needless to say there was quite a lot of history there.

So we had the tour with Gino, our favorite.  It had a huge entryway that spiraled up a couple of flights and opened onto a grotto.  Going up further than the grotto there were the papal apartments, which are not used currently.  As could be expected, they had tons of artwork across every surface and plenty of rooms to boot.  One of those rooms included a humongous chest for storing gold and loot.  I kid you not, this chest was tall and wide enough to fit 10 or more people from our group.  Ascending even more stairs, we came to the tip top, which had an excellent view of the city.  From there we could pick out every major landmark and even a natural gas refinery in the distance.

After a half an hour of time to ourselves, we gathered at the bridge and crossed the Tiber on our way to the Pantheon.  Gino took us through many back streets, explaining countless details along the way.  We spent around a half an hour meandering those streets without reaching anything notable, and even then we took a break for lunch and reconnoitered at the Piazza Navona.  At the Piazza Navona, one is probably 200 yards away from the Pantheon, but we could have been a mile away for all we knew with the pace and path Gino took us along on.

Finally, FINALLY we reached the Pantheon, the largest unsupported concrete dome in the world.  As suggested by the name, it’s brilliant.  Its height is the same as the diameter of the dome, and that height would be approximately 150 feet.  Within the dome are square shapes cut out of the concrete in a neat pattern.  Actually, the building we were seeing was not the original structure, but rather the third iteration on that site.  You may now be wondering, what was the purpose of this megastructure?  Well… the original purpose is actually unknown, but currently it’s used as a Christian church.  Following a quick lecture by Gino, we headed out, did some more walking, and then enjoyed some gelato.  A fulfilling day indeed.

That’s all for now, folks!  We’ll be back with more content, so stay tuned.  Ciao!

– Chris Apfeld