Buon Sabato! Happy Saturday!
While most of you are just getting your mornings started back at home, we have already had quite the day!! Around 9:30, we bundled up and took a coach over to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, while getting in some fabulous tidbits of information on the way from our lovable tour guide, Gino. We all have come to adore him, and it has been so great having him lead us though the beautiful city, as he not only has a lot to teach us about the architecture, but he has an incredible amount of knowledge on mythology, religion, history, philosophy and always manages to slip in some comedic relief!
One of the greatest Engineering ‘takeaways’ today came from Basilica Maximus, a massive structure. The basilica is so large and sturdy thanks to the usage of fewer columns and wider vaults. On the ceiling of the remaining vaults, you can see octagonal coffers, which were designed and used to reduce the weight of the structure (Gino also informed us that the octagonal shape was important to the romans, as it symbolized the connection between humanity and the divine).
A distant shot of Basilica Maximus- It is HUGE!
A closer view of the vaults and octagonal coffers.
Next, on the walk towards the forum, Gino showed us a few temples that had been dedicated to emperors and their wives, children, parents, etc. It is amazing how well preserved they are, considering how high the ground level was when they began to excavate the area hundreds of years ago. This was all hidden underground!
Temple of Romulus. It is circular in structure, and features a massive (now green) Bronze door framed by detailed carved marble and large columns made of porphyry- which was only used for the very important members of society.
Temple of Antonius and Faustina. Originally a temple dedicated Faustina, it later became a christian church. The structure is still in great shape today, due to the use of the marble columns and crushed brick foundation.
Another fun tidbit of information from today; Gino went through the process of the road construction, the sewer system, and wells throughout the forum. It continues to amaze us how well-planned and executed the Romans were able to construct what did they did, considering the resources available to them at the time. Many of these streets and buildings are 1,700-2,500 years old!
Gino explaining the construction of the ancient roads (seen on the right). A trench was dug roughly 2 meters deep, filled with gravel, then sand, and finally finished off with Tufa- a volcanic rock used to build a lot of the roads and structures here in Rome.
Finally, we walked up to the top of Palatine hill to capture this gorgeous view of the ruins of the forum below, as well as a backdrop of the city and the colosseum.
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