Palatine Hill

Of the famous 7 hills of Rome, the Palatine is the most central. Even though evidence suggests that people lived here long before, Rome is said to be founded here in the 8th century BCE.
The story of the twins Romulus and Remus is fairly well known. They were said to be suckled and raised by a she-wolf. The word for she-wolf is lupa. Lupa is also the word for a prostitute. Regardless of which is accurate, Romulus killed Remus, I'm told, because they disagreed about where to found the city.
Today, the Palatine is an archaeological museum. The approach to the hill is via the Arch of Titus in the 1st picture. The 2nd picture is inside the arch showing, among other things, the menorah taken from the temple in Jerusalem after its destruction in the 1st century CE.
The pictures now move to the top of the hill and the imperial palace. The 3rd picture is the hippodrome for horse racing. (Yes, the palace had its own private race course and stables.) The 4th picture is a bridge to a temple of Athena. At one end (shown here) was a throne for the emperor to commune with the goddess, especially before war. The temple was on a mound to the right with sacred olive trees
The 5th picture is of an open area of the Palatine near the imperial palace. Those are original marble pavers. The entire area, pavement and buildings alike were clad in marble that was "recycled" to be used for later construction around Rome.
The last picture is taken from atop the retaining wall at the terrace showing the emperor's view overlooking the forum (see another post). The 3 arches to the rear are ruins of the basilica of Maxentius, the guy Constantine defeated.Read more