Colosseum, Rome

Rome, you are a stunning city. We’ve grown accustomed to quiet little towns so this is a bit of a shock to the system. Aside from the crowd and insane number of tourists, we found ourselves in awe of everything. It felt like we were immersed in a history book; Roman soldiers could trudge around the corner and it would not look out of place (maybe).

Flora’s friends from Melbourne, Viv and Kez, were coincidentally holidaying in Italy too. We decided to meet up in Rome and see the sights together. Ok, in all honesty, we changed our travel plans so we could be in Italy at the same time as them. Thanks to Aaron for being such an accommodating husband :)

Flora had always wanted to see the Colosseum. Aaron had seen it before, but he remembered little of it; he was young and probably inebriated at the time. There it was, the majestic Colosseum. The sheer scale of it is astounding. It looked intimidating against the dark clouds behind it. Flora was floored. When she picked her jaw back up off the ground, they found Viv and Kez (happy dance!).

We got ourselves an audio guide which resembles a 1980s telephone that you have to hold up against your ear. The Colosseum was built nearly 2000 years ago for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Over the years, natural disasters and looters had reduced the Colosseum to mostly ruins. What still stood and the parts that were rebuilt was sufficient for one to imagine the Colosseum as it was in its glory days.

The Colosseum was open to everyone – rich and poor, young and old, men and women, although the women and slaves who were considered of lowest social standing were placed in a different section. Entertainment back in those days included watching men who were sentenced to death, eing forced into the arena, naked and unarmed, where lions and other beasts would rip them to pieces.

The most interesting part of the Colosseum would have been the basement which we were not allowed into as we weren’t part of a guided tour group. Bummer! It would have been so interesting wandering through the maze of small rooms which used to house the animals for the contests. These animals were brought up into the arena via a lift system and trap doors. Those Romans thought of everything!

Next, we headed to the Roman Forum which was effectively the central business district of the city for the Romans. The Forum provided a central meeting place for people to trade, hold public forums, and celebrate battle triumphs. Perhaps the most important of them all was the birth or inception of the Senate.

The word “senate” means “old man” in Latin, or assembly of elders. The Senate during the monarchy held little power but it came to prominence when the monarchy was overthrown in a coup and replaced with a republic.

It was a real pity the rain came pelting down again and we had to cut our visit short. We should have read up more on the Roman Forum beforehand so we knew what we were looking at. Next time, hopefully.Read more