One image: Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella

This building is the tomb of Cecilia Metella, on the Via Appia Antica, outside the walls of Rome.

Not much is known about the woman for whom the tomb was constructed, except that her father was Quintus Caecilius Metellus Cretico, and that she was the wife of Crassus son of Marcus Licinius Crassus, who suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and who was in the first triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey. 

It's unusual to see a tomb of this size for a woman of the time (the 1st century BC), so it is thought that the tomb was more a display of the wealth and importance of her family than that of the individual.

The top section was added in the 14th century, and the structure was apparently used as a fortification. According to Lonely Planet, it was occupied "by the Caetani family, who used to threaten passing traffic into paying a toll".

One image: Salisbury Cathedral

 

We visited Salisbury Cathedral on a very cold October day last year. When we entered, the sky was cloudy and grey, and we were greeted inside by the soaring voices of the choir practising. By the time we left, the sun had come out, and the stone walls of the cathedral glowed in the late afternoon light.

One image: Drinking fountain

One of the many drinking fountains in Rome. The water is cool and clear and perfectly drinkable (and on the odd occasion it's not, it's clearly marked). These little fountains run all the time - something Australians aren't used to coming from a land where drought is a common state. The trick to drinking from them is to place your finger over the end of the spout, to force the water up through the small hole pointing upwards halfway along the spout. But watch out! The water can jet out with far more force and much further than you're expecting! Miss Tizz got a little damp trying it out, but had lots of fun in the process (and accidentally washed someone's Vespa):

Domitian's stadium

Just along and round to the right of this photo is Rome's Piazza Navona. The piazza is an elongated  shape, and what you can see here is part of the reason for that shape. The piazza is built on top of the Circus Domitianus - Domitian's stadium.

Domitian succeeded his brother Titus as Emperor in 81AD (a little over a month before his 30th birthday), and ruled until his murder in 96AD.


The stadium was completed in 86AD, and was part of the large rebuilding project that happened after the fire of 79AD. It was constructed of brick and concrete - fire retardant and cheap materials - and faced with marble.

There are at least two floors, supported by arches, under the present day ground floors of the buildings surrounding the piazza. Under the viewing stands for the games in the circus, various businesses were housed, including taverns and brothels.

There's so much to see at ground level in Rome, it's easy to overlook what's below - so much evidence of times past is in the city's basements and under the streets, with just glimpses such as this available to the visitor.

One image: Venus

I spied this statue in the courtyard of a palazzo in the Jewish Ghetto area of Rome one afternoon as we were walking back from Isola Tiberina. The gate to the courtyard was open, so we just walked in - no idea what the etiquette is, but there was no one around, and the building, like many other palazzi, seems to have been converted into flats, so I guess it's like wandering into the common area of any similar area of housing. Not really encouraged, but as long as you don't cause any trouble it's probably not of much concern to anyone.

She looks like a Venus to me - reminiscent of Boticelli's Venus, especially with the shell motif above her head and her long, flowing hair. I've no idea whose work she is, and a Google search hasn't shed any light. There are many courtyards like this in Rome, mostly hidden behind massive wooden doors, and next time I visit I'm going to take more time to peek in through the shadows wherever I can.

One image: Forum Romanum

There are quite a few fora in Rome, but this is one part of the Forum. The big structure in the centre at the back is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. Within it is the Baroque Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda - it's quite remarkable how the outside of the temple was retained, and the usual church design modified to fit.

The structure is quite a long way up from the present (excavated) ground level - you can't see them in this photograph, but there is a tall, broad sweep of stairs up to the base of the columns, and within the portico there is a gap of several metres up to the bronze doors of the church, giving an indication of how much higher ground level was in the 17th century.

The smaller structure in the foreground is the ruin of the Temple of Divus Julius, built by Augustus in 42BC and dedicated to his deified uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar. This temple is built over the place where Caesar was cremated, following his murder in 44BC. The roofed area contains the remains of the temple altar - you can go in on the left hand side, and see it behind the stone wall - people still lay flowers here today.

The Forum proper - the open space between all the buildings, extends from the front of the Temple of Divus Julius up to the base of the Capitoline Hill (towards the left in this photo), between the Basilica Aemilia and Basilica Julia. The columns on the left belong to the Basilica Aemilia.

It's hard to get a feeling for this important place in Roman history. There are so many layers, not least due to its location between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, subject to flooding and sedimentation. The ruins give little indication of what a crowded, closed in, busy place this would have been 2000 years ago - not just a centre of government, but a marketplace and social area - not too much different to our city centres today.

I could spend a long time studying this place, and it's just one small area of this amazing city.

One image: Colosseum hypogeum

This is the other view of the Colosseum that evoked a strong response in me: looking down in to the hypogeum, the area below the ground level of the arena.

I can only imagine how these spaces would have assaulted the senses of those unlucky enough to be there. It would have been dark and smoky, stinking of the fear and desperation of humans and animals, full of the noise of those below and the crowds above.

There were two levels down here, full of corridors and cages. Eighty shafts opened up into the arena, and elevators operated by pulleys moved people, animals and scenery up through the arena floor.

A number of tunnels connected the hypogeum to areas outside the Colosseum - private entries for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, tunnels linking to gladiators' barracks, and tunnels to animal stables. You might have been down there in the dark for some time before it was your turn in the arena, and to emerge disoriented into the sunlight and noise, in a place you'd probably never seen before, and knowing that you were unlikely to survive, must have been a horrifying experience.

One image: Colosseum

 

Day 1 in Italy, and it's hard not to be drawn towards this massive structure which represents to much about ancient Rome. It took a few more days of wandering towards it from various directions before we went inside and, for me, the interior and exterior inspired very different reactions. 

The exterior is all about the beauty and engineering marvel that is the Colosseum. The three different layers of columns and arches; the very modern (and ancient!) design which allowed the 50,000 seats to fill and empty in short time; the organisation of tickets and numbered gates; the fat that so much of it is still standing despite time, earthquakes, and theft (sanctioned and otherwise) of the stone and metal pins that held the facings in place. Even the drains are impressive! They had to be - it's built on what was a swamp.

It's impressive at any time, but to see it with the setting sun glowing on the warm stone is breath-taking.

One image: Pantheon

The Pantheon in Roma is impressive: its size, its construction, its awe-inspiring interior with the coffered dome and the huge oculus. The fact that it's essentially the same building seen and used by the ancient Romans almost 2000 years ago (the older original building - constructed in 27BC - was burnt down [twice], and this replacement was built in 126AD, and there have been various stages of renovation) is incredible - just substitute Catholic statues for the original gods.

We wandered around Rome on the day we arrived, without any particular plan, and found ourselves in the Piazza della Minerva, home to Bernini's beautiful elephant sculpture. Between two buildings at one corner of the Piazza we could see the back of the Pantheon, so we headed in that direction. Miss Tizz was distracted by the horses and carriages between the building and the fountain in the centre of the piazza, however, so we didn't end up going in that day - instead we took a carriage ride around the city centre.

The second time we went to the Pantheon it was a religious holiday, there was a mass being conducted, and the building was closed off to people not attending mass.

Our third visit was on our last full day in Rome, and this time we managed to get inside this magnificent building. There are signs near the entrance reminding visitors that this is a church, and asking you to be quiet and not speak, but there is a constant dampened buzz inside. It's essentially a large round open space, with paintings, sculptures, tombs and the high altar around the circumference. The oculus is the only source of natural light, apart from the doorway.

However you approach it - architecturally, historically, religiously, or from an engineering or design viewpoint - it's one of the amazing buildings of the world.

One image: Fontana delle Tartarughe

The Fountain of the Turtles wasn't far from where we stayed in Rome - out the front door, turn right, turn right again, and a little way down the street to the Piazza Mattei - no more than a few minutes' stroll.

We walked through this little piazza several times during our stay, and twice came across groups of art students engaged in drawing the fountain. Apparently the original fountain (built in the 1580s) was to have another four dolphins, supported by the boys' hands, but they were either never finished, or were moved to another fountain, depending on which story you believe. The turtles, possibly by Bernini, were added about 70 years later.

Fountains like this one were designed to provide drinking water for the local people, and apparently the water is clean enough to drink today. I love that they're not just for decoration, but were an important part of daily life for the people who lived here over 400 years ago.

One image: Last night in Rome

This photo was taken on Thursday, 4 November 2010 - our last night in Rome.

We'd had a long day, walking from the apartment to the Pantheon (via Piazza Mattei and Largo di Torre Argentina), then up to Piazza del Popolo (via Monte Citorio and the Piazza Colonna), back to Piazza di Spagna, then Fontana di Trevi and home again.

This was about 7pm, and taken leaning out our 2nd floor kitchen window. We're on Via Dei Delfini - the street of the Dolphins. The first street on the left is Via Dei Polacchi, and Piazza Margana is on the right, just around the ivy-covered corner past the street light. And just around the corner is 'our' restaurant - La Taverna degli Amici. We headed over there for dinner (for the third time in two weeks) about half an hour later.

The car driving away is on Via Margana, heading towards Via d'Aracoeli. If it turns right at the end of the street, the Campidoglio, on the Capitoline Hill, will be straight ahead.