Rome: Day Two

On our second day in Rome, we went to the Colosseum.

It was pretty cool. Apparently, the Colosseum could seat between 50,000 and 75,000 people. I did not realize it was that large when we were there! That's probably because it is falling down, and the field is not very large compared to modern day sports fields. It was crazy to think about how many people died in the Colosseum, too. They would have gladiator fights to the death, hunts against giraffes, hippos, rhinos, and lions, and plays in which the actors would all be torn apart by such beasts at the conclusion of the play. I never really realized how cruel society must have been if such activities were considered entertainment. Interestingly enough, there is no written record of Christian martyrs in the Colosseum. However, there almost undoubtedly were Christian martyrs killed in the Colosseum, as all kinds of criminals were used for the above entertainments.

After the Colosseum, we went to the Palatine Hill, where nobles lived during the time of the Roman empire. There were some pretty impressively extensive ruins. I also thought it was interesting that these ruins are still active archaeological sites. I kinda figured that they would have finished with them by now, since they are not inaccessible (basically in a city park), and they have been known about since archaeology became a thing. But I guess it takes a while.

This is an ancient mansion on the Palatine hill. It's amazing how much of it is intact after almost two thousand years!

Above and below are the ruins of the Roman forum. They had an impressive display of columns. Woo! Everybody loves columns.

After the forum, we went to the Roman pantheon. It is the oldest intact structure in Rome. Sometime around the 7th century (give or take a hundred years), the Pope turned it into a Church, which it still is today. Raphael (the Renaissance artist, not the ninja turtle) has his tomb inside.

There's also a big hole in the roof! Apparently, it has to be there so the dome doesn't collapse. I don't exactly know why, but it was there in the original structure.

We met Kristin (friend from Pittsburgh) outside the Pantheon. It was pretty strange seeing someone from home in Rome. We had dinner with her, but by then it had started raining rather hard, so we called it a day after that.