Our first stop! We stayed in Rome for a total of 5 days. Our Airbnb was located in the Monti neighborhood and was a 10-15 minute walk to the Colosseum (which we never got tired of walking past). Rome is a city filled with ancient history and beautiful architecture and artwork. It's hard to believe how old the city is when comparing to what we have in the states. We loved just walking around the city (even in the near 100 degree heat), learning about its history, eating a LOT of pasta, partaking in aperitivos, and adjusting to our travels. We did a lot in Rome, but the highlights were definitely history-related. Some of our favorites:
Colosseum - our favorite tour we did in Rome. The Colosseum is massive and it's hard to believe that something that was built so long ago (80 AD) for entertainment is still standing. We learned that sand coated the main floor where fights would occur (to soak up the blood, naturally) and that the Latin word for sand is "arena"- so that's where we get that! Turns out that the Colosseum was used for more than just gladiator fights. It was also a place where they would showcase some of the exotic animals that were brought back to Rome from its invading armies. We didn't get a tour of the underground where the gladiators and animals were held, but we did get to see it from above and saw where the trap doors that would raise up the gladiators and animals would have been. Contrary to what we believed (and what the movie Gladiator implies), the gladiators that fought in the Colosseum were not usually toned and fit. The rich people of Rome would sponsor gladiators and make sure they were well fed and had some extra layers of protection on them (easier to recover from a wound to fat vs muscle). So, turns out gladiators looked more like sumo wrestlers, not Russell Crowe. We also found out that fighting to the death also wasn't really how things went. Gladiators were an investment, so having them die during a fight would be a pretty poor use of funds. Regardless, we still had a good time watching Gladiator in our Airbnb that night. The architecture of the Colosseum was also incredible (to us- according to our guide, the lack of colors, art, and finery in the ruins now would not have impressed the ancient Romans, who had very rich tastes). Back in its prime, the arena was covered in marble that was later looted and brought over to be used in St. Peter's basilica in the Vatican. The arches on the outside of the Colosseum also would have had sculptures displayed, but those are no longer standing. The lower arches on the outside have numerals above them that you can still see, which told the ancient Romans which gate to enter- just like a football stadium today. The arena is open to the sky, but would have had a system to deploy an awning (velarium) across the opening to provide shade during events (nerded out a bit over this ancient engineering tidbit). When the Colosseum tour was over we got to walk around the Roman Forum, where the heart of the city, including the senate house, was located. This place has layers and layers of history, and you really have to use your imagination as to how it looked back then since most of it was destroyed and/or built over.
Vatican City - the second country on our trip was Vatican City (even though they don't give you a passport stamp, which is kind of a bummer). Enclosed by the walls from Rome, this small yet powerful city holds some of the most beautiful art in the world. We took another guided tour here that took us through the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. The museums were really impressive and had so much to see, it was honesty hard to take everything in. Some of the most notable works in the museum were the "School of Athens" by Raphael (you know the one) and the Gallery of Maps. The Gallery of Maps was by far one of the coolest things we saw - the pictures don't do the maps or the ceiling justice, but our jaws were on the floor (which, no surprise, was also beautiful). After the museums, we went into the Sistine Chapel and saw the masterpieces painted by Michelangelo. No pictures allowed in here, but they wouldn't have done it justice anyway. Our necks hurt from staring at the ceiling, but the amount of detail and beauty in all of the paintings was worth it. After the chapel we went into St. Peter's Basilica. It was as big as three soccer fields, had chapels inside of it, and some of the burial spots of people who had sainthood (including some popes). The basilica was stunning - probably in part to all that marble they stole from the Colosseum :). The amount of artwork and the size was just jaw dropping.
Pantheon - the dome that started it all. Seriously - it inspired a lot of the others, including the Duomo in Florence and the dome at St. Peter's Basilica. It was pretty funny when we turned the corner to see the Pantheon since it just sits in the middle of a modern day piazza....and you can't really even see a dome from the outside. Inside the Pantheon is a different story, though. The dome was built up to leave a large circular opening in the top to let light in. This also lets in rain, but the floor was designed to drain water. The Pantheon houses the burial spots of Italian artists and kings/queen; the most famous and first was for Raphael who was inspired by the Pantheon for a lot of his work and requested to be laid to rest in the Pantheon. The Pantheon was originally built as a place of worship for all of the gods (literal translation of "Pan-theon"), but was eventually transformed into a Catholic church. The Panthoen is still used as a church today, and turns out you can even have your wedding there (not getting any ideas).
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