May 2015 - Rome, Italy
The remains of the great Roman empire and the birthplace of the Renaissance. A lot of history packed into one city! These pictures cover the Colosseum and Capitoline Hill. Here in the US we have to rebuild stadiums every few decades - the Colosseum was in active service for centuries, and has stood as a monument for millennia. We had a chance to go both to the underground level and to the upper level. Capitoline Hill features a square designed by Michelangelo and a 12th century church, both great.
The remains of the great Roman empire and the birthplace of the Renaissance. A lot of history packed into one city! These pictures cover the Colosseum and Capitoline Hill. Here in the US we have to rebuild stadiums every few decades - the Colosseum was in active service for centuries, and has stood as a monument for millennia. We had a chance to go both to the underground level and to the upper level. Capitoline Hill features a square designed by Michelangelo and a 12th century church, both great.
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| The coloseum | Gate 52 to enter the colosseum | |
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| Inside the gates | A plaque dedicating the colosseum to Christianity. An unfortunate disfigurement. | The gate into the actual arena |
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| Walking onto the floor of the arena | Inscriptions along the edge | |
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| The area under the arena floor | From the basement (now missing its ceiling) | |
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| Cages and quarters | Along the main level. It's remarkable how much it feels like a stadium. | Along the top level |
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| The colosseum from the top level | The Palatine Hill, from the top of the colosseum | |
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| What a beauty! | Friends admiring the colosseum | |
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| The sun setting on the colosseum | Diverging staircases at Capitoline Hill: right to the Piazza del Campidoglio, left Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli | |
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| Up to Piazza del Campidoglio | Piazza del Campidoglio | Marcus Aurelius |
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| The Piazza | Up to the Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli | |
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| The staircase up feels _really_ steep | A very old fresco above the exterior door | Inside the church, lined with Roman columns |
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| The first time in a church in Rome that something was best described as "tacky" and "gross" | Heralding the pope | A pretty grumpy looking pope. Actually he'd fit right in with some of the gargoyles that we've seen on other churches. |
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