Rome, again
October 22, 2019
Our cruise was leaving from a port near Rome on Thursday. We wanted to head on there and spend Wednesday night in Civitavecchia so we wouldn't have to worry about getting to the port on Thursday morning. So our main final sightseeing in Rome was on Tuesday. We had other important things to do on Monday after we arrived. We couldn't get a room at the hotel where we stayed the first time, but Torrey had had a package delivered there and went to retrieve it. (Long story.) Then we sorely needed clean clothes before the cruise, and so we headed to a coin laundry.
So Tuesday was our chance to tour the Forum, finally. When we were looking for the Forum ticket office and entrance, we came upon the Church of Frances of Rome, which used to be New St. Mary's.
Torrey eventually found the ticket office and texted me where to meet him. It was of course on the other side of things, so I headed back by the Coliseum and met him near the entrance.
This picture was taken from the porch of the church. It shows part of Via Sacra and buildings up on the Palatine.
The Arch of Titus is the oldest of the Roman triumphal arches. It was erected after his death. We entered the Forum beside it.
The menorah represents his victory over Jerusalem and its destruction. He brought back a lot of slaves.
The Basilica of Constantine was a massive hall of justice. About a third of it survives.
The Temple of Antoninus Pius and his wife Faustina, plus a view across the Forum
A view down the Via Sacra, the main drag of the Forum and of Rome
The Temple of Vesta was circular. This is what remains. Beyond it was the House of the Vestal Virgins. The statues along the courtyard honored the most famous ones. Their main duty during their 30-years term of service was to see that the fire did not go out, also to live up to their name.
Rick Steves says that these columns from the Temple of Castor and Pollux are the most photographed sight in the Forum.
And that reminds me. Back when I was the district youth coordinator of the Albemarle District, there was a guy on the district youth council named Jim Lee, who was from Wadesboro. Someone once asked me if we were kin, and I said that, yes, we were twins. That was a bit puzzling to that youth, since I was at least ten years older than Jimmy. I said sure. Haven't you heard of Jim and I, the twins?
The rather nondescript building in the center of the picture is the Curia, where the Senate met. This one is a rebuild from AD 283.
Temple of Saturn, from 497 BC
The Umbilicus Urbis, the symbolic center of the city. Below is a crack in the ground where the world of living came in contact with the underworld.
Torrey and I had pretty much gone our separate ways. We were running out of time before closing, so Torrey headed back toward the entrance and up to do a quick tour of the Palatine Hill. I went on toward an exit, which took me up to the Capitoline Hill. It was too late to tour the museums there, so I guess that may be the main thing we missed in Rome (among a thousand other things).
Ancient ruins on top of the hill are covered up by Mediaeval and Renaissance palaces and a plaza designed by Michelangelo.
And then Apple Maps directed me to the street where I could catch a bus to Termini, near our hotel.
Torrey meanwhile on the Palatine Hill shot this sunset panorama.
