The Colosseum and the Pantheon

Our final stop on our Forum visit (Friday) was to see the Arch of Titus. This was another one of those art historical objects that I had seen represented so many times in school presentations. All of the objects in the forum are of intense importance as these were the works that Italian and Renaissance artists were looking to for inspiration. I got close up shots of the rosettes on the arch interior and the scene of the Roman soldiers bringing back the treasures of Jerusalem.




After finishing at the forum we took a walk down another original Roman road to the Colosseum (which was not too far away). It was hard to imagine that all of the empty space between had likely bustled with Roman activity and been filled with other architecture in many years before.




We got to go inside of the Colosseum and were let loose for a short while to wander around inside of it. It was a lot smaller than I imagined it to be, but still an impressive and monumental ancient structure. I spent most of the time snapping pictures and imagining being witness to the activities that would have taken place within its stone walls.






As soon as we were at it was time for a water and rest break! We all refreshed ourselves between the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum before making our way to our next destination: the Pantheon! But before we got there we stopped to admire the location of the world's first shopping mall, the piazza of Trajan with Trajan's column.



We also stopped by an old governmental palace, famous during Mussolini's time for having the balcony he often made speeches from. Today it's a national museum.


On the way to the pantheon we passed a famous statue of an elephant by Bernini that holds up a column pilfered from Egypt (and there are many of these columns and Egyptian symbols throughout Rome. The pantheon was my favorite visit of the day! The entire temple is the only architectural structure that has survived wholly intact to current day (an what an amazing example of Roman ingenuity it is)!



From the outside it appears as a regularly planned temple and square shaped building, but when you enter you can truly feel like you are entering a divinely inspired space. To Romans 2000 years ago they would feel like they were in the presence of the gods within this one-room marvel. The hole in the ceiling lets everything in, sunlight and rain! Luckily for us, the weather was beautiful. Mr. Nero told me that its believed that you can tell time by reading where and how the light of the sun hits the coffers, higher up in summer, lower in the winter. Unfortunately I did not get may pictures because my camera battery died!



After the Pantheon, it was suggested to all of us to sample an amazing coffee drink that is only offered at one particular cafe that was quite nearby. When I can remember the name of it I will post it. The drink had whipped cream on the bottom, a scoop of frozen espresso in the middle and more whipped cream on top! It was good although it would have been better with chocolate (it was probably the closest thing to a frappacino that I'll get while I'm here). Also it gave us a nice boost for walking back to the hotel! My camera wasn't operational, so my roommate Marybeth took these for me!