We left Venice on New Years Eve and travelled through the Appenine mountains towards Rome. After a full day on the road our excitement was building as we neared the outskirts of the city. Guide Scandy gave us some background on the mythical origins of Roma…
Before Rome was founded there was a nearby state called Alba Longa ruled by King Amulius. Amulius had ascended to the throne after overthrowing his brother Numitor the rightful king. Numitor was imprisoned, and his daughter Rhea was forced to become a vestal virgin to prevent any heirs being born to his line. Despite this Rhea fell pregnant and gave birth to twins Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered her and the babies killed but the servant who was given the task couldn’t bring himself to do it and lay them in a basket on the banks of the Tiber river.
The river rose and took the boys downstream where they were found and nursed by a she wolf. Later they were discovered by a local shepherd who raised them as his own. The twins grew up and eventually learned their birthright, killing Amulius and reinstating their grandfather as king of Alba Longa before leaving with their supporters to build their own city.
The twins quarrelled over the exact position of their settlement but determined to let fate decide. Seated high on a hill apart from one another, they agreed that whoever saw the most Eagles was favoured by the gods. Remus saw six and Romulus twelve, hence Romulus decided the city would be built on Palatine Hill. The city became Rome and Romulus its first king.
It was a great introduction and really set the mood for our first visit to the eternal city. We arrived late in the afternoon before going out to dinner in Cental Rome and celebrating the New Year in Piazza Venezia. The busy square provided a fantastic setting amongst illuminated ruins of ancient Rome, including the towering Colosseum nearby. The atmosphere itself was frenetic and we were cast amongst massive crowds of people drinking and dancing. Many of the locals also brought their own fireworks and set about lighting them wherever there was a patch of pavement free of bodies. They also enjoyed throwing empty champagne bottles in the air and smashing them on the concrete. With such a huge crowd of people it all seemed a bit over the top especially in the light of the four fatalities caused by flying bottles during last year’s celebrations. But that’s New Year in Rome. It’s a crazy time. Anyway we managed to survive the night and it was an interesting experience.
New Year’s Day was the fullest day of sightseeing we had. Scandy gallantly tried to do the impossible by showing us the main sites of Rome in one day. We began with a guided walking tour in the morning, revisiting the historical district we had been the night before. We started at the grand Vittoriano, a monument to Victor Emmanuel who was the first king of a unified Italy in the 19th Century. Such is the scale and classical style of the architecture, I initially thought it was a restored imperial palace.
I chuckled when the tour leader said it was under a hundred years old.
We walked to the Roman Forum located beneath Palatine Hill. This was the central area from which ancient Rome developed and it grew to encompass most of the important public buildings of the city including the Emperor’s residence, numerous temples and the Senate. Nowadays you can still see the ruins of these buildings. I was most impressed with the Arch of Septimius Severus and the upright columns of the Temple of Saturn. The senate or ‘curia’ (court) dates back to the 7th century BC and was the favoured meeting place of Rome’s politicians until it was converted to a church in 600 AD. It has now been restored and stands today as a large but rather plain looking brick building near the centre of the forum. Another notable building around this area is Mamertine prison where according to tradition Saint Peter was held before his crucifixion. Experts are divided on whether Peter was actually imprisoned there but it remains an important religious site.
Our tour ended near the famous Colosseum. The huge amphitheatre was built around 70 AD and it’s really in a remarkable condition considering. All sorts of different events were held there including of course gladiatorial bouts, executions and animal hunts. I was surprised to learn that they used to flood the arena and stage naval battles too. The arena held somewhere between fifty and seventy thousand spectators. Even though these estimates include a proportion that were standing, it struck me that nearly two thousand years later New Zealand doesn’t have a stadium which holds more than fifty thousand! Maybe it’s down to population density. Unfortunately, as it was a public holiday the Colosseum was closed and we couldn’t go in and see the interior of the arena as you usually can.
By the time we reached St Peters Square it was mid afternoon and we had less than two hours to explore the huge Vatican compound before our bus was due to depart. The square was designed in 1656 by Bernini in order to allow the greatest number of people to see the pope’s blessing and it certainly does that. I imagine tens of thousands could stand in the massive forecourt with room to spare.
That day, a huge queue for the Basilica building wound all the way around the plaza. It didn’t seem we would get in, but we weren’t too disappointed. The colossal colonnades and sculpture that enclose the square, not to mention the domed basilica building itself were so impressive we spent at least an hour wandering around the huge complex just drinking it in. As a few of us were walking around taking photos Scandy rushed over and urged us to join the line, which was now moving quite swiftly. Fortunately we did and we were able to spend around thirty minutes in probably the most amazing building I’ve ever seen.
Basilica di San Pietro was built on the site of what is believed to be Saint Peter’s Tomb. The construction of today’s basilica, over the ancient Constantinian church, began in the 1500s and took over a hundred years to complete. A host of legendary artists and architects worked on it including Bernini, Michelangelo and Raphael amongst other masters. Covering an area of 5.7 acres, it is thought to be the largest church building in the world.
Once inside the building I was awestruck by the sheer scale and beauty of its design. Turning to a friend I wanted to somehow share the experience and opened my mouth to speak but literally had nothing to say which could describe it.
Walking across the marbled floors you are dwarfed by the dimensions of the place. The impossibly high walls and ceilings are decorated with incredibly ornate murals and you are surrounded by giant statues of saints looking down from their alcoves. Huge arches stretch upwards crowned by a thick band of gold covered in a Latin inscription. The ancient characters set into the frieze encircle the room and give it a mysterious quality, like the words of some enchantment. At its highest point St Peter’s Dome rises like a golden flower with each intricately painted petal converging towards the centre. If you crane your neck and look close enough you can see the paintings represent different scenes from the bible.
Certainly this was an incredible place but there was one more surprise in store. As we wandered towards the main altar it seemed there was a service going on. A number of clergy were marching in procession along the aisle and to our astonishment one of them was wearing the traditional mitre hat of the Pope. I couldn’t believe it but my excited Brazilian friend confirmed that it was Benedict about to lead a New Year service! After a few minutes watching from a distance we had to go, but what a fantastic note to leave on.
When we emerged back into the square the light was fading and it was time to clamber back onto the bus to complete our whirlwind tour of Rome with a visit to a few more famous spots by night. First we visited the Pantheon which is situated in the Piazza Del Rotunda and fully illuminated at night. The Pantheon is a classical temple that was built in 27 BC and incredibly still stands in a very well preserved state. This is probably because it was continually in use as a church from the 7th century onwards. It is thought to be the best preserved building of this period anywhere in the world.
A short walk from here is the Trevi Fountain. This grand multi tiered monument may be even more impressive at night when the lights illuminate the water and cause the coins beneath to give out a golden glow. Designed by Nicolo Salvi and completed in the 18th century its classical theme is The Taming of the Waters. The main sculpture depicts sea god Neptune on a shell chariot being led by two seahorses. One is calm and the other seems to struggle fiercely, mirroring the moods of the sea.
According to tradition if you throw a coin over your left shoulder and into the fountain without looking back you will return to Rome. I couldn’t help looking back but hopefully I will revisit that amazing city sometime soon.
Before Rome was founded there was a nearby state called Alba Longa ruled by King Amulius. Amulius had ascended to the throne after overthrowing his brother Numitor the rightful king. Numitor was imprisoned, and his daughter Rhea was forced to become a vestal virgin to prevent any heirs being born to his line. Despite this Rhea fell pregnant and gave birth to twins Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered her and the babies killed but the servant who was given the task couldn’t bring himself to do it and lay them in a basket on the banks of the Tiber river.
The river rose and took the boys downstream where they were found and nursed by a she wolf. Later they were discovered by a local shepherd who raised them as his own. The twins grew up and eventually learned their birthright, killing Amulius and reinstating their grandfather as king of Alba Longa before leaving with their supporters to build their own city.
The twins quarrelled over the exact position of their settlement but determined to let fate decide. Seated high on a hill apart from one another, they agreed that whoever saw the most Eagles was favoured by the gods. Remus saw six and Romulus twelve, hence Romulus decided the city would be built on Palatine Hill. The city became Rome and Romulus its first king.
It was a great introduction and really set the mood for our first visit to the eternal city. We arrived late in the afternoon before going out to dinner in Cental Rome and celebrating the New Year in Piazza Venezia. The busy square provided a fantastic setting amongst illuminated ruins of ancient Rome, including the towering Colosseum nearby. The atmosphere itself was frenetic and we were cast amongst massive crowds of people drinking and dancing. Many of the locals also brought their own fireworks and set about lighting them wherever there was a patch of pavement free of bodies. They also enjoyed throwing empty champagne bottles in the air and smashing them on the concrete. With such a huge crowd of people it all seemed a bit over the top especially in the light of the four fatalities caused by flying bottles during last year’s celebrations. But that’s New Year in Rome. It’s a crazy time. Anyway we managed to survive the night and it was an interesting experience.
New Year’s Day was the fullest day of sightseeing we had. Scandy gallantly tried to do the impossible by showing us the main sites of Rome in one day. We began with a guided walking tour in the morning, revisiting the historical district we had been the night before. We started at the grand Vittoriano, a monument to Victor Emmanuel who was the first king of a unified Italy in the 19th Century. Such is the scale and classical style of the architecture, I initially thought it was a restored imperial palace.
I chuckled when the tour leader said it was under a hundred years old.
We walked to the Roman Forum located beneath Palatine Hill. This was the central area from which ancient Rome developed and it grew to encompass most of the important public buildings of the city including the Emperor’s residence, numerous temples and the Senate. Nowadays you can still see the ruins of these buildings. I was most impressed with the Arch of Septimius Severus and the upright columns of the Temple of Saturn. The senate or ‘curia’ (court) dates back to the 7th century BC and was the favoured meeting place of Rome’s politicians until it was converted to a church in 600 AD. It has now been restored and stands today as a large but rather plain looking brick building near the centre of the forum. Another notable building around this area is Mamertine prison where according to tradition Saint Peter was held before his crucifixion. Experts are divided on whether Peter was actually imprisoned there but it remains an important religious site.
Our tour ended near the famous Colosseum. The huge amphitheatre was built around 70 AD and it’s really in a remarkable condition considering. All sorts of different events were held there including of course gladiatorial bouts, executions and animal hunts. I was surprised to learn that they used to flood the arena and stage naval battles too. The arena held somewhere between fifty and seventy thousand spectators. Even though these estimates include a proportion that were standing, it struck me that nearly two thousand years later New Zealand doesn’t have a stadium which holds more than fifty thousand! Maybe it’s down to population density. Unfortunately, as it was a public holiday the Colosseum was closed and we couldn’t go in and see the interior of the arena as you usually can.
By the time we reached St Peters Square it was mid afternoon and we had less than two hours to explore the huge Vatican compound before our bus was due to depart. The square was designed in 1656 by Bernini in order to allow the greatest number of people to see the pope’s blessing and it certainly does that. I imagine tens of thousands could stand in the massive forecourt with room to spare.
That day, a huge queue for the Basilica building wound all the way around the plaza. It didn’t seem we would get in, but we weren’t too disappointed. The colossal colonnades and sculpture that enclose the square, not to mention the domed basilica building itself were so impressive we spent at least an hour wandering around the huge complex just drinking it in. As a few of us were walking around taking photos Scandy rushed over and urged us to join the line, which was now moving quite swiftly. Fortunately we did and we were able to spend around thirty minutes in probably the most amazing building I’ve ever seen.
Basilica di San Pietro was built on the site of what is believed to be Saint Peter’s Tomb. The construction of today’s basilica, over the ancient Constantinian church, began in the 1500s and took over a hundred years to complete. A host of legendary artists and architects worked on it including Bernini, Michelangelo and Raphael amongst other masters. Covering an area of 5.7 acres, it is thought to be the largest church building in the world.
Once inside the building I was awestruck by the sheer scale and beauty of its design. Turning to a friend I wanted to somehow share the experience and opened my mouth to speak but literally had nothing to say which could describe it.
Walking across the marbled floors you are dwarfed by the dimensions of the place. The impossibly high walls and ceilings are decorated with incredibly ornate murals and you are surrounded by giant statues of saints looking down from their alcoves. Huge arches stretch upwards crowned by a thick band of gold covered in a Latin inscription. The ancient characters set into the frieze encircle the room and give it a mysterious quality, like the words of some enchantment. At its highest point St Peter’s Dome rises like a golden flower with each intricately painted petal converging towards the centre. If you crane your neck and look close enough you can see the paintings represent different scenes from the bible.
Certainly this was an incredible place but there was one more surprise in store. As we wandered towards the main altar it seemed there was a service going on. A number of clergy were marching in procession along the aisle and to our astonishment one of them was wearing the traditional mitre hat of the Pope. I couldn’t believe it but my excited Brazilian friend confirmed that it was Benedict about to lead a New Year service! After a few minutes watching from a distance we had to go, but what a fantastic note to leave on.
When we emerged back into the square the light was fading and it was time to clamber back onto the bus to complete our whirlwind tour of Rome with a visit to a few more famous spots by night. First we visited the Pantheon which is situated in the Piazza Del Rotunda and fully illuminated at night. The Pantheon is a classical temple that was built in 27 BC and incredibly still stands in a very well preserved state. This is probably because it was continually in use as a church from the 7th century onwards. It is thought to be the best preserved building of this period anywhere in the world.
A short walk from here is the Trevi Fountain. This grand multi tiered monument may be even more impressive at night when the lights illuminate the water and cause the coins beneath to give out a golden glow. Designed by Nicolo Salvi and completed in the 18th century its classical theme is The Taming of the Waters. The main sculpture depicts sea god Neptune on a shell chariot being led by two seahorses. One is calm and the other seems to struggle fiercely, mirroring the moods of the sea.
According to tradition if you throw a coin over your left shoulder and into the fountain without looking back you will return to Rome. I couldn’t help looking back but hopefully I will revisit that amazing city sometime soon.
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