Rome - Colosseum and Forum

What can I say except "WOW." The scale and grandeur was simply amazing. I had booked a guided tour of the Colosseum ahead of time so, again, we were able to skip the long line.



The tour guide was very good and explained a lot of the history of the Colosseum and what you could still see today. The Colosseum is named after after a huge statue called "The Colossus of Nero" that was outside of the Colosseum. The amphitheater could hold up to 50,000 spectators for the games.

Much of the Colosseum is in ruins or missing because of forces both natural (earthquake) and man-made (material use elsewhere) but the scale of the building is still there for all to see.

We then walked past the Arch of Constantine just outside the Colosseum. Constantine had it build to commemorate his victory over Maxentius in the Battler of Milvian Bridge in October, 312.



Next we walked up to the Palantine. It is one of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the oldest sections of the town. It is supposedly where Romulus and Remus were found and cared for by the she-wolf.

Lastly we walked back down the Palantine to the Roman Forum. It was the administrative and judicial center of ancient Rome. The number of ruins and the quality of the remains is simply amazing: temples from the pre-Christian era, the Basilicas, the arches.




I could go on and one. Lastly we walked to see Trajan's Column just outside the main forum area. The column stands 30 meters high and was build to commemorate Trajan's two victories over the Dacians. The entire length of the column contain Roman military scenes.