Saturday started with a full agenda. I grabbed a trecce latte (which is braided bread with sesame seeds) and headed to the Colosseum. There was a huge line and it took me over 50 minutes to get in. It was worth the wait. Though clearly a shadow of its former self, the Colosseum still resonates with the screams of winners, victims, and audiences. Beyond that, the Colosseum was stripped of its many wonders to build items like St. Peter’s.
Next was a quick stroll through the Roman Forum. I found the Temple of Vestile Virgins to be especially misnamed. There were no virgins that I could see and the temple gives the word ‘desecrated’ a good vibe.
Looking over the Forum is Piazza del Campidoglio – designed by Michelangelo (like most of Rome). It is an open, warm plaza, flanked on three sides by ancient offices that have been converted into museums. In the Palazzo dei Conservatori, I saw such great works as St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio, the bust of Medusa by Bernini, Endymoin by Mola, & the Etruscan bronze of the female wolf that saved Remus & Romulus. All of this was spaced throughout rooms decorated in frescoes done in the late Middle Ages.
Across the piazza was the Palazzo Nuovo – an amazing collection of Roman statues and busts. It was bewildering, mostly because most of them were not labelled. I did recognize the Potrait of a Flavian Lady and the Dying Galatian, and Homer’s bust from the Hall of Philosophers.
The Tomb for Victor Emmanuel II sits at the base of the Capitol hill and towers above it. It is a gargantuan marble edifice that rises above the landscape and offers amazing views of the surrounding city.