Tour of Rome continues …
First stop …. the Colosseum … (thro’ the coach windscreen)
Group piccie first !!! 🙂
… then a wander through Rome’s greatest amphitheatre commissioned by Emporer Vespasian in AD 72, which hubby and I had done extensively a few days before. But .. it was interesting listening to our local guides explanation of the history and life as it was way back then. My post refers : http://momsmeanderings.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/colosseum-rome/
Holes were for scaffolding ..
It was extremely hot, so hubby and I found a shady spot on a huge stone block and ‘people watched’ !!! I still couldn’t resist taking a few photographs though 😉 ..
Pietro, our coach driver, took a round-about route to our next stop, Piazza del Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill, driving back across the Tiber River, and crossing it again after passing Tiber Island – in the middle of the river ..
On the way … Smart cars are everywhere in Rome!! Absolutely ideal for squeezing between cars and parking !
Buildings are built one top of another, including on and incorporating ancient columns …
This was our stop … the Cordonata leading up to Piazza del Campidoglio. On the left are the marble Aracoeli Steps (built in 1348) leading to Santa Maria in Aracoeli …
Cordonata – similar to a flight of stairs, but allows the transit of horses and donkeys. Going up …
… going down ..
Huge statues of Castor and Pollux stand at the top of the Cordonata ..
Michelangelo designed the geometric paving (in 1538) and the façades of the buildings .. below : Palazzo Senatorio, ‘splendid Renaissance seat of the city government, built on the ruins of the ancient Tabularium’ ..
Palazzo Nuovo was made into a public museum in 1734 …
Our local guide with colourful-scarf-attached-to-an-aerial. We took refuge in the shade of the Capitoline Museums where there are collections of art and ancient sculpture including the statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a replica of which stands in the centre of the piazza ..
Emporer Marcus Aurelius …
Ruins of the ancient city walls ..
Symbol of Rome .. so the legend goes .. Lupa, the she-wolf, rescued Romulus and Remus from the Tiber River and brought them to Capitoline Hill …
Following our guide to the right of Palazzo Senatorio …
… to a vantage point with a magnificent view of the Forum. Fortunately hubby and I had walked around the Forum a few days before – my post refers:
http://momsmeanderings.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/walking-through-the-roman-forum/
A bay laurel tree stands up here .. (laurel wreath : a symbol of peace and victory)
Back on the coach for a walk-about with our local-guide-with-colourful-scarf-attached-to-an-aerial in the city
2 Replies to “Tour of Rome continues …”
Stunning pictures as always. You will make a wonderful tour guide
Dylan absolutely love history and did an oral on Rome not too long ago. some of the places and things in this post was featured in the oral. Going to make sure I show him this post.