Wednesday 16 April: Mom and Dad go to the Colosseum

I got up early, did some writing, and then caught the 23 bus to Piazza di Risorgimento, only two blocks from my parents’ b&b. We decided that today should be gladiator day, so we caught a cab to the Colosseum. My parents loved it! The Colosseum (or Amphitheatrum Flavium, to give its official name) is always magnificently impressive. We were early enough that the crowds weren’t terrible, except for the ever-present vendors of tacky souvenirs, sunglasses, and rubber toys (yes, I came to Europe to buy a squeak toy). Dad got in the ticket line, and within a half hour we were inside. It’s amazing to be in this huge stadium, almost two thousand years old, and see the incredible engineering of the Romans. The main structure is solid concrete and travertine. Roman concrete is so strong that it often survives even bombing intact. You can find it from northern England to the coast of Africa, and from Europe to the Middle East. I don’t think any single surviving structure from Rome is as big as the Colosseum, though. And of course none of the brick-faced concrete was exposed originally; it was all covered with marble and travertine, much of which was looted in later ages. It must have been an amazing spectacle in ancient times; it is still incredibly imposing. In the past few years they’ve installed an elevator, which permits you to look down into the stadium from where the audience would have been seated. It is quite a sight! And through it all, you have to remember what went on here: the munera, or gladiatorial combats, which began as single pairs of men fighting as part of the funeral rituals of the upper classes. By the time of the Empire, these had evolved into mass entertainment for the populace, and featured wholesale slaughter of men, and sometimes women, along with enormous numbers of wild beasts. Gladiators were usually but not always slaves and victors became great celebrities and could eventually earn their freedom (if they weren’t killed).

We finally left the Colosseum, and went in search of a photo-op. My buddies were still there: the same gladiators I have posed with over the past few years. They had a couple of extras with them today. Mom and Dad posed for an excellent set of pics. Make sure you check them out at www.flickr.com/danielcmack.

We walked up from the Colosseum along the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the parade route that il Duce built over half of the Imperial Forums (besides being a fascist, Mussolini had no sense of archaeology), and had an impromptu picnic of panini sitting on the wall along the road. We then stopped to view the Forum Romanum, Imperial Fora, and Trajan’s Markets. The ruins are magnificent now; you can only imagine the incredible splendor that central Rome must have been under the emperors.

In the mood for some Baroque architecture, we caught a taxi to the Lateran. This church, officially the “Archbasilica and Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran, Mother and Head of All Churches of the City and of the World,” is the Pope’s seat as the Bishop of Rome, Archbishop of the Roman Province, Patriarch of the West, Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Apostolic Universal Church, Successor of Peter, Prince of the Apostles, Vicar of Christ on Earth, Servant of the Servants of God (I’d hate to have to typeset his business cards). It is on the site of the original basilica built by Constantine in the early fourth century, and retains much of the original plan. The ceiling is a red, blue, and gold extravaganza from the sixteenth century, and most of the interior, including the central nave, was redone by Borromini in the mid-seventeenth century, with considerable reuse of ancient Roman polychrome marble. The church also has some excellent medieval mosaics and Cosmati work, especially in the apse by the cathedra, the bishop’s throne. The Lateran has a decent bookstore, vastly superior to the tacky stands outside, and Mom stocked up on souvenirs. We discovered that the nuns running the place were quite happy to take Visa.

It was now late afternoon, so we went to the taxi stand outside the Lateran to catch a ride back to my parents’ b&b. Five cabs were parked there, and the drivers got into an argument over who was first in line. In Rome, taxis are not permitted to cruise around looking for passengers, and you either have to call for one or find a taxi stand. It seemed obvious to us that the one at the front was first in line, but apparently not to the drivers. We had to get out of one car and into another. Finally the drivers settled the affair without resorting to fisticuffs, and we headed back to Piazza di Risorgimento. Mom and Dad went off drop off the souvenirs they had acquired during the day, and I went home to have a salad, give Gary a call, do some writing and editing, and catch whatever sleep Trastevere would permit.