(Day 7: Rome-AM) Our Trip Of A Lifetime: Cruising the Mediterranean

We have arrived... Roma here we come!

Since it was just a short trip up the coast from Naples, our sailing and docking was done during the darkness of night.

This is the Port at Civitavecchia... our gateway to Rome!

This is our longest, busiest, most exciting day of excursions of our whole cruise!

NOTE: For that reason... I am breaking this day into 2 parts: AM and PM.
(AM is morning in Rome & the Colosseum... while PM is afternoon in Rome & the Vatican)

We awoke to another gorgeous day of sunshine.

After a hearty breakfast at the Topsider, at 8 a.m. we met Group #7 for the "Classic Rome" tour.

Leaving the Port of Civitavecchia and heading for Rome, we saw several, large passenger ships and luxury personal yachts at anchor.

The bus ride to Rome took over an hour and gave us a good chance to see the various rural landscapes of central Italy.

Here, a lone horse grazes on the sparse grass as the bustling Port sprawls out in the background.

A medieval, fortress-like structure anchors a small village along the rocky coastline.

This unique (somewhat homely) Italian bird landed nearby to see what we were doing at the bus and truck rest area.

(We were waiting to pick up a mother and daughter who had missed our bus... their own "private" tour guide had been a "no-show" and left them stranded on the dock!)

Nicely plowed fields being watered... but, I can't tell what these crops will be.

A well-manicured orchard of some kind, growing on a steep slope behind this farmhouse.

A high speed train... painted in Italian red, white, and green... racing through the countryside!

The massive domes of local churches often dominate the rural villages along the highway.

As we approach Rome, we see more multi-family houses... and the individual villages start to blend into one another.

Entering Rome, we pass a portion of one of the early protective walls built to repel invaders... (they didn't always work).

The massive building behind the wall shows large, colorful, religious pictures... probably done with mosaic tiles.

Rome traffic... what else can I say?

This means traffic snarls, cars and scooters zipping around everywhere... on roads, on sidewalks, on anywhere they feel like!

During the ride through Rome, we notice lots and lots of graffiti... it was on nearly every building!

Our guide, Annarita, said it is mostly done by the "criminals" of Rome (her term for gangs)!

This is one of the few ultra-modern buildings we saw near the center of Rome.

There are 2,000-year old Roman, and medieval, ruins intermingled with modern buildings all over the city.

Nearly everywhere we look, we see ruins or buildings still standing from Rome's ancient military past.

The streets of Rome are often small... and the cars are smaller!

Parking is a premium here, and as you'll see, parking gets pretty "creative" at times.

Gasoline here is currently over 4.50 Euros (that's over $6.00 a gallon)!

These are the ruins leading down to the famous Roman Catacombs... in many levels beneath much of the city center.

This is a uniquely "open-air", single-decker tour bus for seeing Rome as a tourist... cleverly called the Archeobus!

The closer to the center of Rome we got, the more massive the ruins became!

These "buildings" once overlooked the entertainment spectacular known as the Circus Maximus!

They stand high up on what's called the Palatine Hill... one of the most prominent and densely populated of the "Seven Hills of Rome".

The great open area here was once the splendid chariot race track of the Circus Maximus!

Can't you just hear Charleton Heston... in the immortal movie of "Ben Hur"... furiously whipping his chariot's team of horses as he slides around the corner, throwing up dirt and racing to the finish line?

The glory days are gone and now it's just a large, wide-open field... nearly 3 football fields long and 1 wide!

How spectacular these events must have been!

A view of the surrounding buildings from the slightly-sunken Circus Maximus track.

More of the surrounding ruins on the hillside overlooking the full length of the track.

It is estimated, that as many as 120,000 Roman citizens attended each of these Circus Maximus events!

A closer view of the ruins along the Circus Maximus field.

"Buongiorno!"
Good day and welcome to Rome!

A talented graffiti artist, "The King", painted this greeting on a temporary, plywood construction fence!

There are triumphal arches scattered around the center of Rome.

With all major roads leading toward the Colosseum... the arches were plentiful the closer we got.

One of the most impressive triumphal arches in Rome is this, the Arch of Constantine... initially built in 312 A.D., it honored General Constantine's victory over Roman Emperor Maxentius.

It stands majestically beside the great Colosseum itself.

This old, triangular-shaped building is unique and maximizes the space available at an irregular intersection beside the Colosseum.

And here it is!

The great... Colosseum of Rome!
(aka: the Flavian Amphitheater)

Our view as we approach the Colosseum for our tour.

I must warn you... there will be a "few" Colosseum pictures taken today!

I hope you don't overdose on them... but, they are pretty cool!

This shows side details and a perspective of size of Constantine's Arch next to the Colosseum.

It took many years, through several emperors, to complete the statues and battle scenes on this triumphal arch to honor Constantine!

These are the ruins of the once-splendid Temple of Venus and Rome built in about 130 A.D..

A Roman Centurion re-enactor stood outside the Colosseum, ready to pose for photos with tourists... for a few Euros "donation", of course!

I think this is the triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus. We are standing beside the Colosseum looking up toward the Capitoline Hill... where the ruins of the great Roman Forum are!

(The Forum is where Julius Caesar met his bloody end on the Ides of March!)

We are finally inside the great inner corridor of the Colosseum!

Massive archways and columns support this immense structure... built in 80 A.D.!

A short, darkened hallway enters out into the seating area a few rows above arena ground level.

Our Roman guide, Francesca, points out some details of the Colosseum's history.

She is holding a car antenna with a pink bandanna tied on the end.

She is so short, she must use this antenna as a pointer and a rallying point locater flag for our tour group to follow!

Her favorite saying... after her speaking in good, somewhat broken English... was to say, "Andiamo! Andiamo!"

Which, as far as I can figure, MUST mean "Let's Go!" in Italian... because every time she said it, she was then off and running to the next stop spot!

A detailed drawing of the various activity levels and seating areas of the Colosseum.

Here is our first look inside the Colosseum... it is huge!

This is a good view showing the wide, sweeping expanse of the crowd seating areas on all levels.

It doesn't take much to compare it visually to any large modern sports stadium in the U.S.A.!

The lower level seen here is actually the basement and sub-basement areas... where the animals and stables were kept.

The arena floor has long-since collapsed down into the maze of basement rooms and hallways!

A portion of the arena floor has been reconstructed to illustrate to visitors the original look and feel of the Colosseum... it just helps stimulate your imagination about the events that took place right here in front of us, 2 millenia ago!

Unique Roman archways are seen everywhere and give the Colosseum its enduring strength.

Kathy leans against a brick wall of a typical entryway during our tour.

These bricks were very thin, but very dense, and strong when laid horizontally... allowing the concrete and brick Colosseum to reach such grand heights without collapsing!

Another grand archway shows the brick, concrete, and stone work used 2,000 years ago.

This top level of square holes allowed for something amazing... the emplacement of a gigantic system of linen canvasses, anchored by ropes to the ground outside the Colosseum walls.

This huge canvas cover... called the Velarium... could be raised up over the Colosseum during an event... to protect the spectators from the harsh sun or heavy rains!

The first actual "covered" sports super-dome!!!

Just think how huge that Velarium, the linen canvas cover, must have been!

Back inside the Colosseum and on ground level, they have museum-quality displays of artifacts from the centuries of event activities... from skeletons, to weapons, to everyday items like jewelry and oil lamps for lighting.

This display shows some of the skulls and bones of animals that once fought and died in Colosseum arena events.

There were often huge bears, wild horses, wild boar, and of course, the great cats... lions, leopards, panthers, and tigers!

Intricate column supports and tile mosaics from the collapsed halls and rooms were displayed.

Marble busts like these, of notable Roman citizens, were often found broken or buried in the Colosseum rubble.

Now, for the really cool stuff!

Many of the gladiator weapons, clothing, and killing accessories have been recreated, with detailed historic accuracy, then labeled and displayed.

Some even have the name of a particular gladiator... showing what his outfit, his armor, and his preferred weapons for battle actually were!

There are dozens of actual 2,000-year old relics displayed, like this bronze gladiator helmet!

More displays of armor, weapons, and shields.

Check out the tridents, fishnet, helmets, and metal arm protectors! How cool... but deadly!

Another actual relic... a gladiator bronze battle helmet!

All styles and designs of protective armor, helmets, and weapons were used in gladiator battle at the Colosseum.

Did you know... ?

The "thumbs downward" motion by the crowd and Emperor did not mean "death" to the defeated warrior... it meant for the victorious warrior to stick his sword in the sand and let the defeated fighter live to fight another day!

A"thumbs up" motion... dragged across the throat... was actually the fatal signal for the victor to deliver a killing thrust to the defeated gladiator!

Around 1750 A.D., Pope Benedict XIV, ordered a huge, wooden cross be erected in the arena of the Colosseum... to martyr the memory of those many Christians persecuted and executed here.

It was later replaced in 1926 with the large, metal cross seen here.

Amazing Roman brickwork forming this exit archway.

A last look into the basement area of the Colosseum... where the gladiators, animals, and prisoner/victims were readied for battle in the arena.

For the gladiators it was... Glory or Death!

A doorway for the uncaged, wild animals to enter into the arena... to kill or be killed!

We leave the Colosseum after an amazing tour through this icon of ancient Roman history!
Simply... Magnifico!

Back on the bus, we are heading across town to a fancy Italian lunch (included in the tour).

A portion of the immense ancient Roman Aqueduct is visible throughout the town in large fragments such as the one pictured here. The Aqueduct channeled fresh water, from miles away, to the center of Rome.

Majestic Roman churches, statues, and government buildings are everywhere we look.

A typical Roman side street at midday... look at the parking!

A huge governmental building in downtown Rome.

Another splendid ancient Roman building high on an overlooking hill.

This unidentified complex must be something special... maybe the seat of modern-day Italian Parliament or something!

A marvelous building with dozens of gorgeous bronze and marble statues!

Here it is from a side view... simply massive and awesome!

Another typical small-business side street in Rome... people shopping and sightseeing everywhere!

So much to see and do there... and so little time!

An ice cream shop... or "cold buffet"... with gelato as their specialty favorite... umm, umm, good!

A winged-goddess in bronze overlooks Rome.

One of the many ancient bridges, still in use, spanning the Tiber River as it cuts through Rome.

A weather-worn statue adorning a bridge as we cross over the Tiber River.

A bridge crossing over to Tiber Island, where ancient Roman temples were once built.

A large water-taxi ferries people up and down the historic Tiber River.

Old and new structures exist harmoniously in a typical Roman thoroughfare.

Hey... this looks like it could be an ancient Roman "phone booth" on this street corner!

Well, okay... maybe an old Roman sentry, guard-post would be a better guess.

Look how these Italians park their cars and scooters!

Those little "smart cars" can park just about anywhere... even sideways along the curb!

A somewhat risque advertising billboard in the center of town... we never did quite understand what she is trying to sell us!

And, of course, what would the world be without a real Italian McDonald's in Roma?

No, this is NOT where our fancy lunch is going to be... We are almost there, though!

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(Our day continues in "Day 7... Rome: PM")
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