تخت سارا: Ruins

Of all the places I was able to see in Rome, the Colosseum was one of my favorites. The building is massive and to imagine how it must have looked at the time it was built and used in Ancient Rome is pretty impressive. Even despite its brutal history as "a powerful tool for controlling the masses, a showcase for proclaiming Rome's domination of the world," you cannot help but feel awe when stepping inside the Colosseum.

Even with the deadly matches and fierce competition, almost 90 percent of trained gladiators survived the matches (although you were basically a dead man walking if you were an untrained gladiator sent into the arena). They also had access to some of the best medical care available in Ancient Rome.

A gladiator typically took on a distinct persona—and the weapons to go with it. For instance, during the second and third centuries theretiarius-and-secutor gladiator pairing was the most popular. "The retiarius was the 'fisherman,' who fought with a net, a gladius, and a trident [and was] protected with just a small shoulder shield," Kanz said. "His opponent, the secutor, was the 'fish,' protected by a fishlike helmet with very narrow eye holes and a large shield, and fighting with a gladius," Kanz said.

If two gladiators both fought bravely and were equally matched, sometimes both would walk out of the arena alive. Such an incident was recorded by the poet Martial about a fight between Priscus and Verus, who fought as Emperor Titus opened the amphitheater for the gladiatorial games. Because of their fight, both were awarded their freedom that day. You can see a reenactment of the fight in this BBC docudrama about the fight:

And here is an English translation of Martial's poem (Latin version here):

As Priscus and Verus each drew out the contest

And the struggle between the pair long stood equal,

Shouts loud and often sought discharge for the combatants.

But Titus obeyed his own law

(the law was that the bout go on without shield until a finger be raised).

What he could do, he did, often giving dishes and presents.

But an end to the even strife was found:equal they fought, equal they yielded.

To both Titus sent wooden swords and to both palms.

Thus valor and skill had their reward.

This has happened under no prince but you, Caesar:

Two fought and both won.

Gladiators were usually prisoners of war, slaves, or criminals condemned to death or forced labor. Free men rarely chose to be gladiators in order to reach fame, and if they did so, it was only for brief periods. Fighters were assembled in groups trained by entrepreneurs (called lanista). Armor worn by gladiators in the Republican Period of Rome were inspired by enemies' armor. Only during the Augustan Period were the types of gladiators defined according to their equipment. Offensive and defensive weapons that fighters carried were meant to ensure a balanced encounter. There were also equites, gladiators who were armed with a spear, sword, and small shield, and confronted one another on horseback.

A Day at at the Flavian Amphitheatre

The spectacle day began in the morning with the presentation of all the participants (pompa). This was followed by the venationes, hunts in which hunters tackled wild animals lurking among sets replicating the geographical contexts from which they came.

During the lunch interval, when executions ad bestias took place, the condemned, naked and unarmed, faced the wild beasts which would eventually tear them to pieces. During the intervals, there were performances by jugglers, acrobats, and magicians, as well as parodies and re-enactments of ancient myths.

Finally, gladiatorial combats (the munera) were held in the afternoon. Their origin, perhaps Etruscan or Samnite, was linked to funerary celebrations in honor of eminent individuals. The participants in these combats were usually prisoners of war or slaves, but some gladiators were free men seeking fame and fortune. There were categories of gladiators distinguished by their weapons and techniques. Those who were defeated in a duel could hope to be pardoned by the emperor or the audience, saving their life.

Thanks to their popularity, the games (ludi) were often financed by politicians who hoped to curry favor with the public whereas intellectuals saw these spectacles as a means of swaying public opinion and as a cause of spiritual decadence.

From the first half of the 5th century AD, there was a widespread economic crisis that led to a decline and final end of the munera and venationes fights. Between the end of the 5th century AD and the beginning of the 6th century AD, the underground structures in the Colosseum were filled in. Lacking machinery for shifting scenery, the Colosseum served only to accommodate displays similar to modern-day circus performances, with acrobats replacing gladiators as the main attraction. A popular spectacle during this period was the contomonobolon, executed by acrobats who performed spectacular jumps among animals with the aid of a pole (the contus). The last games in the Flavian Amphitheatre (aka Colosseum) took place in 523 AD.

Before heading over to the Palatino and the Foro Romano, I stopped at the Pasqualino al Colosseo (map) for a pizza margarita and a glass of vino bianco for lunch. The food was okay, and even though the initial waiter was good, the one who actually took our food tried to give me trouble about asking for a glass of tap water (it escalated to him telling me that they do not have water at all and me saying, "oh really? do you wash the dishes? what do you use to wash the dishes?" until he acquiesced).

After spending Friday morning wandering around the different levels of the Colosseum, I headed over to the Palatino and Foro Romano. The Palatino is the hill where Romulus and Remus are said to have been nursed by the wolf. It is also the site of the imperial Roman palace that overlooks the Colosseum and Foro Romano, the main commercial center of Ancient Rome. The church of St. Sebastian also sits at the old vinyards on the Palatino. On the southwest side below the hill lies the Circo Maximo, where chariot races took place.

Foro Romano

The Roman Forum (Foro Romano) lies in the valley surrounded by the Palatine, Capitoline, and Esquiline hills. In the Republican period (5th-1st centuries BCE), this was the political, economic, religious, and commercial heart of ancient Rome. In the 9th and 8th centuries BCE when the city was made up of independent villages, the area was occupied by the cemeteries of the various settlements. Later, the villages began to merge and the Forum valley naturally became the place where their inhabitants met for economic transactions and social activities.

Arco di Tito

Broad and flat, it gradually became the center of the ancient city's social life. Originally, this was a marshy and unhealthy area, especially at its lowest point near the Capitoline hill. This made it necessary to carry out works here to drain the marshy swamp. This was one of the first land reclamation acts of ancient Italy and was ascribed to the Tarquins who built the Cloaca Maxima to channel the waters into the Tiber River. This was when the area took on a specific social and political function within the community. The Forum hosted games, political meetings, and assemblies. It is described by legend as the setting for some of the most important events in early Roman history, including the Rape of the Sabine Women. Particularly, between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, the intense activities carried out here led to the construction of the first buildings with specific sacred and public functions. An initial road network also began to take shape between the temples and basilicas: the Via Sacra, the Vicus Tuscus, the Clivus Argentarius, etc.

Statue of Apollo, Palatine Hill Museum

The Roman Forum retained its importance especially during the Republican period when the valley gradually filled with public buildings whose remains are still preserved here today. These buildings, which almost always had a timber frame and brick facing, were reconstructed on various occasions, in part because they were frequently destroyed by fire or civil strife. It was this unplanned continuity of its buildings over time which gave the Roman Forum its typically disorderly appearance without a unitary plan.

The area's development peaked with the victorious end of the Punic Wars in the 2nd century BCE when four basilicas were built: the Porcia, Opimia, Aemilia, and Sempronia. Later, first under Julius Caesar and then Augustus and the early emperors (1st century BCE to 1st century AD), the Forum gradually took on a different role - that of monumental center and place of religious memory while public life moved to the nearby Imperial Forums. As a consequence, building activities were interrupted, with one last moment of glory in the late empire with the construction of the honorary columns and equestrian statues.

True decline began with the imperial court's move to Ravenna and the edicts of the 4th century AD decreeing the closure of the temples, some of which were turned into churches. This was followed in the 5th century by the Visigoth and Vandal invasions. The abandoned buildings fell into ruin while the ground level of the Forum rose to cover what remained. Buried in vegetation and now on the edge of the city, the square became a pasture with the name Campo Vaccino ("Cow's Field").

Temple of Romulus

One of the main attractions at the Foro Romano is the Temple of Romulus. The temple's round shape was unusual for Roman architecture and was built by emperor Maxentius in 307 AD in honor of his son who died during childhood. The circular building is flanked by two halls opening onto the front with little porticoes decorated with columns. The bronze door on the temple is the original door and the lock still works. Pope Felix V turned the monument into the vestibule of the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian.

Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was dedicated by the Senate to Faustina in 141 AD and, when he died, to her husband the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD). The long walls of the cella, in square peperino blocks, were originally covered in marble. At the center of the staircase, added later, are the remains of an altar. The statue visible behind the six columns of the facade probably belonged to the temple, which in the Middle Ages was turned into the Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. Later, Pope Urban V reused construction materials from inside the church to restore the Lateran Palace.

Temple of Castor & Pollux

According to legend, two brothers Castor and Pollux, sons of Jupiter (Zeus), were seen watering their horses at the Spring of Juturna in the Forum after helping the Romans against the Latins and Etruscans at the Battle of Lake Regillus (496 BCE). In their honor, the dictator Aulus Postumius Albinus built a temple - dedicated in 484 BCE - which was transformed several times over the centuries. The high podium dates to its reconstruction by Metellus in 117 BCE. Another important reconstruction took place under Tiberius, to whom the three Corinthian columns can be attributed.

Vulcan's Temple

There are also temples to more famous gods that are part of the Forum. Partly cut into the rock and partly built from tufa blocks, the Vulcanal monument (about 3 x 4 meters) was believed to be the sacred space hosting the altar dedicated to Vulcan by Titus Tatius (the mythical king of the Sabines), in existence from the city's origins. It has recently been suggested that the remains belonged to the altar of Saturn, which Latin authors describe as standing in front of the Temple of Saturn at the bottom of the slope leading up to the Capitoline Hill.

Rostra

Finally, the Forum also has the Rostra, the podium from which orators addressed the people. The name comes from the rostra (rames) of the Latin ships, captured by the Romans at the Battle of Antium in 338 BCE with which the monument was decorated. Caesar had the Rostra moved here from the nearby Comitium and it was later enlarged by Augustus. The monument has a curved part made of tuff blocks, clad in marble panels. The holes which supported the rostra can be seen on the front. The monument had a platform accessed from a staircase on the side facing the Capitoline hill.

Palatino, Imperial Palace

On top of the Palatine hill stands the Imperial Palace. The palace occupies much of the hill and its slopes. It was built by the architect Rabirius on the orders of Domitian (81-96 AD) and inaugurated in 92 AD. It was the official residence of all later emperors. The palace was divided into three sectors: an official or "public" area (the so-called Domus Flavia), a sector hosting private apartments (Domus Augustana), and a large garden in the form of a stadium with its annexes (called the Stadium).

Palatino, Imperial Palace

The palace was made of brick and its massive foundations were superimposed on earlier buildings, some of which can be visited underneath the Domitianic structures. Conserved to almost its original extent, the palace represented a turning point in the history of Roman architecture, codifying the typology of the dynastic palace in Rome. Its importance is evident from the fact that the word "palace" itself comes from the Latin palatium or palatine because this is where the first imperial residence was built, a model for all later palaces. Its construction made a deep impression on Domitian's contemporaries. Statius and Martial, his court poets, composed admiring descriptions of it, praising its extraordinary size, the beauty of its decorations, and the luxury of its furnishings. "The palace was so vast," Martial wrote, "that one's eyes became tired looking at it, and so tall that in comparison the pyramids of Egypt seemed laughable." (That seems like a wee biiiiit of an exaggeration there, Martial. Tsk tsk).

Circo Massimo with Palatino Hill above

In the afternoon, I walked back to the Vittorio Emanuele II monument for a while. After hanging out there until the guards began chasing people off of the steps, I wandered over to Dante's Bar for some gelato (I tried chocolate, strawberry, and tiramisu). Then, when the person I had met at the hostel who had been accompanying me sight-seeing needed to charge her phone, we wandered over to the Theatre Cafe to find an outlet. Since apparently we were doing dessert before dinner, I kept up with the trend and ordered a delicious, authentic Italian canoli.

Delicious canoli with Grapefruit juice.

For dinner, my friend from the Geneva program had recommended a restaurant called Trattoria Da Lucia (map) for amazing pasta. Unfortunately, by the time I found it that night wandering through some beautiful streets and hidden plazas, it was full and the restaurant only takes reservations. So, if you are going to Rome any time soon, call ahead for good restaurants to make your reservations.

Since that place was full and it was raining hard by this point, I found a different restaurant that was full but did have some room called Taverna della Scala (Italian; English; map), where I had some pretty delicious penne all'arrabbiata.

Like a real midwestern American, I added the Parmesan cheese.

Friday night, I was able to come back to the Colosseum to see it lit up. Along the way, we passed part of Foro Romano illuminated as well as a couple bridges on the Tiber River. It was raining on and off all day and the rain had started again at night. While this meant fumbling between umbrella and camera, the bonus was that the Colosseum was beautiful illuminated and no one was there because of the rain. It was really nice to be able to walk around it and admire the structure without having to push through lines of tourists. Definitely one of the major highlights of my trip to Rome.

Roman Forum at Night

Colosseum at Night

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Posted in: 3L,Colosseum,English,Foro Romano,Gladiator,Italy,J-Mad,Mythology,Palatino,Pasta,Pizza,Roman Forum,Romans,Rome,Ruins,Temple

Helvetia with a Seagull on her head

On Saturday, January 18, 2014, I woke up early in the morning and hopped the train to Basel. Basel is a city divided into two parts by the Rhine River as it cuts its way through Europe and sits right on the Swiss border with Germany. The German part of Switzerland is very different from the Francophone part (and I'm sure the Italian and Romansch parts that I have yet to visit). I've been in Geneva long enough to get used to hearing French that I don't understand in the background, and now on this trip, the background sounds completely changed and it took a bit to get used to hearing Swiss German filling the space. Swiss German is cute though, much more sing-songy than German-German (or "High German" as they call it) with different vocabulary.

Most of the train ride was uneventful, although it did start with me getting rather unceremoniously booted out of first class. It must have been an older train because when I hopped on, it looked exactly like the second class section of the Swiss trains I previously rode. When the SBB ticket man came to check the tickets, he examined mine and asked me some questions in French and Swiss German. I assumed he was asking to see ID or my half-pass for the Swiss rails, so I coolly flashed both cards. He then told me in English that this was first class and I couldn't sit there. I said, "oh, okay," but he he stood there blocking me from stepping into the aisle until I had packed up all my stuff and turned left to walk down to the much older second class seating. This is the Hollywood reenactment of that scene:

Once I got to Basel, the tourist office people in the train station were very helpful and gave me maps of the city and the public transportation trams and buses. It was still too early for some things to be open, but I made my way over to the Kunstmuseum ("art museum," in German) and started walking through the Altstadt ("old town," in German). The old town in Basel was beautiful, and the Munsterplatz (plaza in front of the cathedral) was empty so early on a Saturday morning. I walked along the old streets, past a Basalisk fountain, and through winding streets with houses dating back to the 1300s.

Basalisk fountain (I thought the Basalisk would be bigger)

Basel Gargoyle

Stairway down to the River and Bakery

Shops along the Rhine in Basel

When I got to the river, I walked through some shops to a bakery to grab something for breakfast. I ate the pastry by the Rhine River, and then walked back up this stairway between old houses to get back to the Munsterplatz to enter the cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is bright red, and the inside was gorgeous as well.

From the cathedral, I made my way back through the old town to cross the Mittlere Rheinbrucke ("middle bridge over the Rhine"). The bridge itself is lined with flags of all the different cities and cantons in the area.

On the opposite side of the bridge, there is a statue of Helvetia, the Greek symbol of Switzerland. The "CH" in all official Swiss things stands for "Confederation of Helvetia," the original Greek name for Switzerland that it still bears to this day. Helvetia is also on the back of the 5 CHF coin. On the bridge, she sits with her spear and suitcase, overlooking the town along the Rhine.

After wandering around some more, I hopped back on a bus to take me outside of the city over to some Roman Ruins. My walk took me around the city again, including passing by the bright red town hall building, another church, and the Tinguely Fountain.

GREAT DANES!!!!!!!!!

Here's the other church:

And behind that, the modern art Tinguely Fountain. The fountain was built in 1977 on the location where the old city's theatre stage used to be. The new theatre is right next to the fountain. The fountain also has moving pieces in it, so it's fun to just sit next to it, in the shade or sun, and listen to the water move through the different parts of the fountain.

The bus stop was right next to the Hammering Man statue. Apparently there are giant Hammering Man statues in different cities in the world, but one of them is in Basel.

When I got to the end of the line and the stop necessary for the Roman Ruins, I realized that from the stop, I still had about another half hour of walking to do. I wasn't really feeling up for spending that time walking when there was more to see in the city, so I hopped back on the next bus available to go back to the city center. Since I had some time left before needing to go back to the train station to return to Geneva, I decided to visit the Kunstmuseum. The Museum is one of the oldest public art collections in Europe.

No pictures were allowed inside the museum, but I wrote down the names of the artists and paintings that I liked the most. There was quite a variety in the collection, from more classical and traditional pieces to modern and contemporary art. The museum itself was quite large and a beautiful building in its own right. I wrote down the names of the artists and paintings that I liked the most from the various exhibits, but the list is quite long (and this is the narrowed-down version). The museum also had paintings by several artists who painted landscapes of Switzerland, such as Ferdinand Hodler, for whom a street is named in Geneva.

Claude Monet: