Pictures: Lyle Such
Words: Thu Buu
Camera: Canon 5d MkIV
We set out early to secure the first admission times for the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. We were in line before the ticket booth opened and were among the first to enter the site that morning. The Forum was the most important gathering place during the time of the Roman Empire. It was the focal point of all the happenings of daily life. Public speeches, triumphant parades, elections and government operations among other dealings were all centered within the Forum.
Now it is an intermittent archeological site that is also one of the most visited outdoor museums in the world. Many school field trips are conducted here, as was evident from the line of students from France who were also waiting in line with their class at the ticket booth that morning.
From the Forum, we strolled up to the Palatine Hill where the homes of the wealthy were built.
From the Palatine Hill, the Coliseum is just a short walk away. Lines and lines of people were already queued up outside the amphitheatre. Because we already had tickets with a preprinted admission time, we didn’t have to wait long until our time slot was called to enter the queue. The queue continued inside through most of the first floor. The second floor is an amazingly thorough museum about the Coliseum.
The Coliseum was the grandest amphitheatre of its time holding up to 80,000 spectators. It is best known for housing gladiator fights, executions, and re-enactments of famous battles. At times, the floor would be flooded for fake sea battles. It truly was an architectural marvel, and a great way to end our short trip to Italy.
The Pantheon, which used to be a Roman temple and is now a Catholic Church, was closed by the time we got there. The one good thing about coming at night is that it’s less crowded, and we were actually able to take these photographs with no others in it. People were pretty cognizant about giving others space and time to get a good photograph in front of the massive columns and immense doors. We were pleasantly surprised at the common courtesy.
Even by ten at night, the crowd around the Trevi Fountain had not subsided. We just had to jump right in along with everyone else though we didn’t dare venture past the top steps. Sitting on the post next to the benches gave us enough height advantage to be above the heads of most in the crowd. At places like this, we had to accept the fact that it would be cramped and crowded and even have fun being a part of it.
