Hi everyone!
Today was the first of two touring days in Rome. Today we saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Arches of Constantine and Titus, and so many other places around Rome on our walk of over 10,000-steps. Someone tracked that number on their pedometer. Rome has seven hills, and it sure felt like we walked up and down all of them! The weather was cool in the morning but heated up with its humidity in this dense modern capital of Italy.
Here are some pictures of the Colosseum. It's currently under renovation (as you see with the scaffolding) as well as ongoing excavation.
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| Martha Davis and Pam Metz at the Colosseum |
The Colosseum was used in many cases for public executions and well as for many other entertainment forms such as gladiator games. However, there were no certain evidence that Christian martyrdom existed in the Colosseum. Those happened with certainty in other places around Ancient Rome. Except for one case, there was an early bishop, Ignatius, who was convicted of treason and condemned to be torn apart by wild beasts in the Colosseum. Today, the Pope comes to the Colosseum annually on Good Friday to a cross located in the Colosseum as part of the stations of the cross walk.
This is a view of the Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum.
This next arch is the Arch of Titus. Titus was a military commander who later became a Roman emperor. The Arch of Titus is the entrance gate to the ancient Roman Forum. The Arch memorializes Titus's victory over the Jews in Jerusalem. What is significant is what is carved on the inside of the arch.
On the left inside of the arch is a sculpted depiction of the Roman victory over the Jewish revolt in Jerusalem. It shows the Romans parading a menorah as one of the spoils of war.
Titus was the military commander that led the Roman forces to crush the Jewish revolt in 70 AD. The construction of this arch began in 72 AD and was completed in 81 AD. Which means, this is one of the concrete pieces of evidence that anchors the time frame of the destruction of the temple.
The famous Spanish Steps:
For tomorrow, our last day of touring, we will visit the Vatican City, the "smallest country in the world".
Ying
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