Forum of Trajan

The Forum of Trajan was one of the Imperial Fora, and the one built by the Emperor Trajan from 106 to 112 AD was the biggest of them all.  Thanks to the vast wealth held by Trajan, he was able to level parts of the Quirinal and Capitoline Hills (two of the famous Seven Hills of Rome) and build this complex.  As it happens, a good chunk of it has been unearthed, which I saw on the way to the Temple of Hercules Victor in South Rome.  The plan of the forum is compliments of the Texas University website.

Columns of the Basilica Ulpia

Artsy shot of the Basilica Ulpia colonnade

The Column of Trajan was a triumphal column dedicated to the Roman victory over the Dacians (today's Bulgarians).  The frieze running from the bottom to the top describes the war with the Dacians, and the column itself is actually hollow with a staircase that leads to the top.  The statue on top used to be of the Emperor Trajan but it disappeared sometime during the Middle Ages.  It was later topped with the statue of St. Peter.

Columns, columns everywhere

Trajan's Market, which has actually for the most part withstood the test of time.  It serves an important function, as when Trajan had the hills demolished he made the Quirinal Hill an unstable mound of dirt.  This market and it's arch shape are what is preventing a landslide.

The Roman Forum and Colosseum

My "Survey of Art and Architecture" class

largely is done through excursions.  The first of these was to the Roman Forum and the Colosseum.

Apparently, the only reason most of these ruins were dug up is because of Mussolini.  The thing was a good chunk of WWII propaganda in Italy was to revive the Empire and "make the Mediterranean an Italian lake", so excavations were commissioned to prevent Roman glory from being kept out of sight and mind.  To this end he also had a massive road constructed from the Palazzo Venezia (where he gave his speeches) to the Colosseum to further cement himself with Rome.  This road actually split the Roman Forum in half ironically enough, but made it so they were found faster.

There are only two building that remain standing in their original form incidentally: the Curia Julia, the seat of senatorial power named after the man who rebuilt it after a fire (Julius Caesar) and the Pantheon which I've already put up pictures of. 

Temple of Antonius and Faustina

Arch of Septimius Severus (203 CE) depicting the Roman victory over the Parthians

The portico of the Temple of Saturn and the Column of Phocas

The Tabularium was the hall of records of Ancient Rome.  The Renaissance Italians would just build on top of existing structures, so the top half (with the windows and the tower) was added on top of the Tabularium by Michaelangelo.  Today, it serves a very similar function as a house of records as it is the town hall of Rome.

Everything in perspective

This is the Rostra, where the Roman people could be addressed by the Senators.  It was called the Rostra because after a naval victory the Romans would display the stolen decorative prows of the enemy ships (rostrum) as spoils of war.

The Curia Julia, where the senators would come to delegate.  The original was destroyed in a fire and was rebuilt by he who owned the land, Julius Caesar.  This was a political ploy however, as the Curia was used as an entrance to what became known as Julian Forum, which became the first of what are called Imperial Forums.  The equivalent is a building burning down and Donald Trump rebuilding it as a Trump Tower.

Santi Cosma e Damiano, originally the Temple of Romulus

Inlaid Art made from large pieces of colored granite; much rarer and more expensive than mosiac

Arch of Titus (82 CE) depicting the Siege of Jerusalem

 

Until finally, we saw the Colosseum. The weird thing is is that this structure is completely falling apart; we take for granted that it has that split level appearance, it was supposed to be an actual ring.  For scale reference, look to the people walking along the edge on the bottom right.

Fun fact: the term"arena" comes from the fact that the Colosseum had a sand floor to mop up the blood, the word for sand being "harena" in Latin.

One of the last remaining seat sections left

Arch of Constantine (312) to commemorate the victory of the Battle of Milvian Bridge

Il Colosseo

The Trevi Fountain

Some friends of mine had planned a trip to the Trevi Fountain, which I decided to tag along with.  It was a half hour walk, but it was worth it.

The thing no one tells you is that, while it is an impressive monument, everyone and their mother flocks there to be as ridiculously touristy as humanely possible.  So, it got old after about fifteen minutes.

Trevi Fountain

Statues of the Trevi Fountain

Oceanus

 

We took a different route on the walk back, and ended up passing the Piazza Montecitorio, which had the Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Italian Parliament, and yet another obelisk.

Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilica

Hey everyone.  Well, I wasn't going to narrate these, but I figured what the hell.

On Tuesday, the school organized a trip to Vatican City.  At 2:00 we set out on the ten minute walk to the Vatican, and were told of what our tour would consist of.  Evidently, there is a stairwell leading to the top of the Dome of the Basilica of St. Peter, so we were to climb to the top of the dome and then exit through the Basilica itself.


                                                   The colonnade surrounds the Square of St. Peter, which is topped by statues of Saints and the papal seal.

The Vatican Fountain.  If you haven't noticed they are really big about flaunting the water here.  I guess if you invented a method for transporting water and you didn't need to fix it for two millennia you would show off too.

Vaticano, the obelisk of the Vatican.  Originally used as a spire on the Vatican Circus, it was later used as decoration for the Constantine's Basilica which was the precursor to the renaissance basilica we see today.  I apologize for all the obelisk photos, it's just amazing to me how many the Romans stole from the Egyptians.

Also, it was in this Vatican Circus that St. Peter was made a martyr, which is why everything is named after him, let alone that he was the first bishop of Rome.

The Dome of St. Peter's Basilica.  This is actually one of the tallest structures in Rome, and I got to go up to the golden observatory on top.










There is a balcony that runs around the "base" of the cupola which was I imagine originally intended for repairs.  Now, it's used for the tours.  The blurs on the edges are the grating which prevents anything larger than a penny from falling the 50+ feet to the floor.

Then, after a fifteen minute hike up some slanted stairs that hugged the Dome, we saw this:

You could see all of Rome, and beyond.  Below there's the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Gardens

Here I am against the backdrop of Rome,

and here is St. Peter's Square as seen from the Dome.

After a while we descended into the Basilica, and the view from the cupola's balcony did it no justice.

A monument to Pope Pius VIII (front and center)

This is St. Peter's baldachin, the marker for the burial place of St. Peter.  As it happens, today it is the entrance to the catacombs where most Popes are buried.  To the left is the papal seal of the Barberini family, a member of whom (Pope Urban VIII) commissioned the baldachin.

Finally it was 4:15, the designated meeting time, so we left Il Vaticano and got some gelato nearby.  It was a good day, with a great view.