Rome is a magnificent, tangled urban forest, rich in art, culture, and history. The city has many layers 鈥� modern, Baroque, Renaissance, Christian. But let鈥檚 face it: For most of us, Rome is Caesar, gladiators and chariots. Ancient Rome is the one we come to see.
Luckily, it鈥檚 possible to knock off the top symbols of Rome鈥檚 magnificence 鈥� the Colosseum, Forum, and Pantheon 鈥� in one great day of sightseeing.
Begin peeling back Rome鈥檚 past at the Colosseum, the city鈥檚 most popular relic. From the start, the Romans were expert builders. They pioneered the use of concrete and the rounded arch, which enabled them to build on this tremendous scale. This awesome example of ancient Roman engineering was begun in AD 72, when the empire was nearing its peak.
Imagine being an ancient spectator arriving for the games. Fans poured in through ground-floor entrances. Your ticket (likely a piece of pottery) was marked with your entrance, section, row and seat number. Stepping inside, you can almost hear the roar of the empire. Ancient Romans, whose taste for violence exceeded even modern America鈥檚, came to the Colosseum to unwind. The games began with a few warm-up acts 鈥� dogs attacking porcupines, female gladiators fighting each other, or a one-legged man battling a dwarf. Then came the main event: the gladiators. The best were rewarded like our modern sports stars, with fan clubs, great wealth, and, yes, product endorsements.
Don鈥檛 be taken in by the wannabe gladiators who swarm outside the Colosseum today. They鈥檙e banned from posing for photos for money, but that doesn鈥檛 stop them from swindling tourists into paying (too much) for a photo op.
The Forum, your next stop, is next door to the Colosseum (and covered by the same ticket). These few acres of land were the ancient centre for politics, religion and commerce. This is where the Vestal Virgins tended the perpetual fire, where Julius Caesar was cremated and where Emperor Caligula had his palace.
Today, the site is littered with small fragments of the huge buildings that once stood here. The main street 鈥� the Via Sacra 鈥� still cuts through the heart of the Forum, just as it did 2,000 years ago. But you鈥檒l mostly see crumbling columns and half-buried foundations. Still, walking along the rubble paths, I can鈥檛 help but think I鈥檓 kicking some of the same pebbles that stuck in Julius Caesar鈥檚 sandals.
What happened to the long-gone buildings? Earthquakes destroyed some of them, but they were mostly scavenged by Romans. They carted off the precut stones and reused them in palaces and churches (some bits of the Colosseum ended up in St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica across town).
Thankfully, no one recycled the magnificent Pantheon (AD 120), the best-preserved temple from ancient Rome. This stately building, about a 20-minute walk from the Forum, is the ideal remedy for a brain tired from mentally reconstructing the Colosseum or Forum.
The Pantheon survived so well because it has been in continuous use for more than 2,000 years. It went almost from being a pagan temple to being a Christian church.
Built to exalt the gods, the Pantheon is also a symbol of Roman human greatness. The massive, 12-metre granite columns that support its portico are so huge, it takes four tourists to hug one.
Inside, you stand in a cavernous rotunda, a testament to Roman engineering.
The subtle interior illumination is defined by the oculus, the opening at the top of the dome and the only source of light. (Once a year, on Pentecost Sunday, tens of thousands of rose petals flutter through this opening in the traditional 鈥渞ain of red roses.鈥�)
The dome鈥檚 dimensions are classic 鈥� based on a perfect circle, as wide as it is tall (140 feet) 鈥� and its construction is ingenious. It鈥檚 made of poured concrete, which gets thinner and lighter with height 鈥� the highest part is made with pumice, an airy volcanic stone.
This was the largest dome anywhere until the Renaissance. Only then did Brunelleschi jump-start that new artistic era by borrowing some of Pantheon鈥檚 features for his cathedral dome in Florence.
The wonder of ancient Rome is not how much of it has disappeared, but how much still exists. For nearly 2,000 years, the Colosseum, Forum, and Pantheon have been the iconic symbols of the Eternal City. After doing the Caesar Shuffle, you鈥檒l give an unreserved thumbs-up to Rome鈥檚 enduring grandeur.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook.
