Rome – Around Town : Ancient Rome (part 1)

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This area has always been a
contrasting mix of the highest and the lowest, from the most extravagant
luxury to the toughest work-a-day world. In ancient times, the
emperor’s lavish palaces were built on the Palatine, but they weren’t
far from the docks, where roustabouts heaved the tons of goods that were
imported to the wealthy city from around the world. There are three
hills in the zone: the Palatine and the Aventine are two of the original
seven, but Monte Testaccio is entirely man-made. Legend has it that the
Aventine was where Remus formed a populist settlement, to rival his
twin brother Romulus’s dictatorial encampment .
Over the centuries it has been an area inhabited by poor workers and
religious institutions. Today, it has returned to being an enclave of
greenery and smart dwellings, studded with hidden art treasures and some
of the world’s finest ancient monuments and priceless archaeological
finds.


Class Divisions and Power Struggles

The ceaseless struggle between the governing and
the working classes is typified by the history of this area. Romulus on
the Palatine versus Remus on the Aventine gave rise to patricians and
plebeians respectively. The contrast still exists, between wealthy
Aventine and down-to-earth Testaccio.




Carry a bottle of water with you, which you can refill at little fountains around the area


Take a torch (flashlight) and binoculars when visiting churches to see the architectural details close up


NOTE



Sights

  1. Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

    Once
    the heart of the Roman empire, this mass of ruins is an eerie landscape
    that seems gripped by the ghosts of an ancient civilization .




  2. Colosseum and Imperial Fora

    These
    monuments memorialize Imperial supremacy. The Forum of Trajan was
    declared a Wonder of the World by contemporaries; the only remnant is
    Trajan’s Column, considered to represent Roman sculptural art at its
    peak. The Colosseum embodies the Romans’ passion for brutal
    entertainment .

  3. Musei Capitolini

    Notwithstanding
    their great beauty, the original motivation for these museums was
    purely political. When the popes started the first museum here in 1471,
    it laid claim to Rome’s hopes for civic autonomy – the Palazzo dei
    Conservatori was the seat of hated papal counsellors, who ran the city
    by “advising” the Senators. Today the museums are home to a spectacular
    collection of art .




  4. Santa Sabina

    This
    church was built over the Temple of Juno Regina in about 425 to honour a
    martyred Roman matron. In 1936–8 it was restored almost to its original
    condition, while retaining 9th-century additions such as the
    Cosmatesque work and the bell tower. Twenty-four perfectly matched
    Corinthian columns are surmounted by arcades with marble friezes and
    light filters through the selenite window panes. The doors are
    5th-century carved cypress, with 18 panels of biblical scenes, including
    the earliest known Crucifixion – strangely without any crosses.

    • Piazza Pietro d’Illiria 1

    • Open 6:30am–1pm, 3:30–7pm daily

    • Free

    • DA




    Santa Sabina

  5. Baths of Caracalla

    Inaugurated
    in 217 and used until 546, when invading Goths destroyed the aqueducts.
    Up to 2,000 people at a time could use these luxurious thermae. In general, Roman baths included social centres, art galleries, libraries, brothels and palestrae
    (exercise areas). Bathing involved taking a sweat bath, a steam bath, a
    cool-down, then a cold plunge. The Farnese family’s ancient sculpture
    collection was found here, including Hercules, a signed Greek original. Today, ruins of individual rooms can be seen.

    • Via delle Terme di Caracalla 52

    • Open 9am–2pm Mon, 9am–1 hr before sunset Tue–Sun

    • Adm

    • DA




    Capital, Baths of Caracalla



    Gymnasia, Baths of Caracalla

  6. Piazza of the Knights of Malta

    Everyone
    comes here for the famous bronze keyhole view of St Peter’s Basilica,
    ideally framed by an arbour of perfect trees .
    However, it’s also worth a look for the piazza’s wonderful 18th-century
    decoration by Giambattista Piranesi, otherwise renowned for his
    powerful engravings of fantasy-antiquity scenes. To honour the ancient
    order of crusading knights (founded in 1080), the architect chose to
    adorn the walls with dwarf obelisks and trophy armour, in the ancient
    style. Originally based on the island of Rhodes, then Malta, the knights
    are now centred in Rome.

  7. San Saba

    Originally
    a 7th-century oratory for Palestinian monks fleeing their homeland, the
    present church is a 10th-century renovation, with many additions. The
    portico of the beautiful 15th-century loggia houses a wealth of
    archaeological fragments. Greek style in floorplan, with three apses,
    the interior decoration is mostly Cosmatesque.
    The greatest oddity is a 13th-century fresco showing St Nicholas about
    to toss a bag of gold to three naked girls lying on a bed, thus saving
    them from prostitution.

    • Piazza Gian Lorenzo Bernini 20

    • Open 8am–noon, 4–7pm Mon–Sat, 9:30am–1pm, 4–7:30pm Sun

    • Free




    Portico carving, San Saba

  8. Pyramid of Caius Cestius

    This
    12 BC edifice remains a truly imposing monument to the wealthy Tribune
    of the People for whom it was built. It stands 36 m (118 ft) high and
    took 330 days to erect, according to an inscription carved into its
    stones. Unlike Egyptian originals, however, it was built of brick then
    covered with marble, which was the typically pragmatic, Roman way of
    doing things.

    • Piazzale Ostiense




    Pyramid of Caius Cestius

  9. San Teodoro

    At
    the foot of the Palatine, this small, circular, 6th-century church is
    one of Rome’s hidden treasures. St Theodore was martyred on this spot,
    and his church was built into the ruins of a great horrea
    (grain warehouse) that stood here. The apse mosaic showing Christ
    seated upon an orb is original, but the Florentine cupola (1454) and
    other treatments are mostly 15th-century restorations ordered by Pope
    Nicholas V. The courtyard was designed by Carlo Fontana in 1705.

    • Via di San Teodoro

  10. Protestant Cemetery

    Also
    called the Acattolica (Non-Catholic) Cemetery, people of many faiths
    have been sepulchred here since 1738. The most famous denizens are the
    English poets Keats and Shelley . Until 1870, crosses and references to salvation were forbidden.

    • Via Caio Cestio 6

    • Open 9am–4:30pm Tue–Sat, 9am–1pm Sun

    • Donation




    Keats’ tombstone