Three and a half million people live in Rome. There is no space left. There are one and a half million cars and another million scooters. The drivers are very crazy, Monica said. Everyone lives in apartments or condos which they call 'palaces.'

The large coach buses move in and out of the traffic and narrow streets in an amazing fashion.
We learned that the Vatican is its own state -- it is not Italy. There are four major Basilicas in Rome and when one steps inside a Basilica, one is no longer in Italy. A Basilica differs from a church in that it has special relics.
There is also a "HOLY DOOR" that is sealed shut.
Once every 25 years it is believed that if you walk through this Holy Door, all your sins are removed.
We drove by the City of Vatican, Basilica in the modern part of Rome.
The last year the Holy Door was opened was the year 2000. During that year, 25 million people came to Rome to enter through the Door.
Monica, our guide, said during the year 2000, she went through the door with tours so many times
that her sins should be forgiven until the next opening of the door - 2025.
We drove past the ancient walls and ruins of a very bad Emperor (missed his name.) In a time of such poverty, he built spas, numerous swimming pools, and extreme luxury. He was conquered before his extreme life was discovered. Today that area is used for open air music concerts. This was also where the Three Tenors first sang in 1990. (I love the Three Tenors.)
During the Forth Century, the Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople. When he did that, the Romans dismantled the government buildings, removing the marble to use for other things. So our guide reported that "Rome was not destroyed by the enemy, but by Romans themselves .... it was not destroyed, it was transformed."
We passed by the Coliseum S. Colosseo arco di Constantino where Ben Hur, and numerous others raced and also where the killing of thousands of Christians took place. The Colosseum could seat 80,000 people. Monica said it
would have been impossible for chariots to have entered the Coliseum due to the structure of the entrance. So the movie Ben Hur is unrealistic.... Chariots never raced in the Colosseum.
Notice this Pyramid that was built in 12 B C not by Egyptians but by Romans.
The very fist century, Rome had one and a half million people and no water.
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