The Road to Rome

Click once on collage to see more detail.
Sunday, May 3, 2009 and we are docked in Civitavecchia. The name means OLD CITY and is pronounced like 'chevy te vechia' . We learned that Civitavecchia was established by Rome two centuries after Christ. In 1870, it was unified as a political country.

You see the photo of Monica, our guide. We enjoyed the English language with a heavy Italian accent. Most of her words ended in"ah" and she used the term "aloha" in place of constantly saying "ummm"

As we drove the countryside, the hills were plentiful with sheep, yellow flowers, olive trees and grape vines. The main industry is wine and olive oils. Monica said "we make the best and the worst of wine and olive oil." We drove through the hilly Etruscan countryside where much excavation is still taking place.

The Etruscans were business people and lived two centuries before Christ. They are considered a mysterious civilization. Their tombs reveal they viewed death as the beginning of life. Etruscans were buried with the things they valued. The Romans revolted against the Etruscans and established a republic. Romans began to dominate the Italian Peninsula and the Mediterranean until Julius Caesar's defeat of Pompeii in 48 B.C.

The Romans built aqua ducts to bring water to their capital city of Rome. The climate here is mild and the country is volcanic, so fertile for farmers.

Today we take the 4-hour Panoramic trip to Rome. Rome is 1 1/2 hours from the port. It is Sunday, so we will not be able to go into the basilicas or churches where services are being held. We are suppose to make it to the Vatican in time to see the Pope at noon.

A Panorama of Rome

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.

Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City

Vatican City, population 800, is the papal enclave within Rome. It is a State of its own covering 109 acres. Latin is it's language. There is an army of 120 Swiss Guards. The Vatican has their own stamps, their own coins and they pay no taxes to another government. The open space of Saint Peter's Square which will hold 250,000 people, was designed so that the greatest number of people could see the Pope give his blessing from either the church or the window in the Palace. The designer, Gian L Bernini used a Tuscan form of Doric to evoke emotions of awe. I believe he was successful. The Egyptian Obelisk is 2,1000 years old and stands 25.50 mt. high.

From pictures, I had imagined a much larger Square, but yes, it is large. Also, we were due to arrive at noon and the Pope was giving his blessing. However,

we arrived 20 minutes late and missed that experience. Even though we would have liked to see it, Ken and I were not overly dismayed ..... we already had the blessing on our lives of the greatest High Priest and Pope, Jesus Christ.

We took many pictures. The four-layer deep columns that surround the square are massive and beautiful . Even though Roman architect tends to have columns on the front only of their

buildings, these columns surround the square to show that the common man is open to receive the blessing of the Pope. We stood by the granite fountain and felt the dampness of the spray. We listened to the youth groups playing their music and observed many different colors and styles of religious dress amoung the visiter that day.

The ancient aquaducts still reveal public drinking water for the thirsty.

The Eternal City

We have so many photos of Rome. It is going to take time to sort them all out. Rome is an hour and half from the port of Civitavecchia and is the Capital of Italy. It has long been called "The Eternal City." There is legend that the city was founded by Romulus and his brother Remus: however archaeological evidence indicates the area was inhabited as early as 1000BC. The legend goes this way: the twin sons of the War God: Mars and Rhea were abandoned as babies and brought up by a She-Wolf. They grew up to lead a band of outlaws and adventurers before Romulus killed his brother andfounded Rome in 753 BC.

Rich in tradition and history, Rome has monuments dating back to all the periods, from Etruscan era to modern times. The 8 or 10 story building has something to do with Mussolini. In time I will sort it out.

One of the most popular places in Rome is the Trevi Fountain, centerpiece for the movie "Three Coins in a Fountain." Rumor is that a coin thrown in will ensure a return to Rome. Approximately 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain each day. The money is used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy.

The Forum is now a jumble of ruins, was once the center for commercial and religious activities. Ancient Romans entered the Forum through a piazza that led from the Coliseum. The Coliseum was the largest structure of it kind, seating more than 50,000 spectators that turned out to see the games and gladiators. The Forum also had temples, public halls and monuments and statues.

Our Panoramic view took us from the Etruscan Countryside with views of the Tyrrenian Sea, into the Old Town.
We viewed from the coach the famous Villa Borghese and Piazza Venezia, the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine and the Circus Maximus. We spent probably an hour on our own in the St. Peters Basillica area.

Are We Doing Something Wrong?

Maybe this is not the proper way to enter the Eternal City .... but whats an ole codger to do? We could not find a gate that would open so I led the way and Ken followed.

From 800 to 600 BC, Rome was ruled by seven Latin and Etruscan Kings. But in 5090 BC the Romans established a Republic. A long period of civil war ended with Julius Caesaar's defeat of Pompeii in 48 BC.

Rome was gradually transformed to Christianity during the 4th centruy.

Eventually, Rome's over-extended empire became top heavy with it's own bureaucracy and in 395 AD, the Empire was split in two and soon fell into decline. The Dark Ages descended on Rome by the 5th century.