Rome: The Dust of Ages

OK, it's pouring in Florence and it's a bit of a recovery day anyways, so between naps, another update on Rome, now about a week old!

Saturday in Rome’s center had been pretty lovely, largely due to an early start. (I’m finding it best to start these days as early as I can wake myself up, then to retreat home to nap/read/get work done while the tourist sites get insane. It works out pretty well!) But the city was overrun by the time I cut out of the center for the park and the catacombs, so I figured on a Sunday I’d try to throw myself a curveball and head out of the city proper, to Ostia Antica. This site (a more working-class town than Pompeii) is, like Pompeii, a well-preserved site giving a sense of what pre-modern Rome looked like. Unlike Pompeii, there was no natural disaster to assist in the preservation. Instead, this port city went dead when the river changed its path, the town eventually abandoned and buried in mud. It’s a pretty cool site, and a great day if the weather is nice – with virtually no crowds when I went. For me, the highlight was the theatre (see below, past the jump, for more on that.)

That afternoon and evening I explored Rome’s Jewish ghetto and Trastevere, the once-bohemian, now-increasingly-upscale neighborhood across the river from Rome proper. That’s for tomorrow’s post; today I want to skip ahead to my day in Ancient Rome. The Forum, Palatine Hill and The Colosseum. It’s a neat trinity that gives you a feel for the daily life of Roman citizens back in the late days of the Republic and early days of the Empire. I have even less of note to say about this than I have other sites, so let’s just skip past the jump to the photos, shall we?

Oh, and I forgot to mention, there's a pyramid in Testaccio. You know: we like Egyptian stuff if we're Roman!

Overview of a slice of Ostia Antica

Close-up of some ruinage at Ostia! (Interesting tidbit: you can generally tell which buildings have been partially restored and which have the original bricks based on how terrible of shape the bricks are in. To my expert eyes, these bricks are... red, I don't know.

CHUMPY, LUMPY, AND STUMPY: THE THREE COMIC MASKS OF ROMAN THEATRE. (Cool tidbit: up close these carvings very clearly have inset holes in the eyes, connoting "mask" in a very explicit way. NICE!)

The theater at Ostia Antica! I... I think we're gonna have to consider papering the house for opening weekend you guys.

Jumping over to the Forum and a little Roman perversity! This arch was to commemorate the defeat of Israel by the Roman Empire; most conquered peoples were allowed to keep their gods and just tack on their new emperor as a new deity. Israelites refused, and so they got punished hardcore. The last step in this? They were forced to carve the arch commemorating their defeat. That is some SERIOUS SASS, Rome. Woof.

The Forum viewed from above! Probably my pick for favorite ancient site. Go there early in the morning and ignore the Colosseum! YOU WILL THANK ME FOR THIS ADVICE WHEN YOU ARE OLDER.

Skies over Palatine Hill

The Colosseum from Palatine! To my thinking, way more impressive to look at from afar than to get inside of, but you know: YOU DO YOU, GENTLE READER.