S/V Aphrodite

We have just completed a 2-day whirlwind trip of Rome, a treat which I did not expect or plan for since the city of  Rome is about 30 miles inland and there aren’t any safe anchorages in which to leave Aphrodite during the day.  At the last minute we decided to go into a marina so we did not miss the amazing city and we are so glad that we did.  The weather prediction called for rain, with possible thunderstorms, but we were able to eek out a day and three quarters of beautiful weather, giving us a most rewarding visit.  Our excursion started at the Coliseum, Rome’s most imposing monument.  It was built by the Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and finished by his son Titus in AD 80.  During its heyday is was a glorious place, multi-colored marble covering nearly all of its surfaces, sophisticated toilet facilities, boxed seats for the “haves”, refreshment stands and a giant retractable sail to act as a roof.  Today, it takes a bit of imagination to see it as it was because once the Roman Empire fell, during the 4th century AD, following the rule of Constantine, the entire area went into disuse and the Catholic Church began to pillage the valuable materials to create their churches and basilicas. 

During the Roman rule, the Coliseum was used for the Gladiator Games, glorified by Russell Crow in the movie, “The Gladiator”.  It is true that the Gladiators were considered some of the most desirable men in Roma, especially by the women of wealth, but as Hollywood would have it, the movie was not a totally accurate depiction of the culture or the events which took place there.  The Gladiator Games were used as both entertainment and as a public demonstration of the consequences of unlawful acts upon the society.  In short, they were public executions designed to remind the general populous of what happens to people who break the law. The stadium held 50,000 spectators.  The criminals were held in the underground tunnels which were covered by a wood floor.  There were trap doors in the floor which opened to release the criminals onto the main floor to meet their death.  Not all criminals were killed.  Their survival depended on their ability to battle against the Gladiators.  Freedom was the reward for those criminals who survived, so you can imagine the gusto with which the battles/games were played.  Most of the ancient ruins of Rome are within close proximity.  From the Coliseum we walked to the other very important area of antiquity, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, where according to the legend, Romulus founded the city of Roma in 753 BC after killing his twin brother Remus over a dispute of where to place the city and then crowned himself the first king.  Throughout the era of the kings, the Republic and the Empire, the Forum was the political, religious and social center of the Roman world, (yes, this was where Julius Caesar was stabbed to death, but not on the steps of the Senate as indicated by Shakespeare).  The small area which remains and is available to explore represents a very small percentage of the actual area known as The Forum during the peak of the Roman rule.  After the fall of the Empire the area fell into disuse, used as fortress, a pasture land, then a garbage dump and finally the plundered source of precious marble and metals used in the construction of churches.  Many pagan temples were converted to Christian churches.  The area began systematic excavation in the 18th and 19th centuries, continuing even today. 

We spent the next day at the Vatican City, the most glorious testament to the religions, artistic and cultural significance of Rome.  Here, as in Florence, the wondrous talents of Michelangelo can be experienced. We joined a tour so that we did not have to stand in line to enter the Sistine Chapel and are so glad that we did.  Without the information provided by the tour guide we would have missed so much of the history and significance of different pieces found in the many rooms of the Vatican museum.  My favorite section of the Vatican is the Sistine Chapel, where a very young Michelangelo made his transition from an accomplished sculptor to artist in the medium of fresco.  He transformed the flat, rigid two dimensional paintings characteristic of the day into dynamic lifelike forms possessing expressions of passion and movement.  He began his work in the Sistine Chapel as an unknown and emerged as the most accomplished artist of his time.  He did the ceiling first, in his youth and returned as an old man to complete the end wall, representing the Last Judgment.  I absolutely love Michelangelo’s work. 

One of the fascinating historical accomplishments of the Roman Empire was the construction of the aqueducts.  Beginning with Appius Claudius there were 11 aqueducts designed and constructed from 312 BC to 226 AD which supplied citizens of Rome with water.  The water was sourced high in the mountains from springs and transported via above ground aqueducts until they reached the city limits, where they were converted into underground ducts, providing all of  Rome with a continual flow of clear fresh water.   Upon the completion of the project, clean, spring fed water was to be available to all Roman citizens, free of charge!  Bubbling fountains were built throughout the city.  That original aqua duct system is still in use today and the public fountains continue to provide a nonstop flow of clean, crystal clear wonderfully tasting water.  Why restaurants serve only bottled water is a mystery to me.