66. Rome, Italy. Travel to Rome, Italy. Discover the history of Ancient Rome at The Colosseum the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Welcome to ancient Rome.
In this episode you will be walking the along the historic streets of the Roman Forum which was the heart and soul of the Roman Empire from 800 BC to 400 AD.
You will hear about all the temples, basilicas and emperors of Rome in that time. We take you down the main boulevard of the Forum where the emperors would parade with their spoils of far away victories, which always included gold, plants and many exotic animals that no-one had ever seen before.
We tell you all about the most famous leader of all – Caeser – his life and how he died.
Palatine Hill overlooks the forum area and this is where the emperors built their palaces. Listen as we take you up the 7 levels of the Imperial ramp with its 35 metre high ceilings to the top of Palatine Hill. We share the views from the top and also the remains of the palaces and their private grounds, including a swimming pool and private arena.
Walk with us as we leave the Forum past Titus’s arch and enter one of the most well-known historic buildings in the world – the Colosseum. We were able to visit the arena floor which is where all the action happened and get a great insight into the tunnels, cells and trapdoors (spoiler alert - there were 88 of them).
Listen as we transport you to those ancient times when the Colosseum was at capacity with 50,000 screaming spectators enjoying the “entertainment” of the day.
You will want to stay listening to the end to find out exactly what that entertainment was – you might not call it entertainment and also what the crowds had barbecued for lunch. And no, it wasn’t another shrimp on the barbie.
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Please enjoy episode 66 all about Ancient Rome.
Show notes and pictures below
The Roman Forum
The Roman Forum was the centre of Ancient Rome from 800BC until 400AD. The site of the forum was originally marshland but the space gradually expanded and transformed into the Forum through the construction of important temples and basilicas. It became the centre of public and political life in the city and the site of important ceremonies, trials and speeches.
The Forum is located at the base of the Capital Hill and the Palatine Hill. Via Sacra, the main street runs directly between the Arch of Titus and Arch of Septimus Severus. It is a flat wide street where the victorious emperors would parade along with great pageantry, showing all their newly acquired goods, including gold and other treasures, slaves and foreign animals like elephants and giraffes.
The Imperial Ramp
The Imperial Ramp was discovered in 1900. It was built centuries earlier by Emperor Domitian in the first century to serve as a majestic entry from the Forum to the Imperial Palace. It is 35 metres high and has seven levels to the top. The ramp was made wide to carry the carriages, chariots and horses to the top.
Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill is where the emperors built their palaces. The first was Augustus in 27BC and gradually the hill became exclusive domain of the emperors. There are many palatial ruins on Palatine Hill as well as sporting arenas, swimming pools and fountains decorated with colourful marble. There is also a rose garden which was part of an excavation project in 1537 by Cardinal Farnese.
As you leave The Forum on the way to the Colosseum, you walk by Titus’ Arch. Emperor Domitian had the arch constructed to make a tribute to his brother Titus following his death. The arch commemorates both the military triumphs of Titus and his father Vespian with their victory in the Jewish War.
The Colosseum
From the Roman Forum it is only a short walk to the Colosseum. There are some pretty spectacular views of this famous historic building from the Forum gardens. As you approach the Colosseum you can see there are three rings of arches around the arena. Each of the three levels has 80 arches - a total of 240. It took nine years of continual work, day and night to complete the Colosseum.
The Colosseum originally had five rings starting around the arena floor and each one encompassing the next. One side of the building is intact with five the full five rings , but the other side only has three after receiving damage from an earthquake. (See picture 1 above)
The Colosseum was built to entertain the people of Rome and keep them happy so they would continue to support the current leaders and Emperors of Rome. When it first opened there were 100 days of celebrations.
If you have seen the movie Gladiator, then you know some of what went on in the Colosseum.
Originally the arena area was full of water - eventually they drained it and built a web of tunnels, passageways, jail cells and trap doors with elaborate pully operated elevators manned by slaves.
A day at the Colosseum started with entertainers for the crowd. Sometimes there were public executions of prisoners in the middle of the arena. Next there would be battles between prisoners and wild animals. You never knew which trapdoor and how many were going to open and what was going to come out - but whoever or whatever it was, it was fight till the death. If an animal or wild beast was killed, it was cut up and barbecued for the spectators. But if a slave or prisoner was killed then they were cut up and fed to the animals.
Of course the highlight of the day were the Gladiator battles. Gladiators were trained fighters, but were not free men. They could from time to time if they continually pleased the emperors and won many battles be released as free men.
We did a three hour tour of Ancient Rome and it was fascinating. Our guide was Diego, and he was interesting, funny and obviously loved his job. He took us to some areas of the Forum that most people don’t normally get to see and we also were able to walk out onto the arena of the Colosseum. The tour we did was Colosseum Skip the Line Small Group Ancient Rome Tour with Viator
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