After leaving the Colosseum, we made our way to the top of the Palatine Hill, where we could overlook the Roman Forum. Looking out over the buildings lining the Via Sacra can be disorienting; each boasts its own historical significance and state of preservation. Many buildings bear marks of multiple historical eras. For example, the Temple of Antonius and Faustina, a Roman temple originally dedicated to Emperor Antonius and his wife, was later converted into a Roman Catholic church. However, the church was constructed before the modern excavation of the Roman Forum, meaning that its front door is high above what we now see as ground level.
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| Temple of Antonius and Faustina |
A door several feet off the ground can be difficult to interpret, but disorienting symbols like this are evidence of the Forum's rich history. Situated at the heart of the Roman Empire, the Forum has played an important role through multiple historical eras. Uncovering that history is rewarding.
Arguably, the Roman Forum's most important role has been as the symbolic birthplace of Roman greatness. In addition to buildings of civic function, the Forum contains buildings like the house and temple of the Vestal Virgins. The Vestal Virgins, followers of the Roman goddess of the hearth/home Vestia, were responsible in ancient Rome for keeping an eternal flame burning. The flame symbolized the hearth of the Roman Empire. Housed in the Forum, it was the home of Rome's spirit, personified in the virgins themselves. Clearly, this was a place of significance for the ancient Romans.
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| The House of the Vestal Virgins |
It is not by accident that Italian leaders since the Roman Empire have capitalized on this richly historic place. A short walk from the Roman Forum, we saw the Altare della Patria, the Altar of the Father. This monument was commissioned when Italy became a united country in 1861
—by its first king, Victor Emmanuel II.
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| Altare della Patria |
The white marble building walks the line between a war memorial and a temple, elevating Victor Emmanuel as the object of nationalistic devotion. It intentionally reuses architecture that recalls Roman greatness (i.e. columns, arches), presumably to legitimize the king as Rome's successor. The monument represents Victor Emmanuel's desire for Italian citizens to rally behind a shared history and identity. Where better to put it than near the Colosseum and Roman Forum, reminders of Italy's historic greatness?
Finally, we visited another symbol of Italy's historic greatness: Vatican City. We waited in the Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square) before we were permitted to enter St. Peter's Basilica.
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| La Piazza San Pietro |
St. Peter's Basilica is said to be the burial place of Saint Peter, the first bishop of Rome. It has therefore been regarded with special consideration by the Roman Catholic church and has been said to be the greatest church of all time.
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| Michelangelo's Pieta, housed in St. Peter's |
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| Domes of St. Peter's |
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| Interior of St. Peter's |
With its painstakingly painted domes and shining gold altar, the basilica is a singularly beautiful place. It represents devotion to God, the resplendence of heaven, the opulence of the Catholic Church, the feats of human architecture, and many other things at the same time. Like the other sites we saw today, it is beautiful as it exists in the present and even more so when understood in its historical context.
Great first day in Rome
—a reminder of why so many tourists visit. Ciao!
Christy
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