Rome 2022 - Return to the Eternal City

The Arch of Titus at the principle entrance to the forum from the Colosseum.

WARNING - READ AT YOUR DISCREATION, THIS IS A LONG, LONG, LONG POST!

 

I think my three most favourite capital cities in the world are London, Paris and Rome, probably because of the wealth of stories each city has to tell of its history and the role of it's nation in world events, reflected in its buildings, food, and the very fabric of its streets.

Rome set the model for the Imperial Capital, that the other two in their own inimitable way copied, as seen in their own triumphal arches, Doric columned buildings, and statues adorning key squares and places.

All three have at times in their history been Imperial Capitals, but with Rome being the first, and it's decline from that position much earlier than the other two, it still seems to have maintained the much more compact layout of the original ancient footprint, than either of the other two northern cities, and both London and Paris seemed to have gathered around their outskirts more of an urban sprawl than seems the case with Rome.

That might be my imagination, but all the key historical landmarks in Rome are very much in short walking distance, with only the need to resort to the occasional taxi, when the fatigue of a hot day among the crowds and, with older family members (me included) starting to flag, seemed to compel the idea to resort to wheels rather than walking. Not only that but I love pasta!

This week's break had been postponed from its original date in June 2020 due to the pandemic, and was originally arranged for a family trip to join Will in Rome, who was set to complete his masters degree in Advanced European and International Studies, with his particular focus on Global Medicine, that after completing part of his studies in Berlin before moving to Nice and completing his course in Rome, before returning home to finish his medical studies in the UK.

Carolyn and I joined Will in Berlin in November 2019, before the normal progress of his course was curtailed in Nice because of the outbreak of Covid, forcing students to return home and complete their studies remotely with Will finishing in the top of his cohort with a distinction and receiving his honours via Zoom later in 2020.

I wrote two posts about the fascinating city of Berlin and my impressions during our visit which you can check out in the links below.

JJ's Wargames - Berlin 2019,Part One

JJ's Wargames - Berlin 2019, Part Two

Of course, the 'Dunkirk Spirit' demanded that we weren't going to let a little global pandemic get in the way of celebrating Will's magnificent achievement, and so we simply postponed the date until vaccination programmes took effect and governments and national media finally came to their senses to allow a more normal resumption of life to begin and so this trip finally came to fruition, coming as it did hot on the heels of my weekend trip to Partizan, with me driving back to Devon on the Sunday night and flying out to Rome the next day - phew!

This was to be my fourth visit to the city, with the last time being back in 2014 for another family trip to celebrate Will turning 18. Perhaps you are noticing a pattern here, and all I can say is that Will is the classics scholar in the family and will gladly spend time in Rome, Italy or anywhere else in the world for that matter at the drop of a hat.

I also posted on our trip back in 2014, again in two parts, with my focus very much on the city's imperial past, given that I was well into my Augustan to Aurelian project. and particularly my Romano-Dacian collection of figures, and so Trajan's Column was front and centre of that particular visit among a few other fun things we did. Links below to that trip are attached.

The birthday-boy getting to know two of Rome's bad-boys, Augustus and Agrippa in 
the Ara Pacis in 2014 

JJ's Wargames - Rome 2014, Will's 18th Birthday Goes on Tour

JJ's Wargames - Rome 2014 Postscript, Trajan's Column

Not having indulged in any foreign travel for three years and certainly no air travel, meant that our trip this year was a mixture of excited anticipation to get back into enjoying foreign travel, sunshine and great food together with the cautious dread of the delights of getting through airports and enforced wearing of ridiculous face masks, not to mention likely queues for post Brexit passport inspections.

In the end the concerns in the main proved fairly painless with just flight and baggage handling delays to be coped with which frankly were no problem, given that the whole trip had been delayed three years, so the odd two hour flight delay was nothing in comparison, which just goes to show that the meditation sessions are paying off! 

This tourists map of Rome illustrates where the the sites mentioned in the post are in relation to one another 

The plan for our week in Rome was to visit sites missed or not given sufficient time during our previous visits, whilst including some of the previous ones given that two of our party had not been to Rome before, whilst also including a surprise award ceremony for Will in the Colosseum to more appropriately celebrate his hard work and success.

1. The Mausoleum of Augustus

An artists impression of the Mausoleum of Augustus in its heyday.

At the time of our last visit in 2014, the tomb of Augustus was boarded off, close by to the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) which we visited.

The Ara Pacis as pictured during our visit back in 2014
'These plunderers of the world [Romans], after exhausting the land by their devastations, are rifling the ocean: stimulated by avarice, if their enemy be rich; by ambition, if poor; unsatiated by the East and by the West: the only people who behold wealth and indigence with equal avidity. To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace.'  - Tacitus quoting Calgacus in The Agricola.

The guide book of the time described it thus

' Now just a weedy mound ringed with cypresses and sadly strewn with litter, this was once the most prestigious burial place in Rome.'

The first citizen of Rome, Octavian, later Caesar Augustus, seized power in 27 BC, reigning
until his death in 14 AD and founder of the Roman Principate in the wake of the Republic  

Augustus had the mausoleum built in 28 BC, the year he became sole ruler, as a tomb for himself and his descendants.

The circular building was 285 feet in diameter with two obelisks at the entrance and with the central ring of arches supporting the dome filled in with earth between the cavities to support the weight of the upper dome.

Inside were four concentric passageways linked by corridors where the urns of the Imperial family were placed.

The first to be buried here was Augustus's favourite nephew, Marcellus who married Julia, the emperor's daughter. He died in 23 BC, possibly poisoned by Livia, who felt her son, Tiberius, would make a more reliable emperor.

I'm sorry but every time I see the name Livia mentioned, I can only think of the great Sian Phillips portrayal of this formidable lady in the 1976 BBC series 'I Claudius', here seen with an incredibly young looking Brian Blessed playing the divine Augustus.

When Augustus died in 14 AD, his ashes were placed in the mausoleum, Tiberius duly became emperor, and dynastic poisonings continued to fill the family vault with urns.

The last emperor to be interred in the monument was Nerva who proceeded Trajan who was interred under his column commemorating his Dacian campaigns.

The monument fell into decline and was robbed of its valuable marble, with only a few original pieces remaining and on show, and the internal passageways collapsed and were also robbed out leaving a mound and walls that in later centuries became a medieval fortress, vineyard, private garden and later an 18th century auditorium and theatre.

The monument is still under restoration work, but visitors can access the remains of the internal galleries and see examples of the decorative marble and the large blocks designed to hold the imperial urns, and outside work is progressing to create a plaza on the original Roman ground level so future visitors will be able to see the scale of the building as it would have appeared to the Roman citizens of Augustus's time.

A shattered fragment of the outer decorative marble, discovered during the excavation 

Work first started to restore the mausoleum in the 1920's under Mussolini and
the later restoration brick work is discernible from the original Roman small square
bricks close to the base of the pillar on the left.

The four concentric rings have collapsed leaving the outer wall (left) and the inner tomb (right).

One of the stone blocks that would have held an imperial urn

The new plaza under construction, seen from the upper passageway, will allow a much more impressive view of the monument than that seen above from the entrance we used on our visit.

2. & 3. The Column on Marcus Aurelius & The Obelisk of the Piazza del Popolo

Composed of twenty eight drums of marble and one hundred feet high topped with a statue of St Paul, the Column of Marcus Aurelius in the Piazza Colonna seems at first glance like a direct imitation of its historic predecessor, Trajan's Column, constructed some eighty years prior to this monument which was erected after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 180 AD.

The Aurelian wars mark the conclusion of the period of Roman military history, from the time of Augustus, that really fires my imagination and with the Dacian conflict of principal interest, I have often considered extending my collection to encompass these later conflicts that rather hints at the unfinished business left along the River Danube frontier in the wake of Trajan's victories and the tumult to come as pressure on the tribes beyond Rome's imperial border to migrate became ever more imperative and created the later crisis of the third century.

Thus it was that I found myself standing before this particular column in search of further inspiration, but on inspection this column reveals the artistic change in the eighty year gap between it and the more heroic Trajanic pillar with its honouring of the noble barbarian in defeat, sculpted in crisp detail still discernible through the centuries of rain and air pollution, but here replaced by this display of a much more simplified representation of the warriors involved.

The twenty spirals of the low relief, chronicle the German War of 172-173 AD, and the Sarmatic War of 174-175 AD.

Somewhat disappointingly the column on our visit was cordoned off with barriers preventing a much closer inspection and access all round the relief but I certainly came away with ideas gestating to develop my figure collection to encompass these later conflicts as and when time permits.

Making our way along the Via del Corso, we then headed for the Piazza del Popolo on our way to the Villa Borghese gardens which allowed time to admire the second most ancient Egyptian obelisk in Rome from the period of Ramesses II, about 13th or 12th century BC, originally from Heliopolis and brought to Rome by Augustus in 10 BC to be erected in the Circus Maximus.

The Piazza del Popolo as seen from the terrace of the Villa Borghese Gardens

Egyptian obelisk in Rome from the period of Ramesses II, 13th or 12th century BC,
from Heliopolis that once graced the Circus Maximus 

The younger members of our party enjoying the scenic gardens of the Villa Borghese that overlooks the Piazza del Popolo

4. The Area Sacra and the Murder of Julius Caesar 

On March the 14th, 44 BC, Julius Caesar, "dictator for life", was murdered by his own senators at a meeting hall next to the Theatre of Pompey.

The City of Rome in 44 BC
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_city_of_Rome,_44_B.C.E.jpg

Located just south of the Pantheon is the Largo di Torre Argentina or Area Sacra, and is a large open square containing the remains of four temples and the Theatre of Pompey which, since its uncovering in the 1920's when the medieval structures that covered the site were pulled down on the orders of Mussolini, has been left viewable by the public from street level only, as the site was given over to a non profit shelter for stray cats.

My picture taken in the British Museum in 2016 of the half bust
of what is believed to be a rare depiction Julius Caesar

Future plans for the site include elevated walkways, an elevator and covered exhibition area to better facilitate public access to this very important historical site.

 

Panoramic view of the Area Sacra with the round Temple of Fortuna Huiussce Dei in the centre and the balcony to the right below the pavement wall housing the cat sanctuary that formerly had the run of the whole site

Largo Torre Argentina or Area Sacra with the four temples highlighted in red.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Largo_torre_argentina_PIANTA.jpg

Directly behind the round Temple of Fortuna are the foundations of a rectangular building, seen here in the bottom left, identified as the Curia of Pompey, also seen in the picture below. The smaller rectangular rooms are identified as imperial toilets attached to the Curia.

The Curia of Pompey was a large rectangular building (closest to camera) that housed a statue of Pompey. It was here that the Senate met and where Julius Caesar was murdered on the 15th March 44 BC.

Temple A, seen here and in the pictures below with its glorious wall paintings from the medieval church of San Nicola de Cesarini built over its podium, dates from the 3rd century BC

Heading south from the Area Sacra leads to the River Tiber and the Tiber Island close to which are the Portico of Octavia and Theatre of Marcellus.

5. & 6. Portico of Octavia, Theatre of Marcellus & Circus Maximus

The Porticus Octaviae was built by Augustus, some time after 27 BC and named after his sister Octavia, the abandoned wife of Mark Antony, with its colonnaded walkway enclosing the temples of Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina.

View of the Portico D'Ottavia on the left looking along the original Roman access with the Theatre of Marcellus in the distance amid the later buildings of the Rome Ghetto, the scene of Nazi atrocities against the resident Jewish community recorded on the walls nearby with the names of those taken and murdered.

This artists impression shows how the area of the Circus Flaminus between the Portico of Octavia and the Theatre of Marcellus may have looked.

The Theatre of Marcellus was built in the closing years of the Roman Republic with the space cleared for it in the time of Julius Caesar.

Completed in 13 BC it was inaugurated by Augustus in 12 BC and named after his nephew Marcus Claudius Marcellus who died in 23 BC and during its time in use could accommodate from 11,000 to 20,000 spectators, being one of the largest open air theatres in Rome.

With its fall into disuse in the fourth century its remains were saved by its incorporation into a medieval and renaissance fortress with upper floor apartments added over time.

The three Corinthian columns and frieze are the remains of the Temple of Apollo which originally housed many great works of art plundered from the Greeks in the 2nd century BC.

Making our way down to the River Tiber we crossed via the Tiber Island before finding a place for lunch prior to crossing back over the Tiber on the Ponte Palatine and passing the circular Temple of Hercules Victor on our way to the Circus Maximus.

Dining out for lunch and dinner was one of the great delights on a holiday like this

Temple of Hercules Victor 

The 1959 Ben Hur movie starring Charlton Heston recreated the chariot races staged in the Circus Maximus, which was a stunning spectacle back in the day, despite the odd Roman sentry spotted still wearing his wrist watch.

Given the sparsity of any remaining structures on the actual site, the film clips help to bring the place to life.

  

The area of the Circus Maximus and Colosseum illustrated in a model of Rome by Paul Bigot
 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plan_Rome_Caen_Circus_Maximus_Colis%C3%A9e.jpg

7. & 8. The Colosseum and Forum

The Colosseum has to be one of the most famous structures in the world and having been there on previous visits, we only included this iconic place this time round to accommodate those of us who had not been there before and for a very special ceremony, that should have happened here back in 2020 and was secretly rearranged to make sure the appropriate honours were bestowed.

The whole area was being arranged for a city function at the time along with celebrating the win by AS Roma on the 26th May in the European Conference football league which had the club parading in an open top bus through the city in recognition of their win against Feyenoord.

Part of these arrangements saw the Colosseum undergoing a run through of the placement of a rather large white screen as we walked towards it, which required a remarkable display of climbing choreography to first unroll the thing and then roll it back up.

Meanwhile the Rome authorities were still messing about with Covid restrictions that saw visitor numbers allowed in to the monument restricted at any time, seeing large crowds gathered outside waiting their turn and being constantly badgered by ticket touts and mask entrepreneurs eager to make the most of an opportunity.

None of these arrangements seemed to make any impression on the hooded crows that frequent this part of Southern Europe, content to scavenge for the occasional dropped ice cream cone whilst trying to cool themselves in the midday heat by seemingly panting through open beaks.

With our gradual progression to the upper galleries of the ancient stadium it was time to surprise our honoured guest with a quick ceremony and short, very short, speech of congratulations for past achievement, amid a few quizzical onlookers, before taking time to celebrate later that evening with a few beverages over dinner.

As you can see, Will differs from the clean cut Trajanic profile of his father, preferring the 
hirsute Hadrianic 'Greekling' look. Well done mate.

Tom, equally enthused with the Greekling look, demonstrates to Will how to keep the
Colosseum on your side. Nothing has changed in politics and it's still all about
'Bread and Circuses'.

The Colosseum is right next door to the Forum and, again to accommodate those of us eager to see this famous place for the first time we made our way in past the arches of Constantine and Titus to just go full on tourist and simply take in the majesty and history of the place.

The Arch of Constantine commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Emperor Constantine the Great's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD.

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312 AD confirmed Constantine's position as ruler of the Western Roman Empire and paved the way for the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and Europe with the Edict of Milan issued the following year officially recognising and tolerating Christianity in the Roman Empire.

Constantine's men crowd down to the bridge of boats on the Tiber over which Maxentius's men were trying to escape, with the broken Milvian Bridge in the background.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Milvian_Bridge

Dedicated in 315 AD, the arch attributes divine intervention to Constantine's success, without any overt Christian symbols, but for the Trajanic enthusiast, those four Dacian warriors added to the front and taken from earlier monuments, together with many of the other reliefs dating from Trajan's and Hadrian's time add extra interest.

One arch of victory often leads to another in Rome with the success of its imperial project celebrated among the remains of its architecture, and so our progress turned towards the Forum and the Arch of Titus.

 

As the crowds of tourists coming from and going to the Arch of Titus would suggest, the Colosseum and Forum are the centre of attention in Rome for those interested in soaking up the ancient history of the Western World.

The Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Roman-Jewish War, 66-73 AD during which the brutal five month siege would see the Roman's sack the city and the Second Jewish Temple, culminating in the crushing of Jewish rebel resistance.

One of the first images that springs to my mind of the First Roman-Jewish War 66-73 AD, is Peter Dennis' portrayal of the future emperor Titus cutting his way out of an ambush before the walls of Jerusalem, the war and final siege commemorated by the Arch of Titus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)

Roman legionaries sack the temple during the Fall of Jerusalem 70 AD - Radu Oltean
This scene captured in the relief below

From Titus's arch, part of our group preferred to stay in the shade of the olives and cypress trees as they viewed the Forum from ground level, whilst a break away group headed for the higher ground of the Palatine Hill and the gardens of the Imperial Palace to get an emperor's view of the plebs making their way through the Forum below, and the reward of a glorious view.

Map of the Roman Forum from 1904 showing the Republican buildings in red and the later Imperial ones in black

The Temple of Vesta and the long atrium can be seen below, but sadly not one virgin could be found to show us around when we came down to have a closer look.

On returning to the masses below, we made our way around the Forum which on the day of our visit, unlike eight years ago, saw many of the intact temple buildings with their doors open to the public allowing inspection of the beautiful wall paintings to be seen inside.

It was a very hot day and the opportunity to grab some shade when presented together with a drink and some family pictures was taken gleefully.

Temple of Antonius and Faustina, constructed by Emperor Antonius Pius in 141 AD and dedicated to 
his deceased wife Faustina the Elder, it was later rededicated to them both by Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 161 AD. In the seventh century it was converted into a Roman Catholic church and renamed the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda.

In the picture below is the Spring of Juturna, which dates to the archaic period of the 6th century BC.

According to legend, Castor and Pollux (the Dioscuri), sons of Zeus and the divine twin horsemen who led Rome to victory over the Latins (499 BC) were seen here watering their horses and it was thus decided to build the nearby temple in their honour .

The fountain was rebuilt several times between 2nd and 1st century BC and again in the Imperial period; it was clad in white marble and a pedestal in the centre held the statues of the Dioscuri. In the basin an altar is preserved with depictions of the twins.

The remains of the Temple to Castor and Pollux

Our party enjoying the delights of the Spring of Juturna, with crowds on the Palatine above.

Progressing from the Spring of Juturna and Temple to Castor and Pollux we found ourselves in front of the impressive remains of the Temple of Vesta.

Partially reconstructed last century, the temple is linked to one of Rome's most ancient and important cults.

Here the Vestal Virgins tended the sacred fire which was to burn perpetually as a symbol of the city's life force; and men, with the exception of the Pontifex Maximus, were forbidden from entering.

The Temple of Vesta from an 1805 illustration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Vesta

All that remains of the temple is the podium on which the columns stood; the circular monument was reconstructed several times, with the current remains dating to the period of Septimus Severus who restored the building after a fire in 191 AD.

The Atrium of the Vestal Virgins was the home of the Vestals, freeborn, aristocratic women, sworn to a life of celibacy of thirty years during their tenure from the age of six.

The Vestals were bound to serve the goddess Vesta and to tend her sacred fire and were governed by strict rules and harsh punishments, whilst enjoying a life of privileges and social respect that came with their position as priestesses.

The belief was that a Vestal's purity was connected to Rome's fate, so much so that on the death of the virgin daughter of a Roman noble in 114 BC, killed by lightening, suspicion of wrongdoing within the temple resulted in an investigation and later three Vestals being sentenced to death for breaking their oaths of chastity.

9. Vatican Museum

We were not able to include the Vatican Museum on our last visit to Rome, although I went there many years before on a corporate visit with my then employer.

So we were keen to include it and its amazing collection of antiquities together with a look at the history of this very important centre of power and influence in the world of Christendom throughout the centuries since the fall of the Roman Empire.

Entrance into the Vatican Museum is via a purpose built access through the city wall into the Belvedere Casino (top right) and along through the Vatican and English Gardens
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vatican_City_map_EN.png

The Vatican City is a state within a state, a fact highlighted to us on entry into the museum building via a purpose built access way, tunnelled through the thick medieval fortress walls to allow visitors in to a very specific part of the city complex. 

The access into the Vatican complex leads out onto the plaza overlooking the square gardens, seen below.

The Pine Cone of St Peter's in Rome is an extraordinary artefact of the Roman period, probably originally among the furnishings of the sanctuary dedicated to the Egyptian goddesses of Isis and Serapis in Campo Marzio serving as a fountain.

A large amount of the best of Roman art, in the form of classical statues and busts together with exquisite mosaics and wall paintings ended up by one means or another in the Vatican which has allowed these incredibly valuable antiquities to survive into the modern period.

The Vatican lends out to other major museums around the world and I well remember admiring several such busts of famous Emperors on loan from the Vatican to the Louvre on a visit to Paris a few years ago, and my anticipation was high when coming here to see the collection.

I could have spent hours in the Roman antiquity section of the museum given the chance, but the tours are guided and only a limited time seems to be allotted to get people in and out in a given time and so I grabbed pictures as I went.

Top shelf, second left is Gaius Caesar, the eldest of Augustus' grandsons born 20 BC to Julia and Agrippa, and heir to the throne until his death from battle wounds in Asia Minor in 4 BC, next right is Trajan and to his right Hadrian. 

On the left is a young Commodus, emperor from 180 - 193 AD son of Marcus Aurelius, and the villain in 'Gladiator'. This image was found in Ostia and made before he became emperor. On the right is Emperor Antoninus Pius 138 to 161 AD, also discovered in Ostia.

Portrait of Geta, born in 189 AD, son of Julia Domna and Emperor Septimius Severus. Geta was killed on the orders of his brother Caracalla in 212 AD, and this portrait is assumed to have been made in 198 AD, the year the young prince assumed the title Caesar

One thing that immediately came to mind when viewing these marble busts of past emperors was the amazing art by Daniel Voshart who produced some fantastic life-like impressions based on these busts and I had a bit of fun afterwards comparing the original art to this more modern interpretation.

https://voshart.com/roman-emperor-project

Emperor Antoninus Pius

Top shelf, Vespasian, third from right, Septimius Severus, extreme right, on the bottom shelf the three busts, one in from the left, are portraits of Manilia Hellas, Lucius Manilius Faustus and Lucilius Manilius Primus from the Manlii Tomb on the Appian Way.

Colossal Head of Athena Promachos, a Roman copy of the 5th century BC Greek original 
dating to 117 to 138 AD. The blue glass eyes were designed to reflect the flames of torches 
and direct the gaze of this glorious piece.

Emperor Tiberius

The so called Bath of Nero, made from red porphyry, a suitably imperial purple marble, highly prized and originating from Egypt. It was discovered on the site of Nero's house on the Esquiline Hill and was probably a fountain rather than a bath, but given its rarity and exquisite expense, a clear statement of wealth by the imperial despot .

The mosaic floor is known as the Mosaico delle Terre di Otricoli and dates to the 3rd century AD, when it was installed in the Baths of Otricoli to the north of Rome. The floor was removed piece by piece to the Vatican in the 18th century, a fact that just 'boggles' the mind.

The Emperor Hadrian 

The bust of Antoninus found in Hadrian's Villa in 1790, a site we visited in 2014. Antoninus was
one of Hadrian's 'young favourites' certainly by 128 AD, joining the emperor on his tour of the empire and part of his close retinue. He died in mysterious circumstances, with reports ranging from drowning at Hadrian's Villa, intentional human sacrifice, to suicide. After his death Hadrian had Antoninus deified with a cult established to his worship and the city of Antinoopolis named after him.

I'm of a generation to have enjoyed the original BBC series 'I Claudius' and with this particular 
emperor, played by the great Derek Jacobi, having such a huge impact on the history of Britain with his successful invasion in 43 AD it was great to see this impressive portrait of the man, and perhaps one of the most underrated imperial leaders given his achievements in the wake of the assassination of Caligula (played by the equally late-great John Hurt).

Sarcophagus of St. Helena - This monumental red porphyry sarcophagus is believed to have held the remains of Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who died around 335 AD and was buried in the Imperial Mausoleum at Tor Pignattara. The rather military looking style, showing mounted Roman troops leading barbarian prisoners on foot, seems an unlikely decoration for a female burial and leads to the suspicion that the sarcophagi was originally intended for a male member of the imperial family and perhaps Constantine himself.

In the post Roman world the Papacy played a key role in the politics of the former western empire, particularly in the struggles between the royal houses of Europe and the more local wars in Italy that came to define the renaissance period and the struggle between the city states, the Vatican and the growing power of France and Spain, whilst always with a wary eye on the threat of Islam and the Ottoman empire in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The old Vatican state buildings and apartments that compose this part of the museum make for a fascinating tour through this period in history from the absolutely stunning Gallery of Maps seen below, to the statement paintings that adorn the Papal Office designed to remind errant Prince's and their ambassadors who God's representative on earth was, to the dark but ostentatious apartments of perhaps the most infamous of Popes and his rather interesting family, Rodrigo de Borja, later known as Pope Alexander VI.

 

The ceiling that confronts the visitor to the Gallery of Maps, particularly on a first visit, is enough to leave one open mouthed in awe whilst staring up and along its length; but then to cast ones gaze to the beautiful depictions of the Italian provinces and states and to imagine a renaissance pope deep in conversation with his advisors whilst walking along this spectacular corridor, issuing communications to this prince or that and consulting the map of the area of Italy under discussion whilst considering various options, allows one to easily step back to another time.

The Battle of Lepanto included on one of the wall panels.

A part of Italy that Carolyn and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting back in 2015 made me stop and look more closely for the cities of Pisa and Florence.
http://jjwargames.blogspot.com/2015/11/italy-2015-pisa-and-florence.html

The Battle of the Milvian Bridge painted by Giulio Romano (1520-1524) and highlighted above when looking at the Arch of Constantine, makes for a suitable adornment to the Papal waiting room, clearly designed to remind ambassadors of the unimpeachable heritage of the Vicar of Rome.

Likewise the Papal office wall paintings by Raphael with his masterpiece, The School of Athens, featured below, beautifully capturing the drive in the Italian Renaissance movement of truth through reason established under classical ancient Greek philosophy, with his portrayal of Plato the Elder, pointing upwards to the sky, deep in conversation with the younger Aristotle.

In the foreground leaning against a plinth at the foot of the steps is the philosopher Heraclitus of Epherus depicted in the guise of Michelangelo, with a nod to the other artists work in portraying the human body in great detail, by his particular attention paid to the detail on the musculature surrounding his right knee. Apparently Michelangelo was unimpressed!

Of course these portrayals of the greats in philosophical science could not foresee the clash between science and the church that the revelations of Nicholaus Copernicus would unleash with his new model of the universe that would force a new understanding between science and religion in a desperate attempt by the former to avoid too many scientist ending up being burnt at the stake.

Off to the right of Raphael's masterpiece is depicted Zoroaster in conversation with Ptolemy as the self portrait of the artist looks out at the casual viewer in the guise of Apelles

As we passed through these former great state apartments we descended a series of stairs deep within the thick walls of the fortress and down into a much darker and older set of rooms that formed the state apartments of  Pope Alexander VI, the Borgia Pope.

Rodrigo de Borgia, Pope Alexander VI

Being from Spain, Rodrigo de Borgia took pleasure in emphasising the wealth of his homeland from its South American empire, with ostentatious displays of gold work on the ceilings.

The bedroom in which Pope Alexander VI died in agony from a suspected poisoning is to this day quite a sombre and dark room and it was easy to see why future papal leaders decided to make other arrangements as to where they would sleep within the palace.

Of course the finale to any visit to the Vatican is to see Michelangelo's masterpiece, the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel for which no photography is allowed and so you will have to refer elsewhere if you want to see what an incredibly beautiful building and piece of art that is.

A visit to the Vatican Museum is a real treat for anyone interested in ancient, medieval and renaissance history and I have no hesitation in recommending its inclusion on any visitors list of must see places when visiting Rome. I would have liked more time to really focus on its many treasures and to have spent some of it in the marvellous gardens outside. 

Oh well, looks like another excuse to come back again!

The Appian Way

After a week spent with the family enjoying the delights of the city of Rome, Carolyn and I were by the end of it particularly keen on some time in the countryside, away from the bustle of traffic and the agonising, ear-bleeding, screech of sirens produced by every emergency vehicle in Rome and the opportunity to be a couple for just a few hours. 

Appius Claudius Caecus, Magistrate of Rome and builder of the Appian Way

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musei_vaticani,_braccio_chiaramonti,_busto_02.JPG

On our last visit we grabbed some bikes with the intention of cycling the Appian Way, but ended up taking up most of our planned riding time viewing one of the many early Christian catacombs that are open to the public along it, which was fascinating but left us wanting to do the original plan namely to ride or walk along a road that has carried travellers along its length since 312 BC when it was constructed as a military road by Appius Claudius Caecus for Rome's Samnite Wars.

The roads leading out of key Roman towns and cities were commonly used for burials, given Roman law forbidding burial within the confines of a city or town wall, with exceptions of course to the Imperial family with their private mausoleums; and the Appian Way was no different to those key roads across the empire, with the exception that the Appian roadside had perhaps more than its share of noble families represented.

Closing scene in the 1960, four times Academy Award winning film, Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas, with Lawrence Olivier, Tony Curtis, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov.

As with my imagination being inspired by Hollywood when thinking about the Circus Maximus, the first image that popped into my mind when seeing the approaches to the Appian Way was the closing scene to the 1960 Kirk Douglas epic, Spartacus, as the view panned out along the road to show the scene of thousands of captured rebel slaves crucified along its length, amid the family tombs of Roman burials, to deter any future thoughts of rebellion among the slave population. 

A great year 1960, and they certainly knew how to make a great epic film back in those days! 

'I'm Spartacus!'

'No, I'm Spartacus!'

Oh well we'll just have to make an example of all of them!

 

Our route along the Appian Way, described in our guide book as a '90 minute Walk'

The final day of holiday proved perfect for our walk as we were greeted with broken cloud cover that offered warm but not exceptionally hot weather and a pleasant breeze to moderate the sun when it was able to have the sky to itself.

We happily met our taxi in the centre of Rome as the others went off to wonder around the city at their leisure, as we headed across town to be dropped off at our start point, the Tomb of Cecilia Metella or as it became known in the Middle Ages, Capo di Bove in recognition of the ox head from the frieze of festoons still visible on the tomb today.

The Tomb of Cecilia Metella with the ox head securely in the wall above other items from the original frieze. 

The tomb was built in the first century BC to honour Cecilia Metella, the daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, consul in 69 BC.

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Cecilia or 'Caecilia' Metella was also married to Marcus Licinius Crassus who was the son of Marcus Crassus a member of the First Triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Popeius Magna (Pompey) and Marcus Crassus).

The link to Crassus also links perfectly with my reference to Spartacus as this was the general appointed by the Senate during the Third Servile War to hunt down and destroy the rebel army.

Between 1302  and 1303 the Caetani or Gaetani family aided by Pope Boniface VIII bought the estate of Capo di Bove, namely the land surrounding the tomb, and built a fortified camp with battlements added to the top of the drum shaped tomb.

The complex also included the church of St. Nicholas and it is thought included other buildings to accommodate the garrison that would have included stables and storehouses. Archaeological work to better understand this layout was going on when I took our pictures.

Castrum Caetani

As we set out along the road, a quick glance down at the ancient stones revealed the ruts of much earlier traffic than that parked up along the verge.

 

With the weekend in full swing lots of modern day Romans were out enjoying the outdoor life that the warm weather encouraged and a crowd was already gathered around a mobile pizza oven as the purveyor was busy rolling out dough and smearing on the tomato base together with a generous scattering of fresh basil and cheese.

As you progress further along the route the road gradually narrows to its original ancient dimension and with the access to modern day traffic restricted to the occasional service vehicle, the route is left to walkers and cyclists to enjoy, as the urban clutter of Rome gives way to glorious countryside and the sound of birdsong.

As a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Appian Way illustrates so well his technique of story construction, with his 'ruins in the landscape' used to suggest a much richer story and history to the events being described, echoed on our walk as pieces of ancient tombs and monuments lay scattered along the route pointing to the rich body of history that surrounds this ancient road.

It wasn't long before we were in open country offering views towards the mountains that form the spine of Italy.

Nature was in full bloom all along the road.

The first of the identified tombs along our route came into site as we spotted the relief of a naked man clad in a short cape, known as the Tomb of the Heroic Relief, whilst close buy and opposite is the Tomb of Marcus Servilius Quartus showing fragments of reliefs excavated in 1808 by the Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova.

The tomb of Heroic Relief

The tomb of Marcus Servilius Quartus

A scene like this could easily be the backdrop to a swords and sandals epic with little addition,
but unlike any film set this is real and you get a real sense of timelessness.

The tomb of the family of Sixtus Pompeus Justus, the Righteous, a freed slave; the tragic inscription records a father's sadness at having to bury his own children, following the premature death of his two sons and I dared not imagine that level of grief.

The tomb of Hilarius Fuscus with five portrait busts in relief of members of his family - c.30 BC

The tomb of Tiberius Claudius Secondinus of Philippi

The tomb of the Rabirii freed slaves, 1st century BC

The figure on the right is a priestess of Isis and behind her is the sistrum or metal rattle used in ceremonies of the cult.

An example of sistrum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrum

The tombs of the Festoons and Frontispiece

The tomb of the Festoons with its frieze of festive putty

The tomb of the Frontispiece with its relief of four figures, and the two in the centre holding hands.
Possibly a married couple with their two children either side

After crossing the Via Tor Carbone we reached our final viewing point before retracing our steps back to the crossroads to call a taxi to take us back into the city.

The Villa of the Quintilli was built by the wealthy and cultured Qunitilli brothers both consuls in 151 AD. However their good fortune and lives were brought to an abrupt end when the acquisitive Emperor Commodus took a fancy to their luxurious property and had both brothers put to death in order to confiscate the villa, becoming a residence for many following emperors and part of the imperial estate.

The Emperor Commodus leaving the arena at the head of the Gladiators - Edwin Howland Blashfield
Commodus scandalised Roman society with his brazen display and association with gladiators, not considered the society kept by any self respecting Roman citizen let alone an emperor. His capricious behaviour and dictatorial style of governance would lead to a series of coup attempts culminating in his assassination in 192 AD by a wrestler in the baths.  

The site was first excavated by the neoclassical history painter Gavin Hamilton in 1776, revealing sculptures that soon underlined the importance of the site, with subsequent digs only emphasising that importance by the footprint size of the ruins that became known as Roma Vecchia or Old Rome.

The bath house of the Villa Quintilli

Recent excavations have revealed the remains of luxurious decorations in addition to living quarters, baths, a large garden surrounded by porticoes and a spectacular nymphaeum visible from the Via Appia entrance that was converted into a fortress in the medieval period.

The nymphaeum of the Villa Qunitili

The walk along the Appian Way was a fantastic way of seeing Rome in another completely different way, similar to our trips out of the city to explore Hadrian's Villa and the old port of Rome, Ostia, featured in my post from 2014.  

It made for a great conclusion to our holiday and a perfect subject to conclude my travelogue of exploring Rome in 2022.

Needless to say among all the sightseeing and exploring much fun was had just enjoying family time together and the delights of Italian and Roman cuisine and I haven't enjoyed quite so much spaghetti-vongole since my trip to Venice a few years ago.

It's so nice to be able to travel again and explore the world, a freedom and privilege not to be taken for granted in the experience of recent times and a pleasure I am eagerly looking forward to a bit later this year, more anon.