- My Italy 20 Days Road Trip (3)
On the palatine hill adjacent to Roman Piazza Trajan, there is a large ruin of the city, which is the ruins of the capital of the Roman Empire. It was once the capital of the ancient Roman Empire and the source and birthplace of the ancient Roman Empire. Founded in 753 BC, the ancient city of Rome has grown from a small city-state to the largest slave empire in Europe around the 4th century BC, encompassing vast areas of Western Europe, North Africa and the eastern and western Mediterranean. At the height of the Roman Empire, the population of Roman cities exceeded one million, and the size reached an area of about 6200 meters long from north to south and about 3500 meters wide from east to west.
After the 4th century AD, with the continuous occurrence of wars, earthquakes, and fires, especially the fall of the Western Roman Empire around 460 AD, the city of Rome was devastated. Today, most of the ruins are buried deep underground, and the ruins and walls seen are said to have been excavated and sorted out after the Renaissance. Standing on the Palatine Hill, you can see a section of the ruins of the city, a section of collapsed triumphal arch towers, isolated stone pillars and a piece of weathered ruins, you can appreciate the majesty of the ancient Roman Empire more than two years ago. Strolling through it, seeing the source of things, I can't help but be deaf and shocked, and I am amazed.
Descend from the Palatine Hills to the famous Colosseum. The Colosseum was a place of entertainment during the Roman period, as well as a place for grand celebrations and political events to showcase the achievements of the empire. Throughout the centuries of the Roman Empire, the Colosseum remained a fashionable one, but only nobles, slave owners, and freedmen of the princes and nobles with Roman citizenship could enter it. Whenever there is a triumph or a major celebration and the ascension of a new king to the throne, there is a grand beast fight. The best of the best, or slaves, or prisoners of war, or prisoners, fight between men and men until one of them dies. From the very beginning of the Colosseum, the Colosseum was filled with violence, bloodshed and cruelty. Even so, bestiality was still a part of Roman life, and the Colosseum spread throughout the cities under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire, and was even regarded as a city landmark.
Most of the Colosseums of the ancient Roman period were circular, with four grandstands in the Colosseum, seats on the first to third floors, and only standing on the top floor, which could accommodate nearly 100,000 people. The entire Colosseum has hundreds of entrances and exits, connected to the seats on each floor. Even in the event of chaos, spectators can be quickly evacuated. Therefore, the function, scale, technology and artistic style of the ancient Colosseum are called the outstanding representatives of ancient Roman architecture. It is said that most of the large stadium styles in modern society follow the design of the ancient Roman Colosseum. Although the Colosseum is now one of the few left in Italy, it is still one of the most eye-catching places in the city. Among them, the Colosseum has endured more than 2,000 years of vicissitudes, and still maintains the basic style of the ancient Roman period.
Most of the attractions in downtown Rome are free to pay, with only the ruins of the ancient city of Rome, the Colosseum and the museum, for a total of 12 euros. Different from domestic scenic spots, the cultural relics and monuments of many attractions in Rome and even Italy are exposed, and most of them do not have guardrails or shields, and tourists can watch and take pictures at will, but they are never allowed to touch them.
On the west side of the Colosseum stands a ruined Triumphal Arch, the famous Arch of Constantine. The Arch of Constantine dates back more than 700 years and was built by the Roman Emperor Constantine to celebrate the victory over powerful enemies and reunify the empire. It is said that during the ancient Roman period, there were dozens of triumphal arches in the city, each of which recorded a major historical event or marked the victory of a war. Today, most of these arc de triomphes have disappeared, and only 3 of them exist, and the Arch of Constantine is one of them. Although it has gone through more than 700 years of vicissitudes, it still stands majestically, side by side with the Colosseum, and has become a witness to the glory days of the ancient Roman Empire.
(To be continued, "240 km south of Rome in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, located in Naples, Italy's largest port city")