Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill

Being a bit footsore from the last few days, we took this morning to veg out at the hotel. This worked out, as we had a Colosseum tour booked for the afternoon. We booked the tour through Headout Bookings (the Arena Floor Special Access: Colosseum Tour with Roman Forum & Palatine Hill - English Guide). We wandered down to the Colosseum by lunchtime, where we fell into a tourist-trap of a restaurant for lunch. The service was poor and terribly slow, the pizza was boring, and the price was higher than the last standing wall of the Colosseum.

Checked in for our guided tour, refilled our water bottles, and headed into the Colosseum with our tour group. It was very cool to walk the hallways and climb the stairs where Roman sports fans piled in for arena events nearly 2000 years ago. It was built between 70 and 80 AD by the Flavian Emperors, thus originally called the Flavian Amphitheater, and is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built. Its modern name comes from a huge bronze statue that stood outside of the entrance: the Colossus of Nero (destroyed in the 5th century). We toured the outer hallway, where part of the outer wall still stands 4 stories tall. Much of the outer wall has crumbled in earthquakes over time, but restoration efforts have maintained some of the northern half. The arena floor is also slated for restoration, which will cover the “underground backstage”, where animals, gladiators, and arena props were prepared for shows. We learned that the arena battles were staged for huge entertainment, with frequently changing landscapes, even water battles where the arena floor could be flooded to create a lake! On the top end, the amphitheater was covered with a huge retractable canvas roof operated by a team of over a hundred sailors!

From the Colosseum, we walked west past the Arch of Constantine and started up the Via Sacra (Sacred Way) through the Arch of Titus. The Roman Emperors had a bit of an arch habit: triumphal arches were built as the entrances for victory parades on the return of the conquering hero, or in commemoration after the death of a previous emperor. From the Arch of Titus, we climbed up to Palatine Hill. One of Rome’s famed seven hills, Palatine Hill was just what it sounds like: the hill of the palaces. There is still a massive footprint of palaces, apartments, storerooms, stables, terraces, pools, gardens, and balconies from which to view the Forum, Colosseum, and Circus Maximus. The palace was served by its own aqueduct and roads, and the emperor even had a secret passage from the hill to his private entrance at the Colosseum. Our tour guide didn’t take us through much of Palatine Hill, but we went back through after the tour was over. Its all part of the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo, so our tickets let us explore until the park closed.

From Palatine Hill, the tour took us down into the Forum. This was the site of public meetings, law courts, religious worship, shops, and open-air markets. It was built over centuries, but its current form runs along the Via Sacra from the Arch of Titus west to Capitoline Hill. The Via Sacra is lined with temples, basilicas, the house of the vestal virgins, and the Temple of Julius, rumored to be the burial place of Julius Caesar. That temple is the eastern end of the heart of the ancient Forum, which is surrounded on its other sides by the remains of the Basilica Giulia, Basilica Emilia, the Arch of Septimo Severo, the Curia (the Senate House), and the Temple of Vespasian and Titus. What remains includes huge columns, a few walls and stairs, and a sense of the grandeur of Rome’s ancient center of commerce.

Overall, this was a good tour. Our tour guide was excellent—well-versed in the history and stories of the Colosseum and its surrounds. We had ample time to ask questions and take photos, and plenty of freedom to explore on our own. It was a really cool, and also really hot, afternoon of seeing the major sites of ancient Rome!

The Day's Stats

1 bus, 1 train, and 5.5 miles walked.

The Day's Tips

Avoid eating out near these touristy places: the food is mediocre at best and the prices are gougy at worst.

The Day's Favorites

Cal: Seeing Emperor Commodus' secret entrance to the Colosseum, and exploring Palatine Hill and the Forum after the tour until the park closed.

Val: Learning about the Colosseum’s sailor-operated retractable roof. Oh and lest we forget, the most AMAZING spaghetti carbonara (Roman specialty) at Taverna Roscini!