Ancient Rome, Rome

Favorite thing: Some parts of touristic Rome has the old road. It is very uneven and one can easily sprain an ankle. So it is always wise to take some good shoes, also because one can walk all day and do not see everything in Rome....

In the picture you can see a strech of this ancient road in the Forum. Notice how much it is used, one can see the marks of the wagonwheels. The romans were very known for their road building. They built roads throughout their empire to connect one corner with the other. They built approx. 5,300 miles of roads. (The U.S. Interstate Highway System has 4,200 miles.)

Favorite thing: What to expect when you visit Rome? If you have no idea it will be quite a surprise that all the old buildings are made of brick and concrete. The Romans used concrete over 2000 years ago. Roman concrete (opus caementicium), like modern concrete, is an artificial building material composed of a filler, a binding agent, and water. As a filler they used gravel, chunks of stone and rubble, broken bricks, etc. The binding agent was pozzolana cement from Pozzuoli, Italy.

Fondest memory: I have very beautiful memories of walking on the Appian way. All the history and beautiful countryside and the guy who flashed me and the prostitutes in miniskirts at the one end... oh wait, that's not so beautiful. Or just standing next to THE colosseum and feeling the beauty of the city soak in... ah!

Favorite thing: This now quiet stone road was once a busy and vital link to the Roman cities of the south-east in Brindisi. It was known as the regian viarum (queen of roads), in particular because it was so straight. Beyond its historical significance, it makes for a very pleasant walk, as it is away from central Rome, towards the east. This is especially the case on sundays when it is a car-free zone on a long section.

Favorite thing: of the Via Appia -- A roadway to end all roadways................ or was this meant to influence all roadways into the future?

Fondest memory: I don't yet have a photo of the Via Appia as it starts (or finishes) its journey out of Rome, but this photo is of the remaining section in
Terracina -- such as it is.

See my Italy travelogue as The Via Appia sneaks its way into VT through my pages.

Favorite thing: The Forum Borium otherwise known as the cattle market is another ancient Roman building situated on a busy road near the mouth of truth. My thoughts on this site went along the lines of 'why so tall?', but then all of the buildings of an ancient nature were all taller than what was needed don't you think? They wouldn't have traded or slaughtered giraffes or elephants (?) would they? There again, maybe they did, who knows?

Fondest memory: I really miss walking around, looking at all of the ancient buildings and ruins and daydreaming about how the people lived then..........what their lives may have been like on a day to day basis etc.

Favorite thing: In many places throughout Rome you will see outward columns fused onto a modern constructions. The Teatro Marcello was once a miniature amphitheater near the river, and today looks somewhat like a smaller, filled-in Coliseum. Look for the arches from Rome's ancient and medieval past to see how they are kept alive by serving as modern foundations for today's architecture.

Favorite thing: Nowhere else in Europe is the past millenium more fully on display than in Rome. While some of the relics in the Roman Forum are little better than shells, and the statuary about the city often defaced with the march of time, many other monuments and relics are in a fair state of preservation. Some of those can be visited like an ordinary church, while others must be viewed from behind a gate. Temples that stood when Christ preached his message can still be found today.