Rome Day 3

Today was a guided tour of the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Roman forum, and surrounding buildings. I walked down to the area where the group was meeting this morning on the backside of the Colosseum. It was a nice walk for the most part but now I know why it isn't recommended to stay near there. There isn't as much down there compared to where I am now. I am comfortable walking around my hotel at night. I wouldn't have been comfortable walking around the Colosseum at night.

We started the tour with Palatine Hill, the area where Romulus and Remus are said to be from and where the first king and first emperor of Rome lived. From Palatine Hill you have a great view of the Roman Forum. I could see the Senate building, where Julius Caesar's house was, where the Vestal Virgins lived, and a few other temples. We were able to walk down to the forum and get a closer look at some of the buildings. The area gets so much traffic that they closed it off and started charging an entrance fee a few months ago.

What did I learn today that I didn't know before? All of the important legal documents were stored in the basement of one of the temples except for wills. Those were recorded and stored by the Vestal Virgins. I also learned that Caesar wasn't killed at the Senate building in the forum. The Senate was undergoing renovations at the time and they had been using a building closer to the Area Sacra. You can't see where he was killed because the area has been built over. There was at one time a family living inside the ruins of the Colosseum. With houses and stables and other buildings all inside built on the ruins.

I have to say I found the Colosseum the least interesting part of the tour. Don't get me wrong, it was really cool to see. But the most interesting stuff to me about the Colosseum was the engineering below the main floor, and that is the one place they don't let you go anymore.