Monday morning, we had our guided tour of Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum ….
After starting with a quick orientation and some words on the Arch of Constantine, we headed over to the entrance on Palatine Hill …
sidenote: One more reason AngelToursRome.com is great. The way this tour was set up, we met with almost zero lines to wait in. The tour started early (9a) before tourists were out of their hotels, and we started with Palatine Hill/The Forum. Nearly EVERYONE just visiting starts with the Colosseum (where there’s a big big line), so we were able to purchase tickets for both sites without any line at all, just by starting with one over the other.
Brilliant.
Rough map of the area (Colosseum+Hill+Forum)
From the top of the hill – looking back toward the Colosseum … lovely light on a Monday morning in Rome:
{after the tour, we purchased a small pocket Electa guidebook specifically about this ancient downtown area}
From the Electa guidebook:
The Palatine is closely associated with legends of the city’s foundation: Aenas reaching Latium from Troy was welcomed by King Evandrus on the Palatine; the basket containing Romulus and Remus* was left by the Tiber in a cave later called the Luercal on the slopes of the hill. The city founded by Romulus overspread the hill and Romulus himself lived in a house, identified as a hut on the south-west corner of the hill, continually restored in honor of the city’s mythical founder. A village was discovered on the spot where tradition placed the hut of Romulus, enabling settlement on the site to be dated to the eighth century BC.
In late republican times the Palatine was also the residential district for much of the ruling class. Excavations have revealed their remains, largely obliterated by the imperial palaces.
*Harry Potter fans: This is likely where J.K. Rowling got the name for the character Remus Lupin (the werewolf). According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were raised by wolves.
Rough map of Palatine Hill from Rick Steves:
Just behind the couple in the photo below is the Stadium:
Looking down into the Stadium:
From Rick Steves:
This cigar-shaped, sunken stadium (500 feet long) was the [Imperial] palace’s rec room. It looks like a racetrack, but it just held gardens with strolling paths. The oval running track at the south end was added later. The emperor had a raised box on the 50-yard line, in the curved apse (across). At the north end were changing rooms, and the marble fragments that litter the ground once held up an arcade.
You can see in the image below how the marble was just a facade … since stripped.
The square holes in the wall below are where there used to be beams for other walls/floors/roofs/etc … now just ruins.
heading down the hill toward the Roman Forum on the other side.
These umbrella pines were everywhere. …. not sure I understand them, but I do like the look.
Next up – The Roman Forum …