The Colosseum

Today we had our first guided Perillo tour.  We went to the Roman Colosseum and other ancient structures.  We walked along streets that had been used for over two thousand years.

The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

This is the side view

These three photos are of the Colosseum

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

 

This flower was on the Via Sacra

The Arch of Titus (Italian: Arco di Tito) is a 1st-century honorific arch, located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of the triumphal arches erected since the 16th century—perhaps most famously it is the inspiration for the 1806 Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, completed in 1836.

Note the depiction of the Jewish menorah

Looking across the Roman Forum at a part of the city

 

Hmm...something familiar about this street name

Angels with their trumpets

All roads lead to Rome

 

Looking down at part of the Forum

Two angels and the Lord Jesus protecting the soldier

Part of the tomb of the unknown soldier

The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven

 

 

The old and the really old

 

A VW turned ice cream store

A striped church

Part of the Roman Forum

 This is the Piazza Colonna, and the column was the Column of Marcus Aurelius, which is made of marble and has stood in the exact same spot since 193 BC! It’s a Roman victory column built in spiral relief with an internal staircase lit by slits in the column

Details of the column