ANCIENT ROME

We will enter the Colosseum, the largest arena of the Roman world, a giant amphitheater designed for almost 70.000 spectators and used for Gladiatorial games, animal hunts and prisoners’ executions. Roman games, gruesome and spectacular, were indeed the Super Bowl Sundays of the time. Therefore huge amount of money was invested:  bread and circus was the formula in order to keep the masses happy and peaceful with food and entertainment. Accordingly the arena is a feat of engineering: it amazes people today as it did nearly 2000 years ago.

We will explore the Roman Forum, the hub of the ancient city: commercial, religious, economic, political, legal, and social. In the Forum the Roman Senate gathered, processions and elections took place, victorious generals celebrated their Triumph. Orators like Cicero addressed the people, Marc Anthony spoke at Julius Caesar’s funeral.

Eventually we’ll focus on the Palatine hill, the legendary hill where Rome was founded according to the myth. The remains of the Imperial Palaces still witness its glorious past.

If the Palatine was a residential district, the Capitole was the religious heart of Rome. The elegant Renaissance piazza redesigned by Michelangelo is the seat of the City hall and the Capitoline Museums.