We drove to the Trevi Fountain last night, it is one of the most famous fountains in the world. Completed in 1762, it is said if you throw a coin in you will return to Rome. So many people believe in it that the city says the fountain receives about 3000 euro PER DAY!
We got up the next morning and headed to the Colosseum, the subway has a stop just yards away from it.
Thankful we had the Omnia card and we just walked right past the long lines.
Built in 70-80 AD the Colosseum is massive, it could hold up to 80,000 people! It still reigns as the largest amphitheater in the world.
These huge arches (80 in all) could funnel the huge crowds in and out quickly
The site is still awe inspiring, it is amazing to see the things that could be accomplished without the modern tools we have now.
There are 2 levels below where the floor use to be that housed the slaves, animals and gladiators.
The entire arena could be flooded with aqueducts about 10 foot deep and they could stage sea battles with real ships!
This is one of the coolest places we have visited to date and probably going to remain one of my favorites of all time.
The exterior of the Colosseum today is mostly the inner set of walls as you can see it is only 2 and a half stories tall here, you can see far left of the pic is the true outer walls.
The inner columns are massive, I could not stop touching them and thinking of all the centuries of people who have came and visited touched it too.
What is left of the 2 lower levels of the Colosseum.
The stairwells where steep and tall probably 14"-16" steps
I love this view of the Colosseum, you can see they have built one third of the floor back over the lower levels.
You can see a better shot of the true exterior of the Colosseum in the left of the pic.
As we were finishing our visit of the Colosseum you can see how long the line is to get in. This pic is from the second floor of the outer wall that you can see in the left of the previous picture.
A view of the roman forum from the second floor of the Colosseum
Walking under the Arch of Titus built in 82AD
The Roman Forum originated in the 7th Century BC, so just seeing remains of this area is amazing.
It was cool to see but I am still in awe of the Colosseum
You can see how huge these columns are by looking at the people walking around.
After the Roman Forum we went to see the Mamertine Prison built in 600 BC this is where St Peter was imprisoned before he was crucified upside down on a cross.
Here in St Peters cell there is a small pool of water that miraculously appeared after St Peter arrived he used it to baptize the prison guards! The cell is only about 7 foot tall and about 12 foot wide.
The Pantheon was originally built between 27 BC-14 AD, then rebuilt in 126 AD!
The huge entryway into the Pantheon
Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome
It has been a Roman Catholic Church since the 7th century. It also holds the ashes and bones of the great artist Raphael.
We had a fantastic trip to Rome and I definitely want to come back here for another visit before our 3 years in Europe is over. What would you like to see in Rome?
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