The Temple of Vesta and other Rome, Italy Off The Beaten Path Tips

Rome is littered with old, seemingly forgotten, temples and other ancient ruins scattered about everywhere. Here is the Temple of Vesta which sits somewhat southeast of the Theatre of Marcello. No one about but me to view. Mind you this was possibly because of the rain shower. It is a small temple worth a few moments to gaze at. What is unusually as far as I am concerned is that it is round instead rectangular like most Roman temples. It is also one of the oldest in Rome. I think that it dates from the 2nd century B.C.

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The Arch of Constantine is the largest of Rome's many arches. It was built in 315 A.D. by unknown architects. It stands 25m high, 21m wide and 11m deep. The arch was built to celebrate Emperor Constantine victory over Massenzio. Much of the marble used to construct the arch was actually removed from other Roman monuments. This is also the case with some of the decorations. It has been suggested that at the time of the Arch of Constantine's construction, that the skills to build such a monument no longer existed in Rome, hence it was necessary to recycle older sculptures. The arch was built towards the end of Rome's real power and this is quite possibly true. The reliefs featured on the arch are of victories by Mark Aurelius and Constantine. The Arch of Constantine stands roughly in between the Roman Forums(from where I took this photograph) and the Coliseum. For this reason it is easily overlooked however in most locals it would be considered an important monument.

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Ponte Sant' Angelo is an ancient bridge that crosses the Tiber River. It was built by Hadrian in 134 A.D. to 138 A.D. to lead from the City of Rome to his newly constructed mausoleum that is now the Castel Sant' Angelo. For many centuries the bridge was used by pilgrims to traverse the Tiber on there way to the St. Peter's Basilica. Today it is strictly a pedestrian crossing commonly used by tourists (and pilgrims still) to get to the Castel and the Vatican. The most notable feature of the bridge is the ten sculptures of angels on the flanking walls of the bridge that were commissioned by Pope Paul III in the 17th century. These execution of these sculptures was overseen by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and are quite interesting. During my visit, the annoying thing about the Ponte Sant' Angelo was the large number of hawkers selling cheap carvings and jewellary from Africa.

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The Catacombs of St. Sebastian are one of the three major catacomb complexes located in the vicinity of Rome. They are probably the smallest of the catacombs and I decided to visited because of its proximity to the Bath Caracalla from which it can be reached by way of a lengthly walk down the Appian Way.
Since the Christians were forbidden to bury their dead within Rome itself, they had to entomb them outside of the Appian walls. Why they chose to bury their dead in catacombs such as these is actually unkown. The catacombs were not a hideout as has been assumed by many. In fact they were burying their dead here long after Rome itself had become Christianized. Probably the soft volcanic rock helped as it was easy to bury their loved ones here.
The Catacombs of St. Sebastian is supposedly the spot where the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul were originally entombed. Constantine. At ground level there is a church dedicated to St. Sebastian, whose image is pictured here. There church has been restored many times and really is of little interest compared to others in Rome. Patrons are give a half hour tour of the catacombs which extend for four levels beneath the church. Do not get seperated from you tour group or you will get lost in the labyrinth. To be honest other than the historical interest of the catacombs once you wandered around them for half an hour you have had enough. At least you will get some idea on what it might be like to be an ant. Of interest at the catacombs here at St. Sebastian is that there are three pagan tombs. Why they are here is a mystery.
The Catacombs of St. Sebastian are open from 9am to noon and from 2pm to 5:30pm. They are closed on Sundays. It cost 4 Euros for a tour of the catacombs.
It is forbidden to take photos in the catacombs as I found out when out of ignorance I took one and was scolled by an other person on my tour.

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Phone: 06-785-0350

I visited Trajan's Market as an after thought. It was not high on my list of to do things in Rome. There are so many ruins in Rome that it is so easy to overlook a few. It seems that many tourists do (this is the advantage of traveling solo, you hit the unjustly overlooked). Here there were more cats than tourists.
Trajan's Market has an interesting history for it survived as a place of civic importance beyond the days of the Roman Empire. The market was designed by the Emperor Trajan's favourite architects, Apollodorus of Damascus, in the early days of the 2nd century A.D. It is semi-circular in shape and multi-leveled. In many ways it was used as we today use a modern shopping mall. There were many shops here selling all kinds of foodstuffs and clothing. These products came from the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. Unlike many of the other ruins in Rome, it survived the empire and was restored many times. During the Medieval Era, additional buildings overlooking the market were built. My big complaint about the Trajan Market was that there was nothing in the way of information provided such as brocheres and signage to let you know what it is you are exploring.
Trajan's Market is located at Via Quattro Novembre 144 which in just north of the Colosseum.

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Phone: 06-6790048