The mighty amphitheater and other Rome, Italy Things to Do Tips

Maybe you’ll find the explanation to the less friendly atmosphere in Rome, just by thinking that one of the most famous monuments in Rome is the Coliseum, where people went in thousands and other thousands, just to see people get killed, or to kill…?
The incredibile theater was built 72-80 after Christ, by 20 000 slaves and people who had been captured during the Roman wars.
At it’s maximum it held a crowd of 50 000 people, as big as almost any big football-stadium nowadays!
The crowd were placed in the theater of blood, after their social status. Not sure which seats that were seen as the best, but Emperor always had his own place from where he decided everything.
From the beginning it was criminals and war-prisoners that had to make the fights in the arena. Later on also free men were fighting, hoping to be famous and win the golden prizes.

Many people say that also the first Christian people were thrown to the lions in the Coliseum, but that isn’t sure, and could just be a legend.

In 1999 the arena was heavily re-built, which made sure to make it more easy to visit and enter the theater. There are guided tours several times every day, and you could also enter just by yourself, which costs a lot less money.

According to me Coliseum still looks really fresh, and it’s hard to believe that it’s actually almost 2000 years old.

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Directions: Take the metro B to Coloseum, or just follow any big street down from the trainstation Termini, and you should find it.

First time I went to the arena I was just standing outside it, totally perplex of it’s beauty. It’s really hard to believe that so many people have been cruelty killed inside there. Every stone in the building seems to have been put there for a special reason, and it totally took my breath away to see the monument.
The feeling didn’t get less good when I returned on the night, only to find Coliseum up-lighted by hundreds of lamps. An amazing sight!

Unfortunately the chock made me forget to go inside it too, so I missed the next amazing view. It’s actually almost even more breathtaking from the inside.

So I had to make the trip again, and the next time in Rome I made sure to go inside. Not sure how much I paid, but it was quite cheap, around 7-8 euro if I’m not mistaken. Didn’t include a guided tour thought, since that would have cost around 15 euro instead. And I would have had to wait too, which I wasn’t interested in.

It’s possible to walk around the whole arena inside, as seen on the photos in the travelogue. Just walk around carefully, so that you don’t damage the building. Cause as the old saying from the 700s says: When Coliseum is falling - so is Rome. And when Rome is falling – so is the world.

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I’m not sure about the name of the park, but above Coliseum and the closest Metro-station (named Coloseum) you’ll find a park which is really nice. You can stroll around, or sit down and just watch down at the huge monument. There are plenty of benches and also paths where you can walk around.
Buy a super-expensive bottle of water outside the Coliseum, and then take a stroll in the park. Really nice!

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Directions: Just walk straight out from the arena, and up the hill. There you'll find the park.

To the right from Coliseum you’ll find all the ruins and buildings from the Roman Empire, the Forum Romanum. Unfortunately I’m not a big expert on this area, as I’ve only stayed at the big street and watched them from there.
For me, therefore, Coloseum is much bigger and more important to see. But for sure I’ve missed something, and am wrong again… ;)
Forum Romanum was anyway the politic, commercial and religious centre, but has during the years been ravished by wars, fights and invaders.

UPDATE december 2007: Have been going through the Forum a couple of times now, and can't really stand for the text above anymore. :)
Be sure to read about the zone in a guide book before you go there though, and feel free to bring it with you while walking around too! Otherwise you'll miss the big part of it, as you won't know what you're looking at.

Don't forget to look down on the ruins from the Capitolium hill, as it gives you a nice view of the former Roman center.

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Directions: Just take to the right when you stand at the big street in front of Coliseum, and you'll be there within 3-5 minutes.

Again one of the most popular spots in Rome. The Spanish steps got it’s name in 1723 in honour of the Spanish Embassy, even if that wasn’t a popular decision for France. This because the steps, that leads up to the big church Trinita dei Monti, are financed by money from France…
It’s a very popular meeting-point for both roman and other people, which sometimes means that it’s too crowded. I for sure wouldn’t decide the Spanish steps as a meeting point with a friend, since it must be easier to not find the friend that actually find him/her there…
But I do advice you to go there, since it’s a really nice place, perfect for people-looking, some relaxing or to get a perfect view over Rome.
Just ran up all the steps – and you’ll probably be dead… Instead go up slowly, watching out for all tourists that are sitting everywhere, and then take a look at the view when you’re up at the top.

At the bottom of the steps is a huge piazza, wellknown for centuries for it’s luxury fashion-shops. Can’t say I’m that thrilled by their prices, but it could always be nice to just look around.
There is also a big fountain, Fontana della Barcaccia, which is monument of a leaking boat. Made by Pietro Bernini, or his son, the more famous Gianlorenzo (see more at Villa Borghese). The water in the fountain should be drinkable, but since I’ve never actually tried it (always buy bottles with water in Rome, the tapped water tastes… well, not so good… It should be safe to drink it from the fountain, even if I’m not sure though…

UPDATE december 2007: Much less people in the winter evening for some reason... :) Was a nice view over Rome from the top, but actually quite cold to stay there for a longer time.
The stairs aren't the impressive without all the flowers either, and my poor friends who visited Rome for the first time were heavily disappointed about the Spanish Step.

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After you have passed Forum Romanum and continued to the right you'll see the Piazza Venezia, and it's incredible monument Il Vittoriano. It's made as a memory of Victor Emmanuel, who was the first king for the united Italy.
I'm quite sure you'll be as impressed by the building as I was the first time I saw it, although many romans makes fun of it, saying it looks like a typewriter-machine (hm, could maybe agree about that, but it's still an amazing building) or a cake.
The started to build it in 1885, and it was finished 1911, quite quickly for being in Italy, and specially in Rome :)
In 1921 also the tomb of the Unknown soldier was placed at the entrance of the building. There is a fire that will stay there for ever and it's guarded by two guards 24 hours a day.
It's there as an memory of all the Italian soldiers that have been killed in all the big and small wars during the years, although specially during the first World War if I'm not totally wrong.

The first time I went to Piazza Venezia was with one of my roman friends, who was very proud of the whole place. He had some strange right wing-opinions, but it took me some years before I understood what made him so proud about the piazza. But apart from the tomb and Il Vittoriano there is also Palazzo Venezia, which was the official residence of the Italian fascist dictator Mussolini...
On the front of the brown building you'll see the small balcony where he stood, talking to the people.

The whole Piazza Venezia is by the way the most trafficed area in the whole Rome, so be very careful when you'll pass the square...

UPDATE december 2007: The whole Il Vittoriano is restaurated in this moment, so half the building is covered by building bricks. Quite an impressive view anyway I still have to say.

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Not very far from the Piazza Venezia you’ll find the famous fountain Fontana Di Trevi. Although it’s quite hard to find it, since the piazza is so small. But just walk down Via del Corso (the big street in front of the Vittoriano) and follow the small brown signs, and you’ll eventually find also this fountain.
The piazza is small, and specially during the hectic tourist-periods it could be more or less impossible to get even close to the Fontana Di Trevi.
Not that you miss that much, it’s highly overrated if you ask me…

Nicola Salvi built the fountain which was completed in 1762. In the middle is a statue of the god of the ocean/water, Neptunus. The fountain relies on a big wall, from the Palazzo Poli. On the sides of Neptunus there are two other statues, two tritons. They are keeping two "seahorses", one wild and one calm, which shows the two sides of the ocean.

It got famous when Swedish girl Anita Ekberg (although she then forgot how to speak Swedish after three months in USA…) and Marcello Mastroianni ran around in the fountain, in Federico Fellini’s film “La Dolce Vita”.
Don’t try to do an “Ekberg” though, since the Italian police for some reason doesn’t want tourists running around in their fountain… ;)

The legend says, though, that if you throw a coin, over your shoulder, into the Fontana Di Trevi you’ll one day return to Rome.
The community of Rome now and then take up all the coins in the fountain and gives it away to charity.

UPDATE april 2007: Must say that my latest visit to the fountain gave me another view of it. It's still overcrowded with people around it, but the Fontana di Trevi is a very impressive monument with many details that easily pass by the onlooker.

UPDATE december 2007: Was very nice to see the fountain in the dark, when lamps lights it up.
Very crowded around it also in the evening though.

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Directions: Just go down on Via del Corso, and then follow the small brown signs for Fontana di Trevi. It's to the right.

The big street that starts right in front of the Piazza Venezia is Via Del Corso. It got it’s name from the Italian word “corse” which means horse runnings. The races started during the 1400-ties, when the Paul II was the pope. He loved all kinds of races and competitions, and the Via del Corso was the perfect street for racing. The most popular (Corsa Del Barberi) was when frightened horses were set away running the whole street, and wasn’t stopped until they passed a white sheet at the end of the 2 kilometer long street.
Nowadays it’s a high living street, full of palaces, shops and churches.

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Directions: Just go straight down from Piazza Venezia, and you will be going on Via del Corso.

Villa Borghese is problaby the most famous park in Rome. It’s quite close to the Piazza Spagna (the Spanish steps). It’s a huge green park, perfect for picnics it’s said, and where you also can visit the famous Gallery Borghese, an art-museum created by the cardinal Scipione Borghese, a nephew to the Pope Paul V.
There you can see statues and paintings of all different kinds, from artists like Raphael, Caravaggio and Gianlorenzo Bernini.

I’ve been there once, and although the pers… eh… girl.. I went there made it all totally worth it I can’t see myself going there again. But then I’m not the big art-lover neither…
It was the day after a huge party, and let’s only say that I wasn’t tip top the day after… After some discussion of what to do, I said “why don’t we just take a walk around Rome”. She agreed – and took me to Villa Borghese, on the other side of town…

Now, I’m been reading at other VT-pages that you’ll have to do a reservation up to some weeks before, for being allowed to enter the Galleria Borghese. Obviously this wasn’t the case this day, as they let us in without problem, although we had to wait for 1 ½ hour… A time that I spent by ordering a sandwich with, which I discovered later, spinach. Not my favourite… So, there I was, with a very bad hangover, an old spinach sandwich, and a guard who told us “welcome in”…

Argh…

After two hours or torture (well, not really, but if it hadn’t been for this girl I’d never even thought about looking at that cra… eh…art!) I was finally let out, and could ran away for the closest pizzeria, which was just about 20 kilometers away… Have never been so close to death…

But, to be honest, there were of course things that even I liked. The roof paintings were really interesting, as some of the other paintings.
That I liked the paintings in the roof had by the way nothing to do with the fact that I could lie down when I was looking at them…

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Directions: The park itself, which we of course never looked much at, is 6 sq kilometers big, and there is also a famous zoo, which we, by the way, didn’t visit either…

No cameras were allowed in the galleria, so no photos.
Website: www.galleriaborghese.it

But, to be honest, there were of course things that even I liked. The roof paintings were really interesting, as some of the other paintings.
That I liked the paintings in the roof had by the way nothing to do with the fact that I could lie down when I was looking at them…

The park itself, which we of course never looked much at, is 6 sq kilometers big, and there is also a famous zoo, which we, by the way, didn’t visit either…

As I wrote above, it might be a good idea to make a reservation in advance. Just call “+39 06 32 810, or via www.galleriaborghese.it
It costs a lot to enter, even more if you want a guided tour, or just a “telephone” which will tell you what you’re looking at. 8,50 costs the normal entrance, then another 2 just for the presale. Count up 5 euro more for a guided tour, or the “phone”.

Could I have three beers instead…?

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Website: www.galleriaborghese.it