rome travel log

[Goffredo]

Hi Jasper<br>
how is Rome travel log coming?<br>
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[JRSCline]

I just got Jasper's photos -- they look pretty good! Will all the participants please write their feelings about the trip, the most enjoyable place/meal/event/etc? We'll compile a story together.<br>
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J. <p></p><i></i>

[Goffredo]

I met up with my RAT friends thursday afternoon at the base of the wonderful arch of Constantine arch near the Colusseum.<br>
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I really like the arch as it is full of military propaganda art going from Trajan, Antoninus and Marcus up to Constantine himself. The large Barbarian full statues at the top of the arch are Dacians, then there are wonderful Trajanic friezes on the inside wall of the central arch and also at the top of the rectangular sides of the arch. Along the top there are wonderful panels (Marcus), some with soldiers in armour. These panels are very done in a very classic style. Then there is a narrow strip of friezes from Constantine that are extremely interesting. The "quality" is completely different. One of them shows the seige of Verona with a dead soldier falling from the walls. I remember reading that it is a very rare example of a dead roman soldier! Another pannel shows the battle of milvan bridge and the defeat scale armoured preatorians of Maxentius falling into the river as the pontoon bridge collapses.<br>
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After that we slowly walked with painful feet to the Church of S. Clement with digs about 15 m below ground level that include a nice Mithras temple, a wall of first century building and other chambers. This part of Rome was destroyed in the Nero fire and simply filled over during rebuilding.<br>
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After that we walked back to the Colusseum and passed the small gladiatorial training area, half visible below street level. We then noticed a small book store were everyone bought something. In particular Jenny got a great book on the great Trajanic frieze full of close up shots.<br>
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After that we even more slowly walked past the colusseum and along the street Fori Imperiali along the Maxentius palace to the church of Saints Cosma and Damiano. Inside there are wonderful 6th century mosaics!!! Yes! and I had an "argument" with a French tourist that said "no way" as they looked too nice and modern (compared to Byzantine period mosaics of Justinian in Ravenna).<br>
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Finally we hopped into a taxi and intended to head back towards restaurants areas, but in the taxi I decided to ask the very cute and friendly driver to take us first to see a couple of the gates of the walls. We headed from the Colussuem past the Constantine arch and then Caracalla's Baths up the narrow street that leads to the Gate of Saint Sebastian. The continuation of the street is the Appian Way. At the gate the taxi pulled over to let us get out and look at the gate structure from the outside. By the way this is where the "Museum of the Walls" entrance is located. The gate of Saint Sebastian is the wall through which the Allied forces entered Rome. After some "ooos and awes" and photos we then got back into the taxi that waited for us and drove to another smaller wall (Porta Latina) that I had never seen.<br>
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Finally the cute taxi driver took us to the Pantheon from there we continued on foot to a nice restaurant in the Jewish quarter. This is a very nice area of Rome just behind the theater of Marcellus. It is full of roman ruins sticking out of the later period buildings actually built into and over the roman ones. I enjoyed offering dinner: the food was particularly good and I really enjoyed the company.<br>
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The following day I picked up the three RATs at their hotel and we went to see the fora. If I remember correctly we entered the main forum from the arch of Titus. The arch of Septimius Severus at the far end is restored and I enjoyed very much being able to walk under it and look close at the friezes, especially with a zoom (Jasper's). There are some nice panels showing a siege engine and some nice helmets. Even a legionary in a segmentata! Then we went over into Trajan's forum and his impressive shopping mall. Of course we first stopped to look at Trajan's column.<br>
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Unfortunately around noon I had to leave to catch a train home. It would have been fun to stay longer with Jenny, Sander and Jasper. I really hope this Rome get-together can be repeated soon as there is much to see.<br>
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[JRSCline]

Ha, ha, how I remember those sorrrrre feet! How far do you think we walked in five days, Jaz and Sander? I'd say we were on our feet for oh, 12 hours a day, when we weren't stuffing our faces full of pasta, that is!<br>
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Fredo, your company was the frosting on the trip. I was really staggered by the early Christian mosaics too, never mind the feet, was too enthralled looking at the ceiling!<br>
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Jenny <p></p><i></i>

[Praefectusclassis]

12 hours, nah, we usually left at 9.30, getting back at something like 19:00, leaving an hour later for dinner. No idea how much we walked, we slowed down progressively, even disregarding 'speed differences', quack quack! <p>Greets<BR>
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Jasper</p><i></i>