Sleep came easy to most of us last night and the jet lag is finally dwindling away! This morning we had breakfast in the hotel (with no nutella… it was a little sad). After breakfast we met up in the lounge to discuss the day's itinerary.
One of our group members asked how the priests are decided for the church and where all the funding comes from for upkeep. The churches are actually the property of Italy (not the Vatican) who pays for the upkeep. The churches are also assigned to a country (by the Vatican) which supplies the priest. The priest is also a liaison to the pilgrims from their country who come to visit.
Then we had a moment of prayer and a reading from Acts 12 which talked about Peter's release from captivity in Jerusalem. Most of the notes I have for each of the places on the itinerary I will include as I go through the day's activities.
The first place we went today was the Church of Santi Cosma and Damiano. This church is significant because it is built into a 3rd century pagan temple (possibly to Romulus). The saints were surgeons and legend has it that people would sleep in the church and be miraculously healed in the morning. This is part of the Roman Forum which was the marketplace, social area, and political center in the time of the Roman republic (before the emperors came in and started creating their own forums). The forum held many pagan temples, and so it common for the early church to build into or on top of the remaining temple.
Above the altar is a large arch that is a mock of a triumphal arch to signify the triumph of the church over the empire. There is an image of Peter and Paul above the altar as well as a depictions of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Above the arch is the Lamb of God as portrayed in the Apocalypse of John (aka Revelation) . This church is the first time that Jesus is portrayed as a "hippie" with long hair and a long beard, in earlier depictions he is much younger looking. Also in the mosaic there is a flamingo looking figure. This is actually a phoenix (a fictitious bird which is supposed to have burned to death and been reborn of it's ashes) and it represents resurrection. This is one of only 2 places where the phoenix is present in Rome.
Then from there we walked into the Roman Forum which was built/renovated mostly by Julius Caesar. First we went to the Arch of Septimius Severus. This was built in 208 C.E. Arches were built originally in times of triumph and the emperor would parade through them on the Via Sacra (Holy Way or Holy Road). The Via Sacra is the main road that runs through the forum and some of the original paving stones still remain. Also, in the forum we saw the remains of pillars from the Temple of Saturn. We also went into a recreation of the Curia (senate house).
As we were walking towards the other side of the forum we saw the remains of the Temple of Vesta, which was round. In this temple there were 6 keepers of the hearth fire of Rome (which was never to go out under penalty of death). These keepers were young women called the Vestal virgins. The were hand picked by the emperor around their 10th birthday and were to remain virgins for 30 years. They were said to have veto power over the emperor in the Colosseum. If a Vestal virgin was caught with a lover they were buried alive.
The largest forum building was the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. The building was started by Maxentius and (after the Milvian Bridge incident) was completed by Constantine.
The Arch of Titus is one of the more famous arches in Rome because it depicts the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. with a frieze of Titus carrying the Menorah from the temple into Rome.
From there we went onto the Palatine Hill which was where all of the palaces and rich homes were built. This is one of the 7 famous hills of Rome (which is symbolic of 7 in some apocalyptic literature). We found quite a few fleur-de-lis on this hill including some around a sun dial. We visited the palace gardens and saw the holes for ancient huts believed to be the from some of the first civilizations in Rome.
We also visited the House of Livia (and Augustus?). This home still has frescos on the walls dating back over 2000 years. This was Livia's family's home and Augustus could have possibly lived there before he was emperor. We then went down the Crypto Porticus, which is the place where an emperor (forgot who) was killed.
From the forum, we stopped for a quick lunch and made our way to the Colosseum for a guided tour. The Colosseum, which is officially called the Flavian Amphitheater after the emperor Flavian who commissioned it, gets it nickname from the large bronze statue of Nero that used to be next to it. However, no one really knows what happened to that statue. The Colosseum in Nero's time was a manmade lake (made by Nero). When the Colosseum first opened there were 100 days (straight, 24 hours a day) of games.
Some of these games included gladiator battles, hunting games, etc. After the 100 days, politicians would then throw their own games in order to gain favor with the people. The Colosseum was one place in which the people of Rome could voice their opinions (they could even boo the emperor and not get killed!).
The gladiators that fought in the Colosseum were the best of the best. If one made it to the big stage
(like Broadway in a sense) then there was not a "fight to the death" battle. Gladiators were usually condemned criminals, slaves, or thrill seekers (and possibly a lifestyle to avoid debt/death). And while they may not have been "noble" they were similar to the professional athletes of our time.
After the Colosseum we saw the Arch of Constantine, which depicts a final battle of the Milvian bridge on the side, and the Ludus Magnus, which was the barracks for the gladiators. Then we went back to the hotel to relax before dinner.
For dinner a bunch of us went to a "bar" which is not like a typical American bar but is more like a fast food pizza/Panini place. Then some of made our way to an Irish Pub (free internet! Yay!) and then made a gelato run to finish off the night!
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