First-Century Rome

Yesterday, we moved into learning about Rome in the first century AD. As a nice break, we didn't meet as a group until 1:00 in the afternoon, where we then left and traveled back toward the Roman Forum and looked at the Arch of Titus. Because I did not previously know much about this site or Titus, I was excited to listen to Adam give his presentation over it. Though it was not quite as impressive as I hoped it would be because the exterior was not as decorated as I imagined, I enjoyed learning a bit about Titus as an emperor.

After that, we all trekked up the Palatine Hill. Though it was extremely hot and my feet were killing me, I was really excited to visit this site because of its vital role in Rome's history. According to Roman mythology, it was on this site that Romulus decided to found the city of Rome. After reaching the top of the hill, it was amazing to be able to look out and view the city and witness the mix of ancient and modern architecture featured throughout the city. Here's a picture I snapped:

View from the top of the Palatine Hill

To everyone's relief, it started to rain when we were on top of the hill and we were all able to cool down a little bit. While we waited out the rain, we went into the Palatine Museum and looked around at some of the sculptures on display. Though this museum had a limited selection, I was able to pose in front of the Wings of Victory:

Wings of Victory

The last, and most exciting part of the day, was our visit to the Colosseum. I was pretty familiar with this site before coming on this trip, and even more so after Ellie's thorough presentation on it. Because so much of the structure is still intact due to its size and restorations done on it, it was pretty easy to imagine what this might have looked like back when it was being used by the Romans. Here is a picture I took from the second level of the Colosseum:

The Colosseum

Overall, this was an exciting day and I'm excited for what the next two weeks have in store for us!