12 Days in Italy - Day 3 Part 2 - Via dei Foro Imperial

 Day 3 Part 2 - A Tour of the City (7/22/2019)

As we left the coliseum to head towards the Piazza Venizia, we were given a look at the outside of the structure from a new angle.  The exit we took led us to a section that was a little more intact and with more restoration work performed.  In the picture above you see the mid-morning crowds on a Monday in July - not as heavy as I expected at all.  In the picture below you can see a better view of some of the restoration work being performed currently.  There is a high contrast between the different types of stone used but when marble is involved it really shows when it is cleaned and restored.

 Below is one more view of a complete wall in the process of being restored.  It's truly amazing to see this up close regardless of the past it reflects. 

 In the foreground you see my traveling partner Cindy and in the background is our tour guide with the little flag.  Throughout the tour she gave us details and facts and kept us on track.

 This is the last look at the Coliseum but I wanted to share it here to give some perspective.  Note the size of the people in the upper right hand archway to get a true idea of how large the structure really is.  You just can't tell the enormity of it from distant pictures.

 

And now we are off to see the other sites in the city.  Our first stop (if the coliseum had a parking lot this would be right in the middle of it) was the Arch of Constantine.  It was dedicated in the year 315 AD to commemorate a victory of Constantine over Maxentius in the year 312 AD.  That means in just the few years between the victory and the dedication, this largest of all Roman triumphal arches was erected.  The purpose of the triumphal arches was to commemorate both an event and a pathway - the Via Triumphalis - or the way a victorious emperor would enter the city after a battle.  This one is the largest in Rome and the concept itself was very influential throughout the world leading others to use the Roman arch design in their own architecture.  By the way, in the picture of the Arch below, that large blue device in my right ear is the headpiece we used for listening - not a trendy Roman ear warmer.

Here a a couple more to show the highlights of the structure.

 

 

The next big structure of interest was the Temple of Venus.  There is a lot of missing structure here and we didn't get very close but you get an idea of how large it was and how dedicated the Romans must have been to their Venus.   

 I think these were columns under protection (maybe restoration but lots of monuments were supported after being nearly toppled by earthquakes in the past) and very near the Temple of Venus.  I've included the picture because I was fascinated by the process of restoration the entire time we were in the city.  It's everywhere you look.  Even under one of the gelato shops in the city proper we noticed the remnants of centuries-old archways that were once windows but were now nearly underground. 

 

"Forum row" was our next stop, although that was just my own personal nickname for it.  We traveled northwest up the Via dei Fori Imperiali or "street of the imperial forums" and saw three of the most prominent.  First was the the Foro de Augusto.  This one had the most obvious structure with existing columns still tied together and marble steps still in place.

Next was the Trajan Forum - not Trojan - Trajan, the name of an emperor.  The columns still stand but the rest is mostly a courtyard at this point.  Still the ruins that have been excavated tell their own tale as far as what the area would have looked like in centuries past.  The marble remnants scattered around show bits and pieces of walls that once existed and you can almost picture the layout as it once existed by following the lines of the terraced floor.

 The final one was the Forum of Caesar, a well-known emperor to most of us.  You can see archways that led in and out of the forum from different levels and (in later pictures) an existing "triumphal column" that has resisted earthquakes and scavengers over the centuries (millennia really) although only partially successfully (more on that in a bit).   Here you can see modern Rome blending in with historic Rome.  Note the glass windows over the nearly two thousand year old column.

One of the aforementioned archways at a sub-street level. 

 Here are definite signs of continued restoration, but the picture was taken to show the later added tile work (look right in the center of the image and you can see the remnants of some tile work added much later than the original marble and granite).

More of that same tile work.  There is a dichotomy between the original Roman empire and the Christian religion that followed and I assume that here art for the sake of Christianity was integrated into the original Roman structure.

 Here is Julius Caesar, the namesake of this particular forum.  Quite the imposing figure, but not an original feature.

 Here some of the fallen columns are seen alongside some remaining columns.  Between earthquakes and enemies of the city things were very much in danger of being lost through the centuries but the skill of the builders have left many standing structures still.  It's very common to see them juxtaposed in this manner throughout Rome.

 Here are a few closer pictures of the standing and fallen columns.

Note the internal structure here that is covered with a veneer.  A solid marble column (or even one made of several sections) would have toppled in an earthquake long before these designs would have failed.  That's the main reason we still see these so commonly I believe.

Here is a picture of the two structures that impressed me the most from this section of the tour.  The column and dome are detailed below.

Trajan's Column

This is a triumphal column, marking the victory of Emperor Trajan in the Dacian wars.  It was completed in 113 AD and is just under 100 feet tall (115 feet including the bass of the statue).  It is made of individual barrels on the inside covered with a facade but secured with winding stairs and supports inside.  The stairs wind around 23 times to ultimately reach the viewing platform on top.  The upper decoration was originally a large bird (according to Roman coins of the times) but ended up being a statue of Trajan.  That statue was removed (probably during the Christian revision of Roman architecture) and a statue of St. Peter was added - still there today.  Trajan still appears 58 times in the artwork of the column (among over 2600 figures).  The public is not allowed to ascend the stairs so don't get your hopes up.  It was interesting to learn that during WWII the Roman government braced this column against the bombing and maintains the integrity of the structure to this day. 

Chiesa del Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

This is The Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary in English, and stands behind the column above if viewed from the Via del Foro Imperial side of the forum.  It was one of a few domes in the area but goes to show that while the Vatican is a popular destination, there are many other churches to visit and enjoy while in the city.  This one stood out because it seems to preside over the forum and becomes a pert of the view regardless of where you look.

Here are a few more views of the forum so you can get an idea of what's really there to see.  Most of the rubble is still fascinating as you can pick out columns and and carvings, as well as see the floor plans of the structure as it existed below ground level in some places.

In my next post I will be taking you through the central city area so look out for 12 Days in Italy - Day 3 part 3.  Enjoy!