Rome... a living museum full of irony

Rome was everything I expected and more. It was like walking through a living museum. The ancient ruins pop out of nowhere... one minute I was walking past modern buildings, turn a corner and then.. there’s a roman ruin.

I went on a walking tour through Rome that told all the history of the Romans and took us to the major sites, the Circo Massimo where the chariot races were once held, the roman forum which was once the political centre, and the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built as a dedication to the planetary gods in 27BC, today it is a chuch (how ironic) and houses the tombs of famous Italian kings. It is the most preserved of all the roman ruins (and also my favourite). The construction of the dome of the Pantheon is still a mystery to architects today.



I also did a tour of the Colosseum. It was MASSIVE... but only 1/3 of it remains today. It was built on the lake of crazy emperor Nero who used to use 1000 swans to power his boat. The outside of the Colosseum is very dirty – due to pollution from car exhausts. I got to walk through the tunnels where gladiators once walked, and where lions, tigers and yes.. even giraffes were held before being slaughtered in the ring.



The tour continued into the Pallatine Hill where Nero’s palace once stood – equipped with his own sports stadium and chariot rink.

No visit to Rome would be complete without a tour of the Vatican. The Vatican ironically is built on one of the 7 pagan hills that make up Rome. I went into the Vatican museum which is basically the Popes collection of marble statues.
The fresco that Michelangelo painted on the roof of the Sistine chapel was amazing. I cant imagine how his neck would have been after painting that for 6 years... because mine hurt after gazing up after 5mins. It was Michelangelos first ever painting.
And finally... into St Peter’s basilica. It is named after Jesus’ 1st apostle Peter – and his tomb is the centre piece of the church. Was pretty disappointed that St Peters doesn’t have stainglass windows!!



Michelangelos first ever sculpture is housed in the basilica and is of Mary holding dead Jesus. Its behing glass because apparently an Australian a few years ago tried to tackle the sculpture and caused Marys nose to fall off as well as Jesus’ toe!