24th April 06 Rome

THE COLOSSEUM - In Ancient Rome, a prime spot for entertainment which holds as many as 50,000 spectators at one time. It took ten years to construct & stands 160 feet high, containing windows, arches, and columns. Each layer contains 80 main arches. Before each show, spectators would fill in through 76 arches. Wooden flooring was utilized to hide the underground chambers in which the props, people, and animals were kept prior to their performance. In most tournaments and games, death played a prominent role. Professional gladiators, primarily condemned criminals, prisoners of war, and slaves fought either animals or eachother, often to the death. This form of entertainment in Ancient Rome was fundamentally political.







MONUMENT OF VITTORIO EMANUELE II - In 1870, Rome became capital city of the new Kingdom of Italy. And neoclassicism, a building style influenced by architecture during the late 800s, became a predominant style in Roman buildings. Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of Fatherland", where the grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italian fallen in World War I is located is one of the best-known symbol of Roman neoclassicism.




TREVI FOUNTAIN (Fontana di Trevi) - is the largest, standing 25.9 meters high and 19.8 meters wide, and most ambitious of the Baroque fountains of Rome. A reported current legend is that it is lucky to throw coins with one's right hand over one's left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain. If you throw one coin, you are ensured a return to Rome; two coins to get married; and three to get divorced!





to be continued...