| |
Altare
della Patria - Vittoriano |
| The
enormous white marble monument at the Piazza Venezia was built as
a tribute to the first King of a united Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.
As King of Sardinia he had become a symbol of the movement for a
united Italy. After his army joined forces with Garibaldi and defeated
the papal army, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed in 1861 with
Victor Emmanuel as King. In 1885 construction of the monument started
after a design by Giuseppe Sacconi. The site on the northern slope
of the capitoline hill was cleared to make way for the monument.
Roman ruins and medieval churches were destroyed in the process.
In 1911, at the 50th anniversary of the new kingdom, the new symbol
of a united Italy was inaugurated. The monument, also known as 'Il
Vittoriano' consists of a large flight of stairs leading to the
Altar of the Nation, dominated by a colossal 12m long equestrian
statue of the King. Near the statue is the tomb of the unknown soldier,
guarded by two sentries of honor. At the back is a long corridor
with 15m/50ft high columns. On top of the corridor are two bronze
quadrigae, each with a winged Victory. Not the most beautiful structure
in Rome, the Victor Emmanuel monument has been given nicknames such
as 'typewriter' and 'wedding cake'. The monument is nevertheless
well worth the visit, if only for the great views from the top.
The top of the Il Vittoriano is also connected to the campidoglio,
saving you another climb of the capitoline hill.
|
| Castel
Sant'Angelo |
| The
building was originally constructed by the Emperor Hadrian between
123 and 139AD to serve as his mausoleum. Like the earlier Mausoleum
of Augustus, the cylindrical tomb would have been topped with statues:
a grand reminder of the emperor and his dynasty. Inside you can
still walk up the wide spiral passage designed for the ascent of
the funeral cortege. After spending the Middle Ages passing through
the hands of various warring Roman families, the fortress was acquired
by the papacy in 1377. Having got their hands on this imposing edifice
in such a strategic location, the popes had no intention of letting
go. They set to work to make the building into a technically-advanced
and impregnable citadel to which they could retreat during times
of unrest. A covered passageway (the Passetto del Borgo) still connects
Castel Sant'Angelo to the Vatican: this was the popes' emergency
escape route. Unprepared for discomfort even under siege, the pontiffs
also developed the internal part of the fortress, fashioning elegant
papal apartments - and a strong room with a giant safe for the Vatican's
mountain of loot. |
| Circus
Maximus - Circo Massimo |
The
holding capacity for the Circus Maximus was a quarter of a million
people! This was about one quarter of Rome’s population.
The Circus Maximus was a track used primarily for horse-racing,
although it was used on occasion for hunts or mock battles. It
had 300,000 seats and was famous throughout the ancient world.
Built in the 6th century B.C. during the time of the Tarquins,
the history of the Circus Maximus is troubled. It was twice destroyed
by fire and on at least two occasions the stands collapsed, killing
many people.
The
Circus Maximus also had the ancient equivelant of the skyboxes
you see now in stadiums for professional sports. The Emperor had
a reserved seat, as did senators, knights, those who financially
backed the race, those who presided over the competition, and
the jury that awarded the prize to the winners. The last race
held at the Circus Maximus was in 549 A.D., nearly a full millenium
after the track's construction.
The
Circus measured 600 with 200 meters and had a capacity of 320.000
spectators who watched the chariot races that were held there.
The most important were those of the Ludi Romani the first week
of September, which opened with a religious procession in which
the highest religious and civil authorities of the city took part.
|
| Tempio
di Vesta |
Circular
in plan, this temple is as it was when rebuilt, under Septimius
Severus. In the Casa delle Vestali, behind it, lived the Vestal
Virgins, who guarded the sacred fire of Vesta, believed to have
been burning since it was first lit by Numa Pompilius, a legendary
Sabine king of Rome of the 7th century B.C. The complex lies around
a huge courtyard, surrounded by a two-storey portico. Along the
sides of the courtyard were the living quarters of the virgins.
Bases
and statues commemorated the priestesses that lived here between
A.D. 291 and 364.
Edicola di Giuturna. Near this small building, restored in 1954,
a 2nd-century B.C. basin marks the site of a legendary freshwater
spring.
|
| Domus
Aurea |
| The
Domus Aurea (Golden House), Rome (A.D. 64-68 and possibly later),
was built or begun by Nero after the great fire in A.D. 64. It was
less a palace than a series of pavilions and a long wing comprising
living and reception rooms, all set in a vast landscaped park with
an artificial lake in its centre where the Colosseum now stands. Most
of it has largely disappeared. The main architectural interest lies
in the wing just referred to, known as the Esquiline wing, which stood
a little to the north of the lake and was subsequently built over
to form part of the enclosure of the Baths of Trajan. It most resembled
the country and seaside portico villas of Campagna, and was open to
the views of and beyond the lake. The more westerly part, which was
certainly of Nero's time, also had a peristyle behind the façade.
In the centre, the façade was set back, following three sides
and two half-sides of an octagon. To the right of this was the less
conventionally planned eastern part, which contained the feature of
greatest importance and originality. This was an octagonal hall roofed
by a concrete dome, 14.7 m (50 ft) across the corners, and open on
all sides to the garden or to surrounding smaller rooms as far as
is known the first appearance in a building of this kind of a new
concept of interior space which was to come increasingly to the fore
over the next half-century |
|
|
