Rome - Part III

With a full schedule ahead of us, we woke up early and had a simple cosy breakfast at the hotel. I ordered a 'latte' and headed to the buffet counter for some chilled food. Unknowingly, 'latte' is actually steamed milk sans the coffee. Latte is alwiz known to be coffee with milk in Malaysia.


Our next plan would be the Colosseo or the Colosseum. It would require using the metrebus. Metrebus is the underground train serving from the ancient rome to the newer suburbs. A full day metrebus service only costs euro 4 dollars. It's actually a bargain since some of the famous sites are quite far apart, with the metrebus you can reach your destination is rather short time.


Please be extra careful when using the metrebus, there are a lot of pick pockets in Rome. Yours truly had an encounter with the pick pockets, luckily my pockets are well 'locked', those useless bum had tried and even though caught, they are not really ashamed or scared.



Colosseum during early morning.



Arch of Constantine beside the grand Colosseum.


Stone slab at the Colosseum or originally known as Flavian Amphitheatre.


The Colosseo's history


The visit to Rome is incomplete without visiting the famous stadium, the Colosseo. With euro 15 dollars poorer, I got the opportunity to go into the Colosseo and be part of the famous history. The Colosseo is undergoing restoration work, I'm glad that serious efforts are put in to preserve this magnificent monument.


Colosseo's once beautiful marble slabs can be seen strewn all over Colosseo floor. The stadium is huge and right at the centre lies a maze of corridors where gladiatorial fights once held. The more interesting fact is that the corridors can be flooded to stage naval fight shows, a true testament to roman engineering.



The Colosseo's history.


The only shop in Colosseo, which is a book shop selling the history of Colosseo.


Next to the Colosseo, the arch of Constantine stands proud.

The arch of Constantine which was built by the people to commemorate the victory of Constantine against his predecessor Maxentius. Built at around 312AD, the arch is another magnificent monument.


Inside the Colosseo, one can admire the greatness of the stadium, capable of holding 50,000 people, half of the capacity compared to Bukit Jalil stadium, built around 80AD, the stadium has multiple doors.


Panoramic view of the Colosseo.

Close up view on the arch of Constantine.

Ancient roman roads, part of it.

Outside the Colosseo

Just a few steps away from the Colosseum, lies the ancient administration building for the Roman Republic known as Forum Romanum. The centre of administration has a host of buildings and temple but now all of those buildings lies in rumble.

Forum Romanum

Forum Romanum with arch of Septimius Severus.

Forum Romanum on the far left, Fiori Imperiali

Forum Romanum, overlooking the Curia, which is supposedly initiated by Caesar himself.

Temple of Antonius Pius at Forum Romanum.

It is imensely satisfying to visit the centre of the great ancient roman administration. Most of these pictures were taken on top of the Palantine Hill. The water system at Palantine still working. The Forum Romanum is an open archaelogical site for those who admire the romans.