Italy: Ciao! Benvenuti a Roma! (Part II)



The entrance to Palatino & Foro Romana (Palatine Hill & Roman Forum)
Palatine Hill is the location of earliest settlements in the area which dates back to about 753 BC.
Legend has it that Romulus founded the city of Rome here on the hill.

The view of Rome from Palatine Hill

Basilica of Maxentius (Basilica di Massenzio)/Basilica di Costantino  (Basilica of Constantine), Porticus Margaritaria

View of Foro Romano from Palatino
Remains of Basilica Aemilia, Tempio di Antonino e Faustina (Temple of Antoninus and Faustina), Temple of Romulus & Basilica of Santi Cosma & Damiano
The Roman Forum (Foro Romano) lies in a valley just below Capitoline Hill and Palatine Hill. It was the heart of the Roman Empire and the centre for commerce, politics and social life. Visitors to the Forum will see many ancient buildings and ruins that date back two thousand years.

Temple of Romulus & Basilica of Santi Cosma & Damiano

Tempio di Antonino e Faustina (Temple of Antoninus and Faustina)
Originally built by the Senate and dedicated to the Empress Faustina in 141AD; the temple was rededicated to the couple after her husband Emperor Antoninus Pius died in 161AD. It was however transformed into a church in the 8th century.

Remains of Basilica Giulia (Basilica Julia) - the seat of justice - with Tempio di Saturno (The Temple of Saturn) on the right hand side

Tempio di Saturno (The Temple of Saturn)
The Temple was built around 497BC and is the oldest of the Roman temples. The huge building that once stood behind the columns later however was used as Rome's state treasury.

Tempio di Saturno (The Temple of Saturn) & Arco di Settimo Severo (Arch of Septimius Severus)
The Arch was erected in 203 AD in honour of Septimius Severus and his sons, and is considered as one of Italy's major triumphal arches. A circular base stone beside the arch marks the "umbilicus urbis", the symbolic centre of the ancient Rome.

Further Information: Tips: If you plan to visit Palatino, Foro Romana and Colosseum, you might be better off buying your ticket at Palatino & Foro Romana ticket counter rather than at Colosseum. This is because there tend to be a long queue for tickets at Colosseum. Hotel: Apart from Hotel Borromeo, I have also stayed at Best Western Artdeco Hotel  which is located in a residential and embassies area, quite close to Roma Termini (main train station) which provides easy access and direct rail link from Leonardo da Vinci airport (FCO). It is quite a good hotel as well, location is a bit out of the way from other places of interests (but still I managed to walk to everywhere), spacious room (not typical of Europe!) with shower and bath cum jacuzzi , comfortable bed and not bad buffet breakfast. Apart from these two hotels, I have stayed at an airport hotel as well - Sheraton Golf Parco de Medici Hotel. For other www.RambleAndWander.com blog entries on Italy, click here.