Rome - December 29, 2011 - PIazza San Fransesco di Paolo and the Staircase of Doom

Piazza San Fransesco di Paoala

Walking southwest from the baths of Trajan there is a strangely elegant a viaduct that overlooked the coliseum and walked along, with me getting nervous that we would miss our train, until we came to the Piazza San Francesco di Paola. It was right around the corner, still on this rather odd viaduct now overlooking the Via Cavour.

In the center of the piazza  is an ancient column that was set up centuries ago and a magnificent staircase that went up through a medieval building to a street higher up the hill behind the church. Personally it looked mega sketchy, the sort of place that one would get mugged (but I had not yet been to Naples, so I really had no clue). Convinced that this was not in fact the Staircase of Terror (Cymraeg: grisiau o arswyd) we went up and lo' and behold a familiar looking square.

Grisiau o arswyd!

 Found our way to familiar streets and then walked back to the Piazza della Repubblicca to the secure looking ATM at the Banco di Roma.Which was secure, even though it looked like a skimmer. My bank statement later showed that no one was buying tickets to Beladorm or purchasing furniture/wives in Kiev.

A hop skip and a jump and back to the hotel to pick up bags and head off on the train to Naples.

A nice train. We went second class and had two comfy wide chairs across from each other with fold out leaves, electrical outlets and a USB charging station. Yup, second class…pretty nice.

There were some really super views of the coliseum from here. I think rather better than some of the views that one gets up close.

Coliseum from the area near the baths of Trajan and Piazza San Fransesco di Paola

Rome - December 28, 2011 - Coliseum

Coliseum and traffic

The Coliseum, (originally the Flavian Amphitheater) what wonder, what death, what amazing spectacles this place has beheld: hand to hand combat, lions. elephants and the occasional tiger all the way from India. The Christians and other political prisoners being torn apart by wild animals! Wild animals! It’s just like any game show on Fox! The Arena covered in Sand over the wooden boards.

The arches are magnificent and above each of the entrances there is a number that relates to the seating area. I still can’t believe that I actually got to hang out in here.

You can almost smell the death reeking from the stinking sands of the arena, though that might just be a burst sewer pipe….ok, I lie we’re not in Naples yet!

Leonardo landscape from Coliseum

Funnily enough the place did not get its name from the fact that it is large, but from a statue that used to stand nearby. The statue was originally erected by Nero in the atrium of his giant palace the Domus Aurea. After Nero was forced to commit suicide (“Qualis artifex pereo” bwahaahaa! What an egotistical pr!ck!) the oval pond of his pleasure garden was turned into the foundation of the amphitheater and eventually the statue was moved here, given a halo and renamed Apollo. Apparently this became the landmark for the area, not the great hulking stone amphitheater but some ruddy great gilded statue of Apollo.

While waiting to get in (there was an extensive and somewhat horrific line that seemed to move not) just like at the Vatican people were constantly approaching us to join their tour group, get a private guide, etc ad naseum. Eventually one of the guys came up and was speaking with an Italian accent about getting us in to the Coliseum with some tour, I was about to respond when he saw that we each had the "Roma Pass" in our hands. He dropped the Italian accent and said in a fine East End voice: "Oh, you’ve got the Roma Pass, just go through the middle queue no waiting.”

Temple of Venus and Rome
from Coliseum

Coliseum arch

We migrated over to the middle queue and we did move much faster than the others on either side, but then we hit a stop...We waited for a few minutes, then a few more and then and we were catapulted into a fast track line. Roma Pass goes in the turnstile, pops out at the top… Boom! Coliseum baby, we're in! Roma Pass! It pays.

Seeing this great building where so much gladiatorial combat took place was sort of the main course, being followed by dessert in the form of the forum Boaraium where the first gladiatorial combat took place in the 2nd century BCE.

The interior of the Coliseum