Having taken the Metro on Day Two we took it again on Day Three, this time changing lines, heading for the Colosseo stop. Emerging, we saw this.
But the Colosseum was not our destination. We had decided we could look at it from the outside. We had our hands full as it was, though we did not realize how much lay ahead of us. Our destinations were the Capitoline Hill and the Imperial Fora. So we marched down the Via dei Fori Imperiali, looking at the Fora below us on the left. We had decided to do the museums of the Capitoline first since museums require some alertness and attention. We wanted to be fresh.
Trust me, by the time we got to the Fora we were not fresh.
Our trek toward the Capitoline led us to two significant spots on the way: Trajan's Column and the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.
Trajan's Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in 113 CE, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, that artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.
The structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in height, 35 metres (125 ft) including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 32 tons, with a diameter of 3.7 meters (11 ft). The 190-metre (625 ft) frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top. The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of ca. 34 m.[Wikipedia]
I have highlighted some details so you can get a sense of the amazing narrative artistry in the column. [As usual, you can click on the photos to embiggen.]
Across the street is the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II.
The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II) or Altare della Patria (Altar of the Fatherland) or "Il Vittoriano" is a monument to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. The monument was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885; sculpture for it was parceled out to established sculptors all over Italy, such as Angelo Zanelli. was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935.
[Wikipedia]
The statue of Italy stands above the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II, unifier of Italy and Father of the Nation.
Anyone who knows how I feel about those who risk their lives for their countries can anticipate that I prayed and wept here.
I close with a black-and-white detail of the opening Colosseum photo.
Next: Museums of the Capitoline Hill
--the BB
2 comments:
Good grief! I'm going to have to take a day off to comment on all your photos. The carvings on Trajan's column are a wonder.
Another name for the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, usually spoken in a dismissive manner, is "the wedding cake".
Your black and white of the Colosseum is very nice.
I also read that the Italians call it "the typewriter." LOL
Day Three is another with hundreds of photos to choose from. I did have fun with my camera.
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