TOUR 7

From the Forum trough Colyseum and Saint John you will see the womderful arts of Rome ancient buildings.At the end you will be in the famous market for romans Sannio Market where you will get a good bargain for shoes, leather clothes and dresses.

	Fori
	Colosseo
	Saint Peter in Vincoli
	San Giovanni
	Mercato di Via Sannio

Forum

Walking along the Roman forum you will see:

Forum of Julius Caesar
Dedicated in 46BC, this forum was built by Julius Caesar to relieve congestion in the Forum Romanum.

The Curia
The meeting house of the Senate as reconstructed by Mussolini from the original building materials.

Temple of the Deified Julius Caesar
Dedicated on August 18, 29 BC by Augustus, this temple took the place of a temporary shrine to the late leader. An official cult of Caesar began shortly after his death. As with the majority of the ancient monuments and buildings, the marble was looted long ago.

Basilica Julia
Today, we think of basilicas as churches, however that is not what they were in ancient times. They were large, ornate, public buildings used for meetings, law courts and other official business. Many were converted into churches later. The Basilica Julia was begun by Caesar in 54 BC and finished by Augustus on the site of the Basilica Sempronia which was originally built in 170 BC and destroyed by fire. It housed the "centumviri", law courts with 180 members.

Temple of Saturn
The Temple of Saturn is one of the oldest temples in all of Rome. It was completed around 498 BC and was used to house the Aerarium, the treasury of Rome.

Temple of Vesta
The eternal flame in was tended to by the Vestal Virgins. These priestesses were chosen when around ten years old. They had special privileges as they were the only women in the empire allowed to vote, they were allowed to sit in front at functions (other women were only allowed to sit with the slaves) and they could free condemned prisoners. However, if they let the flame go out they were beaten and exiled from Rome, if they broke their vows of chastity they were walled up in a cave to starve to death.

Via Sacra
The Sacred Way which leads from Temple of Saturn in the Forum to the Palatine Hill received its name from the numerous sacred temples that lined it and for its use during triumphs.

Palatine Hill
This is not a building or a wall, it is the substructure supporting an extension of the Palatine Hill as seen from the Roman Forum. When they ran out of room on the Palatine Hill, they simply extended it.

Colosseum

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was begun by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian. Located on marshy land between the Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it was the first permanent amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its monumental size and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient organization for producing spectacles and controlling the large crowds make it one of the great architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.

The amphitheater is a vast ellipse with tiers of seating for 50,000 spectators around a central elliptical arena. Below the wooden arena floor, there was a complex set of rooms and passageways for wild beasts and other provisions for staging the spectacles. Eighty walls radiate from the arena and support vaults for passageways, stairways and the tiers of seats. At the outer edge circumferential arcades link each level and the stairways between levels.

The three tiers of arcades are faced by three-quarter columns and entablatures, Doric in the first story, Ionic in the second, and Corinthian in the third. Above them is an attic story with Corinthian pilasters and small square window openings in alternate bays. At the top brackets and sockets carry the masts from which the velarium, a canopy for shade, was suspended.

The construction utilized a careful combination of types: concrete for the foundations, travertine for the piers and arcades, tufa infill between piers for the walls of the lower two levels, and brick-faced concrete used for the upper levels and for most of the vaults.

The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly.

The plan is a vast ellipse, measuring externally 188 m x 156 m (615 ft x 510 ft), with the base of the building covering about 6 acres. Vaults span between eighty radial walls to support tiers of seating and for passageways and stairs.

The facade of three tiers of arches and an attic story is about 48.5 m (158 ft) tall — roughly equivalent to a 12-15 story building.

Saint Peter in Chain

San Pietro in Vincoli(Saint Peter in Chains) is more known for it's statue of Moses than of the chains. To take the chains first. In the church you see 2 pairs of chains: those, that Peter wore, when being transported to Rome from Jerusalem, and those he wore, when being prisoner i Rome. Miracolously these 2 pairs of chains have unified into one pair of chains.

But the greater experience is Michelangelo's powerful statue of Moses, maybe his greatest work. It shows Moses' rage, when coming down with the ten commandments he finds his people worshipping 'the gold calf'. It was meant to be part of a mausoleum for Pope Julius II and should have been placed in San Pietro. But before Michelangelo had finished it, he was 'persuaded' by Julius II to decorate The Sistine Chapel first - a work that took several years. Much to Michelangelo's regret, since he considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter. When Julius II had died, there were no sponsors to finishing the work, that should have comprised 42 statues!

Saint John

This is one of the four Patriachal basilicas; it was first dedicated to the Holy Saviour and then to SS. John the Evangelist and John the Baptist. The 18th century facade is adorned with statues of Christ, St. John and the Doctors of the Church, and has five portals. The central one has the doors of the Roman Senate. The last door to the right is the Holy Door opened only for the Jubilee. The plan of the basilica with its five aisles is the original one although many restorations, including those by Della Porta and Borromini, have altered the appearance. Among the numerous works of art in the basilica we can recall the 14th century frescoed tabernacle above the high altar where only the Pope can celebrate Mass. Admission to the Cloister, dating to 1521-1523, is through the left nave.

Sannio Market

Market for romans, Sannio Market is the place where you will get a good bargain for shoes, leather clothes and dresses. It's possible to reach this market place by yourself with underground METRO Linea "A" getting off in S.Giovanni Metro stop.