The Roman Ruins

The ruins of the Forum are a maze, a hodgepodge and somehow beautiful. We were there at several times of the day and got a different perspective depending on where the light was falling. The hill in the background is Palatine Hill, one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Many of the wealthier families lived there.
Here are more views of what was once the center of the civilized world... including the ruins of so many pagan temples we couldn't tell which was which even with a guide book. In the background of the picture on the upper left, the two winged statues at the top are on the more-recent Victor Emmanuel monument. It's a huge building by any measure, but then it had to be to compete with the construction below it, spectacular even in ruin.

 
A statue of Julius Caesar stands only yards from the spot where he was assassinated.
The Arch of Vespasian. He was born of an undistinguished family and went on to become the ninth emperor of Rome and founder of the Flavian dynasty. During his reign, in AD 70, the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed. His was an eventful life in many other respects as well. Learn more?

A detail of the Arch of Constantine. As described in the section on the Coliseum, this section was "borrowed" from the arch of another emperor. (sic fugit gloria)
 Here we are, mugging for the camera as usual. At right is the church of St. Peter in Carcere (St. Peter in Chains). Note the ugly vent that was cut into the arch behind us at some late date... probably just to provide a vantage point. It's not quite as much of a travesty as the remodeling of the chapel with the Last Supper fresco in Milan. In that instance the portion of the fresco showing Jesus' feet was cut out in order to insert a door on that wall.