Roman around in the sweltering heat of the eternal city

One of the two excursions I opted for on our recent Mediterranean cruise, was the 9½ hour “Introduction to Rome” tour. This was marketed as a high activity (lots of walking), excursion around the main sights of the eternal city. Despite not being on my all-time “bucket list”, Rome was still a place I didn’t want to miss, especially given our proximity moored up in the port of Civitavecchia.

The tour of Rome involved an early morning start, so despite doing my utmost not to wake her ladyship, I apparently still made too much noise, as I left the cabin and headed off to the disembarkation point and the waiting coach. Acting as our guide, was the knowledgeable Elvira, a bubbly young lady who was keen to show off the Italian capital to myself and the other 34 passengers on the tour.

After leaving Civitavecchia our comfortable, air-conditioned coach headed up into the surrounding hills, and onto the Autostrada. From there we had a fast and scenic journey towards Rome. Lining many of the roads were some attractive and colourful flowering shrubs which, according to Mrs PBT’s were Bougainvillea. It was noticeable that much of the grain harvest had already been gathered in, and some of the fields had also been ploughed, ready for next year’s crop. Interspersed amongst the fields, were groves of olive trees, plus some tall, spikey looking plants which turned out to be bamboo. Whether this had been planted deliberately, or was an escapee is open to question, but whatever the reason it did look rather out of place.

The traffic was lighter than I thought it would be, and it wasn’t long before we were entering the suburbs of Rome, characterised by low-rise apartment blocks, disfigured unfortunately by some unsightly graffiti. The streets reminded me of Munich, a city which, despite being north of the Alps, has a distinct Italian feel to it. As we drove into the city centre, Rome’s famous chariot racing arena, the Circus Maximus, became visible. This was the first of the many legacy monuments from ancient Rome, that we were to see during our visit.

A little further on was the Colosseum, almost certainly the most famous monument in ancient Rome. A short distance away, our coach driver parked up, and we filed out, ready to follow Elvira, who had been joined by a second guide whose name escapes me We were kitted out with the almost obligatory, blue-tooth headsets, which proved useful, not just for being able to hear what the guide was saying, but also for staying close to her.

As expected, the area around this aptly name, colossal monument was packed, with crowds of visitors, all eager to see this impressive structure for themselves. There were plenty of school parties, but also groups of older visitors, seemingly from all over the world. In view of the number of visitors, as well as an article I’d read about phone snatching, I used my camera rather than my Smart Phone, in order to take photos. My compact Nikon Coolpix has a wrist strap, which makes forced theft far more difficult, although not totally impossible. Although I took these precautions, the area didn’t strike me as unsafe, just crowded and more likely to attract pickpockets rather than phone snatchers.

The guide explained the reason behind the numerous holes in the side of the Colosseum, which result from the removal of many of the large iron reinforcing bars, used during construction of the building. The bars helped hold the stonework together, but following the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Colosseum fell into disuse, and many of the reinforcing bars were removed and melted down for other purposes. Iron of course, was a valuable commodity, and the bars provided a source of ready smelted metal, but unfortunately, the removal of the reinforcements caused the walls in several parts of the Colosseum to collapse. Consequently today, parts of the structure are held up, by some relatively recent brick walls.

We walked around the road-facing perimeter of the Colosseum, before heading off towards the Forum, the area that was at the heart of ancient Rome, the site of triumphal processions, elections, and the nucleus of commercial activity within the city. Public speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches, took place here, as evidenced by the statues and monuments commemorating the city's leaders. If I’m brutally honest, the Forum seemed an odd-ball mix of columns, walls and arches, most of which were in various stages of preservation, but as we only viewed the periphery, perhaps there was something more impressive that we missed.

After leaving the Forum, we rounded a corner and right in front of us was a large, and much more modern, colonnaded building, with several, sweeping flights of steps leading up to it. The Victor Emmanuel II Monument is a large national monument built between 1885 and 1935, to honour Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy.  Constructed in the style of ancient Rome and obviously designed to impress, Italy’s fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini made several of his rousing and impassioned speeches from the balcony of this building.

We continued on our way through the intense mid-morning heat of Rome and passed the Victor Emmanuel II Monument. We then climbed a hill, up to where the waiting coach was parked, and after filing back on board for a short trip across the River Tiber, we were taken to the Vatican. The coach deposited us in a large underground car park underneath the Vatican, and after descending on a couple of escalators, we reached a wide passageway which took us straight into St Peter's Square.

We’d reached the headquarters of the Catholic church, and the residence of His Holiness, the Bishop of Rome, with St Peter’s Basilica forming an impressive backdrop to the square along with the wide avenue, leading into it. The square was hot and very crowded, in equal measure, but after a welcome comfort break, as the Americans would say, at a nearby gift shop, we parted company with our guide, although not before she had told us all about the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and the two statues standing guard over the place – St Peter and St Paul. Elvira then left us to our own devices, with strict instructions to meet back outside the gift shop at 4:00 PM.

My first purchase was a much-needed bottle of water, mainly because I’d left my Chili Bottle on the coach, primarily for something to drink on the return journey. After that I headed off to find somewhere to eat and a place where I could find it welcoming, cold beer. The guide directed a group to a couple of adjoining restaurants, but faced with such a sudden influx of customers, I decided I'd be better off finding somewhere less crowded, and away from the thronging masses.

It didn’t take much effort to stumble upon a little, local café that opened straight out onto the pavement, and with some tables set out on the cobbled street itself. The main thing was, it was shady, and out of the fierce midday sun. It didn’t take long for the waiter to come over and take my order which consisted of a rather nice, grilled sole with some artisan bread. The most welcome item, of course, was a large mug of nice cool beer. Only Birra Moretti, mind you, but any port in a storm! It was very pleasant, just sitting there watching the world go by, and the comings and goings of this pleasant, but compact back-street restaurant.

Afterwards I had a wander around, following the streets back into St Peters Square. I took quite a few photos and toyed with the idea of joining one of the queues at the entrance to St Peter's Basilica. Instead, I decided against it, especially as looted gold and other treasures offer little appeal to me. Staying in the shade, keeping cool and enjoying an ice cream, seemed the far better option. Foolishly I'd left my map on the coach and despite all the shops selling Vatican tat, and photos of the Pope I was unable to locate a tourist information office where I could obtain a free street guide or even purchase one.

Before asking why I didn’t use my phone? I think you know the answer, as nothing points to the fact that you are a lost, "dumb-arse" tourist, than trying to follow directions on your phone whilst all the while appearing an easy target to someone out to rob you. I also didn’t want to get lost and end up missing the coach back to the ship. This did mean missing out on a couple of Rome’s other star attractions, namely the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain, even though, as I later discovered they were just a short hop away, on the other side of the River Tiber. If it hadn’t been for the heat, would have trudged across, for a look, but as I said to some of my fellow passengers, when I arrived back at the ship, what’s so special about a flight of steps and a fountain which people chuck coins into?

There was one Roman monument that would definitely have been worth seeing. The Pantheon has the largest unsupported concrete dome of any structure in the world, which is a real tribute to the ingenuity of its builders. Those Romans certainly knew a thing or two about concrete, and if further proof was needed, the Pantheon is the best-preserved ancient building in the city. This might have been due to it being converted into a church, but I was built by the Emperor Hadrian in AD 119-128. Hadrian, of course, also constructed an equally famous wall in this part of the world, although that particular structure is far less well preserved.  

For those who care about such things, the diameter of the hemispherical dome is equal to the height of the whole building, meaning the structure could potentially accommodate a perfect sphere. Anyway, the Pantheon will have to wait for a future visit, if there is one, but now I know the lay of the land, a return visit to Rome, should be that little bit easier. I dozed off on the journey back to the ship, but I can now take Rome off my list of capital cities to visit, and “must see” sights.