Another perfect day greeted us and so my plan to go to the Roman baths at Caracalla (Terme di Caracalla) was put into action! It was a long walk there past many sights now familiar: the Tiber, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, Constantine's Arch and many Ancient Roman ruins. Talk about being spoilt!
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| SPQR - Senate and People of Rome - Caesar Augustus! |
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| And another Caesar! |
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| Remnants of an aqueduct - we actually saw more intact Roman aqueducts in Istanbul |
We got to the Terme di Caracalla and sat
for a snack and some water before entering the site. A slow trickle of
visitors passed through the turnstile but there no queue and the whole
25 hectare site certainly didn't feel crowded. The site is vast with
old baths' walls 38.5 metres high, quite a bit of which is still
standing. It was COLOSSAL!
These
baths were the second largest public baths in Rome, built between 212
and 217 AD, during Caracalla's reign. The number of workers was
phenomenal and the floor and wall mosaics and marble lining and statues
were amazing. Most of the marble has been used in other construction
and/or stolen and once again the pockmarks where the marble plaques once
were are evident.
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| Close to entrance and then it just got better and better! |
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| Window to the ancient world |
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| Flooring intact! |
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| Imagine sitting in a clear pool looking out to the blue sky! |
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| Lovely patterns and so well preserved. |
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| A fresco remains |
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| They just managed to join up hands! |
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| Serious?! Board games carved into edge of pool to play - a good life! |
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| Arches..... |
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| More arches! |
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| Where the internal stairs once were. |
There
are quite a few areas of well preserved mosaic floors and some have
been removed and are housed in the Vatican Museums. The tiles that
remain were made of stone rather than glazed tiles and the patterns were
very clear.
The
baths comprised a natatio (Olympic size swimming pool), a calidarium
(hot room), tepidarium (tepid room) and frigidarium (4 cold water pools)
as well a gymnasium areas, shops and relaxation zones: like a modern
day spa! The bath building was 228 metres long and 116 metres wide! We
felt dwarfed by its towering walls. We were so wishing the baths were
still in use today! The most this site is used for apart from tourism
is an occasional opera during summer. The water came from the Acqua
Marcia aqueduct. The building was strategically placed on a S E/ NW
orientation to make the most of the natural sunlight. So very clever
were the Romans.
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| Mosaic from rocks not glazed tiles |
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| Imagine the walls covered with these intricate carvings. |
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| Tim balancing on the only bit which wasn't stony. |
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| Fairly typical Luke pose! |
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| Amazing mosaics! |
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| Remnants of mosaics |
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| Taurus!! |
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| Such a huge complex, 38.5 metres walls! |
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| Always a statue! |
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| Handstand!! Of course. |
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| Love this one! |
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| Remnants of marble and tiles |
Quite close to the baths is Circus
Maximus, which was the largest stadium built in the Roman Empire and
could accommodate 150,000 spectators! It was used for chariot racing
and apparently by Ben Hur! These days, the tiered seating has all been"
re-purposed" but the site remains as a park. With the Roman Forum to
one side it is a reminder of the grand scale of building and
entertaining in Ancient Rome.
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| Top end of Circus Maximus |
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| Panoramic view of Circus Maximus to give perspective - VAST! |
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| The road is long...Circus Maximus |
Per
chance we happened to pass the "Mouth of Truth" (La Bocca della
Verita), on the portico wall of the 8th century Basilica di Santa Maria
in Cosmedin. It is a first century marble carving from either a
fountain or manhole cover thought to represent the ancient river god
"Tiber". From the Middle Ages, the mouth was used as a lie detector
with the belief being that if a lie were told with a hand in its mouth,
the liar would lose their hand! The Mouth of Truth also makes an
appearance in the 1953 movie: Roman Holiday which I am very keen to see
when I have time!
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| La Bocca della Verita |
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| La Bocca della Verita - hand intact! |
Tim wasn't permitted into the Basilica
because he was wearing shorts but the rest of us had a brief look. It
was built by Pope Adrian I and looked really old inside. It did have
beautiful old frescoes but it was far less ornate than many we have seen
recently which was interesting as its name "cosmedin" came from the
Greek "kosmidion" meaning ornate! Down under the church we ventured
into Adrian's Crypt which was dark, gloomy and musty and we did feel
like we'd gone back in time!
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| Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin |
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| Pope Adrian I's crypt |
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| Storage in the crypt |
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| Wonderful mosaic floor |
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| Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin |
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| Temple of Hercules Victor - 2 AD |
We
decided to walk along the river back to areas we were more familiar
with. Maybe as the sky was more cloudy than it has been or maybe
because there was rain further upstream, I am not sure, but the Tiber
was a beautiful aquamarine colour today.
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| The Tiber looking lovely and Tiber Island |
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| Ponte Fabricio - built 62 AD and still standing in its original state! |
We walked across the Ponte Fabricio which goes across the Tiber to Tiber
Island. It is still solid and in its original state and it was built
in 62 BC!!! The original inscription carved into the travertine :
L . FABRICIVS . C . F . CVR . VIAR | FACIVNDVM . COERAVIT | IDEMQVE | PROBAVIT.
(Lucius Fabricius, Son of Gaius, Superintendent of the roads, took care
and likewise approved that it be built) is clear to read even today! It is the oldest Roman bridge in Rome.
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| River view |
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| Tim and Luke trying to restore Rome |
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| Completely decorated by the birds we see in the evenings! |
It was mid afternoon by the time we neared Piazza Navona and the kids
were revived by an Italian ice cream - a rare treat - as we endeavoured
to retrace our steps from yesterday and find the movie poster shop for
Tim. Ever since Bologna when he saw some old Italian movie posters, he
has been keen to buy one or two. Success! Two out of the three Sergio
Leone posters were available so he was really happy. I think he'll hang
them on his walls for years to come and remember Italy.
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| Ah! Ice cream, complete with cream and chocolate!! Near Piazza Navona! |
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| Model of the former Stadio di Domiziano upon which Piazza Navona now stands |
Home and a cup of tea was very welcome! The kind deli fellow at our local Conad supermarket where the service is quite good, gave Luke a little bread roll, which made a good ending to the day!
Just been on Facebook reading about the Paris attacks, such devastation! So thankful you're in Rome x
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