BACK to ITALY at 72..

When I was 72, ( 4 years ago at this writing) I went back to Naples, Italy. It was exactly 50 years since I was there before. So many things, of course, were different. The music, the sounds of the city, the pace of the city and the appearance of the modern dress of the young, in particular. Of course, it was so much cheaper then, also. The smells of pizza and sauce in the air is almost the same. I still am moved by the city I fell in love with 50 years ago. I visited the Galleria Umberto and had a café and a roll. Just walking along the Via Caracciolo by the waterfront where a lot of the restaurants and clubs are is atmosphere enough for most. I awoke in the morning and after a while I decided to go up to Rome. I actually never spent much time there before and I knew there was much to see. I really believe if one visits another country that they should try to learn a little about it. That is what I believe now but I didn’t even think about it on my previous visits. I did this time so I will expound on what I saw this visit.

I had reserved a room at the Picadilly Hotel right close to the center of town. It had to be the smallest room in Rome but it did have a shower and closet and a bed. And a small window that looked out at the rooftops of Rome. I didn’t plan to spend much time in it so it was acceptable.
The next morning I woke eagerly and dressed and hit the street with a map and a shoulder bag and a digital camera. People were bustling around like any city. I mapped out a route to the Colosseo (Colosseum) and began walking. It was quite a walk but I had all day and there is more to see than just the colosseo. I like being around people in the sense of ‘people-watching’. Just to sit and watch the world go by is sometimes a good thing and I am good at it. Besides, I didn’t understand the trains, buses or subway enough to use them. And like I said, I was in no hurry. I was passing under an archway which part of a wall that went on for as far as I could see.

Later I found that it was the Aurelian wall built between 271 AD and 280 AD and stretched 12.5 miles around the inner city of Rome. It was 60 foot high and has towers about every 15 yards. Even more amazing was that there was an older wall built around 400 BC which still has fragments scattered about. It was surrounding the inner city at that time. It was the Servian (or Republican wall).
“On the way to the Colosseum”, as the saying almost goes, There was a really long grassy area that appeared as nothing significant at first but after research and questions I found I was wrong.

It was once a stadium called the ‘Circo Massimo’ or in Latin, the Circus Maximus. It was once the largest stadium in Rome with a seating capacity of 350,000. Here is where they had all the chariot races and horse races. There is nothing there now except the bowl turned into a field but I have a picture

I downloaded to show the immensity of it all. See at the bottom of this picture to the right.It was 656 yards long and 219 yards wide. Like 6 and a half football fields long (for you Jocks). There are buildings up on the hill behind it still there that are shown in the other picture above.
I kept walking and wound up at the Fiume Tevere (Tiber river). I finally realized I had not one picture of myself so I found a group of women at the river and with sign language and many gyrations and probable embarrassments, one of them finally understood and took a picture showing here.

There are several small but beautiful bridges along the river but time prevented me to do only so much exploring. Farther on the other side of the river, if I had kept going, I would have been near the Vatican City.
Eventually I could see the

Colosseo and it was more impressive than I imagined. Did I mention that it had been raining lightly most of the day? Well, it was. One of my favorite things was sitting at the outside café’s and restaurants and having a coffee or beer or a meal and watching the people and the view. There had been none of that today. However, before going down to the Colosseo, I found an outside covered café and an empty table so I sat directly across from the Colosseo and had a Café Latte.

Just like the Starbucks but I really was in Italy. The Colosseo was started in 72 AD by Emperor Vespianno. It is 164 feet high and really is elliptical. It could hold 55,000 people. Somewhere else I read it was 87,000. The southern side was felled by an earthquake in 847 AD.

One thing not widely known which I found in my research is that, unbelievably, there was a large awning type cover that was used for cover from the sun. It took about 1,000 men to install it. There was also a manual elevator, or lift, to raise the lions and such up to the surface in the arena for the battles or massacres.

You can see the subterranean structure below as the floor above was destroyed in a fire at one point.
You can buy tickets to enter and explore the arena or go on a tour. It was raining, as I said, so I didn’t go any further this day. Having seen it and walking around was enough for this weary man.
I began walking back in the direction of my hotel area and even that was exciting. I took my time taking pictures as I walked and stopped a couple times to have a beer or a coffee and watch the sporadic crowds. I’m a good sitter. But I've said that before. Eventually, I got back and found a restaurant to eat. The hotel recommended it and they were right. I found out one thing the hard way. The locals and even the seasoned tourists seem to look down on you when you choose to dine out in the open. On display, if you will. For a drink or a roll, it seemed alright but you are an inexperienced tourist if you choose this. Also, they look down on you if you wear shorts in most of the attractions and for sure in the churches or religious sites. In most case, they won’t let you in at all or they supply you with a cover of sorts. You are, after all, in Italy. Anyway, my meal was a great salad and a plate of Gnocchi (my favorite) with a marinara sauce and a glass of wine and a latte afterwards. Spent way to much. One more thing is that it is not necessary to leave a tip as it is already figured in. However, I am known to be a good tipper so I left a little anyway. Can’t help myself.