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Rome Tour Stops:
Capitoline Hill
- Campidoglio Piazza
- Palazzo Senatorio
- Palazzo Nuovo
- Palazzo dei Conservatori
- Tarpeian Rock
- Marmetine Prison
- Trajan’s Column
- Original Forum
- Basilica Amelia
- Curia Julia
- Comitium
- Arch of Septimius Severus
- Rostra
- Temple of Devine Vespasian
- Temple of Saturn
- Tabulariam
- Basilica Julia
- Temple of Castor and Pollux
- Temple of Vesta
- Temple of Devine Julius
- Temple of Antonius Pius and Faustina
- Temple of Romulus
- Basilica Maxentius
- Arch of Titus
- Palatine Hill
- Arch of Constantine
- Colossuem
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Read opening of the Rome Tour:
Music . . . which fades into background as The Cicerone speaks . . .
Boungiorno! I am your Cicerone, your guide who explains the antiquities. I’m
delighted to have you join me here in Rome, "The Eternal City", home of a three
thousand year old civilization. We begin our walking tour of classical Rome at
the Capitoline Hill, the heart of the Roman Empire and the heart of Western
civilization. When the Romans conquered new regions, they built roads and all
those roads led to Rome’s Capitoline Hill.
We will go from the Capitoline Hill to the original Roman Forum and end at the
magnificent Colossuem. We will cover the very heart and beginning of ancient Roman
civilization. It is a full and interesting day. But it is taxing, so you may want
to begin in the early morning or whenever the strong Mediterranean sun is not so hot.
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We will begin our tour at the steps leading to the top of the Capitoline Hill. These steps
are just south of the Piazza Venezia, on the southern end of the Via del Corso.
If you are too far away to walk, take almost any bus or a taxi. When you see an enormous,
and I do mean enormous, white marble monument, you have reached the Piazza Venezia.
This monument dominates the piazza and was built to commemorate the reign of King
Vittorio Emanuel in the eighteen hundreds. The Italians refer it to as " The Wedding Cake",
but the official name of this huge creation is the Alter of the Nation.
When you get to the Piazza Venezia, face the "Wedding Cake" and. walk around to your right.
You will soon come to two flights of stairs on your left; this will be our starting place.
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Now put on your good walking shoes, and be sure to get a bottle of water, you will
surely need it on this walk. When you hear this sound . . . TONE SOUND.
Turn off your tour until you reach the stairs we will climb to the top of the
Capitoline Hill, I will meet you there. The stairs are marked on your map with
an arrow that says Begin. Turn off your tour. TONE
Hello, I hope you have found your way to the stairs leading up to the top of the
Capitoline Hill, one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome.
The Capitoline became the center of civic life early on because rock cliffs surrounded
it, making it easy to defend. And, it is easily reached from the Tiber River and only
fifteen miles from the sea.
This Capitoline Hill has seen the stars of history. Romulus and Remus, Peter and Paul,
Michelangelo, most of the Popes, Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, Caesar Augustus, Nero and
Caligula, all have been here. How exciting now for us to be here and to see this place
that has so influenced all our lives.
Michelangelo designed these magnificent Renaissance steps we are about to climb in
1536. They are like the steps in the Vatican museum, which he also designed, and are
comfortable for climbing.
Those stairs on your left lead to the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, built in the twelve
hundreds. Later in our tour we will talk about this very steep these one hundred twenty
stairs are. Pilgrimages were common in the Middle Ages and pilgrims would climb these
stairs on their knees as a form of penance. Pilgrims had regular routs they would cover.
They usually carried walking sticks and wore shells around their necks, to provide a handy
utensil for scooping food or water.
Look carefully to the left of those stairs, where the trees are, and you see the only remaining
ruins of a Roman insula, the apartment buildings of ordinary Romans. The richest families lived in
single-family dwellings called Domus, from which we get our word domicile. But most of Rome’s
population lived in uncomfortable insulae. Some of the apartment buildings were up to ten stories
high and held as many as four hundred people.
There was no plumbing, no elevators and no sprinkler systems for fires. Fires were always
a problem: so the higher the floor, the cheaper the rent.
The ground floors had little shops where people could get their necessities.
The stairs we will be climbing are called the Cordona. Notice the shallow ridges, which look
somewhat like stone ropes. Ropes were traditionally laid across hilly paths to help animals
climb up the hill. The Latin word corda, means rope.
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These granite lions at the base of the stairs are loot, brought from Egypt by the Romans.
Let’s climb the stairs now. Turn off your tour and resume when you have reached the top.
TONE
You should now be at the Piazza Campidoglio, at the top of the Capitoline Hill. This is the
very hill from which we get the word "capitol".
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When the triumphal processions would march into Rome, down the Via Sacra, they would end here at
Jupiter’s Temple, the greatest temple in Rome. It was the largest Etruscan style temple ever
built. Jupiter was the father of all the gods and the chief Roman deity. The first temple of
Jupiter was begun early in Rome’s development, by the 5th king.
This beautiful open area we are standing in is Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio.
Piazza is the Italian word for square. Michelangelo designed the geometric paving and the
façades of all three of the buildings. We are in a public space steeped in the history of
the western world and capped off by the design of one of the great artists of all time.
Michelangelo’s design was in the shape of a trapezium with classical sculptures chosen for
their relevance to Rome. During the middle- ages, artists began to study the old Roman art
with it’s emphasis on humanism. This new way of looking at the world sparked the Renaissance.
So it is fitting that Michelangelo, the great Renaissance artist, wanted his square to
showcase classical art.
Michelangelo only lived long enough to oversee the double flight of steps at the entrance
to the Palazzo Senatorio, but the square’s design remains faithful to the original design.
The piazza faces west toward Saint Peter’s, which is the Christian equivalent of this capitol.
When you enter, one of the first things you see is two large statues guarding the entrance.
These two big fellows are the restored statues of the Dioscuri, the twin sons of Zeus, the
Greek name for Jupiter.
The Greeks and Romans worshiped these twins, Castor and Pollux, as the protectors of business,
travel and hospitality and as Rome’s special protectors. And for those of you born under the
sign of Gemini, these are your twins. We will visit their temple in the forum, but now, notice
their headgear. These odd caps, which they always sport in classical art, resemble the eggshell
they were hatched from. The ancient warriors and priests also wore these caps.
You may want to look at your drawing of the Piazza Campodoglio now. The building directly
across from the stairs is The Palazzo Senatorio, used by the Roman Senate. It is built on
the ruins of the Tabularium, or Hall of Records, built in the eighth century BC. Today, the
senate building houses the mayor’s offices, and civil ceremonies, such as weddings are conducted
here. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see a wedding party coming down Michelangelo’s beautiful
stairs when touring this square. Civic business has been conducted here for almost three thousand years.
The building on your left and the building on your right compose the Capitoline Museum, one of
the world’s oldest public art collections The Palazzo Nuovo on your left, has busts of sixty-five
of the ninety nine Roman Emperors …exhibited in order. The Palazzo dei Conservatori, on your right,
has some interesting treasures as well. The head and a hand and foot from the forty-foot tall statue
of Constantine that was in the Forum are in the courtyard. Everyone loves to have their picture taken
with these huge fragments.
Some fine paintings by Tintoretto and Caravaggio as well as the famous statue of Romulus and
Remus with the She Wolf are also here.
If want to visit the museum, it is an easy thing to stop our tour at any point and resume play
when you are ready to continue. The ticket office is in the Palazzo Nuovo, and ticket prices are
modest. Be sure to understand your ticket, they can be purchased to cover several days. Some days
and even nights are free. A washroom, gift shops and a restaurant are in the Palazzo Nuovo.
The bronze statue in the center of the square is Marcus Aurelius. He was the fifth and last of
the five good emperors. Their combined reigns marked a period of stability and prosperity. He
died in the year one eighty AD, so the statue is at least that old.
Hollywood always finds good movie material in ancient Rome. If you saw the movie Gladiator, you
saw Marcus Aurelius as the old Emperor. His son, Commodus, was the movie’s nasty villain. The other
good emperors adopted sons who were chosen for their leadership qualities. Marcus Aurelius allowed
his own son, Commodus, to succeed him, with disastrous results. That is why he was the last of the
good emperors.
This statue survived when the old Roman treasures were being recycled as Christian objects,
because it was believed to be the first Christian emperor, Constantine. Michelangelo moved it here
from the church of St. John the Lateran, which was built by Constantine. The original is inside the
Palazzo Nuovo, to protect it from pollution.
Let us pause now so that you may see as much as you want Turn off the tour and resume play when
you are ready to move on. TONE
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Before we leave this hill, you may want to see the site of the ancient Tarpeian Rock.
Tarpeia was a young Roman girl who bargained with the Sabine soldiers to open the city gates
for them. She wanted their gold bracelets, so she asked for what they were wearing on their
arms. Instead she got killed with their shields, which they also carried on their arms. The
moral of the story is " be careful what you wish for, you may get it."
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Ever after, it was the fate of traitors to be thrown from the high Tarpatian Rock. The drop
doesn’t seem so great now, years of rubble have built up the area, but the significance of the
rock is apparent if you remember that prisons were not common in early times. The only options for
punishing the guilty were exile or death.
To see this rock, walk between the Senate building and the Palazzo dei Conservatore You
will find a snack bar on your way where you can get a pannini (an Italian sandwich) or a
slice of pizza. You will also get a wonderful view of the Forum down below. When you reach
the end of the walkway, bear right along the wall. This is where you can see what little
remains of the Tarpeian rock.
Stop our tour now and when you are ready to proceed to the next stop after the rock, be on the
other side, the left side of this Senate building. TONE
You should be between the Senate building and the Palazzo Nuovo. Notice the steep stairs to
your left, they lead to Santa Maria in Aracoeli. We saw the other entrance as we climbed the
Cordona. Famous on its own as an early Christian Church, it is also famous for being built on
the ruins of the temple of Juno Moneta. Juno was the wife of Jupiter. The Romans minted their
money in the temple so we get our word money from Moneta. Only in recent history have we begun
to separate civic and religious business into different buildings. Even in the Middle Ages it was
common to have a religious building serve as something like a mint or a granary or a hall of justice.
Ancient Roman legend credits Juno and her sacred geese with saving Rome from invasion by the
Gauls in the fourth century BC. The Romans took refuge on the Capitoline and were awakened by
Juno’s honking geese when the Gauls tried to sneak up the hill.
Pause our tour now and resume when you have reached the place further down this ramp where
you can look out over the Forum. It is where the road takes a sharp turn to the left. TONE
If you are standing overlooking the Forum below, look just short of the forum. You will see the
Church of Saint Joseph of the Carpenters. This church is built over the old Roman Marmetine prison,
where the apostles, Peter and Paul were imprisoned. There is a relief showing Peter baptizing his
prison guard. It commemorates the belief that Peter caused a spring of water to bubble up so he
could baptize his jailers.
In Roman times, captives would be brought to the Marmetine after being paraded in chains
through the Forum on the Via Sacra. This is where Cleopatra would have been held before being
paraded in triumph by Augustus after he defeated her. Rather than face such a public humiliation
and her fate in the miserable Marmetine prison, she killed herself with a poisonous snake.
There is a hideous dark circular dungeon beneath the prison called the Tullianum, used for executions.
If you enter, be sure to look for the hole in the ceiling of the Tullianum. Prisoners were shoved
down this hole to await death by starvation or execution. Their bodies were thrown into the Cloaca
Maxima, that famous engineering marvel, the city sewer system.
If you want to come back late to tour the church and prison, there are steep steps leading down from
here or there is a street off the Via del Fori Imperali called the Via Tulliano, which does not require
so much climbing. There is an audiocassette tape to rent there if you do tour the site.
But look now out at the ancient Roman Forum spread below us. I can almost feel the ghosts of the great
events that happened here, influencing our lives even today.
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This is a good spot to study the drawing of the Forum, which is included with your map.
And to discuss the early beginnings of Rome. Rome was founded by Romulus on April 24,753 BC.,
on the Palatine Hill where he and his brother were shepherds. If you look toward your right,
that small hill with trees on it is the Palatine. The name comes from the god of shepherds,
Pales.
Everyone knows the story of Romulus and Remus being found by the she wolf after they were put
into the Tiber River by their wicked uncle. Their mother was a vestal virgin and their father
was the god Mars. A local shepherd, Faustulus and his wife reared them.
Romulus eventually killed his brother Remus because he would not accept that the auguries
declared that Romulus should be king.
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Livy, Rome’s first historian, wrote that Romulus and Remus grew up in the neighboring town of
Alba Longa. This birthplace is important because the legends claimed that Aeneas escaped to
Italy after the Trojan War and his descendants founded Alba Longa. So, if Romulus and Remus
are from Alba Longa, Romans can claim Trojan heritage, and that gave them real status in the
ancient world.
Julius Caesar carried this even farther by claiming he descended from Aeneas , who was the
son of the goddess Venus.
There is always some kernel of truth in ancient legends. The connection to Mars, god of war and
the cruel fratricide both reflect Rome’s bloody way of life. And, according to Livy, Faustulus
wife was not known for her outstanding morals and the slang word for such a "lady" was lupa or
she wolf.
History says Rome had seven kings. The last king was chased out in the five hundreds BC and
Rome established a Republic, committed to the notion that never again would there be a king.
The Republic served its citizens well and by 270 BC Rome had become master of the area we now
know as Italy. From that time forward until 476 AD, Rome’s history was the history of the
western world.
This forum we are looking out over is the original Forum, used by Rome’s earliest settlers.
It was the place to conduct important government or business affairs out in the open, both
literally and figuratively and it was modeled after the Greek open space called the Agora.
According to the playwright Plautus, the Roman Forum teemed with "lawyers and litigants,
bankers and brokers, shopkeepers and strumpets, good-for-nothings waiting for a tip from the
rich." I guess you could say that it was similar to Washington D.C.’s Capital Hill. After all,
much of our western concepts of government and business are based on the Roman styles.
If you are ready to continue our walk, turn left and walk on the downward slope toward the main
road, the Via dei Fori Imperiali. When you reach that intersection you will be only about a
five-minute walk to the original Forum.
This ramp is difficult to walk on because of the uneven texture of the stones, so I urge you
to be careful. And, Ladies and gentlemen, be on the lookout for pickpockets when you reach
the main road. There are bands of these people here as permanent as the ruins themselves.
Be aware of anyone who tries to distract you and do not assume that old people and children
are innocent. Turn off your tour and resume when you reach the road at the end of this sloping
ramp. Be in a good position to see the tall column just across the street. TONE
End of tour excerpt.
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