Like Paris, Rome has a lot of romance to it. The city feels old and magical. People walk everywhere and the sight of hands holding hands is commonplace. The structures of a long and fruitful history are littered throughout the city and built in among the modern buildings. Even the original architected aqueducts from the Roman Empire’s reign are used today to provide free water via fountains throughout the city.
The Roman Empire was so massive and successful for so long that so much wealth was put into structures to display that wealth. As we learned during our stay, many materials were recycled over time to build other things. We got a chance to see some of the beautiful things that still stand today.
The Colosseum
When you think of the city of Rome, you probably picture an oval white building that looks like a stadium. I know that I picture it. Some of you may think of other things, but it is hard to think of any other structure in Rome that comes close to the fame and history that the Colosseum has.
The area where the Colosseum is built is a great example of a place that has had many different structures built over time. The site where it stands today was actually part of Nero’s palace grounds when he ruled the Romans. Many years later, the Colosseum was built over only an eight-year span under the rule of Vespasian. It was paid for by spoils from the Jewish-Roman War in 70 AD. Obviously, to be able to create something so massive and expansive in only eight years required slave labor.
The building itself is built out of wood, mostly limestone, and some marble. The iconic white buildings seen throughout Italy and the Balkans and all the way down to Greece were built with limestone which was amply available. The amount of material used and the hours, days, months, and years it took to build resulted in quite a spectacle.
We learned that the main reason for the construction of this stadium was really to be a form of control over the people. The “games” played in the Colosseum would distract the people from thinking too much and give them something to do other than thinking about revolution. The games were death matches between people or animals or even against each other. Animals were brought in from all around the world but many came from Africa.
This is where the Gladiators come in. Many slaves or prisoners were pinned against each other and given weapons to fight with. The crowds came out in droves of up to 80,000 to cheer and be given crappy wine in the cheap seats as royals and the rich sat closer to the action. Many of these slaves or prisoners were fighting for their own freedom. And, worst of all, many of these events were scheduled based on when certain propaganda was needed; so, literally, people died when the emperor needed to get a stronger hold on the empire.
History aside, the Colosseum is quite a place to visit. The size is quite amazing, especially considering when it was built. Even with a lot of the building damaged over the years, the integrity of it is still there. We toured up to the top walkways and got a chance to look into the trap doors below the stage. Many of them are still there even if the stage itself is gone.
Pantheon, Vatican City, & Others
We did a lot of exploring in the city of Rome. We even made our way into the smallest country in the world: Vatican City. There are a ton of places to go and see. Many of them are better seen than described. So, here you go!
Italian Food
Italian food is everywhere in the world. It is well known and who doesn’t love pizza or pasta?!?! For those of you that don’t know, Britta is gluten-free. This can be difficult to find in a lot of places in the world. Bread is a pretty common staple in many cultures. So, we were more than surprised to have the best gluten-free food of our lives in Rome, Italy.
Pizza in Trevi
Close to the Fountain of Trevi lies a little pizzeria. It is not uncommon to find pizza on almost every street. But, gluten-free pizza is a different story. And having gluten-free pizza crust as amazing as this place had is even rarer.
We try to research ahead of time when we visit new cities to find places that provide gluten-free options.
If you are interested: We actively write reviews about the places we eat on Google Maps as seen here. If you are gluten-free, this is a pretty good guide to gluten-free places to eat in Europe (so far). One thing to note is that Britta isn’t celiac and so far she doesn’t seem to react if there was cross-contamination in the food preparation. So, watch for places that are celiac safe or certified safe for the best choices.
Pizza in Trevi is actually certified for celiac disease as well. But, even if the pizza we got wasn’t gluten-free, it would still be some of the best pizza we have ever had. The ratio of cheese to dough and toppings were perfect. We got one that had truffles and the ever potent truffle didn’t overpower the pizza. The sausage and mushrooms on another pizza we had was well seasoned and delicious. And to top it off, they had this amazing Lambrusco. Britta and I have been big fans of Lambrusco which is a sparkling red wine from a region in Italy. You can find some of it in the U.S., but the bottle we had here was over-the-top good.
Recap
Miles Walked
- 23 miles over 3 days
Next Up!
- Austria
