The Palatine and the Colosseum

I would appreciate your prayers. I've had a nasty case of vertigo today (Friday) and was unable to do much of anything.

On Thursday, though, we visited the Palatine, the highest of Rome's seven hills and the site of the very first buildings in Rome. The hill is now the home of the ruins, dating back as far as the 5th Century BC, of the Emperor's castle and the Circus Maximus along with the original site of the Roman Forum.

Adjacent to the Palatine is the Colosseum, built in 70 AD . A beautiful and imposing structure that was once completely covered in marble which was taken from the Colosseum to build St. Peter's Basilica and portions of the Vatican. What's left is still quite beautiful albeit pock-marked with gouges and holes that were used to anchor the marble to the original structure.

Here are some pictures of the area. The first half of the video shows the Palatine and the second half the Colosseum. You can read about their construction and history here and here.

The music is "The Might of Rome" from, of course, "The Gladiator".




Tomorrow, I hope to have another video of pictures taken from the streets of Rome. Ciao!