Rome

Please note that I have no idea what I'm going to write here.. I'm just going to write stuff about Rome :P

Rome


For those of you who have no idea what Rome is (in that case, what's wrong with you?) Rome is the capital of a little country called Italy. Rome was once the capital of the great Roman Empire led by famous emperors as Augustus, Nero and Marcus Aurelius.

According to myth, Rome was founded on April 21 in the year 753BC by the twins Romulus and Remus, who were raised by a she-wolf. But no matter how Rome was founded, it grew to be one of the most influential cities in the entire world. Many of the monuments and monumental buildings that were created during the Roman Empire and later are still there to be seen today.

I myself have traveled to Rome during my 5th year of high school ( so, 2007 I guess it was).
In my 21 years I have seen many beautifull cities, but nothing can quite compare to the beauty of Rome.
Let me show you a few pictures of the things that can be found in Rome:
(I did not take any of these pictures by the way).

CLICK THE PICTURES TO ENLARGE!

A skyline view of Rome taken from the roof of the Vatican.
If you follow your gaze along the long straight road, at the end, look a bit left and you will see the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Same shot during sunset.

The Forum Romanum is where the beating heart of Rome used to be. Home to the senate building where Julius Caesar was stabbed. When I went to Rome, I actually stood on the steps where Caesar was supposedly stabbed to death. Lot's of the buildings have collapsed over time, but the Forum Romanum is still a beautifull place to walk around in.

 The Pantheon is one of the first buildings with a hole in the roof (see picture below). It is an arcitectual masterpiece.
The Pantheon was once a temple to all pagan gods (Pantheon means 'devoted to all gods' (or something to that effect)). The only reason the temple was not torn down by the Catholic church (as was the fate of almost all other pagan temples) was that pope Bonifatius IV turned it into a church for Saint Mary.

The 'Oculum' or eye of the Pantheon.

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous and beautiful fountains in the entire world. The fountain is always crowded by many tourists (myself included when I was in Rome). If you turn your back to the fountain and toss a coin over your shoulder, into the water, you can make a wish. It is truly a beautifull fountain to behold.

Then there is of course the Vatican. I rememeber having to stand in line for two hours to get into this great church, but it was well worth the wait. It was a beautifull building. I was fortunate enough to be able to climb all the way to the top of the dome you see in the picture above. From there, you have the view of the first picture I posted in this blog :) If you're ever in Rome, climb up there!

And last but definetely not least: 

(I actually made this picture myself, with a crappy 2007 camera)
The Colosseum was one of the crown jewels of Rome. Many of gladiators, slaves and animals lost their lives in the (brutal) games held in this gigantic arena. This arena could host 50.000 to 80.000 spectators. (there were 50.000 seats so I gess the other 30.000 could stand). The colloseum was built in such a way that it could be evacuated in a mere 15 minutes. Modern arenas will take a lot longer to evacuate I think :)

So that was my visual tour of Rome for you guys!

If you ever have a chance to go there, do it! You will not regret the (long) journey, that I promise you.

Brotherhood (NO spoiler alert! )

So there is this video game called Assassins Creed Brotherhood, where you get to run around in this marvelous city. I just wanted to note that the game was fantastically made with a great eye for detail. It was really awesome to climb on top of buildings where I have been myself. I could let my assassin climb up to the top of the colosseum and say 'I've been here too! '

Awesome :)

That will be all for now my loyal subjects! Ehm.. I mean wonderfull readers :)

Gabelafastoe.