Sunday June 23rd

Today we visited the Foro Romano, the Colosseo, and the Museo Nazionale, so just about as much of Rome as one can see in a day! The fantastic art historian, Giovanni Ferni, met us at our hotel bright and early to try to beat the heat at the Forum.  It was amazing to see so many layers of Roman history represented in the center of a bustling metropolis.  We discussed the traditional uses of the basilica as both places of public trial, and areas for the gathering of Romans to discuss business.

 After lunch, it was off to the Colosseo, which is a truly amazing place.  The Colosseo was built on what was once an artificial lake, in order to return the space to the people of Rome.  Although what is left of the Colosseo is basically just it's skeleton, one can image the grandeur of what once was a marble covered, heavily decorated public space with statues in all of the arches.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Museo Nazionale looking at mosaics, wall paintings, and marble sculptures. The museum was a nice change of pace from the heat, and seeing mosaics similar to our medusa was a blast! A day so packed of knowledge and images to absorb made for a pretty tired group, but we are excited for our trek back into Rome on Tuesday.