Monday, June 19, 2017

Roamin' in Rome


We had a busy day in Rome, which was full of tours, sight-seeing, and delicious food! Our day started off on the right foot with the hotel breakfast buffet (chocolate croissants, cold cuts and cheese, fresh fruit, espresso, yum!). My favorite part of the day was our tour of the Flavian Amphitheater (pictured above). Some of you may not know that I am referring to our tour of the Colosseum when I say that! The arena’s original name is the Flavian Amphitheater, but was given the name “Colosseum” due to a colossal statue that remained nearby.

The building has been recycled over and over again: at one time a castle was built on top of the structure, houses were built under the arches, it was once abandoned, and there used to be shops on the grounds. The structure has withstood the test of time due to the amazing architecture and local materials used for its construction. The exterior contains 80 arches that were used as entrances for amphitheater events—each arch was once decorated with a statue. The interior contains seats and an arena floor; each person was assigned an entrance and seating area based on their class. Latin sources say that women and slaves sat in the highest seats and women were told to sit the farthest away because their reactions to the naked gladiators could be “unpredictable.” Emperors, of course, sat nearest the arena floor to be close to the action.

As town entertainment, there were “hunts” in the mornings where prisoners, slaves, or people seen as unimportant were used to fight wild animals as entertainment…they were usually killed during the event. In the afternoon, gladiators had their fights. The loser’s fate was up to the will of the crowd: if he was a good fighter, the crowd would generally keep him alive. Fight winners would exit the arena and celebrate in the nearby piazza.

We were also able to see the Roman Forum, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, multiple beautiful churches, and the Trevi Fountain (pictured below). Umberto (our FUA field experience leader) told us that an average of 3,000 Euro are thrown into the fountain each day. All money collected is donated to the poor. The proper way to throw a coin in the fountain is with your right hand over your left shoulder. If your coin lands in the center of the fountain, it is said that you will return to Rome again.

Our feet are sore and we are all exhausted but we are looking forward to another day of exploring Rome tomorrow. Some of our group members have fitbits, which recorded approximately 20,000 steps between our Colosseum and city tours. But, the night is still young, and we are off to enjoy some dinner and evening adventures.

This post was written by Audrey Rehberg, a first-year doctoral student in Consumer Science from Westfield, IN. Her research interests include male and female sexual health issues and the correlates of sexual pleasure.

2 comments:

  1. I am so jealous of all the wonderful sites you have been able to take in already. I hope you get an opportunity to just sit on the banks of the Mediterranean before you leave.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yikes, just realized you are way too far north...need a brush up on my geography!!! :)

      Delete