The Colosseum was built in the 1st century AD and is probably the most famous landmark in Rome. It could seat 45,000 people and was the largest Roman amphitheater in the world. The most common events that took place here were the gladiatorial combats, fights and hunts with wild animals, re-enactments of famous battles, dramas based on Classical mythology and the possibly the execution of early Christians in addition to over 2,000 gladiators. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Colosseum has been believed to be a place of martyrdom and was therefore regarded as a sacred place. the Colosseum was also used as a Christian burial ground. Early Christian tombs have been found in three areas around the amphitheatre: in the foundations on the north and east sides and on the exterior ground near the present entrance. It is now preserved and taken care of by the Vatican.
The Arch of Constantine is located right near the Colosseum and is a large triumphal arch representing the victory of the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD of the Emperor Constantine over Maxentius.
Contemporary historians have recorded that the night before the battle Constantine had a vision. He saw the symbol of chi-rho (the first letters of "Christ" in Greek), or the cross in some accounts, in the sky with the words, "By this sign, conquer."
Constantine was desperate at this point and led his men into battle with the sign of Christ on their battle shields. This event is highly important in Christianity since this defeat caused Constantine to convert to Christianity, thereby ending Christian persecution and jumpstarting the development of Christendom. The event is commemorated by this Arch which represents the major turning point in the history of the western world.
We also saw ruins of a previous gladiator training school which was located just across the street from the Colosseum. Here’s a little blurb I found about these training schools, “Gladiators were trained at special schools originally owned by private citizens, but later taken over by the imperial state to prevent the build-up of a private army. Gladiators trained like true athletes, much like professional athletes do today. They received medical attention and three meals a day. Their training included learning how to use various weapons, including the war chain, net, trident, dagger, and lasso.”
Then we visited the Basilica of St. Clemente and toured the underground where the original church once was.
Then we visited the church with St. Peter's martyrdom chain and I think the part of the pillar where Jesus was scouraged was at this same church, but I'm not entirely sure about that.
Then we visited Santa Maria Maggiore church with part of the Jesus' manger during the Nativity:
It's that little piece of wood underneath the gold and silver covering... it's a little hard to see but it's there :)
This is also the church where the name, Our Lady of Snows comes from. I made it a point to remember this since there's a church in Leavenworth named Our Lady of Snows and we go there when we visit my uncle and his family in the mountains :)
The story of Our Lady of the Snow could be part legend but no doubt could have truth to it. Our Lady of the Snow commemorates the dedication of the Church of St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. An old Roman legend speaks of John and his wife who were both childless. They asked the Blessed Virgin Mary to make an heir known to them, someone to whom they could will all their possessions. On the night of August 4 or 5, Our Lady appeared to them in a dream and asked if they would build a church, on the Esquiline Hill (one of the seven hills in Rome). They were to find the exact spot for its location the next morning, outlined in snow. The same night Pope Liberius also had a dream by Our Lady who directed him to the same location on the Esquiline Hill. Both parties met at this spot which was marked by freshly fallen snow... on a hot August day. A basilica was completed within two year’s time. During the feast day Mass on August 5th every year, white rose petals fall from the basilica’s ceiling in honor of Our Blessed Mother. The ivory petals are a remembrance of the miraculous snowfall that graced Esquiline hill with Santa Maria Maggiore church.
The tour was officially finished about noon and Andrea and I went on the hunt for some lunch and then we went to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel for the afternoon. We got there about 1:45 and completely missed the usual huge lines which we found out die down between 1 and 2 so we were SO blessed! We heard most people were standing in line for 45 minutes to an hour while we just walked right in. We really enjoyed the museum and ended up losing track of time.
Someone was smart ;)
Sistine Chapel: Last Judgment by Michelangelo
Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
It was 3:50 before we had even gotten to the Sistine Chapel and we were supposed to be to mass at 4:30, two metro lines away. Well, we thought we could do it and after seeing the Sistine Chapel we began to head out but the museum kind of just kept going. When we finally got out we began running since by that time mass was starting in 15 minutes. I don't know what we were thinking but it was definitely 4:30 and we were still on the line A of the metro with five stops left to go and still having to transfer to line B... we gave up since obviously there was no way we would be there on time. We stopped to see the Fontana del Tritone which we heard was a beautiful fountain especially at night. Well, when we saw it, it wasn't interesting at all... turns out later we didn't actually see the Fontana del Tritone but this other random and obviously insignificant one :P We went to St. Peter's Square after and went searching for Soprani's Religious Goods store known for great quality and cheap prices. We stopped there for the rest of our free time and were back just in time for dinner at 7. Dinner is such an important event everywhere in Europe that it cut into our holy hour every night, which was supposed to start at 8:30. So this night's holy hour was definitely cut into a holy half-hour :P
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