I’ve been surfing the net, reading articles about Italy and checking out the photographs on other sites. I’m feeling very sentimental and decided to share a photograph I took in 2010, my third trip to Rome. Who can look at photographs without recalling the people they met, their favorite restaurant, or a special day at a monument or museum? One of the most special places in Rome for me is the Roman Forum. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s where civilization as we know it began.
Reading about the Forum in history books or guide books, in no way prepares you for the awe and beauty of being there. Most people, whether they’ve been to Rome or not, have seen the Forum. It’s featured in thousands of travel photos on blogs and travel websites. Any film about ancient Rome is going to show the Forum, at least as background.
Honestly, nothing compares to seeing it from the Capitoline Hill. It’s a very meditative place to me, and a feeling of peacefulness and rightness comes over me every time I see it. I feel a little like a magician when I take someone there. It’s like taking the drape off the bird cage and there the bird is but , you’re sure that the cage was empty the last time you looked.
A friend who has lived in Rome for over thirty years told me that when she first arrived, you could walk through the Forum at any time, day or night. As amazing at that would be I still can’t enough of the view from above.
If you only have one day in Rome, which I can’t imagine, add the Capitoline Hill and the Forum to your list.
Walks of Italy offers a nice tour that includes the Colosseum, the Palantine Hill and the Forum.
If you’d like to read more on the history of ancient Rome, check out this article on the top 5 non-fiction books on Rome.
Have you been to the Forum? How do you feel there?
Adventures of a Carry-on 