Tag Archives: Ancient Rome

Out and about in Rome

The Pantheon

The Pantheon

It is so easy to get stuck in Rome and not venture far afield. There is quite literally something amazing at every turn. An ancient ruin here, a church there and of course an obelisk always nearby. There is also some of the best shopping you’ll find anywhere.  The days whizz by with visits to the Colosseum, Vatican, Roman Forum, walking through the gardens around the Villa imageBorghese …

In our case this has meant that in previous visits to Rome we haven’t ventured very far, however this time we made a decision to venture a little further afield. This meant looking at the guidebooks for that section towards the back of the book that says something like Day Trips or Excursions. It will never say what to do when you’ve seen all there is in Rome as that is just not possible!

So with a steely resolve we ventured to the back of the guidebook and settled on Ostia Antica for our first foray out of Rome. It’s about 25kms from Rome and easily accessible by Metro and Train.

Ostia Antica is a port city that it is said dates back to the 7th century BC. A town whose fortunes rose and eventually receded just as the sea did, such that by the 9th century it was abandoned. It’s a port city that is now some kilometers from the sea!

With the entrance fee paid and our guidebook purchased at the site in hand we were ready for what turned our to be something very special. After just a few minutes at Ostia Antica we wondered why there is such an obsession with Pompeii. Perhaps it’s Vesuvius?  Continue reading

Walking where others have been – Parco Archelogico Della Neopolis

It’s interesting to know about the history of a place like Siracusa in a chronological sense but reading the personal accounts that are provided through books such as Jeremy Drummett’s Book Syracuse City of Legends – A Glory of Sicjily bring the place truly to life. Visiting Sirucusa means walking the streets and places that Plato, Archimedes and Cicreo also visited. Its a way to see these ruins not just as large stones but to imagine what it would have been like when these icons of times past were in the very same spot.

The Altar of Heiron - dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios , built by Heiron II

The Altar of Heiron – dedicated to Zeus Eleutherios , built during the time of Heiron II

Our visit to the Parco Archelogico Della Neoplolis with our two adult daughters (who joined us for a few days) brought this home quite starkly in a most disturbing manner. As we looked at the excavations of the quarries (Latomie) my eldest daughter and I discussed how they were built and the numbers of slaves that would have been needed. Her comment that she would not have made much of a slave and the subsequent obvious realization that her role as slave would not have been in the quarries was a reality check – how lucky we are to be visiting some 2 plus thousand years later.

Upper terrace - Greek Theatre with my daughters

Upper terrace – Greek Theatre with my daughters

A walk through the quarries( Latomina del Paradiso) includes the Ear of Dionysis and a Grotto dedicated to the rope makers (seems so odd to honour rope makers in today’s world). The quarries provided the stone for the ancient city and extraction would have been back breaking work for the slaves, many of whom were vanquished soldiers from the seemingly endless battles over Siracusa. The perils of losing the war in these items didn’t bare thinking about!

Latomie - The QuRries

Latomie – The Quarries

Ear of Dionysius

Ear of Dionysius

These quarries became prisons for the defeated soldiers. Continue reading