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The Colosseum is a magnificent sight. Who hasn't seen this famous Rome landmark in movies and books but there is nothing like being there in person. I decided to admire this iconic structure from a distance before making my way inside. Get the bigger picture, so to speak. In this case, the whole picture. Almost half of the Colosseum is missing, and the remaining ruins are suffering the ravages of time, pollution and an earthquake, or nearly 2,000 years of wear and tear. Help is on the way. On one side of this arena are scaffoldings where restoration and cleaning are being done. The Italian Government can't afford to pay for this, so the US$30 million project is being funded by Diego Della Valle, the owner of luxury shoe and leather goods company Tod's. You have to use a bit of imagination to enjoy this attraction. Lucky for us we have Hollywood to fill in a lot of blanks. Or at least some of it. Whenever I think of the Colosseum, I am reminded of the famous fight scene in Bruce Lee's Way of the Dragon. But the movie is not relevant in this case. A more appropriate movie would be The Gladiator featuring Russell Crowe. However we are told the gladiators are not always that handsome. They look more like Danny de Vito, the short, stout and bald comedian. Remember him? But whoever they look like, the gladiators were treated like rock stars. The ladies love them. What was it like in those days? Imagine over 50,000 screaming Romans seated all around this arena, also known as Flavian Amphitheater.
Back in those days, this was their only form of entertainment, so imagine all sorts of spectators here, including children. Their entertainment wasn't rated then. Killing and dying were part of life in those days but we were told that a big draw for the children were the exotic animals imported for the games. As the games lasted nearly the whole day, there was cooking on the stands to feed the people. It was their version of our fast food. There was also covered roof to protect the spectators from the elements. Similar to our football stadiums. Of course, the Emperor and his party had the choice ringside seats. Surprisingly, the senators were seated away from him, a distance to the left. I guess he just didn't like politicians, too. I grew up thinking that the early Christians were the main victims in the games. We were told this is not so. The Christians were killed elsewhere. The participants in the Colosseum were professional gladiators and convicted criminals. We could take our time exploring this place because this is the off peak season for tourists. It's hell during summer. It's so crowded you could hardly move and you have to wait for hours to get in. The Colosseum is indeed a fantastic piece of architecture. It took 10 years to build this magnificent arena with its elaborate underground structure to house the animals and gladiators.
After exploring the Colosseum, we took a short walk to the ruins of the Roman Forum. This place, with its massive temples and public houses or basilicas, was the centre of activity for the Romans. This was where they met for business, entertainment, leisure and even prayers. Why was this place so important for ordinary Romans? In those days, most Romans were living in small apartments. Like Hong Kong residents today. They just want to get out of the cramped dwellings. So the Forum was the ideal place to hang out. The ruins of the Roman Forum was a location shoot for another Hollywood movie, Roman Holiday, starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. In fact, if you are not sure how you want to spend your time in Rome, you can use the movie as a guide. Roman Holiday takes you to 13 places of interest. Guess what? I visited 5 of these places -- the Roman Forum, Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and Castel Sant Angelo.
The Pantheon is a must if you want to appreciate the great architecture of St Peter's Basilica and the other famous buildings. They all drew inspiration from the great dome of the Pantheon. The Trevi Fountain is also a great draw for tourists and again Hollywood is to blame for creating another myth. According to the movie, Three Coins in a Fountain, you will return to Rome one day if you throw a coin in the fountain. Now everyone is doing it. "Absolute nonsense," say the Italians. "There is no truth in that. It is all a creation of Hollywood." The fountain is also undergoing restoration work, and Fendi fashion house is funding this €2.12 million project. Even though the water has been drained from the fountain to facilitate repair work, tourists are still flocking to this place to throw their coins. They just can't wait 20 months until next year when the fountain is fully restored.
Audrey Hepburn went to the Spanish Steps to enjoy her gelato but we chose to take up the suggestion of Trip Advisor instead, and savour the best ice cream in Rome at Gelateria Valentino.
We did go the Spanish Steps later but our real aim was to explore Via dei Condotti nearby. This is Rome's Bond Street where you can find an endless row of branded goods. Our final stop for the day was at Castel Sant Angelo, the setting for Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. We were too tired to go in, so we just admired the castle from the outside. Hollywood is fascinated by Rome. I guess that is the reason why we keep seeing so many American tourists everywhere we go in Rome. Maybe they believe everything they see in the movies. As for me, all I want to do as soon as I get back home is to get the movie Roman Holiday and see the other 8 tourist attractions I missed on this trip.