历史大帝国 - 罗马 *The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Ponte Sant' Angelo) (9 Aug 08)

这张照片是在梵蒂冈博物院外拍的。这辆是零食车，可爱吧？
Photo taken outside Musei Vaticano.




Castellum Sancti Angeli/ Castle Sant' Angelo 本来是个皇族的宫廷，但现在已经被改造成罗马其中的一间博物院。
Above is Castellum Sancti Angeli. In English, it is known as Castle Sant' Angelo. Initially it was commisioned by Rome royal family. Later it was converted to become a museum.

从Castellum Sancti Angeli/ Castle Sant' Angelo 看过去的梵蒂冈。

The view of Vatican City taken from Castellum Sancti Angeli.

意大利文里的'Ponte' 意思是‘桥’。这座桥命名为Ponte Sant' Angelo 是因为传说天使Sant' Angelo 站在Castellum Sancti Angeli/ Castle Sant' Angelo 的最顶部，宣布病灾已经了结。

Ponte Sant' Angelo was completed in 134AD. 'Ponte' in Italian means 'bridge' . This bridge was named after angel Sant' Angelo because it was believed an angle stood on the roof of castle (referring to Castellum Sancti Angeli/ Castle Sant' Angelo, which stands opposite Ponte Sant' Angelo) to announce end of plague.

桥两旁的手扶建了很多天使的石雕像。

The statues of angels were placed on both sides of the bridge.

This is one of the statues.

Another street performance.

历史大帝国 - 罗马(Navona 广场和西班牙广场) *The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Piazza Nanova & Spanish Steps) (8 Aug 08)

Piazza Navona 是罗马最大的广场。本来这里是罗马最大的娱乐场所之一，也就是罗马人以前的最佳消遣地方之一。这个广场最早的时候被命名为Circus Agonalis, 后来才改名成Piazza Navona。今天的Piazza Navona是艺术的买卖中心，你可以在这里找到很好的油画及其他手工艺术品。有一些画家甚至可以当场为你做画。除了可以在这里找艺术名画之外，游客也可以参观广场中央的一座教堂 - Sant' Agnese in Agone. 这个教堂的正前方有一个水池(Fontana dei Quattro Fuimi/ Fountain of the Four River) 和纪念碑(an Egyptian Obelisk)。

至于西班牙广场呢又在罗马城市的另一方了。西班牙广场是游客常年来都一定会参观的地方。据说因为当初西班牙领事馆在这里建立，所以就把这里命名为西班牙广场。西班牙广场有楼上、楼下之分。楼下广场的正中央有一座很大的石雕船 (La Fontana della Barcaccia)，那座船其实是一个水池，水池里的水是自然的矿泉水，所以是可以喝的。楼上的广场有一座教堂。这两个上、下广场之间是一格很长的梯级。全程一共有138个梯级。晚间的西班牙广场更热闹。

Piazza Navona is an open square in Rome. It was built as arena of competition in the 1st century. Previously it was named as Circus Agonalis, but then the name changed eventually. Today's Piazza Navona has become 'centre of arts' in Rome. You may find lots of fine art works here. Other than bargaining for painting and drawing, one could also visit Sant' Agnese in Agone which stands in the middle of Piazza Navona. In front of Sant' Agnese in Agone, there is Fontana dei Quattro Fuimi (in English it is known as Fountain of the Four River) and an Egyptian Obelisk.

Spanish Steps is another place worth visiting. The actual name of this plaza is Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti, but it is more welknown as Spanish Steps. This name was given after Spanish had their embassy resided here. This plaza is divided into 2 levels: upper level and lower level. There is a 'boat-looked' fountain called La Fontana della Barcaccia stands in the centre of lower level plaza. While on the upper level, there is a church stands on the higher ground. One will have to take 138 steps of stairway to climb from lower level to reach the upper level.

Sant' Agnese in Agone and the Egptian Obelisk. The foundtain (Fontana dei Quattro Fuimi/ Fountain of the Four River) was under renovation when we went.

Part of Piazza Navona.

This was one of the stalls selling paintings and drawings.

A fountain of Naptune was found some where not far away from Piazza Navona.

The name of this Egyptian Obelisk is unknown.

Spanish Steps and the 138 steps of stairway.

La Fontana della Barcaccia is the 'boat-liked' fountain stands in the centre of Spanish Steps. You could fill your drinking bottle here, but you shall not wash your body here. You could be warned and fine by the local authority if you do so. The kids who washed his head in the picture was given warning by two policemen who guarded the place.

You could also take a house ride around Spanish Steps. Not sure how much does it cost. To ensure the cleaniness and hygene of Rome city and the streets, horse owner hung a big textile bag behind all his horses to collect horse feces.

Spanish Steps at night.

Viewing Spanish Steps from half way of the stairway.

历史大帝国 - 罗马(万神殿) * The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Pantheon) (8 Aug 08)

看到了罗马的万神殿后，其实我是带着失望的心情离开的。我没想到罗马的万神殿和巴黎的万神殿(也较先贤祠)差那么多。本来的万神殿是给当地人民有个膜拜神的地方。今天的万神殿已经成为了基督教堂。万神殿是罗马唯一被完整保留下来的建筑物。

Frankly, I was so dissapointed when I saw Pantheon in Rome. It is not even 10% as beautiful as Pantheon in Paris. This place was built originally for Roman to worship their Godness. It is the only well preserve building in Rome. Today's Pantheon is used as a Catholic church.


We went to a restorant near by Pantheon for lunch. A friend ordered mini pizzas with 3 different flavours. The one on the most left (with red sauce) is tomato pizza, the middle one is bacon pizza and the most right is pizza with pineapple toping. The other 2 pizzas were taken before this photo was snapped! :)

I love lasagna so I ordered lagsana for myself. Yummy yummy! That's the best lasagna I ever tasted!

Hubby took a rest on the terrace beside Panthoen....

Inside Pantheon...

You could take photos with these people (the one dress-up as Roman army) and they will ask you to pay 10 euros after that!

Pantheon and a restorant some where near by.

The weather was extremely hot that day. These dogs were lying on the backstreets to get some rest.

历史帝王国 - 罗马 *The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II) (8 Aug 08)

离开了Forum Romanum 后，我们就往罗马的Pantheon 走，一路走，一路找吃的。一路上我们经过了Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II纪念碑。虽然没请导游，但在Forum Romanum的时候不小心听到了导游对这个建筑物的解说。原来罗马人都不是很喜欢这个建筑物。不喜欢的原因有三：1。因为它挡住了从Palatine 山丘看下来罗马的整个视线，住在山上的贵族无法看到罗马的另一方。 2。因为整个建筑物的设计和整个Forum Romanum很不搭。 3。因为这座建筑物耗资庞大，花了罗马人的一大笔钱。根据导游，当地的罗马人都称它为 'The White Cake'。

纪念碑顶端的两旁各自建立了Victoria天使驾着由4只马拉着的马车铜像。整座纪念碑(连天使马车也算进去)的高度是266尺，宽度是443尺。

Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II in English is known as Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II. This monument was built to honor the first king of unified Italy - Victor Emmanuel. I saw this monument from far when I was on Palatine Hill, and at the same time I also over heard a tour guide while she was explaining this monument to the tourists. It seems that most Roman did not like this white building and they call it as 'The White Cake'. There are 3 reasons why this building was unlike by most Roman: 1. It blocked the whole view of Rome from Palatine Hill. 2. The design did not match Forum Romanum. 3. Roman had spent so much money to build this building, which to them the building is useless.

The statues of Victoria Angel riding on a chariot were placed on top of the building. The overall height (including the chariot) of this building is 443 feet while the width is 266 feet.

历史帝王国 - 罗马 *The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Palatino & Forum Romanum) (8 Aug 08)

从Colosseum, 我们走过去对面山，上了Palatine Hill 去观赏Palatino。Palatine Hill 是罗马7大山丘，位于罗马市区中心的唯一山丘之一。这座山是位于Forum Romanum之上。由于之前我们买了斗兽场的联票，到了Palatine Hill 我们不用排队就可以直接进去了。Palatino 是前罗马上等社会所住的地方。我心里想，原来罗马人也懂得高处就是好风水的原理(呵呵呵。。。)。由于是在山丘上，很多地方都没有遮荫。还好到处都是地下水的水喉，这样我们才有足够的水喝，才不会中暑。老公还很不客气地把上衣脱掉，当场把水向身上泼。天气又热又干，不一会儿水分就蒸发了。基本上Palatine Hill 是蛮大的地方，我们没力气也没心情走完。

说真的，想要在这里自己创自己走时蛮不简单的。可以的话，娉请一位导游是蛮不错的。一来不用做一只无头苍蝇，走很多冤枉路；二来有人解释，会观赏得比较有意思。我们在Palatine Hill 走来走去走了好久，看到了一些古迹又不懂是什么，就这样乱走乱闯。本来是想要回去的了，还好未到出口前我们看到了Forum Romanum的路牌。这正是我想去的另一个旅游胜地。

Forum Romanum 是罗马最先兴建的中心。其中也是很多罗马政府部门(Senate)的原发地。上一代的罗马古人都是在这里裁判、谈判政治、收tax、做礼拜等等的市中心。可以说是古代罗马最旺盛、最热闹的地方 (想不到玩Ceaser PC Game 也可以学到不少，呵呵呵。。)。很可惜，很多建筑物都被毁掉了。很多教堂也只剩下一片墙或一、两根柱子。

Palatino stands on Palatine Hill, which is just opposite Colosseum. The admission tickets that we bought for Colosseum was also valid for visiting Palatino and Forum Romanum, therefore we were not required to queue up while entering these two places. Palatino refers to a large specific group of people who used to live in Rome. Palatino Hill used to be a living place of elites. Most places are opened space, there was no shed, that was why we were having a tough time walking on Palatino hill. Luckily there were fresh water pipe every where, we could keep on refilling the drinking bottles every 10 minutes. We didn't finish exploring Palatino Hill as the weather was terribly hot!

We walked down from Palatino Hill and approach another destination - Forum Romanum. Forum Romanum, or it is also known as Roman Forum stands below Palatino Hill. It is best to hire a tour guide so that you won't get lose on Palatino Hill and Forum Romanum. Forum Romanum is the oldest city in Rome. It used to be the central area of Rome civilization. It used to be a place where the Senates made their political decision, enforced rules and regulations, praying to their Gods, tax collection & etc. (Hehe...I learnt all these from a PC game called Ceaser). Too bad that everything is damaged, nothing much to see here...



在爬上Palatine 山丘之前看到的Palatino情景。
This is part of Palatino. this photo was taken while we were on our way walking up to Palatine Hill.

This is part of Forum Romanum viewing from Palatine Hill. (on the right)

Another photo of Forum Romanum (on the left).

一个神殿。

Temple of Antoninus and Faustine. Antoninus Pius built this temple as a monument to remember his beloving wife - Faustine the Elder.

At the back is Temple of Castor and Pullox; In the front is Temple of Vesta.

Temple of Saturn.

历史帝王国 - 罗马(斗兽场) * The Greatest Historical Empire - Rome (Colosseum) （8 Aug 08)

* This photo has been edicted by HDR technique.

终于有机会来看这个伟大的建筑物了！圆了我游世界七大奇观的第2个梦想！

斗兽场位于罗马的市中心，是全罗马最大的娱乐消遣的场所之一(斗兽场原本是一 amphitheater。在罗马amphitheater的意思就是可以载歌载舞或举办运动赛的场所)。斗兽场是在70年开始建立的，用了10年的时间才把它建好。本来的斗兽场可以容纳大概5万人，但经过了那么多年被大自然破坏后（尤其地震），已经是没有一个座位是完整的了。相信大家还记得在Gladiator电影里看到的情节吧？电影里面的斗兽场是经过电脑软件修改过的了，今天的斗兽场剩下的真的不多了。根据统计，大概50万战士在这里失去了宝贵的生命，而在战斗过程死去的野生动物也高达总数100万只。整个斗兽场是椭圆形的。长度是615尺；宽度是510尺。因为它很大，给了很多人一个错觉认为它是圆形的。

罗马的地铁很方便，只要达Metro地铁到Colloseo 站，一下车就可以看到斗兽场在对面了。参观斗兽场的理想时间最好是在九点左右，这时候的门刚开，人潮不多。这样就可以避免不必要的长龙。进门票是11欧元一人。


Finally I have achieved my dream to 'concure' the second 7 Wonders of the World!

Colosseum stands in the centre of Rome, it was the biggest amphitheater in Rome. The building construction started in 70AD and it took 10 years to complete. Colosseum was built with the capacity to accomodate 50 thousands spectators. However, most seats were destroyed after being attacked by earth quake along these years. It is estimated that about 500 thousands fighters and over a million wild animals died in Colosseum games. Colossuem is built in oval shape, it is 615 feet in lenght and 510 feet in width.

It is easy to get to Colosseum by public transport. Just take Metro and get down at Colosseo station. After getting down to the station, you may see Colosseum is just opposite the road. Normally Colosseum will be crowded with visitors after 11am. If possible, make your trip as early as possible to Colosseum (it is opened around 9am) so that you could avoid the long queue. The admission fee is 11 Euro per person.

这里是Roman Forum 的一部份，比较接近大街的一部份。

This is part of Forum Romanum/ Roman Forum that stands next to the main street.

Found an unknown arch before entering Colosseum.

斗兽场其实是有2层的墙，这是外层。

Colosseum was constructed with two layers of walls. The above photo shows the outer layer.

这是内层。

Behind hubby is the inner layer wall.

我们就是排队从这里走进去，售票处在里面。

This is the entrance to Colosseum, the ticket selling counter was some where in the passage.

这里就是走进去斗兽场的走廊。

This is how the passage/walkway looks like.

斗兽场里面。。。

Inside Colosseum...

斗兽场一共有3层的座位，很可惜很多地方都被毁掉了。

3 levels of seats in Colosseum.

斗兽场最下面那一层是表演的平台，叫做Arena。但经过那么多年的风打雨晒，再加上几度的地震，Arena已经100%的被毁掉了。没有了平台，却看到了Arena的地下层，也就是hypogeum。Hypogeum是斗兽场的最底层，也就是收藏动物的地方。原来在很久以前罗马人已经开始用‘电梯’了。这里的动物是用‘人工电梯’把它们拉上去的。除此，这个通道也可以直接把外来的战斗者或动物带进斗兽场内。

Arena was 100% destroyed.Without Arena, we could directly see hypogeum. Hypogeum is the underground structure of Colosseum, which was built to keep wild animals and also played its function as a passage leading animals and fighters to enter Colosseum. It was surprised to know that Roman used 'mechanical lift' to lift animals from hypogeum to Arena since many centuries ago.

这张照片是在斗兽场里的第一层拍的。虽然斗兽场有3层的座位，但游客只能到达第2层高而已。从第2层看整个斗兽场会更漂亮！

This photo was taken while we were at the first level. Visitors are free to walk around first and second levels, however level-3 is not accessible. Don't forget to climb up to level-2 if you would like to take nice photos of the whole Colosseum.

3层的座位。。。

3 levels of seats....