My Walk Around Rome

Yesterday was beautiful that I decided to adventure out by myself and explore Rome. I had a lovely walk to the Largo Di Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, Piazza Venezia, The Collesuium and Via Del Corso. 

The Largo Di Torre Argentina  is square in Rome, Italy, that hosts four Republican Roman temples, and the remains of Pompey's Theatre. It is also the home of the cats from the Argentina Cat Sanctuary which is a no-kill shelter for homeless cats (of which Rome has many). This historical area provides a safe place for the cats to eat, sleep and play. The shelter's volunteers provides these little furballs with all the care they need. I have yet to volunteer for them, but I did go and take some lovely photos of the kitties.

 Then I continued my walk by heading towards the Piazza Venezia. This piazza lies between the South end of Via del Corso and the Roman Forum. The piazza is home to The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II). It  is a monument built to honor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The monument was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1885. It was inaugurated in 1911 and completed in 1935. It has acquire a bit of a controversial reputation, because its construction destroyed a large area of the Capitoline Hill with a Medieval neighborhood for its sake (it is often referred to as "The Wedding Cake" because it's alittle over-the-top) but it is pretty non-the-less.

 My last stop of the day was at the Colosseum. It was fully packed with people, so I couldn't get inside but I took some pictures of the outside. The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name, after the reign of Emperor Nero. The Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, lions, panthers, leopards, bears,  tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Watch The Gladiator  and that will give you a better idea on how it was used.

 

 And then I started heading back home. I love how close I am to everything. It took me about 25 minutes to walk from my apartment to the Coleseum. 

Ciao Ciao!

Kathleen